Across the ten million history nodes, every victory of one side strengthened the mountains.

Every loss caused the timeline to stall, and the rapidly escalating battle slowly came to an end.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the war ended as the ten million histories concluded.

The mountains trembled as Void and Shen Ye took form, and the winner was declared.

Void's form was twice the size of Shen Ye's. Meaning that across countless possibilities over ten million years, Void had won twice as many times.

"Oh, Shen Ye…" Void clicked his tongue as he called out.

"When will you learn?" Void asked, shaking his head.

Shen Ye could only look at Void, but he had nothing to say.

He had lost not only this battle, but also the earlier one when Void was still at Quasi Rank 4. Back then, he should have killed him instantly, but he chose to torture him instead. And now Void had reached Rank 4.

At the same realm, Void had become terrifyingly strong.

And even at the same realm, he had lost again.

Snap…

Void snapped his fingers, reducing Shen Ye to nothing but a mortal. As the winner, he had that authority. He couldn't make him a mortal forever, but there was no issue in stripping him down for thousands of years.

Void's projection and the now-mortal Shen Ye were sent back to the First Layer of Space.

Shen Ye had been stripped of all power, left as nothing but a mortal. Although he was still a Rank 4 being in essence, within the duration set by Void, he would remain just a mortal. Even if he died, he would be reborn as a mortal, and his memories might even be suppressed.

Only when the duration ended would he remember who he was and his power would return.

"The battle is over," Void said as he shrank into human form.

His slaves followed, also taking human form. That was when Shen Ye spoke.

"Linkir… this is your chance," he said.

He knew Linkir's

name ? Could that mean....

The slaves were stunned. Their commander knew this being?

Although their souls had shaken the moment Shen Ye appeared, they had assumed it was just another Rank 4 conflict. But now it was clear he had history with Void and the result was this: he had been reduced to a mortal.

"Attack Void," Shen Ye said.

Their shock deepened even further.

What was the relationship between them?

Linkir was the most confused. Then her eyes narrowed as memories surfaced.

Wasn't this Shen Ye?

Memories flooded back—Anya, Shen Ye, the two children she had once known… then Void arriving and destroying everything, erasing the world itself.

But that was in the past.

"I'm sorry, but no," Linkir said.

"Damn you! This is your only chance! If you do this, maybe I and my sister can forgive you!" Shen Ye shouted.

Silence spread instantly as an oppressive aura filled the space.

Shen Ye, trapped in a breathing bubble, was going mad.

All these years, he believed Linkir could do nothing because Void was too strong. Maybe Void controlled her life and death—but now, aside from Void, everyone else was at Quasi Rank 4.

What was there to fear?

Void wouldn't kill her.

It was a gamble but perhaps if Linkir struck at the right moment, even distracting Void for an instant, Shen Ye might recover his strength.

Though unrealistic after all Linkir was still only Quasi Rank 4 but the possibility existed.

Linkir hesitated as Anya's memory resurfaced.

But she still shook her head.

"No," she said plainly.

Shen Ye's expression darkened as all hope faded.

Nephem watched with excitement, barely containing himself, eager to ask Linkir about the situation and how it connected to Void.

Alayot observed calmly from the side.

Junnie looked at Linkir with hatred and snorted at her refusal.

If Linkir had agreed or even moved, she would have been the first to attack linkir.

Nyx and Mark watched like outsiders, having not been with Void from the beginning.

As for Sword Demon, his frown deepened. He felt something tugging at his memory—something important he had forgotten.

"See that, Shen Ye? No one stands up for you," Void chuckled, his eyes resting on Sword Demon.

And as expected, Sword Demon reacted.

"Shen Ye…" Sword Demon's eyes brightened as he smiled.

"Huh?" Shen Ye looked up at the human standing just inches from his bubble.

Sword Demon was excited, but seeing Shen Ye's confused expression made him tremble slightly.

"It's me… Sword Demon. Your master… how is Chu Su?"

Boom…

"What?!"

Void's entire group froze in shock.

They looked between Shen Ye, Sword Demon, Void, and Linkir.

What the hell was going on?

Sword Demon was this being's master? A Rank 4 being?

But that wasn't even the issue, this meant Shen Ye had history with Void, the master of Sword Demon.

So Shen Ye had a grudge with Sword Demon's grandmaster? Or something like that?

They felt like they had been thrown into a whirlpool they couldn't understand.

Void allowed it as Sword Demon entered the bubble and hugged Shen Ye. The two almost broke into tears.

After the hug, it was time for Shen Ye to answer—but he couldn't look Sword Demon in the eyes.

Sword Demon's smile faded.

"What happened to your senior sister?" he asked, voice heavy with doubt.

Shen Ye remained silent.

"Let me answer that," Void said.

Shen Ye glared at him with hatred.

Sword Demon saw it—but felt no rage or hatred toward Void.

"You see… she's dead. I destroyed her with your world and left Shen Ye alive," Void said calmly.

Boom…

"Oh…" Alayot muttered.

Linkir sighed.

Nephem smiled.

"What an interesting turn of events," he said.

"Just wow," Nyx said, staring at Void.

"Yes, go, Master," Junnie laughed as everyone rolled their eyes at her.

"I actually killed Anya his blood sister

to torment Shen Ye, but I felt it wasn't enough, so I destroyed his world as well. And to top it off, I intentionally took you, Sword Demon, as my slave so I could break him even further."

"But… what the—" Nephem's expression changed for a moment upon hearing Void's words.

Did Shen Ye kill Void's wife or something? Did they have a grudge? Was all of this just for Shen Ye? Why? What did Void hope to gain?

"But… this can't be…" Sword Demon couldn't believe it.

"Correct. I was there… I saw everything and did nothing about it," Linkir added.

Void's slaves, except for Junnie, all took a step back.

"Come here, fool," Nyx said, grabbing Junnie and pulling her back.

Only Void, Linkir, Sword Demon, and Shen Ye remained forward.

Anyone with eyes could see the rising tension among the four of them.

"Boss, did Shen Ye offend you in any way?" Nephem asked.

After all, they couldn't judge without hearing Void's side, right?

"Hmm, let me think…" Void said, stroking his chin as sparks flickered around him.

So maybe Shen Ye had done something wrong?

Even Shen Ye wanted to know—what exactly had he done to deserve all this?

"Nah, just for the fun of it."

Boom…

"Ohhh…"

Void's slaves all stood there with their mouths open in shock.