Super God Academy: Kabuto

Just as Lin Yu was reeling from the overwhelming darkness and was nearly swallowed by endless questions—

嗒。

Clear footsteps echoed from the absolute nothingness behind him.

The hazy figure from the wooden house had silently appeared beside him, standing shoulder to shoulder with him as they watched the invisible vortex of information remaining after the light screen dissipated.

Are you surprised?

An aged voice rang out calmly, as if recounting an ancient story unrelated to himself.

"I am the first consciousness born in this universe. I've been here alone for far too long, so long that I've almost forgotten time itself." His gaze drifted into the depths of nothingness, as if retracing the steps of some distant point. "Until that day, they came. They said they wanted to find something in my world. I found it... quite interesting."

He paused, his gaze falling on Lin Yu as if it were a tangible object, piercing through his skin and looking directly at the primordial imprints intertwined deep within his soul.

"But if they themselves were to enter, this fragile universe would collapse in an instant. So, I've come up with a compromise." His voice was devoid of emotion, only the indifference of stating a fact. "Let you—a special creation born from the essence they relinquished, nurtured in this world—completely integrate into this realm. In their place, go and find that...that they lost."

"Me?" Lin Yu felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and he staggered back a step, almost losing his balance. "Wasn't I... someone who transmigrated? And who was that other me in the black trench coat?!"

"Think about it carefully," the hazy figure said in a flat tone, "Do you really possess even a single, complete, and authentic memory from 'before you transmigrated'? Everything you 'remember' is nothing more than a carefully woven 'background' used to anchor your identity in this world."

"As for 'him'..." The figure turned his head slightly, "He is also you. Or rather, he is the original you."

His gaze shifted to Kabuto Zecter, which hovered quietly beside Lin Yu, radiating a dark red glow. For the first time, a faint ripple of surprise or interest flickered in his voice.

"And it, Kabuto Zecter... I never expected it. This creation of laws from another world would combine with you and become a huge 'variable'." He said slowly, "The fusion of the world's origin with you should have allowed you to completely stabilize in this world and become a part of it. But the intervention of Kabuto's power has pried open a strange 'rift' at the point where you 'fit' with the world—it has given you the ability to transcend the common sense of this world and interfere with spacetime."

"That 'me' in the black trench coat, did he use this ability?"

"Yes and no," the hazy figure confirmed. "He shares the same origin as you, but he doesn't rely on this 'rift.' He uses a more primal power of time rooted deep within your shared origin. But Kabuto's existence acts like an amplifier, a coordinate, making 'travel' itself possible. And the 'gap' created by this has only two distinctive features: one is you, and the other is him. He is the original origin, and you are the 'present' that was reborn in this world after the origin was divided."

A deluge of information, like the Big Bang, roared and collided within Lin Yu's mind. He forced himself to grasp a sliver of clarity from the near-tearful shock and asked the most crucial question, his voice hoarse:

"Why...why are you telling me this?"

The hazy figure let out a low, enigmatic laugh, a laugh that seemed to contain the rise and fall of countless civilizations.

"I want to see," he said slowly, each word carrying the weight of eternity, "just how far you, this unique being who embodies both 'external origin' and 'otherworldly variable,' can go."

"However, remember this: everything we have discussed today, and the possibility of the darkness you just witnessed, will be sealed in the deepest recesses of your consciousness. The only things you will clearly remember are the ordinary and extraordinary experiences you have had in this world, those belonging to 'Lin Yu'."

Before the words were even finished, the absolute darkness around them began to ripple like water, and the space itself began to distort slightly.

"Alright," his tone seemed a little more relaxed, "if you don't go back now, those two ladies outside might really tear down my dilapidated house."

Inside the wooden house

On the chessboard, black and white pieces lay scattered, their arrangement no longer in harmony. Although He Xi and Keisha sat upright, their minds were far from the game. Hesitant to place a piece, their gazes frequently drifting to the unfathomable, hazy figure opposite them, and to Lin Yu himself, who seemed lost in the deepest meditation, his aura barely perceptible. Worry clung to them like vines, their vigilance as solid as ice.

