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[#~System Notification~#]

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[Your element of creation—Infinity—is reacting vigorously upon sensing a familiar resonance.]

[Your trait—Transcendence—has sensed a peculiar connection. It is actively creating a path for resonance.]

[Your authority—Infinite Qi—is forging the path with its endless energy.]

[A long-forgotten realm is reacting tremendously to your presence.]

[Sensing your presence, the realm calls out to you.]

[Will you respond to the realm's call?]

└ [Yes]

└ [No]

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The system window hung before Lucian's eyes, highlighting the bright golden hue emitting from the gate behind.

Lucian stood at a hand's distance from the gate, silent. He was staring at the system window, contemplating the choices presented to him by the system.

"So out of the jurisdiction of the system, a forgotten realm is calling out for me?" The mere thought of the situation felt extremely unbelievable.

Ever since his system had evolved into the Infinite Cultivation System thanks to the influence of his authorities and traits, Lucian's system had become a completely separate entity that shared more and detailed information about what the main system could offer.

A better version, one might say. But either way, for his system and abilities to react in such a way—Lucian couldn't help but wonder whether he should look forward or be concerned.

But what truly intrigued him was how the system presented the realm. "A forgotten realm? Not just a remnant? But a realm?" His eyes sharpened, a small playful smile scrawling onto the ends of his lips.

What lay ahead, he didn't know. Would he find another intelligent civilization or bloodthirsty creatures—he didn't know.

"Fufu..." However, the fact that a forgotten realm was reacting as such made him think, "What if there lies a chance to grow even stronger?"

Considering the time when that mysterious young man—Silas—warned him, Lucian remembered him vaguely mentioning how weak he was in Silas's eyes.

"Raise your strength as fast as you can, was it?" His body flinched as words poured out of his lungs subconsciously. His right hand slowly slipped into the pocket of his hoodie, his fingers grasping the end of something solid.

Although usually instinctually driven, for some reason, Lucian seemed different at this time. His eyes, which seemed to be faintly smiling, looking forward to what was to come, suddenly felt unusual. Nervousness? Excitement? It was nothing of that sort.

In that moment, if one were to look straight into his eyes, they wouldn't know how to react. Why? Because his eyes neither lit up in happiness nor sank in sadness. They neither reflected his otherwise cheerful heart nor his labor-hating body. Although he was smiling, his expressions seemed meaningless.

It was similar to a facade, something he was intentionally putting on not to fool the world, but himself.

With eyes deeper than the void, his face revealed a bittersweet smile as a thought crossed his mind. "I'll come back alive this time as well, promise."

Loosening his grip, he slowly slid his hand out of his pocket. As he did so, his fingers felt the countless cracks over an oddly smooth surface. Inside his pocket, the same old worn-down phone rested in an unusable state.

Even though it had stopped working on the day the apocalypse began, Lucian never once forgot to carry his phone with him. No matter what he did, he always made sure that his phone was safe and sound. In a weird sense, it was something Lucian cherished more than anything.

Without uttering a word, he slowly raised his right hand and extended it forward. Touching the constantly moving surface of the gate, he finally muttered, "System, I accept." His voice was low, barely audible.

Hearing Lucian's response, the system reacted in an instant. Bright light shot out of its surface, overwhelming the previous golden glow of the gate. In the blink of an eye, it covered the entire body of Lucian while the light only continued to intensify.

At last, with a sharp, eye-piercing blast of light, Lucian vanished into thin air as a few remaining particles of light slowly drifted into the golden portal.

However, unbeknownst to Lucian, someone seemed rather interested in his choice. At the same time, in some unknown space, a pair of humans stood tall. Their eyes were nervously fixed onto a small screen that projected the area around the same Golden Gate that Lucian crossed into.

"So it finally happened." A voice suddenly echoed within the space, tearing through the silence. The voice was high-pitched and soft, resembling a feminine tone, as it carried a hint of unknown heaviness to it.

