Chapter 376: Torrent of Destruction, Dragon Kingdom

"It seems these entities are not merely reflections of the past."

Wang Yu watched the middle-aged man who, after apologizing to the lady he had bumped into, walked away. He made a quick judgment: these illusory existences might still be phantoms of a bygone era, but they were certainly not that simple. Otherwise, Wang Yu’s "Chariot Force" would effectively be a power capable of altering the past.

However, that was entirely impossible. Wang Yu was one hundred percent certain that the Chariot Force possessed no such effect. Whether viewed from the surface or the essence, the very concept of reversing time contradicted the fundamental logic of this world and the Earth itself. The word "impossible" perfectly summarized the situation.

Powers or arts related to time only came in two varieties: pausing and slowing. Acceleration was relegated to other categories because it served little purpose—a dragon’s slumber, for instance, could barely be counted as time acceleration.

As for reversal, it was impossible. At most, one could only observe; what had happened had happened. There was no such thing as returning to the past to change it. If one insisted, that would fall into a different domain entirely—creating an identical world, which was roughly equivalent to time reversal, but once one possessed such a capability, there was little point in discussing it further.

"These people are somewhat like the alchemical puppets of the Sky Mechanical City, performing their tasks mechanically according to input rules. Perhaps we simply cannot identify the matter that composes them, so we view them as 'reflections' of the past."

Avia voiced her own perspective. She felt this possibility was quite high, but who had created these ancient reflections, and why, remained a significant question.

"Studying these doesn't seem to help us escape. If we could find the Professor and have him fly us out, that would be a great choice. But as it stands, if we can't discover something here, we'll have to find a way ourselves."

Waving his hand, Wang Yu gave up on wasting time with these reflections that went about their own business yet could be influenced by his Chariot Force. Instead, he continued to search for the song that echoed in his ears but remained nowhere to be found.

"Clang!"

At that very moment, as the sky took on the crimson hue of sunset, a thunderous crack exploded across the horizon, reaching the ears of Wang Yu, Avia, and the reflections of the past alike.

Turning his head, Wang Yu and the girl looked toward the sky, the source of the deafening roar. Following their lead, the surrounding illusory inhabitants turned their heads toward the horizon, their faces filled with confusion.

As they looked up, these residents muttered something, debating with those around them. Wang Yu knew some simple lip-reading and immediately tried to glean information from these ancient reflections.

His instinct told him something ominous was occurring. Things in the environment that he could not name, but which his body could sense, were changing. An inexplicable sense of oppression grew with every peal of thunder rolling across the sky.

"What on earth? What Martian language are these guys speaking?"

Wang Yu muttered in bewilderment. The lip-reading was more chaotic and illogical than the Void itself. Why were these people saying such things?

"Wang Yu, they aren't speaking the Common Tongue."

Seeing Wang Yu’s expression, Avia reminded him helplessly. The Common Tongue had only been standardized after the Battle of the Abyss. She had tried to decipher the language these residents were speaking, but like Wang Yu, she could make no sense of it.

"Tch, I’m so used to the Common Tongue that I didn't make the mental shift."

Reminded by the girl, Wang Yu realized where the problem lay. But now was not the time to worry about what the residents were saying; their subsequent actions and expressions filled them both with immense pressure.

These reflections of the past wore looks of terror, their bodies trembling. Whether they were knights and mages with extraordinary powers or ordinary citizens without, they all seemed to see the end of the world and began to flee frantically in the opposite direction of the thunder.

This made the situation clear: these reflections must have encountered some horrific disaster in the past, one that made them flee without hesitation upon seeing it.

If this were merely a scene confined to the past, it would be one thing, but clearly, Wang Yu and Avia had also heard and seen the thunder. This meant it was not just a reflection of a past event, but a cataclysm beginning to unfold in reality.

"I don't want to ask what that is anymore. Regardless, Avia, we have to run!"

Wang Yu’s gaze lingered on the distant sky for a split second. The next moment, he scooped the girl up, tucked her under his arm, and began to sprint alongside the ancient shadows.

In the distance, the sky had collapsed. Black, heavy clouds poured down from the breach, sparks of fire leaping within them, entwined with lightning. The constant thunder sounded like drums announcing the arrival of impending destruction.

