Chapter 59: This Swing Will Be Cool

Meanwhile, inside Qiong’s consciousness.

An endless, inky void stretched out around her.

Beneath Qiong’s feet, a glassy black surface promised solidity, yet every instinct screamed it was a fragile illusion, ready to shatter into nothingness at the slightest pressure.

The center of this void, however, was not empty.

A figure stood there, his silhouette blurred but unmistakably that of a tall, blond man.

He was clad in the severe, immaculate lines of a military dress uniform, his posture rigid and unyielding.

He stood with his back to Qiong, facing a churning vortex of chaotic matter—a tumor of reality that pulsed with a sickly, dark-gold light and constantly shifted its form.

“…The price?”

The blond man’s voice, strained and brittle, drifted across the void.

It was laced with a paranoia born from the crushing weight of immense responsibility, the words of a man desperately trying to convince himself.

“Preservation…

Preservation by any means necessary is the only true Preservation.

The sacrifice of the people…

it is for the greater collective.

The power you promised…

give it to me!”

In response, the mass of chaotic matter vibrated silently.

A torrent of seductive whispers, more potent than before, poured directly into Qiong’s consciousness, bypassing her ears entirely.

The thoughts were not her own, yet they were presented with a twisted, obvious logic.

“Submit…

Accept…

Destruction is merely a prelude to rebirth…

Shatter this fragile, stagnant Order…

and you will gain the power to rewrite it all…”

Flashes of fragmented images assaulted her, battering against the walls of her mind.

Eyes losing their light, dimming into despair.

Skeletal arms, thin as twigs, reaching from the shadows of towering, oppressive walls.

And through it all, the stoic side profile of the blond man, slowly being consumed by the encroaching dark-gold light.

An immense, suffocating wave of sorrow, anger, and absolute nothingness washed over her, threatening to drown her completely.

Her limbs locked, muscles turning to stone.

A scream died in her throat, leaving her a helpless statue.

She could only watch as the blond man’s back grew dimmer, and the chaotic light blazed ever brighter.

Just then—

Crack!

The sharp, clean sound of shattering glass echoed from high above the void.

A fissure appeared without warning on the sky of this frozen dreamscape.

It was followed by the sound of a footstep, then a second, and a third…

clear, deliberate steps treading upon invisible stairs.

Each footfall carried a power that steadied the heart, faintly suppressing the omnipresent, seductive whispers.

A figure stepped through the crack in the sky.

Grey hair fluttered in the windless space, the hem of a dark coat swaying gently.

She held a metal baseball bat, gripping it by the barrel so the head rested casually against her shoulder.

Her pace was unhurried, yet it carried an easy confidence that could shatter any illusion.

It was Chen.

To Qiong’s wide eyes, she seemed to be a source of light herself, a beacon that instantly dispelled the worst of the surrounding darkness and cold.

The face she wore wasn’t twisted with the heavy burden of the blond man in the dream.

There was only that familiar, slightly roguish, and incredibly warm smile.

Step by step, Chen walked right up to the frozen Qiong, completely ignoring the phantom of the blond man and the chaotic mass of light still murmuring their poisonous promises nearby.

She stopped, tilted her head slightly, and looked into Qiong’s dazed, unfocused eyes.

Then, she reached out and gently patted the top of her head.

The gesture was filled with their usual intimacy, but also a hint of helpless resignation, a silent ‘what am I going to do with you?’

“Little Precious Qiong,” Chen spoke, her voice clear and crisp, cutting straight through the droning background whispers.

“If you have nightmares, you won’t grow tall, you know!”

She ruffled Qiong’s hair, her smile widening into a grin.

“And you’ll get scared by all the bad things.”

Qiong stared at her blankly.

In her eyes, which always seemed a little lost, Chen’s figure was reflected with perfect clarity.

Warmth began to seep back into her limbs.

The void in her heart, which had been gripped by fear and nihilism, was suddenly filled with a surging sense of peace and reliance.

Her eyes couldn’t help but sparkle.

Only then did Chen seem to notice the rest of the scenery.

She turned her head, glancing at the blond phantom and the chaotic light, still attempting to broadcast their twisted ideology.

The warm smile on her face didn’t falter, but a dangerous glint flickered deep within her eyes.

“Tch, so noisy.” She clicked her tongue, her tone utterly dismissive.

Then, she turned back to Qiong and gave her a conspiratorial wink.

She spoke in a voice as natural as if commenting on the weather, yet her words held the power to sever all shackles.

“Little Precious Qiong, watch and remember the next few moves!

This is going to be your Ultimate Skill in the future!”

With a flick of her wrist, the metal bat slid from her shoulder.

She caught it, her grip firm, and pointed the head of the bat toward the heart of the twisted illusion.

She bent her knees slightly, sinking her center of gravity into a perfect, standard batting stance.

The corners of her mouth curled into a dazzling smile, a brilliant fusion of wild abandon and fierce protectiveness.

“Rules…

are meant to be broken.”

The moment the words left her lips, her figure blurred into motion!

There was no devastating explosion of energy, only the absolute focus and blinding speed of her entire body’s strength and will, all condensed into a single, perfect point!

Step, twist, swing—

The metal bat sliced through the dream-void, creating a resonance that seemed to tear at the very fabric of the nightmare!

With unstoppable momentum, the baseball bat slammed—

BOOM!!!

—right into the core of the incessant whispers, shattering the twisted connection between the blond man’s phantom and the Stellaron’s influence!

The dream space shook violently!

Spiderweb cracks spread frantically from the point of impact!

The phantom of the blond man let out a silent, agonized roar as his form shattered into a million pieces!

The chaotic mass of light seemed to have been struck at its most fragile, critical node.

The dark-gold light flickered erratically before being swallowed whole by the spreading fissures!

“Little Precious Qiong, did you get that?”

Chen held her cool, post-swing pose, her body a study in coiled power.

She looked back over her shoulder at Qiong, whose eyes were now wide and perfectly round, and flashed a brilliant smile.

“This swing,” she declared, “will be very cool.”

Crack!

CRASH!!!

The entire void dreamscape, like a mirror struck with impossible force, didn’t just crack—it exploded into countless motes of light, their power extinguished, flying into nothingness.

A sense of warmth and solidity returned in an instant.

Qiong took a sharp, gasping breath, like someone breaking the surface of deep water, and was finally, completely free from the nightmare.

Back in the hotel room.

Chen, who had collapsed onto the carpet, still had a small, angry red mark on her forehead.

She let out a low groan.

Her head was throbbing painfully as she slowly blinked her eyes open.

Her first priority, however, was to look toward the bed.

At that exact moment, Qiong’s eyes fluttered open as well.

Her gaze was clear, with no lingering haze from the nightmare.

She turned her head and saw Chen on the floor, grimacing as she rubbed her head.

Qiong was stunned for a moment, then a dependent and wonderfully warm smile bloomed on her face.

“Xing…” she called out softly.

Seeing that clean, untroubled smile, Chen forgot all about his headache and grinned back.

He scrambled up from the floor, brushing off non-existent dust from his clothes.

“Nightmare’s been driven off.” He gave her a thumbs-up, his tone breezy and relaxed, as if he hadn’t just fought a metaphysical battle in the depths of her consciousness.

“Go back to sleep.

I’ll watch over you.”

Qiong nodded and peacefully closed her eyes.

This time, her breathing was completely steady and deep, as she sank into a truly dreamless sleep.

Chen sat on the carpet beside the bed, leaning his back against the frame.

He rubbed his still-aching forehead, glanced out the window at the artificial night of the Underworld, and couldn’t help but mutter to himself.

“My head!!!”

[Elysian’s Note:

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