Chapter 28: What Did You See?

"Let's go!" Yang Yi broke the silence, jolting the six of them awake.

"You are humanity's sinner! A sinner!" Veed's hands trembled, his eyes filled with grief and despair. "God will not forgive us; He will bring about the apocalypse, and humanity will march toward extinction..."

Dismissing his ramblings about gods, Yang Yi bound him with telekinesis and walked toward the fissure.

After their initial shock, Daniel and the other five regained their senses and hurriedly followed behind Yang Yi.

Freed from the altar's mysterious bewitchment, the five walked quickly, yet no one spoke; their hearts felt heavy, as if suppressed by a dark cloud.

As they walked, Yang Yi suddenly asked, "When you were bewitched by the altar earlier, what did you hear? What did you see?"

The five exchanged glances. Daniel hesitated before saying, "It seemed like a prayer. I heard a voice constantly chanting in my mind: '... Carnival of the Apocalypse... The Lord's Descent... The gates of Hell stand open... Chaos, evil, slaughter... A world abhorred by the righteous... Heaven... Eternal life...'"

Yang Yi nodded; she too had heard these voices outside the fissure. They were not in any language but rather a form of mental suggestion that reached the mind directly, not through hearing.

Silva was the most outspoken of the five. With over four thousand compatriots dead, he hated Veed to the bone and felt nothing but gratitude and awe toward Yang Yi. Hearing her question, he quickly added, "That altar was too eerie. Whenever I tried to flee, the altar seemed possessed of magic, drawing me closer and closer... It was merely a pile of stones; how exactly did it exert its influence?"

A thought stirred in Yang Yi's mind, and she asked again, "What did the altar look like in your eyes?"

"Circular, grayish-green, seemingly ancient!" Daniel said.

Helen chimed in, "Patterns! It was covered in intricate patterns! What a pity; if we had replicated those patterns and given them to experts for study, we might have unlocked the altar's secrets!"

"Indeed, judging by its appearance, this altar has existed for a thousand years, yet it could still connect..." Jian realized what he had said and quickly clapped a hand over his mouth, cautiously looking at the others.

"Connect to God! That altar sucked over four thousand people dry until they became desiccated corpses; where did what was sucked away go?" Hamid remained terrified. Due to India's unique religious traditions, he had always maintained reverence for various deities, and the altar had dealt him a massive shock. He cautiously glanced at Yang Yi's expression. "What if... what Veed Davis said is true..."

Ignoring their doubts and panic, Yang Yi focused on only one fact at that moment: Where was the stone chair? Why had no one mentioned the stone chair upon the altar?

Carved with strange patterns and mysterious characters, it sat conspicuously in the center of the altar; any creature with eyes, upon seeing the altar, would spot it immediately.

Yang Yi was forced to realize a fact: If no one mentioned it, it meant no one had seen it.

In their eyes, it was merely an empty, circular altar.

And that mass of energy, brimming with vitality, an energy that made her feel hungry!

So refined, as conspicuous as a ball of sun, like a gemstone embedded in the stone chair—no one could overlook it.

Yang Yi's steps hesitated; while she had not wavered in the slightest when smashing the altar, she was now filled with unease.

She knew what that mass of energy was: it was the life source of over four thousand people! Condensed at the cost of desiccated corpses littering the ground, it was the most refined source of life!

If all four thousand-plus people were sacrificial offerings, and the life source was a gift presented to an evil god, why could only she see it? Why was she the only one who felt hunger toward the life source?

That stone chair, the chair representing authority and majesty—why could none of them see it? It was clearly right there! Why... could only she see it?

Tremendous panic arose from within her, ten thousand times more intense than when she had last heard the name Asathad. A sticky chill crawled up her skin like leeches, making her feel alternately cold and hot.

She feared neither gods nor the apocalypse; she feared only that the familiar self had become so strangely unfamiliar.

Her steps grew heavier and heavier, and the world before her seemed to twist and sway.

As if sensing her mental fluctuations, Veed turned his head to stare intently at her. Watching her, a cold sneer slowly stretched across his face, which moments before had been woodenly dull and dispirited. "Oh—" His tone carried a strange mockery. "You've finally figured it out; you regret it now." He spoke in an affirmative statement.

Yang Yi paid no heed to his mockery; her immense unease left her no time to care about his attitude.

She wanted to ask Veed what the altar looked like in his eyes, yet she feared receiving the most unsettling answer.