With slow and deliberate steps, the figure slowly closed its distance with the screen, getting closer to the other one standing right before the screen.

As the sounds of steps closed in, the figure slowly came to light. The face that was hidden beneath shadows at first slowly came to revelation. It wasn't someone unfamiliar but rather someone whom Lucian had met not long ago.

The girl who accompanied Silas and stood behind, frozen, while Silas acted aloof. It was the same girl, just dressed in long dark robes that hid her entire body, leaving her face uncovered.

Wearing stern expressions, her eyes rolled towards the other figure standing barely at a hand's distance. Unable to keep her curiosity, she finally asked, "Say, do you really think that he'll be alright? I mean, isn't he way too weak at the moment? Then how come you don't show an ounce of concern for him? What gives you such confidence?"

In an instant, she barraged countless questions towards him. The figure flinched and slowly began to turn around at her questions.

"Oh, I am concerned, old hag." The man spat out in playful rebuttal, his voice soft and his tone aloof.

As he turned around, his long black hair peeked through the small opening from the long dark robe around his face. His eyes were glistening with a strange fiery red glow as his dark, long, elongated irises stared right into the woman's eyes. It was Silas, the same young man who playfully warned Lucian a day before.

The woman, on the other hand, did not react to his words at all, almost as if she was accustomed to his behavior. She simply raised her brow, demanding the answer.

Silas's expressions suddenly grew grim, alarming the woman standing next to him. Unlike his normal aloof and uncaring demeanor, this time, his voice came deep and heavy.

"Although, do not be mistaken. The one I'm truly concerned about isn't him, but those around him." He said, his voice low and unwavering.

"Huh?" The woman looked utterly shocked; confused, she blurted out unconsciously. "How could it be? He's just a weak mortal, so why?"

Listening to the woman's thoughts, Silas couldn't help but laugh out loud with his hands clasping onto his rolling stomach. As he laughed, waves of vibrations resonated through the space around them, letting it distort frantically.

After a while, as his laughter subsided, Silas looked at the woman with a bittersweet smile. "I think you've got the wrong idea, old hag."

Turning back towards the screen, his voice turned loud and clear. "The one you should be worried about isn't that so-called 'weak' Lucian, but those who are around him."

"Wh-What do you mean by that?" She stammered.

"Fufu..." Giggling a bit, he continued, "It is only natural that you do know of this, for it hasn't been long since you came into existence."

"Listen well, old hag. The one you should truly be concerned about is yourself and this entire world that surrounds you and me. That man," his voice slightly trembled, wavering with not emotions but an inexplicable feeling of suppression. Silas bit his lips as he found his throat constricting itself to stop his voice from saying anything further.

However, with an almost inaudible, wavering voice, Silas continued. "That man has already spared us twice. And there won't be a third time."

He slowly turned his head around, revealing his heavily bloodied face to the woman behind. His eyes, nose, mouth, and ears—all four facial orifices—were continuously dripping blood as it slowly traced down his skin. Even as he spoke, a strange, tangy, metallic stench filled his lungs. The more words slipped out of his mouth, the more his body pained. It was almost as if something divine and sinister was preventing the truth from being spoken.

The woman widened her eyes and stumbled a step back, blinking as her blood ran cold.

Silas, on the other hand, coughed a mouthful of blood, letting it gush out of his mouth before continuing. "Let me warn you: no matter what happens, do not get on that man's bad side. If need be, surrender your pride and kiss his feet. Never. And I repeat, never let anything happen to him or those things that he cherishes."

"Because if there comes a time that his hatred finds him before he can find himself, this entire world, including you and me, will perish in a blink."

The woman stood completely stunned, unable to process what this man—the one who overpowered even her without lifting a finger—was saying. However, deep inside, she could already guess that what Silas was saying contained nothing but truth. Otherwise, how would the man with such a rebellious and aloof nature claim to be grovelling at someone's feet with such a bittersweet smile? And that too, when there was a life-and-death restriction placed on his soul, preventing him from talking of this matter.

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