Chapter 381: A Looping Day, Lullaby

In the void of a vast and hollow realm, two figures were falling downward at a pace that could hardly be called slow. A closer look would reveal a slender thread tethered to them, stretching upward into the unknown.

"Thank goodness, we made it. What on earth was that tide of annihilation? I saw everything in its path reduced to fundamental particles the moment it touched that force—even those projections of the past were no exception."

Wang Yu lowered his head, discussing their current state with Avia, whom he held tightly in his arms. Thanks to their decisive actions in those final moments, the cataclysmic tide had failed to claim them.

"I am not entirely sure. At this level of power, the only things I can compare it to are the wonders of this world or the strength of gods."

"But why this tide of annihilation appeared—without investigation, I cannot fathom it. Besides, Wang Yu, don't you find the void here entirely different from the one outside? Both in its outward manifestation and its inner essence."

The girl replied, keeping herself tucked as deeply as possible within the shelter of Wang Yu’s body, avoiding any contact with the surrounding space. Indeed, they were currently suspended within the void.

By all logic, save for Wang Yu—an existence that defied all reason—no sentient being could physically enter the void. Without the protection of a material domain like the thirteen steps left behind by Roland, even a wizard of a level beyond legend, like Yale, would be swiftly twisted by the void into an indescribable, fleshy aberration.

Yet, in truth, it was Wang Yu who made it possible to bring someone into the void. As long as he completely enveloped them with the power of his Chariot, keeping the person he brought within the domain he occupied, then theoretically, the void could be prevented from harming them.

The risk was immense, however. Even after his Chariot’s power evolved to influence magic, Wang Yu had not dared to attempt it lightly. But with the situation so dire, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and try once more.

On the eve of being swallowed by the tide of destruction, Avia had utilized the void energy she had begun to harness under the pressure of the surge to tear a rift in the empty space. Wang Yu had used his Chariot to grip and widen that tear, then, clutching Avia, he had shielded her completely with his power and leaped in without hesitation.

The void became their sanctuary. Even the tide of destruction, which annihilated all matter, could not pierce the barrier between the material world and the void. It roared past on another layer of reality, unable to touch the two as they plummeted through the void.

"Now that you mention it, indeed, the void here feels different from the one outside. It seems less frantic, and less brilliant."

Wang Yu nodded, agreeing with Avia. He had entered the void twice before and possessed a unique understanding of this place that refused to let him be a wizard. Regardless of anything else, at the very least, the color of the void here was different from the one outside...

The void outside was a kaleidoscopic purple, looking magnificent, psychedelic, and dangerous. But looking up here, the void was a deep, somber, and tranquil olive green.

This change in color was not to be underestimated.

Perhaps Wang Yu’s understanding was indeed shallow, but this shift in color alone shattered centuries of knowledge regarding the void.

It might not sound intuitive, so let us use an analogy: if you woke up the next day and the sun had turned blue, that would be easy enough to grasp, wouldn't it?

"Color... we generally believe the brilliant, multicolored nature of the void is a projection of the starry sky. But it seems the void here is not like that. Its color is this deep, monotonous olive green. Wang Yu, what does this remind you of?"

Avia pondered for a moment before asking him.

"The deep sea, perhaps. That is the feeling it gives—equally profound, yet lacking so much of what the stars possess. There is a saying, foolish perhaps, but with a grain of truth: 'If you fear the deep sea, you should fear the stars even more.' Something like that."

Wang Yu scanned the surroundings, and while answering, he discovered another anomaly.

"Avia, have you noticed? There are basically no void creatures here. As far as I can see, not a single one has passed us by."

They had been in the void for quite some time, yet they hadn't seen a single creature. In his previous trips, Wang Yu had frequently seen all manner of chaotic, gelatinous lifeforms screaming as they flew through the void. This time, there was nothing.

"Yes, I noticed too. This void is deathly silent to an extreme... although the void is inherently silent when no sentient life enters, as a wizard, I can feel a fundamental difference here."

"It is that the void here rejects all existence. If I am not mistaken, even if it weren't me, but another legendary wizard who came here, they would still be unable to utilize the void energy. It feels to me as if this void has an owner, and this 'owner' refuses to let anyone else use its power."

Avia’s expression was solemn. Building upon Wang Yu’s observation, she pushed her thoughts further, summarizing that ethereal perception.

