Chapter 504: Beth, the Mistress of Magic

In the past, Ye Nan had always believed that an existence like the one inside the Heart of the Galaxy was invincible, because what the other party displayed was omnipotence...

But now, Ye Nan saw his weakness, saw his flaws, and was no longer afraid.

"Can you help me?" Seeing Ye Nan hesitating, the Grim Reaper immediately became anxious. "In the month I've been imprisoned, I've suffered every hardship. Please, for the sake of the times I've helped you, release me."

By the end, the Grim Reaper had resorted to pleading. He had already felt it: his life, which should have been eternal and immortal, had begun to gradually drain away. In a short while, he would wither away completely, just like a flower.

He didn't know why, but from the moment he was created, he had possessed eternal life. Since then, he had lived for who knows how many years, but now, he could actually feel his lifespan coming to an end. This was simply inconceivable.

But no matter how inconceivable or unbelievable it was, he had to escape this place. He was unwilling to watch himself slowly age and eventually turn into a pile of white bones. Even though he was the Grim Reaper, he still feared death.

"I also want to help you find him. To tell you the truth, my daughter Ripley was snatched away by him. I want him to let me go, but unfortunately, I don't know where he is." Ye Nan spread his hands.

The Heart of the Galaxy—he knew that the existence was sealed inside the Heart of the Galaxy, but he had no idea where the Heart of the Galaxy was. He had asked the Heavenly Demon Queen, but she didn't know either; even the super-intelligence of the Pan-Galactic Alliance had no records regarding the Heart of the Galaxy.

Perhaps the Heart of the Galaxy was in some corner, or perhaps it was a place humans had named something else, but all of this only added to the difficulty of his search.

"The Heart of the Galaxy is a super massive black hole located in the Sagittarius A region at the center of the galaxy," the Grim Reaper said. "Pass through the black hole, and you will be able to see the Master. At that time, you only need to tell the Master about what happened here, and the Master will naturally come to save me."

"You want that old thing to save you?" An illusory figure appeared behind the Grim Reaper. "That old thing can barely save himself now; he can't save you at all."

Ye Nan stared at this suddenly appearing figure. He saw that the person was wearing a brown jumpsuit, with long black hair draped casually over their shoulders. On a finger adorned with a jade bracelet, they plucked a string, looking just like a wandering bard.

"Are you the one chosen by that old guy?" The figure looked at Ye Nan, plucked the string, and said, "I wonder if you would be willing to listen to my Concerto of Domination."

Without waiting for Ye Nan to reply, beautiful music flowed from the figure's hands, turning into musical notes that drifted in the air.

In the eyes, they were musical notes; in the ears, they were music; but in the soul, they were a terrifying nightmare.

Where Ye Nan's telepathy reached, invisible puppets stood up from unknown places, silent and soundless, walking into Ye Nan's heart.

"Damn it, I can't move my body." In an instant, Ye Nan lost control of his body. No matter how he tried to move, his body would not obey.

"You can't even listen to one Concerto of Domination, so why go to the Heart of the Galaxy to find that guy?" The figure stopped playing and singing, and the face that had been hidden in the shadows was revealed.

On a fair face was an exquisite countenance. The supple black hair was coiled into a simple flying-heaven bun, adorned with an elegant cloisonné gold hairpin inlaid with red coral.

The ancient-style attire made her look like a concubine from an ancient imperial court, yet also like a poet from Western mythology. These two completely different styles of clothing fused perfectly on her, without a hint of disharmony.

"In my eyes, those chosen should not be idiots. So tell me, are you an idiot?"

"Who exactly are you?" Having regained control of his body, Ye Nan felt relieved that the other party had attacked him unconsciously.

That feeling just now was truly unpleasant. To be controlled by this woman in just an instant—that feeling of being unable to control oneself was something he couldn't stand.

"Power, I must increase my power at all costs. I will no longer suppress my power." Ye Nan roared in his heart. He decided to tear off all disguises and increase his power at any cost, so that he would possess the strength to confront this woman.

"I am a chosen one just like you, a plaything in the palm of that old guy." The woman slowly spoke of her origins. "However, no one will go to release that old guy, because everyone knows that old guy is dangerous."

Ye Nan keenly grasped the word in the woman's speech—'everyone'—and asked, "How many chosen ones are there in total?"

"Including you, there are five. But this is only what I know; I don't know how many that guy has actually chosen." The woman shook her head. "I represent Magic, he represents the Zerg, and there is another representing Xianxia and one representing the Supernatural. What do you represent?"

"Represent what?" Ye Nan asked, puzzled.

"The path he has laid out for you," the woman explained patiently. "Around every chosen one, many things that only appear in movies will happen—things called plots. You should be able to understand what a movie is."

"It is the technology humans use to record images of external objects onto film using photographic means, and then project them onto a screen to create moving images to express certain content."

"This is a form of entertainment technology created by humans. Within this entertainment, humans have created all sorts of films: Sci-Fi, Magic, Xianxia, and Supernatural—four major categories and countless sub-categories."

"And every chosen one corresponds to a type of film. Take me, for example; I have experienced many fantasy-type films like The Lord of the Rings and The Ring."

The woman waved her hand, transmitting the plots of various films into Ye Nan's mind, and then said, "All the plots are coherent, yet they do not interfere with each other. We can use our advantage of familiarity with the plots to gradually strengthen our power, and eventually end all the films to transcend."

"However, at the moment of transcendence, that existence sealed in the Heart of the Galaxy will send out a call, asking you to go and rescue him."

"A word of warning: he is not a guy who is easy to get along with. If you save him, it wouldn't be strange at all for him to turn around and devour you."

