Cataclysm: Undead Dragons and Zero Empire

Chapter 124 Phantom Shadow

The chaotic nature of subspace is never constant.

The oceans of the real universe are divided into surface and deep seas, and this region of cosmic matter, which is not yet fully developed, also has distinct layers.

The deeper one goes, the more blurred the concepts of time and space become. Here, psychic energy is no longer an ethereal form of energy, but rather a viscous, purple-glowing liquid that churns in the darkness into an endless ocean.

Even the most ferocious warp demons usually dare not venture deep into the warp and truly touch the bottom line of this dimension, while Lin Zimo is slowly sinking into this deep sea where few beings dare to set foot.

He was no longer bound by physical form. His jet-black dragon skeleton had vanished into the real universe after his existence information was erased. Now, the only thing that sustained his "existence" was the black-red flame of "death of zeroing" and the pure concept curled up at the core of the flame in a head-to-tail position.

The deeper it sank into the subspace, the more the psychic energy materialized and pounded against the sun-like eggshell, like tides washing over the shore. With each pound, a massive amount of psychic energy was swallowed up, just as a chick breathes air through its eggshell.

Lin Ziming's consciousness was in a strange, half-asleep state, like a developing embryo, able to perceive everything in the outside world, but unable to react too strongly.

He instinctively responded to those calls that transcended the veil between the real universe and the subspace, calls that came from human civilization: fear, piety, longing, and yearning for redemption.

At first, only Terence's unwavering faith, like the first candle lit in boundless darkness, became the last straw that Lin Ziming grasped.

As Terence carried out religious reforms, new scriptures spread within the Death Faction, and more and more threads of faith extended from the present universe, connecting to Lin Ziming.

More and more people have become devout believers after witnessing miracles firsthand, and they share their experiences to spread the faith to a wider audience.

Every strand of faith carries the prayer of a life, re-etching records for the existence of "Lin Zimo" in the real universe, making his information richer and more rooted.

In this process of accumulating sand into a tower, Lin Zimo didn't know how long he had been drifting. The psionic energy that had materialized deep in the subspace had begun to solidify, and crystals of various colors were everywhere, as vast as stars in the real universe suspended in chaos.

Until one moment, his drifting journey suddenly came to a stop, not because he was blocked by the chaotic current, but because he hit an invisible barrier, like a drop of water falling on a smooth mirror, instantly stopping his downward momentum.

That boundless barrier stretched across the deepest part of the subspace, isolating this core area from the chaos outside, making it incongruous with the surrounding disorder.

When Lin Ziming touched the barrier, a cold, mechanical stream of consciousness instantly swept over his current conceptual body.

[In progress — Identity verification —]

[Information database match — Celestial Dragon Clan — Imperial Allied Agreement — Effective, Timestamp — Warning! Information corrupted]

[Authentication successful — Temporary access granted — Allowed — Pass]

As the identification was successful, the invisible barrier allowed Lin Ziming to continue falling deeper into the subspace. After passing through the barrier, the chaos and turmoil of the subspace suddenly vanished without a trace, replaced by a feeling of emptiness, as if there was nothing there, a bubble floating in the ocean.

Lin Ziming's conceptual body slowly moved forward in this space until it collided with a project called "Virtual Realm," which was under special-level lockdown.

Previously, Lin Ziming had used his psionic energy to remotely touch this seal in the Imperial Ruins. Now that he was here in person, he was not aware of the grandeur of this project.

Just then, the barrier's identification system activated again: 【————Unauthorized opening is strictly prohibited————】

[WARNING — High-risk match detected — Blocking procedure initiated]

[Command conflict — Imperial Ally Agreement detected — Logical verification in progress — Verification failed]

[Secondary verification in progress — Verification failed]

[Program conflict, unable to execute command]

The cold, mechanical voice echoed repeatedly, as if unsure whether the target approaching the top-level blockade was friend or foe. Perhaps, after endless years, this seemingly stable program had already fallen into a state of collapse.

On one hand, it recognized Lin Ziming's identity as an ally, an identity that granted him sufficient authority to reach the outer perimeter of the blockade and even get close to the blockade line, but did not permit him to open the blockade. On the other hand, it seemed to believe that Lin Ziming should also be imprisoned inside the blockade line.

Two completely contradictory commands collided repeatedly within this ancient program, countless runes lit up and went out, and the entire seal began to tremble slightly, yet it was unable to make a final judgment, ultimately leaving Lin Ziming's conceptual body to float outside the blockade line.

As the program descended into chaos, the entire lockdown experienced a momentary tremor, as if something deep within the "Virtual Realm" had sensed the commotion outside.

An abyssal aura rose up, rapidly approaching the boundary sealed by the "Virtual Realm," and then instantly activated the emergency program.

[WARNING — High-risk match detected]

[Lockdown Level — Full Power Activation]

The originally conflicting programs were instantly overridden with the highest priority when they detected the anomaly inside the "virtual realm," bursting out with a blinding light and raising the sealing force to the extreme.

The terrifying aura was forced back by the suddenly activated lockdown procedure and plunged back into the depths of the "Virtual Realm".

However, before being forced back, a cold and ancient consciousness took advantage of the turmoil caused by the impact on the sealing boundary to send out a message, which landed on Lin Ziming's conceptual body.

"The Abyss of Death and Annihilation —"

That consciousness seemed to confirm an established fact, and its words to Lin Ziming echoed like countless overlapping voices: "Why—outside?"

So—small and fragile—

These words were like drops of water squeezed from a crack in the rock. After the seal was completely stabilized, the aura from the depths of the Void Realm also disappeared completely, as if it had never existed. Only Lin Ziming's conceptual body remained suspended outside the Void Realm's seal, his dazed consciousness completely unaware of everything.

When that name appeared, the dragon bones curled up in the black and red sun inexplicably throbbed, like the instinctive fetal movements of an infant yet to be born after being stimulated.