Chapter 456: No Vision, No Reason

"Phew... easier to deal with than I imagined."

Standing within the massive crater that had scarred the earth, Wang Yu flexed his fists. The wounds on his body had already mended, leaving only his blood pool slightly depleted, though that, in truth...

"Greetings. A truly spectacular and fearsome battle. Might we converse?"

Turning, Wang Yu fixed his gaze upon a small hill some two or three kilometers away. There, a white-haired youth in grey-black robes stood, watching him with a smile as his voice drifted across the distance.

"What is it you wish to discuss? Your 'Utopia'?"

Wang Yu tossed the object in his palm into the air and caught it, speaking nonchalantly. When he had punched Ethan Harris into oblivion moments ago, he had snatched the curious artifact that fell from the man’s remains. It was a delicate thing, resembling a clock hand stripped from some intricate instrument.

Curio: Pointer of Perfect Timing. It allows the holder to evade a single fatal blow and restores all damage sustained within the preceding ten minutes. A pity; like the Star Reflection, it possessed a punishingly long cooldown. Ethan had triggered it just now, and it would be five years before it could be used again.

"It seems you are indeed well-informed regarding our plans. I presume it was you who killed Lady Celine? Combined with the unforeseen variables here at Alastair, you have certainly disrupted many of our original intentions."

The white-haired youth replied unhurriedly. While he did not explicitly confirm Wang Yu’s words, the context made it clear that he was indeed linked to the "Utopia" project.

"Say what you came to say. Don't beat around the bush."

Wang Yu watched him, standing perfectly still, waiting.

"I hope that you, Mr. Wang Yu, will refrain from interfering with our plans henceforth. You are unique; I have discovered that even after our project reaches fruition, you will not be caught in its wake. Therefore, the Utopia we seek to forge will not conflict with you."

His tone carried a sincere, heartfelt earnestness as he laid out his request.

"So, if I understand you correctly, this 'Utopia' will consume everyone else except me?"

Wang Yu raised an eyebrow, his voice casual.

"In a sense, yes. Aside from you, who exists entirely outside this framework, we must draw all existence into our goal to complete the Utopia. For them, this will likely mean death—even if it is not a true, final death."

The youth’s voice held a trace of helplessness, as if he took no pleasure in this, yet he confirmed the grim reality.

"I recall there are many who willingly joined you. What do they think? Can’t you just take them and build your Utopia?"

Wang Yu curled his lip, tossing another question his way.

"Utopia is not what you imagine. It is not born of my selfish desire; it is for the future of all sapient races, to allow them to travel further, to avoid the eternal regrets, the partings, the deaths... the miseries that should have been avoidable."

"The companions who walk with us, striving toward this goal, are all those who understand the nobility of our ideal and are willing to sacrifice what they possess for it."

The youth did not hesitate, answering firmly as he painted a picture of what this Utopia truly was.

"Fine, sounds impressive. Let me ask you this: can you leave Alastair out of it? Let those who want to join, join, and don't force the rest. I suspect they have no use for your Utopia."

Wang Yu scratched his head, sounding almost persuaded as he offered a suggestion.

"I fear that is impossible. The establishment of Utopia is the true tide of this era, and this tidal wave must sweep over everyone but you. Mr. Wang Yu, with your strength, why choose to make an enemy of us for their sake?"

The youth shook his head with regret, rejecting the proposal.

"I think you’ve got something backwards. It’s only because I have this strength that I have the option to refuse you. If I weren't strong enough, you would have killed me just now."

"My perspective is too low to understand these things about 'destiny' or 'the future.' I only know that my friends, and their parents—who worked hard to live this long and struggled to raise them—why should they be wiped away just because you say so?"

His tone was one of profound indifference. From start to finish, Wang Yu’s concerns were fundamentally different from the youth’s. The youth spoke of grand, cosmic designs, while Wang Yu cared for nothing beyond his own small circle.

"It seems, Mr. Wang Yu, that you still cannot grasp the mission we bear or the things we pursue. I shall not intrude further today. Until we meet again; I hope the efforts we make across this continent will eventually earn your recognition. Regardless, if you can refrain from opposing us, that is a cause for joy."

The youth did not linger, choosing to depart once it was clear no agreement could be reached.

"..."

Wang Yu remained silent, his cold gaze fixed on the youth.

"Hum!"

