Chapter 550: Mental World, External Access

Chapter 550: Chapter 550: Mental World, External Access

The clouds drew closer.

Seraphina Sullivan passed through the first layer of clouds, and the vista before her opened up.

Sunlight cascaded from above, blanketing the sea of clouds in what looked like a layer of golden satin.

And in the deepest part of the cloud sea, a massive Energy Ball hung suspended, resembling a slumbering sun. It rotated slowly, emitting a light that made the heart pound.

At the core of the Energy Ball was a person.

Sean Chandler.

His eyes were closed, suspended in the very center of the Energy Ball, his body enveloped in a golden glow, like an insect sealed in amber.

His expression was serene, so much so that he looked asleep, but Seraphina Sullivan knew he wasn’t.

He was in a battle.

An unseen, silent war was raging deep within his consciousness.

Seraphina Sullivan urged the cloud to draw closer.

The closer she got, the stronger the pressure from the Energy Ball became. It felt like a giant, invisible hand pushing her back, forbidding her from taking another step.

She gritted her teeth, pushing against the pressure, moving forward inch by inch.

Finally, she reached out, her fingertips almost touching the surface of the Energy Ball—

A tremendous force recoiled, flinging her backward.

The cloud tumbled several times in the air. Seraphina Sullivan desperately clung to the edge to keep from falling.

Her palm was numb from the impact, a searing pain shooting through her fingertips.

’A protective mechanism.’

’The Energy Ball is protecting Sean Chandler. Or rather, it’s protecting this struggle from being disturbed by anyone.’

Seraphina Sullivan stabilized herself and approached the Energy Ball again.

This time, she didn’t try to force her way through. Instead, she stopped about a step away from the sphere and gazed at the slumbering man within.

"Sean Chandler!" she shouted.

Her voice struck the surface of the Energy Ball and rebounded, echoing through the empty sky.

Inside the Energy Ball, Sean Chandler didn’t react at all. His eyelids didn’t even twitch as he remained in his slumbering state.

"Sean Chandler! Wake up!"

Seraphina Sullivan shouted again, her voice louder and more forceful than before.

Sean Chandler’s eyelids twitched slightly.

It was a flicker, a momentary tremor that was almost imperceptible, but Seraphina Sullivan saw it.

Her heart leaped as if it had been struck.

"You heard me, right?"

She leaned closer, her voice softening but remaining clear. "Sean Chandler, if you can hear me, wake up. You’re not alone. You have friends. You have Dexter Luther, Crystal Lynn, Matthew Dawson, and Paul Payne. They’re all waiting for you to come back."

The figure inside the Energy Ball trembled slightly.

This tremor was more pronounced than the last. Sean Chandler’s brow furrowed slightly, as if he were struggling against something.

「Meanwhile.」

Deep within Sean Chandler’s consciousness was a roiling chaos.

Two forces tore at each other within his being, like two behemoths fighting for territory, neither willing to yield an inch.

One force was ancient and sinister, carrying a decaying Aura.

It was a fragment of Rod’s Divine Soul. Although merely a remnant left behind before his death, it had fermented and prepared for countless years, growing suffocatingly powerful.

It rampaged through Sean Chandler’s consciousness, attempting to overwrite his memories, devour his will, and usurp his very existence.

"Give up."

Rod’s voice surged in from all directions, like a tide, like a storm. "Your body, your Power, everything you are... it will all be mine.

This is your destiny, sealed the moment you took up the Demon God’s Pillar."

The other force was silent but resilient.

That was Sean Chandler himself.

He lacked Rod’s domineering presence, that all-encompassing pressure, but he was like a reef in the sea—unmoving, no matter how violently the tides crashed against him.

Memories flashed through his mind.

The smiles of his friends, Crystal Lynn’s tears, Matthew Dawson’s silence, Paul Payne’s solemn focus.

He saw them all standing under the Redwood Tree, looking at him. "Let’s all work hard to survive this apocalypse."

"Sean Chandler, we all need you!"

Seraphina Sullivan stood outside the Energy Ball, shouting his name.

"Sean Chandler! Wake up!"

That voice pierced the chaos, penetrated Rod’s Divine Soul, and shot like a beam of light deep into his consciousness.

Sean Chandler’s brow furrowed even tighter.

He had heard her.

Seraphina Sullivan’s voice had penetrated the Energy Ball’s barrier, pierced the chaotic sea of his mind, and, like a slender thread, had caught his consciousness just as it was about to sink into the abyss.

But that thread was too thin, so thin it could snap at any moment.

He had heard her, but it was no use.

He and Rod, the previous Lord of the Demon God, were already using every ounce of their strength in the struggle for control of his body.

Although it was merely a remnant of Rod’s Divine Soul left behind before his death, it had fermented and prepared for countless years, growing suffocatingly powerful.

It was like a black tide, surging from all directions, attempting to drown his consciousness, overwrite his memories, and devour his very being.

All Sean Chandler could do was desperately defend his last bastion of self, like a reef in a storm, refusing to yield an inch to the crashing tide.

But that was all he could do.

He couldn’t retreat, nor could he advance.

He was trapped here, trapped in this endless tug-of-war, unable to even move a finger.

’I have to go back!’ Sean Chandler’s consciousness roared, but the sound could not escape the chaos. ’I can’t let him steal my body!’

Rod’s cold, mocking laughter surged from all directions. "It’s all useless. Your body, your Power, everything you are... will belong to me. This is your destiny, sealed the moment you took up the Demon God’s Pillar."

The words echoed in Sean Chandler’s mind once more.

But Sean Chandler refused to give in.

Rod’s assault grew more ferocious. The black tide morphed into countless tentacles, attempting to ensnare the last fragment of Sean Chandler’s consciousness.

Sean Chandler gritted his teeth, holding on for dear life, but he could feel his will being drained away, bit by bit, like sand slipping silently through an hourglass.

Outside the Energy Ball, Seraphina Sullivan stared intently at the man inside, his brow tightly furrowed.

She watched his brow knit together, his expression shifting from struggle to pain, and from pain to a terrifying numbness.

’He’s being devoured.’

’Rod’s consciousness is slowly gaining the upper hand, and Sean Chandler—that quiet but incredibly resilient man—is slowly fading away.’

’He needs help from the outside,’ Seraphina Sullivan thought, gritting her teeth.

’Only if someone breaks their stalemate from the outside can Sean Chandler regain Control of his body.’

’The question is—how? I can’t even touch the surface of the Energy Ball.’

Seraphina Sullivan raised her hand, and the Magic Scissors materialized in her palm.

The massive phantom scissors opened their blades and snapped shut violently on the Energy Ball—CLANG! The scissors were flung back, leaving the Energy Ball completely unscathed. ’Useless.’

She switched to the Universal Sniper Rifle, loaded a Space Bullet, and aimed at the same spot.

A transparent energy beam tore through the air and slammed hard against the surface of the Energy Ball.

BOOM! The Space Bullet detonated, ripping a tiny fissure in the sphere’s surface. But the crack sealed itself in an instant, as if it had never existed.