285: The Origin of Imprisonment

Mo Chen fell to his knees with a "thud."

It wasn't that his legs were weak; it was that his Soul had shattered.

That massive sphere of light, that so-called "soul furnace," was a living Hell.

Countless points of light floated within it; there were no wails, no screams, only a dead, silent numbness, devoid of all meaning.

From those points of light, he felt familiar auras.

Auntie Wang from the street corner who always shared her sugar cakes with him, the white-bearded teacher who taught him how to draw his first stroke, and even... his long-departed parents.

They had found no rest.

They had been built into this tombstone named "equilibrium," becoming fuel to maintain the operation of this massive cage, day after day, burned and ground down until even the traces of their "existence" vanished completely.

Tears welled up in Mo Chen's eyes, but he couldn't even make a sound; it felt as if a red-hot branding iron was stuck in his throat.

The nonchalance that had always hung on Li Dong's face—that "I'm just here to take a look" expression—finally vanished.

Fury.

Not the kind of rage that wants to destroy everything, but a deeper, colder anger, like having a block of ten-thousand-year black ice shoved into his chest.

He could accept the strength of an opponent, could accept the clash of Laws, and could even accept those bizarre "collectors" from beyond the Universe.

But he could not accept this.

This was cannibalism. No, it was more disgusting than cannibalism.

This was extracting a person's Soul, making it into a candle, burning it for light while telling others, "Look, how bright the world is."

[Attunement].

Li Dong's Divine Thought transformed into the finest probe, cautiously touching that ocean of Souls.

He wanted to awaken them, even if it was just one.

However, the moment his Divine Thought touched the boundary of the soul furnace, a terrifying repulsive force exploded!

Hum!

It was as if an entire concept of "Absolute Stillness" had been forcibly shoved into Li Dong's brain.

It wasn't an attack, but a rule, a command, ordering every thought and every Law rune within his Divine Soul to stop! Don't move! Don't think!

His body swayed, his temples throbbed, and a sense of vertigo at the conceptual level washed over him.

"Heh."

A voice, not coming from any direction, resonated directly in both of their consciousnesses.

Dignified, grand, devoid of any emotion, like a pre-set System notification tone.

"Ignorant Variable, attempting to disrupt My order?"

The space in front of the soul furnace twisted, light converged, and solidified into a silver humanoid figure composed entirely of liquid metal.

It had no facial features, just a smooth mirror surface that reflected nothing.

The will of the "Lord of Equilibrium" had descended.

Seeing Li Dong injured, Mo Chen's eyes instantly turned red.

Despair and grief were replaced by a more primal rage.

He was just a Mortal; he only knew how to paint.

But now, painting was his only weapon!

He grabbed the charcoal on the ground and scribbled frantically on the cold metal floor.

He wanted to awaken those sleeping Souls, wanted to make them remember who they were.

But his power was too weak; the lines he drew rapidly dimmed under the Law of "equilibrium," like fireflies in the wind.

The "Lord of Equilibrium" didn't even glance at Mo Chen; its "gaze" was completely locked onto Li Dong.

"I have brought eternal peace."

The voice continued to broadcast in Li Dong's mind, "Variable is the root of pain and destruction."

"Restlessness, strife, chaos... all are born from this."

"Only Absolute Stillness is the ultimate mercy and salvation of the Universe."

Li Dong rubbed his throbbing temples, finally recovering.

Listening to this spiel, he almost laughed out loud.

Good grief, this kind of talk—it's even better at feeding people empty promises than those judges from the Hand of Order.

"Mercy," "salvation"—if a pyramid scheme saw you, they'd have to call you their Ancestral Master.

"Your peace is just canning everyone and turning them into specimens?"

Li Dong curled his lip, "Your order is just burning other people's Souls as firewood to keep yourself warm?"

He raised his hand and pointed at the massive soul furnace.

"Stop pretending. We're all drifters in the Universe; who doesn't know who?"

"This isn't called order; this is a pig farm, and one that only takes in and never lets out."

The silver humanoid was silent for a moment.

"Impurities that cannot understand the greatness of 'equilibrium' have no need to exist."

The moment the voice fell, countless silver threads thinner than a hair wove themselves out of thin air throughout the entire space!

They were not energy, not matter, but the embodiment of pure Law.

Their target was not Li Dong's or Mo Chen's bodies, but their "concepts"!

The silver threads coiled around them, attempting to "balance" the entry "Li Dong" out of the definition of the world, turning him into a meaningless void that had never existed.

"This existence erasure routine again... can you outsiders come up with something new?"

