Chapter 52: Beyond Illusion and Reality

From the outside, the barrier appeared an ominous dark black; however, within its confines, a completely different scene unfolded.

To Bai Li’s eyes, chaos reigned all around, neither light nor true darkness, but rather an ever-shifting, flowing unknown… yes, within her very perception.

She could feel the surroundings brimming with an anomalous energy, akin to what emanated from psychic abilities.

“I had not intended to employ this technique, but it seems I have no other recourse now.”

Qing Na’s voice resonated through the space, yet its origin remained elusive.

“You must be quite perplexed as to what is currently transpiring, yes? I shall, in my immense generosity, enlighten you. This is not a power wielded by me or the monsters I create, but rather one belonging to other Apostles. Do you comprehend? Though I loathe to admit it, this is not something that can be overcome by brute force.”

“…”

Bai Li offered no reply, merely ‘musing internally that she felt no confusion; perhaps this person was a touch too presumptuous.’

Nevertheless, this particular predicament was indeed unlike anything she had ever encountered.

“Now, endure it — the deepest fears and despairs of the human heart, along with your very future.”

As Qing Na uttered these words, the surrounding scenery began to morph.

A somber sky, a city reduced to crumbling ruins, air thick with the stench of blood, and corpses strewn across the ground — the sight was enough to turn one’s stomach.

“Is that all?”

Gazing upon the scene before her, Bai Li furrowed her brow, yet her heart remained undisturbed.

Previously, the biological remains in the laboratory had caused a fleeting wave of nausea, but that was merely due to the unexpected immediacy of the sight upon entering, her lack of preparation, and the foul, kitchen-waste-like stench. In truth, even a landscape littered with corpses posed no real issue for her.

After all, she had witnessed similar spectacles in her childhood; seeing them again now would hardly leave any psychological scars.

Just as Bai Li prepared to step forward and survey her surroundings, she felt something seize her foot.

Glancing back, she saw a person drenched in blood, their lacerated hand gripping her tightly, their eyes burning with loathing and malice.

“…?”

Bai Li did not comprehend such an gaze; she simply broke free from the restraint and pressed onward.

However, no sooner had she taken a single step than she was seized once more.

“Enough of this…”

Bai Li turned back again, only to find not the stranger who had initially grasped her, but a familiar face.

Pink hair, blue eyes—even stained crimson with blood, the identity was unmistakable.

“…Why… why would you do such a thing…”

The pink-haired girl uttered these words, her voice so faint it sounded like a dying breath.

“We all believed in you so deeply… yet you murdered everyone… Bai Li!”

The final cry was a roar of betrayal, soft in volume, yet imbued with a dying resentment unwilling to forgive the one before her.

Upon hearing these words, Bai Li finally understood the true nature of the desolate scene around her.

Glancing down, she saw her hands caked with fresh blood, its source identical to the crimson pools forming around her.

Here, this version of her had slaughtered everyone, Lin Xi included.

“Ugh…”

A searing headache assailed her, compelling Bai Li to clutch her head and endure. Accompanying the pain were countless fragments of her brutally slaughtering defenseless individuals, even those she knew, who, despite their attempts to intervene, were mercilessly cut down.

Ultimately, blood stained the earth, corpses littered the landscape, and even the sky and the moon above turned a horrifying crimson.

“…No…”

“No to what? This is your future. Rather than resist, choose to accept it, for we are, after all, kindred spirits.”

“Come, unleash your desires without restraint. I can perceive it: your heart is overflowing with madness; you are barely even human.”

Qing Na’s whispers persisted, growing louder even as Bai Li clasped her hands over her ears, luring her further down the path of depravity.

Through the anomalous ability temporarily bestowed by an Apostle of a higher echelon, Qing Na could peer into the depths of her opponent’s mind, thereby confirming that Bai Li’s heart was already beyond human.

Thus, only further temptation was required.

“You surely don’t wish for such a future to come to pass, do you? You desire to be with her, don’t you? Then all you need to do is join us. The power and technology possessed by our Aberrant Cult far surpass anything mere humans or lesser beasts could ever hope to achieve.”

“That’s not it…”

“Still denying it? Regardless of who you are, to grow stronger and achieve your aims, you must embrace your true self. Constantly feigning a different identity offers no future.”

Observing Bai Li’s fists slowly clench, Qing Na sensed her success was imminent.

Yet, in the very next moment…

“…That’s not the real Xi Xi.”

“Eh?”

Before Qing Na could even react, a fist, breaching the seemingly insurmountable barrier between illusion and reality, struck her directly.

Not only that, but the illusion constructed around them shattered completely under the impact, peeling away like shards of glass.

“This… how is this possible?! How did you break free!?”

Struck by a punch that transcended the bounds of falsehood and reality, Qing Na found herself utterly bewildered.

One must understand, this illusion was a malevolent anomalous ability capable of delving into the deepest recesses of the target’s mind, manifesting their greatest fears, and subtly guiding their perception and consciousness to ultimately compel them to enact everything that transpired within the illusion in reality.

Had its effect not fully manifested?

No, without a doubt, it had successfully penetrated Bai Li’s psyche and unearthed her deepest fears, its power fully unleashed.

‘—Does that mean, even after experiencing the despair of personally slaying her beloved and then being hated by them, she still managed to preserve her true self!?’

“Who… who exactly are you…”

As she posed this question, Qing Na unconsciously activated the anomalous ability temporarily bestowed upon her, observing Bai Li’s true, potential future.

It was a formless, unspeakable, incomprehensible void, and beneath it, countless entities beyond her observation knelt in reverence, worshipping in a single direction, as if eulogizing the being they adored.

At the apex, toward which they prostrated themselves, stood a girl, faintly discernible by her white hair and crimson eyes.

Suddenly, the girl’s crimson eyes cast a glance in what appeared to be Qing Na’s direction.

“…Hoh!?”

Startled, Qing Na instantly withdrew from her observational state, simultaneously overcome by a profound, visceral fear of the person standing before her—a person indistinguishable from the image she had just witnessed… No, it was a monster far surpassing her, or rather, *that* being…

“Any last words?”

Bai Li seized Qing Na by the throat, a mere flick of her wrist all it would take to snap her neck.

Of course, this would be no ordinary neck-snapping, but an execution potent enough to utterly obliterate her.

“Gak… hah…”

“None? Then I shall…”

“Wait a moment! Bai Li!”

Just then, a voice of protest echoed from the distance.