"Never mind." The hazy figure suddenly waved his sleeve, and the chessboard, chess pieces, and teacups vanished in an instant, leaving the wooden house as simple and empty as when they first entered. He looked at the two women, who were clearly distracted, and said with a hint of understanding and a touch of teasing, "Seeing how lost you two are, this old man has lost interest in playing. He... should be back soon."

"Please forgive me, senior." He Xi suppressed the anxiety surging in her heart, maintained the outward politeness, but her voice was a bit more tense than usual.

Just then, a flash of light appeared.

Lin Yu's figure had already returned to his original position, as if he had never left.

He Xi rose almost instantly, went to his side, and gently but firmly embraced him, pressing his head softly against her shoulder and neck. Her voice was low, with a barely perceptible tremor: "You're back? Where did you go?"

Almost instinctively, Lin Yu wrapped his arms around her slender yet powerful waist, burying his face deep in her neck, greedily inhaling her familiar, calming scent tinged with the cool fragrance of flowers. Though the vast and terrifying fragments of information in his mind were blocked by an invisible barrier, the aftershocks still stirred his soul. He could only hold tightly to this real and warm presence in his arms, drawing strength from her.

"Alright, alright, really..." The blurry figure sighed with a helpless laugh, "I'm still here, in broad daylight... well, even though there's no sun or moon, this kind of intimacy is just unbecoming."

Before the words were finished, a gentle yet overwhelming light enveloped the three of them.

A dizzying sensation washed over them, followed by a brief period of weightlessness, then a solid feel beneath their feet. When their vision cleared, they found themselves in the familiar courtyard of North Star. Behind them, the thick fog that had once held the wooden house and endless mysteries was rapidly swirling and contracting, finally dissipating completely into the air, as if it had all been nothing more than a bizarre afternoon dream.

Back on their own turf, all three of them involuntarily breathed a sigh of relief. Lin Yu looked down at He Xi's face, so close to his, reflected in her icy blue eyes. The real feeling of having regained her made his heart flutter. He tightened his arms around her and whispered, "Wife, I missed you."

He Xi's eyes were like water, rippling with tenderness. Without saying a word, she simply tilted her head slightly and placed a kiss on his lips that was as light as a feather but full of unspoken words.

Once the three of them sat down again at the stone table in the courtyard, He Xi and Keisha's gazes immediately focused on Lin Yu.

"Tell me," He Xi said directly, her tone returning to its usual calmness, yet unable to conceal the deep inquiry within. "Where did you go? What did you experience?" Although Keisha did not speak, her scrutinizing gaze indicated that she needed the same answer.

Lin Yu frowned slightly, trying to organize the information in his mind. Those clear memories seemed to be covered by a thick layer of frosted glass, leaving only blurry outlines and intense feelings.

"I... I think I went to a pitch-black place." He spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully. "There was light in the distance, so I followed the light... and saw a wooden door. I pushed the door open, and inside was... a very strange place, with lots of colorful bubbles floating around."

He paused, as if trying to grasp the strange sensation: "Then, I was sucked into the nearest bubble..."

"After that... I felt like I became an observer. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, I could only watch, I could only feel." His voice carried a hint of weariness after experiencing countless things, and a kind of relieved emptiness. "I experienced many... completely different lives. Farmer, scholar, king... birth, old age, sickness, and death, love, hate, and grudges. So many that... I almost forgot who I was originally, what my name was."

Keisha crossed her arms, a rational analytical glint in her eyes: "Those beings at that level, every move they make carries profound meaning. It's absolutely impossible for them to simply let you... 'experience' a different life."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yu closed his eyes and carefully examined himself. After a moment, he reopened his eyes, a hint of surprise flashing in them: "My soul... or rather, my spiritual core, seems to have been cleansed, becoming more solid and resilient. Some areas where my perception of power was previously vague are now much clearer." He looked at the two women and asked, "And you two? Do you have any particular feelings?"

He Xi shook her head and exchanged a glance with Keisha: "Us? After we finish that cup of tea, we'll play chess with him until you come back." Both of their gazes held the same solemnity. Clearly, the mysterious being's primary target had always been Lin Yu.