"Haven't we had similar situations before? The void energy occupied by the Lord of Undying at the Rhine Estate, or the occupied void at the Academy."

Wang Yu was puzzled; they had experienced such conclusions before.

"It is different, Wang Yu. Those times, the void evil gods merely claimed the extended power of the void for themselves, rather than directly controlling the void itself."

"But here, it feels as though something has directly seized the void itself. Perhaps that is too bold a statement, but at the very least, it possesses full ownership of this entire void realm."

"It is nearly impossible for any existence to bypass it and borrow the power of the void directly. The power I was able to call upon on the eve of the destruction was likely a special case, and it absolutely had to do with some essence of this place."

With the girl’s explanation, Wang Yu finally understood. The void evil gods merely possessed a large amount of void power, which left less for others in the area, but it did not fundamentally prevent wizards from seeking power from the void.

But here, it seemed some incredible entity had directly occupied a piece of the void. Asking for power here was like asking that entity, and it had refused all requests.

"This... oh, the power outside has subsided. We can return from the void."

Wang Yu had initially thought it impossible, never having heard of anyone strong enough to occupy the void. But then he realized his Chariot’s priority was higher than the void’s—why should anything else be impossible? However, another matter caught his attention, and he stopped dwelling on it.

Before entering, Wang Yu had used his Chariot to turn the Broken Meteorite Blade into a filament, wedging it at the location of the void rift. This incredibly tough thread could serve as an extension of his senses, relaying conditions from the outside, and could pull them back out once things had calmed down.

At this moment, the turmoil outside had ceased. Wang Yu pulled on the filament formed by the blade, bringing them to the location of the rift.

He extended his Chariot’s power through the rift to observe the outside. When he saw the scene, he froze for a moment, then climbed out of the rift with the girl, returning to the material world.

"This... it’s all restored?"

Wang Yu frowned, unable to grasp the state of the material world.

They were in the same spot where they had entered, near the city gates. The surrounding buildings and the slightly sparse crowd were no different from before; even the guards at the gate were identical.

This might seem fine, but it was a massive problem. They had watched these very beings be swallowed by the tide of destruction, yet here they were, restored to their original state. Wang Yu was utterly astonished.

"Look at the light; it is much dimmer than when we first arrived. Observe the state of the residents; the time is earlier."

Avia carefully examined the surroundings. Combining the information collected by the Perfect Fractal Lens with her own keen insight, she reached a conclusion.

"This day seems to have started over. The node should be the moment the tide of destruction swallowed everything."

Avia’s expression was grave. The conclusion was easy to reach, but its implications were staggering. Assuming time could not flow backward, some power had reshaped the entire world that had been consumed by the tide.

What kind of immense power was this? Some entity existing within this world they had fallen into seemed to be revealing the tip of an iceberg—and that tip alone was unimaginably terrifying.

"By the way, Wang Yu, could you still hear that song while we were in the void?"

The girl thought of something and asked.

"Yes!"

With the situation so critical, Wang Yu hadn't noticed if the melody that had been ringing in his ears persisted after entering the void. At Avia’s prompting, he realized it had indeed continued, even growing slightly louder while they were inside.

"The tide of destruction could not pierce the barrier between the void and the material world, but the song you heard could. It seems this song is far more important than we initially thought."

A glimmer of light flashed in Avia’s eyes. In a situation devoid of clues, they had finally found a thread to pull.

"Wang Yu, hum the tune for me. Let’s see if we can find information about this melody in the city."

Avia excitedly produced a magic page. As Wang Yu whistled the tune, she recorded the melody in various forms.

They then decisively began searching the city for information. Everything was remarkably well-preserved, not at all like a place that had endured the passage of long ages. Only the items in the residents' hands had vanished, seemingly to prevent these shadows of the past from interacting with the city.

The search was not as difficult as imagined. Although the language was foreign, it was easy to identify the function of certain buildings, such as libraries and bookstores.

Finding books related to music, analyzing the patterns of the scores, and comparing them with the contents of the girl’s magic page allowed them to find information about the melody.

With their combined efforts and the terrifying analytical power of the Perfect Fractal Lens, they soon had results. Avia opened a book found in a street-side shop. As she looked at the corresponding page, the benefit of illustrations became clear—regardless of the language, the pictures were understandable.

"The moon, a bed, a sleeping child and a mother... Wang Yu, the melody you heard seems to be a lullaby."