"You activated this altar; was there any difference before and after activation?" She chose her words carefully, using excessive explanation to mask her attempt to cover up the truth: "Whether a god truly exists might be discerned from this..."

"Not that," Veed sneered, cutting her off. "That's not what you want to ask!" The acuity of a psychiatrist allowed him to see through Yang Yi's insincerity instantly. His eyes widened, his face flushed red with excitement, and he stared at her with burning, hopeful eyes—a gaze that made Yang Yi feel as though she held his fate in her hands. Having completely lost the calm of a psychiatrist, he asked impatiently, "What did you see on the altar?"

"Tell me first, what did you see!" Seeing him in this state, Yang Yi instead regained her expressionless demeanor, returning his gaze with heavy eyes.

Veed stared fixedly at her for a moment, then closed his eyes, recalling and marveling: "I saw countless sources of life condense into a mass of brilliance; that is the most loyal gift offered to God, floating upon the altar, glittering brightly. God will see our sincerity! But," his voice paused, filled with loss and regret, "now everything has been destroyed by you!"

He hadn't seen the stone chair either!

Yang Yi screamed internally: That stone chair is something only I can see! No, calm down! Calm down! He will detect your thoughts; there are two mental ability users here. You cannot expose...

Cannot expose what? Even if others knew she could see the stone chair, what would happen? She herself could not explain it clearly, yet somehow she felt a great secret hidden within her; if others discovered it, it would bring catastrophic disaster upon her.

Her heart was yanked high up, unable to settle back down.

"You mean that mass of energy?" Yang Yi kept her tone extremely flat as she countered.

"You saw it too!" Veed exclaimed in surprise, then life returned to his despondent face. "Only God's chosen can see it! I said your power was bestowed by God; you are closer to God than we are! You don't even need baptism to see the sacrificial offering!"

"There is still a chance; God has not abandoned us!" Veed's eyes sparkled. If earlier he had been dispirited, lifeless as one terminally ill, now he suddenly ignited with hope, his gaze so fervent it seemed capable of scorching people.

He immediately stopped, turned around, and dropped to his knees with a "thump." With manic eyes, he prayed loudly to the pile of rubble that was the altar: "Revel in the apocalypse; we shall ultimately welcome the Lord's descent. The gates of Hell stand open; chaos, evil, and slaughter surge forth from within. The Lord saves His people from this abhorred world; we shall attain eternal life in His Heaven..."

The sound of prayer entered everyone's eardrums, echoing and surging within their minds.

Yang Yi narrowed her eyes and waved her hand lightly; telekinesis sealed Veed's mouth. Yet his eyes remained fanatical; his prayer had not stopped at all. Even without a mouth, without sound, he was still praying with his throat, with his lungs, with his brain, with his heart.

In a trance, Yang Yi saw countless people prostrate on the ground in postures of complete submission. The crowd was boundless, stretching away like an ocean; the only things clearly visible were fanaticism and piety.

In the blink of an eye, Veed's figure rippled and vanished. Yang Yi's telekinetic bonds had grasped nothing but air.

The five looked at her in slight panic.

With Veed's disappearance, the shattered altar began to stir; the rubble shook and fell, the ground trembled, as if something were about to burst forth from the broken altar.

An indescribable hunger struck suddenly, hitting Yang Yi like a large truck. Completely unprepared, her knees gave way, and she fiercely clutched her stomach with both hands.

She had felt this kind of hunger before; it was not in the stomach, not an appetite, but a hunger deep within the soul, one that made the very spirit scream.

It was as if a wild beast struggled within her body, a beast composed of pure, primal hunger and desire. It was bloody and devoid of reason. Her body was its cage, and now, this cage was teetering on the brink of collapse.

No addict or drug fiend suffering withdrawal in this world could compare to this sudden surge of hunger.

If the previous hunger was merely a prelude, this hunger felt like the final climax and counterattack.

Merely resisting this sensation drained her of all strength, causing her to collapse softly onto the ground.

The five wore expressions of panic, looking alternately at the altar and the fissure.

First Veed suddenly vanished, then the altar made strange movements, and now Yang Yi had collapsed; this series of abrupt changes left them at a loss.

Daniel rushed to Yang Yi's side and supported her arm; he felt her entire body shaking violently. "How are you..." He looked into Yang Yi's eyes and suddenly lost his voice.

