An ancient platform, a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow.

The ancient platform floating in the Chaos Void Realm was like a forgotten island. The outlines of the dilapidated buildings and the faint light of the Formation were out of place against the colorful, twisted background of the Void Realm, yet they existed stubbornly.

What concerned Nightmare more were the few wisps of energy fluctuations belonging to normal intelligent beings that the rule fragment captured. In this godforsaken Chaos Frontier where monsters ran rampant, encountering "normal people" was extremely rare.

"Let's go take a look, be careful," Nightmare said to Su Wanqing. Keeping in stealth mode, the two of them converged their auras and slowly flew toward the largest platform.

As they got closer, they could feel the vastness of the platform and the vicissitudes of time. The platform was constructed from some kind of dark grey stone, its surface covered with traces of weathering and energy erosion. In many places, there were huge claw marks and scorched craters left by energy weapon bombardment, clearly having experienced fierce battles.

Scattered across the platform were some peculiar architectural ruins, looking somewhat like temples and somewhat like observation stations. The rule fragment scanned a few Formation nodes that were still barely functioning; their energy levels were very low, mainly serving as early warnings and basic protection.

The few wisps of life fluctuations came from within a relatively intact, dome-shaped building deep inside the platform.

Nightmare and Su Wanqing landed silently on the edge of the platform, the cold stone beneath their feet. Everything around was silent, save for the faint hissing sound of Void Realm energy flowing past the edge of the platform.

"People inside, we have no malice, we are just passing through." Nightmare did not barge in directly; instead, he channeled a wisp of mana and sent his voice peacefully into the dome building. In this godforsaken place, barging in rashly could easily lead to misunderstandings. Although he didn't care, it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

As his voice entered, the few wisps of life fluctuations inside instantly became intense, filled with panic and fear! He could even hear hushed exclamations and the sound of objects colliding inside.

After waiting for ten seconds, there was no response, only increasingly heavy breathing and stifled sobs.

Nightmare frowned, rule fragment directly penetrating the building's shell to see the situation inside clearly.

Inside the small dome space, seven or eight humanoid creatures were curled up. Their skin was pale, and they wore simple clothes stitched together from some kind of animal skin and metal scraps. They were all sallow and emaciated, their eyes filled with the numbness of long-term fear and extreme panic in the moment. They huddled tightly together, holding some rusty weapons that looked like spears and bows, shivering toward the door.

Their energy fluctuations were very weak; the strongest one was only equivalent to the Foundation Establishment Stage level. It seemed they were the "indigenous people" of this platform, and they were living quite miserably.

"It seems they mistook us for the monsters or bad guys from outside." Nightmare shrugged at Su Wanqing.

He thought for a moment, then took out from his rule fragment space some Chaos crystals (processed) with mild energy, which were left behind after killing the spawn, and added a small amount of powder scraped from the edge of a World Tree leaf (containing pure vitality). Supporting it with mana, he slowly sent it through the crack in the door.

"A small gift, perhaps it will be useful to you." Nightmare transmitted his voice again.

The crystal and powder floated in front of those "indigenous people," emitting a soft glow and a comfortable life aura.

The terrified crowd first shrank back in fear, but soon, the life aura made them instinctively feel close to it and desire it. The strongest one, who looked like a leader, trembled as he reached out and touched the bit of World Tree powder.

Instantly, an old scar on his pale face healed at a speed visible to the naked eye! An unbelievable light burst forth from his murky eyes!

"Divine... miracle?!" He muttered to himself, then suddenly looked up at the door. The fear in his eyes had decreased significantly, replaced by a complex mix of awe, anticipation, and disbelief.

He hesitated for a moment, then spoke stutteringly toward the door in a language with a strange accent that rule fragment could barely parse: "Out... outside... sir? Are... are you really... not 'Soul Eater' or... 'Raiders'?"

Soul Eater? Raiders? They didn't sound like good words; they were probably local "specialties" of this place.

"We just came from outside and are not familiar with this place." Nightmare tried to make his voice sound peaceful. "Can you tell us about the situation here?"

Hearing Nightmare admit to being "from outside," the leader and the people behind him were obviously even more excited; some even began to weep softly, as if they had seen saviors.

The leader scrambled to the door, but still didn't dare to open it fully, only pulling it open a crack to reveal a pair of eyes filled with longing.

"Sir! Please, save us, the survivors of the 'Star Observation Deck'!" His voice carried a crying tone. "We have been trapped here for too long! Outside is full of monsters! The energy of the 'Shelter Formation' is about to run out! Once the Formation disappears, we... we will all be eaten!"

Star Observation Deck? Survivors? Shelter Formation?

Nightmare rule fragment scanned the platform and indeed found the Formation cores, whose energy was about to run dry, at several key nodes. That this platform could exist in this Chaos Frontier relied entirely on these Formations barely holding on.

"Don't rush, speak slowly." Nightmare signaled him to calm down. "Open the door first, and we'll go in and talk. Rest assured, if we wanted to harm you, you would have already met the same fate as those things outside."

The leader looked at Nightmare and Su Wanqing (especially Su Wanqing's pure temperament), and then felt the gift containing vitality at the door. He gritted his teeth and finally trembled as he opened the heavy stone door.

Inside the door were pale faces, each filled with terror yet also a trace of hope.

Nightmare and Su Wanqing walked in. The space was not large, filled with a musty smell and an atmosphere of despair.

"Tell me, what exactly is this place? What is going on with you all? Also, what are the 'Soul Eaters' and 'Raiders' you mentioned?" Nightmare found a slightly cleaner stone stool, sat down, and asked directly.

The leader, who called himself the old priest "Norton," began to recount in a stuttering manner using his language, which carried an accent and many local terms.

According to him, this place was called the "Exile Domain" or "Forgotten Graveyard," a relatively "stable" fragmented area in the Chaos Frontier. Their "Star Observation Deck" clan were the descendants of an observation outpost built here long, long ago by a faction called the "Star Oracle Order." Later, the Order seemed to have suffered a great disaster and lost contact, so they were trapped here, surviving by relying on the "Shelter Formation" left by their ancestors.

The "Soul Eaters" were a type of intangible spiritual monster that specifically devoured the Souls of living beings, making them impossible to guard against. The "Raiders" were factions composed of various fallen ones and criminals wandering the Chaos Frontier; they piloted dilapidated starships and specifically robbed weak settlements like theirs, plundering resources and people.

"The Shelter Formation... can last at most three more months..." Old Priest Norton wept with old tears. "The energy core 'Star Core Fragment' is about to extinguish... without it, none of us can survive..."

Star Core Fragment? Nightmare rule fragment stirred slightly.

"Can you take me to see that energy core?" Nightmare asked. He was a bit interested in this thing that could support a platform Formation in this godforsaken place for so long.

Norton hesitated for a moment, but thinking that the things the other party took out casually could heal scars, perhaps they really had a way? He seemed to have grabbed onto the last straw and nodded hurriedly: "Okay, okay! Sir, please follow me!"

He led Nightmare and Su Wanqing through several narrow passages to a secret chamber at the very bottom of the platform. In the center of the secret chamber, on a complex Formation base, was embedded a fist-sized crystal fragment covered in cracks, its light extremely dim.

It was exactly the Formation energy source that rule fragment had sensed earlier.

And just as Nightmare saw the fragment, inside the rule fragment, the primal cube, which had been quiet all along, actually vibrated slightly, transmitting a faint... desire and familiar fluctuation?

Nightmare's eyes narrowed.

This fragment, it seems, is not simple.