Rules-related weird stories: 4016.

Chapter 650 The Origin of the "Primordial Ash Apostle"
Lin Yi observed the humanoid sculptures around him with difficulty. All of them had been mobilized, each one constantly gnawing at the black mist. Their bodies were even torn open with countless wounds, but they were still gnawing on it.

In the constant tug-of-war, Lin Yi felt his will had been torn into countless fragments, but because his will was still firm, these fragments were able to reassemble into his likeness.

Suddenly, a voice entered his mind. This voice didn't drown out the cries of pain, the sacrificial chants of the so-called "Si Rong," or anything else, but it entered his mind clearly—

"I am the principal... I have found the answer..."

"You must take this answer with you..."

"Your guess is correct... The 'Ruins of Return' has become a gathering place for the lost... Their pursuit has undergone a terrible distortion, no... to be more precise, they feel that they, on their shoulders, bear the mission of humanity's glorious evolution..."

"Great missions require necessary sacrifices to shine... I don't agree... I've never agreed with that..."

“You were right… Thankfully, I listened to your advice and dismantled the ‘Time Compass’…”

“You must find the Time Compass… I know you can find it…”

"At least... don't let it fall into the hands of the 'boss' intact..."

“I’ve trusted too many people, and they’ve all proven me wrong… Now I have a guess, and I hope it’s wrong…”

"But no matter what, just in case... we must keep the 'Time Compass' in our own hands!"

"notebook……"

"This notebook...it's the key to my return...but..."

"Destroy it...destroy its core..."

"It must be destroyed..."

"You can't let me come back..."

“Once I come back… I might not be ‘myself’ anymore…”

"It's time to go... I'll see you off."

Lin Yi was completely stunned when he heard this sentence.

what? !

What do you mean by "sending us away"?!

“The fragments of the ‘Mist Whisperer’s’ consciousness have merged into the black mist, making them difficult to distinguish. However, as I delve deeper into the ‘Ruins of Return,’ I have gradually become aware of his dormancy and existence…” the headmaster said slowly. “From that moment on, I have been preparing for this moment…”

“I can no longer leave, but… I have left you a way… a way to escape the ‘Ruins of Return’.”

"Principal...you?!" Lin Yi was greatly shocked, and an indescribable feeling of emotion slowly spread through his heart.

"It's almost time... Let's go!"

The principal let out a long roar, like a waning lion suddenly bursting into action, its momentum sweeping across the mountains!

The torn and broken humanoid sculptures seemed to have been summoned, and they all lined up in a star-map-like sequence. Then, without turning into swords or revealing their sharpness, they directly laid out a path, like a halo, opening up a gap in the howling and writhing black mist!
A door has been opened in the black mist!

At the same time, the principal's illusory figure suddenly appeared from the coal smoke that was constantly gushing out of Lin Yi's body. He grabbed Lin Yi's body and threw him hard through the light gate!
"Go away—!!"

[How dare you!!!] The Mist Whisperer was furious, and endless black mist followed, biting at the boundary of the portal and trying to pull Lin Yi's will back from crossing it.

"You underestimate me!" the headmaster snapped. "Though I am not talented, I am now at the complete 'Primitive' level. Even if my foundation is far inferior to yours, I am not someone you can easily deal with with your mere wandering thoughts!"

"If you really want to stop me, then show me your true form!!"

Before he finished speaking, the principal took the initiative to close the portal, completely severing the connection between Lin Yi's will and this layer!

Lin Yi looked at the constantly writhing and closing light gate behind him, feeling extremely reluctant. He wanted to speak again several times, but the principal's words silenced him: "Go quickly, don't look back! This is the last thing I can do for you!"

"Walk--!!!"

【No—!!】The black mist rolled and roared like a volcanic eruption, but as the gate of light disappeared, the terrifying aura of destruction was isolated within the "Ruins".

……

May 12, X023, deep in the gray fog sea.

Lin Yi's will gradually stabilized his form, but his outline remained blurry, looking as if he were composed of countless bubbles.

"What...what's wrong with me?" He looked at himself in surprise. "Didn't I already escape the 'Ruins of Return'? Why am I still like this?"

"That 'Mist Whisperer,' does his attack have a delayed damage component?"

Lin Yi always felt uncomfortable all over. Ever since his will was infiltrated by the black mist, that cutting sensation had been clinging to his senses.

"This is the pollution brought about by the black mist. Even now, you still have to endure the near-destructive impact of the black mist. For others, the consequences would be unimaginable," Tian Bufan said. "One of the abilities of a 'Mist Whisperer' is to communicate with the black mist, achieving a degree of control over it that is almost like having the power to control it with a word."

“Such abilities as his have no way of being passed down through any lineage or faction.”

"Unlike the dream-building path pioneered by the Dharma, which had 'dream builders' as its 'original apostles' and later gave rise to the path of 'dream weavers'; 'astrologers' and so on also have corresponding lineages and paths..."

"The reason why it hasn't been developed in the present world is simply because only a little over twenty years have passed since the Great Cataclysm, and many paths are still being explored..." Lin Yi understood this point. Even though the principal was the most active "first apostle" level unit in the world today, it would be no less difficult than creating a Great Dao in a fantasy novel if he wanted to derive the knowledge he knew into a system on his own.

Moreover, extraordinary power is different from the spiritual energy of fantasy. It is not that everyone can embark on the path of cultivation when spiritual energy is restored around the world. The nature of extraordinary power is more like "radiation pollution". Before having sufficient spiritual cognitive depth and physical strength, contact with pollution will only cause one to become distorted.