Li Dong did not retreat but Advanced, and the [Dynamic Equilibrium] Law burst forth.

Those silver threads attempting to erase him, as soon as they got close, were pulled and twisted by an invisible force, connected head to tail, "balancing" with themselves, turning into ripples of harmless energy that dissipated into nothingness.

"Want to play at equilibrium with me? You're still lacking in Dao."

At the same time, a completely different Law fluctuation spread from him.

[Song of Creation]!

It wasn't a sound, but a primal rhythm originating from the very beginning of life.

Like a key, it precisely bypassed the layers of "equilibrium" blockades, directly touching the Soul Origin of those being squeezed to the limit within the furnace.

"Live on."

"Remember."

"You... are not fuel!"

Hum...

Inside the massive soul furnace, a few points of light flickered extremely faintly.

Just like a spark bursting from dead, silent ashes.

This spark instantly ignited Mo Chen.

He saw it! He saw hope!

He was no longer doodling aimlessly; there was light under his brush.

He painted the azure sky from his memories, painted the verdant grasslands, painted his mother's warm, smiling face.

These paintings still rapidly dissipated under the "equilibrium" Law, but the "Variables" and "emotions" contained within them in that fleeting moment were like the strongest liquor, splashed into the soul furnace!

More points of light began to flicker, from a few, to dozens, to hundreds and thousands!

The silent furnace began to emit a low hum; that was countless Souls awakening!

"Presumptuous!"

The will of the "Lord of Equilibrium" fluctuated for the first time; it was anger.

It realized that these Variables it regarded as "fuel" were spiraling out of control.

"Since you crave chaos, then I shall grant you... total nothingness!"

The "Lord of Equilibrium" raised its hand and issued the final command.

"Tower Protocol—Ultimate Return to Zero!"

Rumble!

The entire tower was shaking, and the soul furnace began to collapse inward at a terrifying speed; all the points of light, all the Souls, were about to be completely compressed and deleted by this force, leaving not even the wreckage of their concepts!

"No!" Mo Chen roared in despair.

However, at this moment, Li Dong's eyes were terrifyingly bright.

From the opponent's so-called "Ultimate Return to Zero," he saw a flaw that was ridiculously huge.

"Holy crap, so you call this Return to Zero?"

Li Dong laughed wildly in his heart.

"This isn't called Return to Zero! This is forced deletion, emptying the recycle bin, brother!"

This was by no means the true "Return to Zero" that reduces all things to a singularity; this was just crudely wiping away data!

It would leave behind an "emptiness" that could not be filled, a scar on the concept!

For the "Lord of Equilibrium" which pursued "Absolute Equilibrium," this in itself was the greatest lack of equilibrium!

It was also its greatest flaw!

"I originally wanted to play a few more rounds with you, but since you're in such a rush to flip the table..."

Deep within Li Dong's Divine Soul, that ancient [ancient stone slab] suddenly shook!

"Then I'll give you a hand!"

He did not stop the collapse of the furnace, but instead reached out, the [Attunement] Law transforming into an invisible bridge, connecting his will with the entire collapsing energy hub.

[ancient stone slab] as the core, [Attunement] as the branding pen!

He took the true concept of [Return to Zero] that he had mastered—the one capable of completely reducing even the Void Mother Nest to a "singularity"—and branded it fiercely along the opponent's command stream!

This was a concept hijacking of the highest level!

"Come, let me teach you what the f*** 'Return to Zero' actually means!"

Boom!!!

The energy hub, currently in the process of "deletion," instantly had its logic scrambled!

The Law of "equilibrium" and Li Dong's Law of "reduction" clashed violently, and the entire System collapsed on the spot!

Those imprisoned Souls, at the center of this storm, received a brand-new command—not "to be deleted," but "self-reduction"!

Return to your most primal, undefined state of "possibility"!

Crack!

A crack appeared on the surface of the indestructible soul furnace.

Following that, a second, a third...

In the end, the entire furnace shattered with a roar!

There was no explosion, no shockwave.

Billions of points of light, like a bursting galaxy, surged out from the shattered cage!

They were no longer numb fuel, but Souls that had regained their freedom and "possibility"!

Carrying the joy of rebirth and a longing for the sky and colors, they transformed into streams of light, rushing out of the tower, rushing toward that grayish-yellow, dead, silent world!

Mo Chen knelt on the ground, head tilted back, watching this magnificent scene that he would never forget in his lifetime.

Tears mixed with snot streamed down his face, but he was smiling.

It was a kind of hearty, unbridled ecstasy that had been suppressed for countless years and was finally released.

He saw that this world was about to come alive!