The black clouds falling from the shattered firmament possessed terrifying destructive power. The moment they touched the ground, the earth collapsed just as the sky had. Countless fissures tore through the land like spreading wounds, and the surface soil and stone poured frantically into pits that had appeared for unknown reasons.

Like burning, like overloading, the clouds fell from the heavens onto the earth, rolling forward and crushing everything in their path. Everything was swallowed and destroyed; the scene was like the most terrifying tide on the Endless Sea, sweeping through and annihilating—a tide of destruction.

The material composition of the space began to undergo drastic changes even before the tide arrived. The temperature rose strangely; the air, which had been around thirty degrees, was now skyrocketing toward one hundred. On his flight, Wang Yu had already seen more than one reflection of the past collapse on the road, drenched in sweat and flushed red.

The girl cast cooling spells upon them. Wang Yu could withstand extreme temperatures, but Avia could not.

Other changes continued to manifest. The concentration of magic and Void energy in the air was rising. The girl even discovered that she could now utilize this Void energy to cast witchcraft.

But this was no blessing. These energies were rising because the objects already existing in the space were being squeezed and pushed by the tide of destruction, forming a wave that swept toward them. Their arrival signaled that the tide of destruction was imminent.

Gravity shifted. Fine stones on the ground floated strangely, and various objects in the city were torn apart by an unknown force, drifting toward the sky. Wang Yu felt his body grow light, which, rather than helping, hindered him.

Fortunately, the various spells and witchcraft buffs the girl had cast provided him with significant enhancement, and his speed was now nothing short of absurd.

Yet it was still not enough. The black-red tide formed by the clouds of destruction was accelerating, and the destruction in its wake was becoming more thorough. Even without direct contact, the force overflowing from the tide began to warp the nature of matter and alter the rules of reality, crushing and shattering everything in its path.

The distant horizon was completely covered by black, heavy smoke. Red light flickered through the firmament, lightning flashed, and the pressure was overwhelming. Wang Yu didn't know what it was, but he was certain that he and Avia could never withstand it. If they touched it... no, they would be dead before they even made contact.

"This can't go on. The miserable state of those residents shows their fate. There must have been powerful individuals among them, and certainly some faster than us, but they have all become reflections of the past, which means they ultimately failed to escape this tide of destruction."

The girl’s eyes flickered. This cruel answer chilled her, yet there remained a glimmer of hope.

"Understood. Although the risk is high and we've never truly tried it, at this point, we have no choice."

The girl did not voice her plan, but Wang Yu, who was looking back at the accelerating tide, already knew what she intended to do.

Amidst the collapsing sky and sinking earth, Wang Yu saw many things revealed beneath the ground. A massive door made his eyes widen, but the suddenly accelerating tide forced him to turn his head. He pulled the girl into his arms, shielding her with his body as much as possible. The Chariot Force wrapped around them in all directions, and finally, he leaped.

"Boom, rumble, rumble..."

Three seconds later, the tide of destruction crushed over the spot where they had just been with terrifying speed, swallowing everything and rushing onward to destroy whatever remained in this realm. Their figures, too, were submerged in the tide of destruction.

...

In the Endless Sea, within the clouds high above, the Blue Dragon Susumi cast a dragon-language spell a level higher than any other, concealing the forms of all the dragons. Crossing the barrier of the sea tide and skimming over the boundless waters, guided by the memories in their bloodlines, these dragons were finally about to reach their former home: the Dragon Kingdom.

"It is strange. The Dragon-Worshipping Cult has not reacted to us at all. We haven't seen a single sign of them. This is truly abnormal. We must be more careful; it is hard to say if this is a trap."

Goliath’s voice rang out. This was, in fact, the same doubt shared by all the dragons. Throughout the journey, they hadn't encountered a single decent obstacle. The Dragon-Worshipping Cult, which they had expected to bring great trouble, hadn't even shown a shadow.

"No matter. Whether they appear or not, all we must do is slay the Dragon God and grant freedom to all our kin."

Aerilian responded calmly, her voice revealing absolute confidence.

The other dragons said no more. This silver dragon had the right to say so, and it was indeed the truth.

Only the green dragon Goliath looked at the leading Aerilian with a strange expression. He could sense a suppressed impatience and fury in her words. What was wrong?

Breaking through the clouds, a massive island located on the Endless Sea appeared before the dragons in its entirety. They were home.