Yang Yi lifted her head; her eyes were red as blood, with only the pupils being pure black, like two swirling black holes.

She gazed at the vibrating altar, sensing an invisible attraction within it calling her to approach. If she went over, this maddening torment of hunger would cease.

No! No! Cannot go; this is a trap! This is a trap. Yang Yi fiercely turned her head away, used Daniel's hand to stand up, and walked toward the fissure. Daniel felt her trembling hand gripping him like a vice, nearly crushing his bones, yet he said nothing, simply supporting her powerless body as they walked back.

In the altar, a ball of energy burst through the pile of shattered stones and floated toward her, like a puppy finding its master by scent.

The instant it surged out of the shattered altar, Yang Yi shuddered all over; she forgot there was someone supporting her beside her and simply lowered her head and pressed forward as if fleeing, dragging Daniel along almost against his will.

Gradually, her trembling grew worse and worse; she leaned weakly on Daniel, feeling waves of chill and heat sweep through her body, while the world before her spun, twisted, and warped.

Absorb it! Feast on it! Your hunger will vanish at once! her soul screamed.

That ball of energy was so pure, so fragrant; it was the source of life, the supreme taste of the world, it was—the blood and lives of more than four thousand people!

No! No!

She suddenly stopped, fists clenched tight, her whole body shaking, and from the depths of her throat came a suppressed roar: "Get out—"

Daniel was stunned by her hoarse voice; that anger, that hatred, that bone-deep loathing made him involuntarily loosen his supporting hand.

"The rift is about to close!" Silva shouted loudly.

Everyone turned back; the rift flickered in place like a screen with a bad signal, like a television about to go black.

"The rift is unstable! Get out of here!" Jane shouted; Helen, Silva, and Hamid immediately took off at a full run.

Yang Yi stood still; her expression was terrifying, as if she were enduring something, forcibly suppressing something.

Daniel pushed her. "Run! What are you still hesitating for?"

Seeing no reaction from her, Daniel bent down, scooped up the utterly weak Yang Yi in one motion, hoisted her onto his back, and sprinted toward the rift.

"Kill them!" a voice suddenly said; it coaxed gently: "These five will discover your hunger for the Life Source—you know what that means!"

"No matter what, this secret must not be discovered by anyone!"

"If you kill them, you can absorb that ball of energy to your heart's content; you are hungry, very hungry..."

"Eat it; no one will find out. Wade has already escaped. If you kill the rest, you can absorb that ball of energy; it will not only soothe your hungry soul but also make your Awakening ability even stronger!"

"You understand; everyone outside actually has no hope of saving anyone. They all know that once they enter the Misty Town, they will die—except you. No one will suspect you!"

"Kill them; there is no cost! After you go out, you will still be that superhero, able to keep up your 'good person' image!"

"Moreover, once you absorb it, you will truly become a 'God Among Men'! The you of now is still far from worthy of the title 'God'!"

"Once you absorb it, you will truly become the most powerful superhuman on Earth!"

Yang Yi tensed her body; Daniel felt the movement on his back and, panting, comforted her in a low voice: "We're almost out; hold on! There are doctors outside!"

The edges of the rift began to blur; the gap grew smaller and smaller.

"Hurry! The rift is about to disappear!" Jane's voice was filled with terror.

Hamid was the fastest; he shot forward in one stride and burst through the rift, followed by Jane and Helen; Silva had taken some injury to his leg, but he also threw everything he had into charging out.

Only Daniel, burdened with Yang Yi on his back, was a step slower.

The rift was about to close.

"Let me go..." Yang Yi said hoarsely.

"Don't worry; we still have a chance!" Daniel said, panting heavily.

They were only five to six meters from the rift, within arm's reach.

The rift flickered violently; the last ripple of fluctuation echoed in the air.

Yang Yi slowly raised her head; her eyes were filled with deep blood-red. She turned her head to glance at this man, who for some reason was so stubborn; her heart was full of astonishment and doubt. Yet in this otherworldly space that seemed cut off from the entire world, amid the inexplicable torment of hunger, someone was so unyielding in refusing to abandon her or cast her aside; without a doubt, she was moved a little.

For that small measure of being moved, she gave up resisting the hunger, manipulated her telekinesis, and flung Daniel out through the rift.

The rift vanished.

As if sensing Yang Yi's momentary lapse, that ball of Life Source leaped with joy and plunged into her body.