On the calm horizon, two lonely figures were slowly moving forward. Qing Yutong simply followed the other person, not even knowing what she was doing. However, faced with the innate temperament of the woman before her, Qing Yutong found it difficult to speak up and ask.
"You don't need to feel nervous. There is still some distance to go. If you have any questions, I will try my best to answer them."
Acheron's indifferent words reached her ears. Qing Yutong was startled for a moment, but she didn't ask immediately. She first carefully observed the woman's expression before finally asking the question she cared about most.
"Where is this? And... where are we going?"
"This is one of the thousands of manifestations of the IX, the Sleeping Formless One, but it is also the exit where those who are awake bid farewell to 'Nihility'. You can also understand it as the edge of 'Nihility'."
"'Nihility'?"
After hearing this, Qing Yutong's questions were not only unanswered, but she became even more confused. But 'Nihility'... recalling the feeling when she arrived... as if everything had lost its meaning—it was indeed worthy of the name.
"Apologies, 'Nihility' is as ethereal as a reflection in a mirror or the moon in water to this world, so you need not mind the explanation just now. As for the purpose of our journey—it is to take you back to the awake world."
Acheron realized the issue with her words and added.
'This world? Is she not from this world?' 'Wait... Extraterritorial Creature! Could this woman be an Extraterritorial Creature?!'
Qing Yutong was delighted to learn she could return, but the subsequent words startled her, and a shocking conjecture formed in her mind. The Ability Bureau exists to gather the power of Ability Users to deal with Extraterritorial Creatures. And Extraterritorial Creatures refer to—creatures from outside our world.
But no matter how she looked at her, she was human, wasn't she? Could the woman before her be an Extraterritorial Creature? This should probably be called an Otherworlder! This was the only reasonable explanation. As for why Qing Yutong was so certain... because of this endless world and that kind of power... this was not at all like a power an Ability User could possess.
Furthermore, Sparkle's previous words had just been confirmed. In other words, they were indeed not Ability Users, but Otherworlders!
Acheron did not know what kind of waves her words had stirred in the other's heart. She simply continued to lead the way. At this moment, Qing Yutong asked again.
"Then do you know why I came here?"
Hearing this question, Acheron suddenly turned her head, and their eyes met. This caused Qing Yutong to panic for some reason. Had she said something wrong? Feeling the woman's calm and deep gaze, Qing Yutong eventually couldn't help but look away first.
Acheron didn't mind and continued to lead the way, explaining. "You have a pair of clear eyes that can help you see through the darkness."
Was she referring to her Supernatural Ability, 'Spirit Eyes'? Come to think of it, it seemed like I took a look back then... Right! 'A very interesting woman.' So she was the person we were looking for before. So, was part of the reason I ended up here because of her?
In the next moment, Acheron indeed gave an explanation.
"But now they have been accidentally stained with black and white, and combined with some unknown reason, you unfortunately ended up here. However, you are also very lucky. When you return to the awake world, you will still be able to retain your original colors."
This string of cryptic words gave Qing Yutong a bit of a headache. Anyway, overall, I should be able to return safe and sound!
However, although the outcome was similar to what she thought, the risks involved far exceeded her imagination. This was also why Acheron felt surprised. It was indeed because of her own power that Qing Yutong, by chance, had permeated Acheron's power of Nihility through the residual aura on the corpse. It was thought she would be tainted by "Nothingness" and even die because of it.
But surprisingly, her Spirit Eyes miraculously avoided this situation. Or rather, the person before her was not "Qing Yutong" herself, but a special projection that had come here. Now, with Acheron's help, this girl could return almost completely intact.
It could be said that if Acheron hadn't noticed and arrived in time, combined with Qing Yutong's unique eyes and the fact that there was no malice between Acheron and Qing Yutong... if any of these factors had been missing... the final outcome would be hard to say.
Thus, Acheron always felt like someone had calculated that she would appear just in time. Once she reached a conclusion, her crimson pupils sharpened; Acheron already had a reasonable suspect in mind.
"Achoo! Who's thinking about this young lady?"
In reality, a certain girl(Sparkle) suddenly sneezed, but she didn't think much of it and remained all smiles... Qing Yutong was completely unaware of all this, otherwise she probably wouldn't be as calm and composed as she was now.
At this moment, Qing Yutong had never missed the members of the Supernatural Ability Team more. This empty and hopeless world felt far too oppressive. The arrival of this woman even made her colors a bit more distinct. Qing Yutong's originally tense expression also gradually relaxed a lot.
Seeing this, Acheron tactfully didn't spoil the mood, while also feeling somewhat curious about her eyes. 'She possesses power similar to the previous two, and though her strength is much weaker than theirs, the level of her ability is higher.'
Although her appearance was just an accident, the stronger man from before hadn't been able to come here. Thus, fate is sometimes so miraculous... The two continued to advance in an orderly fashion. After the initial excitement passed, when Qing Yutong wanted to ask something else, she suddenly felt lightheaded.
'What's going on? Is she lying to me?!'
Acheron didn't turn around, simply stating calmly. "It's time to wake up and return to the real world where you belong."
'What?' She didn't expect to be able to return just like that; what a pity she still had some questions to ask! So she forced herself to perk up and asked one last question.
"By the way... can you tell me... your name?"
..."Acheron, you may call me that." Acheron was silent for a while before finally answering the question.
"Will we... see each other..."
Before Qing Yutong could finish, her consciousness became increasingly blurred and she could no longer speak; she could only faintly hear Acheron's clear and pleasant voice.
"May death end your dream and guide you back to the awake world..."
The calm sea gradually became restless, and a crimson light pierced through the entire pitch-black world...
"Whew..."
"Sister Acheron, is something wrong?"
At this moment, Mo Xi watched as Acheron suddenly froze and then closed her eyes. Since Mo Xi didn't know what was happening to Acheron, she could only wait silently. But about ten minutes later, she suddenly noticed that the tips of Acheron's purple hair had turned white. Although it was only for a brief moment, she was sure she hadn't seen wrong.
Fortunately, Acheron finally opened her eyes slowly. Acheron's gaze turned thoughtfully toward the direction they had come from.
"Sister Acheron, are you okay... is there something over there?" Seeing Acheron wake up, Mo Xi asked concernedly.
"I've made you worry, I'm fine." Hearing this, Acheron withdrew her gaze and shook her head. Confirming that Acheron was fine, Mo Xi breathed a sigh of relief.
Mo Xi then asked curiously. "But Acheron, what were you just doing? Or is it related to your Supernatural Ability?"
'Supernatural Ability?' Although Acheron didn't know what a Supernatural Ability was, she had some guesses.
"Sorry, I just went to guide someone who had lost their way on their journey."