The moment the youth’s words faded, a massive cage of void energy descended from the heavens, sealing the surrounding area—including Wang Yu and the youth—within a colossal prison.

In truth, Wang Yu had been watching him all along. His Chariot Power had failed to track the youth earlier because he had kept his distance during the fight with Ethan.

But such concealment was useless against Wang Yu. His eyes were sharp; while the youth’s method of hiding within the void, wrapped in its energy, was invisible to others, Wang Yu simply had Avia broadcast the location to him.

"Oh, it seems I was exposed from the start. Did you notify the existence in that tower to surround me? That won't work on me, you know."

Unflustered, the youth showed no panic at the reinforced Seventh-Tier spell—the Void-Silence Prison—prepared by the Spellbinder Tower at Wang Yu’s behest. He merely snapped his fingers.

A ripple of void energy surged outward, and the boundaries of the cage began to tremble violently, stripped of their authority in an instant.

"Manipulating void energy? This is not a power that belongs to you alone; it is something anyone can use. It seems..."

The youth had anticipated the cage. To him, the fluctuations of void energy twisting the material world were glaringly obvious. He was demonstrating his power to Wang Yu and the tower, but before he could finish his sentence, a fissure devoid of any void ripple opened beside him.

Avia emerged halfway from the rift, holding a sphere that radiated a pure, solid light, and pressed it toward the youth within arm's reach.

"!?"

The moment he glimpsed the object in the girl’s hand, the youth’s pupils contracted—a flash of genuine shock appearing in his eyes for the first time. Without hesitation, he poured every ounce of his power into his defense.

A gate manifested out of thin air. Before the sphere could strike, the gate swept over the youth’s body, tearing through space and forcing him to vanish from the sealed zone.

"A pity. Failed. But that spell he used just now, it was...?"

Wang Yu hurried to Avia’s side, speaking to the girl who watched the spot where the youth had disappeared.

"Yes, you are right. It was indeed the Phase Gate spell, and far more refined than the one I possess. Spatial locks are useless against it; to him, 'stable' spatial coordinates are merely vulnerabilities to be exploited."

"I wonder if this spell originated from him."

The girl’s face was etched with deep thought. Phase Gate, a spatial spell obtained from the Great Library, possessed immense power. She had originally intended to use it to help Wang Yu find his way home, though she later realized it was of little use for that. That did not, however, stop her from mastering it for combat and other needs.

She was certain the spell the youth used was the same. Given that Samuel Hayden, the librarian, was an acquaintance of Roland, it seemed increasingly clear which contemporary of Roland had authored that spellbook.

"He didn't notice you appearing beside him. It’s confirmed that Chariot Power is a force beyond his understanding. Still, it’s a shame we didn't let him taste that hit."

Wang Yu took the glowing sphere from Avia, tossed it into a void rift, and sighed.

"Yes, he cast Phase Gate with incredible speed. Moreover, the Chariot Power you lent me cannot forcibly suppress his casting. That mana originates from within him; it is a part of him and cannot be silenced."

The girl nodded, clenching her fist. If she had been just a fraction faster, she could have used her own Phase Gate to forcibly trap him. It seemed she needed to refine her skills further and forge her own path; otherwise, she would never surpass the proficiency of a spell that originated from him.

"Come to think of it, after fighting this guy who calls himself a Sword Saint, things feel more and more bizarre. The power he uses, and that final breakthrough, he seems to classify it all as 'swordsmanship'."

"But I recall this world doesn't have those 'cultivation techniques' or whatever. Pushing mere 'technique' to the limit shouldn't allow one to unleash power that transcends the skill itself. Yet the power on his blade... it was something akin to 'void' or a 'domain.' That makes no sense."

Wang Yu spoke to Avia with a strange expression, realizing something he had overlooked before. This battle with one of the "Strongest Legends" had revealed far more than he had anticipated.

"..., Wang Yu, what you said... is correct."

Avia paused, and after a moment of reflection, realized that Wang Yu’s observation was indeed sound.

...

"What now?"

The orc Berserker watched the white-haired youth emerge from the spatial rift and inquired about the situation.

"Ethan Harris has been defeated; do not think of confronting that man for now, for once more nodes are built, the problem will resolve itself."

The white-haired youth brushed the dust from his clothes and replied, appearing somewhat disheveled.

"And what of you? Can you do nothing to target him?"

"Ha, do you know what I have seen? We may be facing far more than just one adversary."

"That is truly wretched news."