"Your name, and the names of him, him, and him." Ye Nan asked cautiously. He didn't believe the words of the woman before him. Admittedly, much of what she said was something Ye Nan had experienced, but Ye Nan, who was adept at lying, knew that lies mixed with truth were the hardest to distinguish.

"You can call me Beth the Wandering Bard. The Zerg Master of the Zerg is Harris, the chosen one of Xianxia is Xu Sibo, and the chosen one of the Supernatural is Fushan Meixue." Beth explained patiently. For her, the long passage of time was boring and required something to pass the time, and helping a new chosen one was undoubtedly a great tool for passing time. Not only that, she could also observe the other party's development.

Before transcendence, one basically wouldn't encounter other chosen ones, and could only carefully scheme for one's own interests within the endless films to strengthen oneself. But after transcendence, one could witness the power of others, providing inspiration for oneself.

"Then who was he bound by?" Ye Nan pointed at the Grim Reaper.

"By me," Beth said.

"Why was it you who took action, and not the Zerg Master Harris?" Ye Nan asked again.

"Very simple. Aside from endless seas of Zerg, the Zerg Master Harris has no other skills, so he requested help to bind the Grim Reaper, and I agreed." A hint of a smile appeared on Beth's face. Her fair fingers plucked lightly on the strings, and a musical note was triggered the moment her fingers touched the strings, floating in the air.

"If you want to rescue him, I can help you, but are you really willing to rescue him?"

"He is a servant of that guy. Once he is rescued by you, he will go to find that guy, and then everyone will have trouble."

"Even so, are you still willing to rescue him?"

Beth handed all the choices to Ye Nan, letting him choose for himself—to save or not to save, letting his heart decide.

This was not a battle, not coercion; everything was based on willingness.

"To save, or not to save." Ye Nan suddenly fell into a dilemma. From Beth's words earlier, he could tell that the existence in the Heart of the Galaxy had ill intentions, and they were all his pawns used to rescue his wife. Once successful, he might really, as Beth said, devour him.

By the same token, once the Grim Reaper returned to that existence's side, he would definitely tell him everything that happened here, bringing trouble upon himself.

"It's just..." Ye Nan clenched his fists. His daughter Ripley was still in the hands of that existence. His ultimate destiny was to go and rescue him; only by rescuing him could he find Ripley.

Beth watched the silent Ye Nan, a hint of a smile flashing in her eyes. She was unwilling to let the Grim Reaper go. She understood the principle of letting a tiger return to the mountains, even though the Grim Reaper wasn't a tiger, but just a fox flaunting its power. However, once this fox returned to the deep mountains, it would attract the tiger within, and she was also very wary of that tiger.

As for Ye Nan, she was also unwilling to offend him. Just now, during her probing, she could see that Ye Nan's power wasn't strong; at the very least, he had little defense against mental-level attacks. However, just like the Zerg Master, a person's power wasn't limited to themselves alone; their subordinates were also part of their strength.

The Zerg Master Harris was the one with the worst individual power. Let alone her, Beth, even the Supernatural chosen one Fushan Meixue was someone he couldn't deal with. But his sea of Zerg was everyone's nightmare, and even she was three parts wary of him and would absolutely not offend him unless absolutely necessary.

So she gave Ye Nan the choice, letting him choose for himself. She was confident that after learning the truth, Ye Nan would absolutely not let the Grim Reaper go, if he were a normal person.

"Let him go." Ye Nan hesitated for a long time, eventually turning it into a long, drawn-out sigh.

"What?" Beth looked at Ye Nan in astonishment, surprised by Ye Nan's decision. In her mind, Ye Nan should absolutely not let the Grim Reaper go, because the existence inside the Heart of the Galaxy was the enemy of all chosen ones, and the Grim Reaper was his servant.

When the Grim Reaper returned, he would definitely tell that existence everything here, and then everyone would have trouble.

"I said let him go." Ye Nan repeated the sentence. "I know it's inconceivable, but I have reasons why I must let him go."

"Is that so?" Beth plucked the strings, her consciousness descending into the time web, and returned the next moment. She said thoughtfully, "In your past, there is a period of time that was destroyed. During that time, were you threatened by him?"

The past was like pearls hanging on the time web. She only needed to descend a trace of consciousness to understand the situation of the past completely.

But among the pearls of the past, one pearl was incomplete. It was like it had been shattered by some kind of power, the image fragmented.

Aside from that existence in the Heart of the Galaxy, Beth couldn't imagine anyone else capable of shattering time strings and destroying the time web.

"He snatched away my daughter Ripley." Ye Nan said frankly. "No matter what, at some point in the future, I will meet him and bring my daughter back."

"Do you know his power?" Beth looked at Ye Nan amusedly. "Do you know that once you release him, you will be killed by him? At that time, your daughter won't be saved either."

"To sacrifice oneself for a daughter—it's truly incomprehensible," Beth said irritably.

In the long passage of time, one could have as many blood relatives as one wanted. Blood relations had been diluted to the extreme in the eyes of the immortal. Beth had simply never seen anyone sacrifice their own life for a daughter.

"For me, any friend is worth sacrificing my life to save. However, these things have nothing to do with you. You wouldn't break your word, would you?" Ye Nan smiled faintly. He didn't want to explain too much to Beth. People who didn't understand emotions would never understand the meaning of words like kinship, friendship, and love. In their eyes, there was only profit.

"I naturally wouldn't break my word." Beth's fingers plucked on the time string, unbinding the Grim Reaper. "Since you want to take the Grim Reaper away, I will grant your wish. However, I agreed, but Harris did not agree."

"What awaits you next will be an endless sea of Zerg. So, good luck, Ye Nan, the Sci-Fi chosen one."

Beth smiled playfully, her figure slowly disappearing before Ye Nan. Before leaving, she told the Zerg Master Harris everything that had happened here. (To be continued.) ===== CHAPTER 505 =====