Dancing on the golden ashes-Chapter 244: You’re her, but also not her at the same time...

I felt a shift in the air, a subtle yet undeniable change that weighed down on my chest. The room seemed to darken, and for a moment, it felt as if the entire universe had pressed its burden upon me — a crushing presence that swallowed the air and made my breathing shallow.

But no… it wasn't the universe. It was her aura — the intense, suffocating heat of fire radiating from Agnia.

"So your fate has reached this part already…" Her voice carried a somber weight, and I felt a sudden unease stir within me.

Something's not right. What does she mean by that?

"What do you mean by my fate?" I asked, my voice quieter than I intended. "You mean I'm walking the same path as the one before me?"

I turned to face her, and the moment our eyes met, I knew. The way her gaze trembled slightly, the flicker of regret that flashed in her expression — it told me everything I needed to know.

"So it's true…" I muttered, bitterness rising in my throat. "I'm just a shadow of her…"

It stung more than I expected. The idea that I was nothing more than someone doomed to follow the footsteps of a past self, a failure repeating their mistakes…

"No," Agnia's voice cut through my thoughts, firm yet gentle. She shook her head and stepped closer, standing beside me as we both gazed out at the city below. "You're not her shadow... but you are her — and you're not at the same time. It's complicated. Time and space don't follow the rules we understand."

Her words lingered, and the silence that followed felt colder than the air outside.

"Care to elaborate?" I asked, unable to hide the frustration in my voice. She knew more than she let on, and now I needed answers.

Agnia didn't speak right away. Instead, she stood motionless, her gaze locked on the horizon as though she were staring into something far beyond the city itself.

"Master?" I asked softly, speaking a word I had never used for her before.

"Ah?" My voice seemed to snap her from her trance.

"Can you explain to me exactly what I am?" My heart pounded violently in my chest. "It feels like you know more than you told me before…"

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For a moment, her eyes softened, and I wondered if she felt pity for me. Or maybe regret. Whatever it was, I needed to hear the truth.

"Follow me," she said at last, her hand lifting as a rift tore open before her. The swirling void stretched wide, revealing nothing but shadow beyond it.

"Can I even follow you?" I hesitated. "Last time—"

"Last time, the area was only as vast as your combined strength allowed," she interrupted, her lips curling into a small smile — one that hinted at something more. "But with your power now... how far do you think you can go?"

That smile unsettled me. She knew something I didn't — something I suspected would change everything.

"I understand," I said simply. There was no point in dragging this out with endless questions. Whatever answers awaited me... they lay beyond that rift.

We didn't need a million words to explain how we both felt about this whole situation, so I saved my breath.

I took the first step, and as the air shifted around me, the world spun in a dizzying blur. When my vision cleared, I found myself standing on the edge of something breathtaking — a world so vast and incomprehensible that it felt like I was staring at the very fabric of time itself.

I was standing in outer space.

Stars stretched endlessly across the horizon, swirling clouds of cosmic dust weaving through the darkness like rivers of shimmering light. The vastness seemed infinite, yet somehow, I knew this place was more than just endless emptiness. There was power here — something pure, something eternal.

I could feel the energy pressing down on me, heavy and suffocating. It clung to my skin like cold chains, winding tighter with each passing second, making it hard to breathe. My chest tightened as if the air had been drained from my lungs, and for a moment, I thought I might be crushed beneath its weight.

But then, a gentle hand rested on my shoulder.

The pressure vanished instantly, leaving me feeling weightless, like a feather drifting along a quiet river. I felt calm, untouchable — as if the depths of this endless universe could never pull me under.

"Why here?" I asked, my voice quieter than I intended. The world before me felt… full. It felt complete, whole in a way I had never experienced before. Deep down, I knew why — this world had not yet been shattered. It was untouched by destruction.

"Because this is where eternity lies," Agnia said, her voice filled with quiet reverence. "In the search for eternity, our ancestors broke through their limits, striving to escape the world that bound them. And here… they found the place that is eternally young, eternally expanding. The universe itself."

I listened closely, yet something about her words left me uneasy.

"The energy that sustains this place is called cosmic energy," she continued, her voice brimming with passion. "It's far superior to soul energy, which only ties us to mortality. Cosmic energy is the force that nurtures infinity itself."

"So what you're telling me," I said slowly, trying to piece her words together, "is that I need to reach for the cosmos to find my eternity?"

I thought I understood, but her next words made my heart skip a beat.

"No," she said firmly, shaking her head. "Not at all."

Her eyes darkened, and the warmth in her voice faded.

"The ancestors only called this realm 'Eternity' out of their desperate hope to reach it one day," she said quietly. "But the truth lies not in the realm itself… but in what you must sacrifice to obtain it."

I swallowed hard.

"And what would that be?" My voice barely escaped my throat.

"You know the answer already," Agnia said softly, her eyes filled with something far heavier than pity. "If you want to reach that realm... if you want to claim the power of eternity... you must give up on your friends. Let them rest in peace."

I felt my breath catch, and for a moment, my thoughts scattered like leaves in the wind.

"Your heart is unstable," she continued, her voice heavy with finality. "And with an unstable heart, you will never reach the Immortal Emperor's stage."

My gaze drifted downward, locking onto the world below my feet. The universe stretched out endlessly beneath me, yet all I could see was my own reflection in the glassy expanse. My fists clenched tightly at my sides as my heart twisted painfully in my chest.

"So… the heart is the key to reaching the peak?" My voice shook slightly. "The same realm where you stand?"

"Yes," she said, nodding slowly. "That's exactly right. Without a strong heart, one can never reach that stage. But even then... it's not the true peak. No one knows where cultivation ends. Perhaps it never does."

Her voice softened, and for the first time since I arrived, I saw something else in her — sorrow.

"At least," she added quietly, "I never had enough time to find out…"

A single tear slipped down her cheek, trailing silently before falling into the endless void below.

I watched it fall, feeling the weight of her words more than I wanted to admit.

"So…" I began carefully, "what did she give up to reach that stage?"

I didn't need to say her name. Agnia knew who I meant — the other me.

"The same thing you should give up now," she whispered.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the endless stars, feeling like they were somehow further away than ever before.

"I see…" My voice came out strained, yet steady. I didn't feel anger, nor frustration — just sadness. Not for myself, but for her… for the one who walked this path before me. For the one who gave up everything.

"I'll find my own path," I said quietly, more to myself than to Agnia. "I'll find my own way to eternity… and when I do, I'll have what it takes to revive them."