To achieve global transcendence, the only way is to proceed cautiously step by step. This is precisely what the Chinese government is working on. Unfortunately, whether it was the exploration of the Black Moon Outpost during the construction of the campus or the current control of the campus, it has only reached a limited level. At most, it is just a superficial study of transcendent power, and it is impossible to form a system.

As he was speaking, Lin Yi suddenly frowned, and his consciousness began to tremble violently. Countless images flashed through his mind. The cries and screams of pain from the black mist seemed to be carrying the endless malice of the ancestors, making him extremely uncomfortable.

"You need to calm yourself down first. In this state, we won't be able to return to the anchor point," Tian Bufan said.

"Yes! I understand." Lin Yi gritted his teeth. He had some experience in this area, so he quickly adjusted his state and made the fragmented pieces of his will gradually stabilize.

But as he manipulated it, the countless bubble-like pieces on his body began to shrink, turning into irregular puzzle pieces that then reformed his will...

His eyes seemed to have turned into compound eyes like those of an insect, and he could see countless images in an instant. The vast and complex amount of information in these images almost caused his body to collapse uncontrollably.

His will body thus constantly oscillated between collapse and stability, like a frame-by-frame image switching between high definition and censorship.

As he adjusted his state, terrifying waves continuously erupted from the "Ruins of Return". These waves spread out from the black mountains, pushed over the black reefs, and erupted like a volcanic eruption, constantly producing a sky-covering smoke screen, which then spread to the surrounding sea.

Lin Yi is right here in this sea area!
"Faster, Lao Lin...faster..." Tian Bufan muttered to himself, watching as the black mist and smoke curtain approached along the surface of the gray fog sea, unable to make any extra movements.

Suddenly, some of the black reefs cracked open, revealing dark caves.

The cave resembled a half-open dinosaur egg stuck in a mud pit; once broken, it revealed a deep, dark cavern...

The cave entrance was slightly above the sea level. Driven by the black mist, seawater from the Gray Mist Sea would occasionally splash into the cave, creating an eerie dripping sound, as if it were bottomless.

However, some chilling sounds still emanated from the cave walls.

"Shh...shh...shh..."

Something seems to be slowly crawling out of it...

Finally, before those things could crawl out, Lin Yi's will stabilized first.

At this moment, he was like a humanoid creature pieced together from countless shards of glass, no different in appearance from the "Primordial Ash Apostle"!
"I'm all better, but... look at me now?" Lin Yi looked at himself. This was the second time he had appeared in this state, but this time it was even more outrageous. He seemed to have become a "primordial Ash Apostle" with his own will.

"It's good that it's recovered. As for the form issue, let's not worry about it for now..." Tian Bufan pointed to the black reefs in the gray fog sea, "The 'Mist Whisperers' destroyed some of the reefs, and some buried 'Black Moon Apostles' are about to appear... We have to leave before they get involved."

"Then I'll leave now!" Lin Yi quickly sensed the location of the anchor point.

Soon, countless fragmented pieces of information began to fluctuate around him, like rolls of tape, flowing with endless light and shadow. Lin Yi quickly found his way back and then turned his head to disappear into it.

From the perspective of the Gray Mist Sea, Lin Yi's will suddenly collapsed inward, and then, accompanied by the appearance of a vortex, his figure disappeared from the spot.

Even after he completely leaped away, the "Black Moon Apostle" that Tian Bufan had mentioned did not crawl out from the broken black reef. However, the "rustling...rustling...rustling..." sound grew more and more urgent and clearer...

……

Within the "Ruins of Return," the black mist surged continuously. After a long while, the "Mist Whisperer" seemed to realize that he could no longer capture Lin Yi, so he withdrew.

Inside a certain black mountain, the principal's true form was trapped, like a floating corpse embedded in a crack in the mountain, half of his body submerged in the lava-like substance.

"You failed," the principal said slowly. "He still left."

A cold laugh echoed from within the black mist: "This is only a 'temporary' defeat. He will return..."

The advantage of the "Time Council" lies in having almost unlimited time for trial and error, but its disadvantage... is precisely that.

A "perfect timeline" does not exist, and infinite time is enough to magnify even the smallest flaws to a considerable degree...

Black mist surged, and streams of extraordinary energy descended from it, being injected into the principal's body by the "Mist Whisperer".

Besides, I still have you...

You'll help me find him...hehehe...

The fragments of those extraordinary powers were incredibly mixed. One part of them was a humanoid sculpture formed from the handwriting in Lin Yi's notebook, while the other part was a fragment torn off from Lin Yi's will...

[How pure the 'ashes' are...] The Mist Whisperer seemed to show a hint of appreciation. [Although I loathe him, I have to admit that he, who inherited the true power of the 'Holy Sun'... is one of the few things qualified to communicate with the 'ashes'...]

Since you've let him get away, I'll have to trouble you... to go find him for me...

Lin Yi's extraordinary power seems to have some unknown way of being used. No one knows what the "Mist Whisperer" did, but the endless black mist gradually began to envelop the principal's form along with Lin Yi's fragments.

Before long, the black mist began to undergo a substantial change. It quickly began to wriggle like a marshmallow, then slowly shrank and dried up, turning into small, pebble-like particles, and finally transforming into a smooth, translucent crystal-like form.

Get up... get up...

The voice of the "Mist Whisperer" was extremely seductive and penetrating. Then, the "Principal," who had turned into a crystalline form, slowly sat up.

Strangely, this time, the strangely colored lava flowing through the black mountains did not bind him.

This may be related to his current form, because at this moment, the principal has transformed into a humanoid figure composed of countless glass shards—the kind of "original Ash Apostle"!

(End of this chapter)