Wush… wush…
The Realm of Time and Space stretched before him like an endless river. At first glance, it seemed to flow slowly, heavy and eternal, but in its depths dark whirlpools spun — black holes like stones scattered across a cosmic stream. And drifting above that river, lost between past and present, floated a man staring blankly into its currents.
Fu Yang.
Shhhhh… shhhhhh…
Shhhhh… shhhhhh…
He was watching his past life unfold, as if the river itself had become a mirror.
"This is the bastard who defiled the flower of the yan Clan," a voice echoed. "I will seek justice for the girl he tormented, for this merciless killer silenced her!"
"It's clear he wanted to kill her to shut her up!" another spat.
"Does this prisoner have anything to say?" a third voice demanded. "If not, we will decide his punishment."
In the vision, Fu Yang was chained. His wrists and neck were bound, iron links rattling against the cold stone floor. He appeared young — barely in his twenties — yet his eyes were the eyes of someone already tired of living.
Ring, ring.
"I… I don't even know who this lady is you're talking about!" he shouted, his voice breaking. "I wasn't even given a fair trial and you're already deciding my punishment. What proof do you have? What proof that I killed her, or touched her? Haa? What proof?"
Ring, ring.
"Oh, proof?" the judge sneered. "We know who you are and what you do, you vile bastard. You want proof? Of course we have proof."
Fu Yang lowered his eyes, lost in thought.
(Proof? Don't tell me someone bribed or threatened the people close to me. Is this another frame‑up? Why? Since the moment I came to this world everyone's tried to frame me, humiliate me… are these trials meant to break me? Or forge me? Am I supposed to become a 'legendary hero' by surviving them? But… aren't these too much?)
In the present, floating above the river, Fu Yang smiled bitterly at himself.
"Really… what a fool I was."
He looked up. "Mmm… wait. How much time has passed? I've watched my past countless times. I feel like I'm truly trapped here."
Shhhhh… shhhhhh…
He stared again at the river of time. The thought crept into his mind like a blade. Maybe the only way out… was through.
He clenched his fists. "I don't want to be trapped here. It's time to take a risk. Even if it throws me back to hell, this is the only chance."
He took a breath.
Woshhhh—
And he leapt.
Shhhhh… shhhhhh…
The waters did not welcome him. They rose like living flesh, rushing toward him as if he were a germ in their body. It felt like being engulfed by white blood cells, antibodies swarming to destroy an intruder. The current struck his soul with crushing force, wrapping around him, breaking him down, assimilating him.
Then Fu Yang's soul disappeared into the depths.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!"
.
..
…
Shhhhh… shhhhh… shhhhh…
Shhhhh… shhhhh…
"Fu… Fu! Oi, Fu Yang!" a voice barked.
"Are you deaf? Look here — this is an insect you hate the most! Hahaha!"
"Let's put it in his mouth! Hahaha!"
Ugh.
(Where… where am I? Wasn't I in hell? Then in the Realm? Am I watching my past again? But this feels different…)
"Oi, you bastard, look here!" the voice mocked. "Say aaaaaah!"
Fu Yang turned his head slowly, and there it was — the insect in the hand of a boy. A memory. A nightmare.
He smiled.
"Heh."
Then, without hesitation: "Umm… nom nom nom."
Gulp.
"As always… it doesn't taste good."
(Wait. Taste? How can I taste anything? This… this isn't the Realm.)
Realization struck him like lightning.
He hadn't just watched his past. He had been hurled back into it.
Fu Yang threw his head back and laughed, his voice raw and wild.
"Hahahaha… haaaaa… haahaaahaa!"