117: regret for

“No, please spare us,” the people began to scream. But Ning didn't care. He was already in a killing mood and saw no problem with killing a few more people.

“Hmm, I can’t help it. They know who I am, so they need to leave,” Ning said with clear bloodlust in his eyes.

The men were still screaming for mercy as Ning raised his spear.

“Sorry, System. They have to go this time. It’s nothing personal.”

Ning didn’t listen to anything, a sweep of his spear launched a powerful air cutter, killing all 4 people at once.

As soon as the bodies fell, Ning heard another set of notifications.

“The host did something forbidden by the system.”

“Killing innocents without consequences.”

“Host is now suffering from your actions.”

“All the victims’ fear and despair will be transferred to the host.”

“Only fear and despair will be amplified.”

“All cultivation techniques are sealed.”

“Energy absorption is disabled.”

“All cultivation senses are disabled.”

“System will be shut down for 1 year and 4 months.”

Suddenly, Ning felt everything go dark. He lost more than half of his senses, and what remained was barely enough for him to feel that he could still see and feel things.

Emotions began to sprout within him, feelings he hadn't experienced since the second day he woke from his 164-year slumber and learned that everyone might have died.

Despair and fear erupted within him as he lost all bodily functions and collapsed to the ground.

“No!!” he screamed loudly, but no one was there to care for him. “Stop this, System!” he yelled. “Stop it now!” But there was no answer.

“System, answer me!” he screamed. But once again, no answer.

Another fear suddenly appeared in his heart. The system was gone, and he was alone.

“Just like all of them. You’ve left me too,” he began to shout. “No one stays with me. Why, System, why? Where are you?

Please come back!” he continued to shout.

However, no matter how much he screamed in fear and despair, no answer reassured him. No answer told him it was okay. No answer told him it was okay.

His logical part knew that, as the system said, this was temporary. It would return after some time.

But the fear and despair amplified by the system before it left were too much for him.

He held his head in his hands and curled into a fetal position.

Tears streamed down his eyes as he pleaded with the system to stop all the emotions, but it didn't.

The feelings 4 different people felt before dying, and the feeling of those around him leaving him again, all amplified to the extreme, were too much for him.

He started hyperventilating and soon began to tremble.

The Night came, but Ning did not have a moment without despair. The pain in the hearts of the dead kept him awake.

Monsters came in the Night to try and eat the bodies. But as soon as they heard Ning’s screams, they would run away. Throughout the entire Night, Ning stayed up until around 4 AM when he fell asleep on the cold, hard ground.

Later in the morning, he slowly woke up, feeling as if he had just woken from a nightmare, with the lingering aftertaste still present.

The feeling was still terrible, but he ignored it.

He stood up and looked around. “System, are you there?” he asked, looking at his unusual surroundings, finally casting his gaze upon the half-eaten bodies.

Despair once again began to form within him. Now that he had come down from the high he felt when killing people, his true self was emerging.

He could only feel regret. He knelt on the ground, looking at the four bodies that weren’t even intact.

“Oh, God. This is what I deserve, isn’t it? The system left me, and I feel this pain. This is what I deserve. Why did I do such a thing? Why did I let my anger towards that bastard sway my emotions to do this? When did I become such a cold-blooded killer?” he kept asking himself.

“I am sorry. I’m sorry.”

He slammed the ground multiple times, shouting “I’m sorry” each time. Finally, he just cried while bowing.

After a while, he opened his eyes, determined to at least do something good. He took his spear from nearby and began to dig the ground.

It was in a remote place, but it was the best he could do right now. He dug a grave for them and buried their small remaining bodies.

After the four bodies disappeared, he finally checked himself.

As expected, he was a real mess. His clothes were covered in blood everywhere, and dirt clung to the fabric and even to his skin.

He picked up his spear and walked towards the sea. He walked past the tree where he killed Yacius and looked at where his body should have been.

However, there was nothing there but a pool of blood. Monsters had found him. However, this did not evoke any emotion in Ning at all.

He continued walking until a light appeared through the leaves.

He used his spear to move the trees and saw the beautiful blue ocean.

He ran towards it without hesitation. He was on a huge cliff, but he didn't care, jumping off the cliff into the deep blue ocean without a second thought.