Survival for All: I can deconstruct projections and synthesize everything.

Beyond the void, in the deepest part of the misty world.

In the chaotic and indescribable dimension, the conversation between the three humanoid shadows was nearing its end.

The will of the ninth-tier being at the very top flowed like a cold river of stars.

Each fluctuation of thought caused the surrounding chaotic blocks of color to tremble violently, recombine, and evolve into a brief yet terrifying spectacle of cosmic birth and death.

"Astros's defeat... was not part of my lord's plan."

The voice of that being did not travel through sound waves, but was directly imprinted into the consciousness of the other two eighth-order beings, carrying a sense of indifferent grandeur.

"But the keys to the prison should be turned at the appropriate time."

The shadow on the left shifted its shape, transforming into the phantom of an old man draped in a robe of stars, his voice tinged with concern.

"Those imprisoned in the ruins are troublemakers who have been taken in since that era."

"Blood Soul Clan, Shadow Moon Wolf Clan, Crystallized Giant, Wind and Thunder Demon Dragon, Bone Demon... and even the descendants of the earliest survivors."

"If we release them all, their first move will probably be against us!"

The shadow on the right coalesced into the silhouette of a seductive woman, who chuckled softly, but her laughter was utterly devoid of warmth.

"Variables? Our Lord is about to complete his final ascension, and the entire Misty World will be unified. These remnants of the old era are just the right thing to test the mettle of the new generation of forces. The Eternal Alliance... the Rainbow Cloud Clan... and those old things hidden in the various Soul Domains."

The entity at the very top remained silent for a moment.

As He fell silent, the flow of time in the entire chaotic dimension seemed to become disordered, with fragments of light and shadow from the past, present, and future intertwining and flickering.

"The destruction of the Seventy-Seventh Division has exposed our lack of preparedness. It's better for things to go wrong now than for our Lord to find out."

The will of the ninth-order being was finally passed on once again.

"But this also provides an opportunity to test the self-evolution of the 'prison' while clearing out those overly active variables."

"The plan remains unchanged. The day of sublimation is approaching. All unstable factors must be brought under control, or... eliminated."

"Sir, does that mean the rules of the Mist World can be relaxed to some extent?"

His will swept over his two subordinates, nodding as he said, "The seal on the ruins will be partially opened, releasing some of the weaker races. As for the powerful ones, they will remain imprisoned in the ruins... Let them remain as they are for now!"

The illusory figure of the old man in the star-patterned robe bowed slightly: "As you command. But who will carry out the order? Although the Lord of the Ruins is nominally loyal to our Lord, His intentions..."

"What's more, he also has an eighth-tier enemy!"

The alluring female phantom continued, a hint of amusement in her voice: "The ruler of the ruins won't personally intervene; that's part of the agreement from back then. Besides, he's also afraid that eighth-tier cultivator will come knocking directly on our door!"

"However, Groom, the shadow giant butler under His command, and Tiamat, the dragon-devouring serpent He has raised for millions of years, are quite happy to stretch their muscles."

"not to mention……"

The woman's illusory form distorted slightly, revealing a sickly smile.

"It's time to release those well-tamed races from the ruins and let them see the light of day."

"For example, the Dark Erosion Worm Clan, the Blood-Weeping Demon Vine, and those Crystal Devourers who have completely converted to the Mist... they are very eager for new hunting grounds."

Ultimately, the ninth-order being at the top made the final judgment.

"Order the ruler of the ruins to open the outer sealing barrier of the ruins."

"Let Grum lead half of the taming zone's combat power into the various territories of the Mist World, with the primary target being—the Wood Soul Domain."

"I've heard that the seventh-tier beings there, through the power of faith, have once again gained the opportunity to advance to the eighth tier! And this is also the best testing ground for us to test the combined reactions of those races."

"As for the Eternal Alliance..."

For the first time, a faint fluctuation, almost as if seeking the truth, arose in the will of the ninth-order being.

"The overseers there have been eliminated, so let the overseers on the next level continue recording."

"That new survivor seems a bit strange!"

Chaos surged, and two eighth-order shadows bowed to receive the order, then transformed into streams of light and vanished into nothingness.

This dimension returned to deathly silence, with only the ninth-tier being still standing there. His gaze seemed to pierce through countless dimensions, landing on the ancient prison known as the ruins.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

ruins.

This is the name of a region, and also the remains of various worlds—a complex space forcibly stitched together, twisted, and imprisoned by the remnants of various destroyed worlds.

Millions of years ago, a momentous event occurred in the misty world.

A ninth-tier powerhouse who had been captured by the Misty World launched an attack on the core of the Misty World.

But for various reasons, this struggle ultimately ended in victory for the Mist World.

As for the reasons for the failure, there are many.

But the most important reason is that the consciousness of the Misty World is too powerful.

Subsequently, as time passed, although various forces continued to attack the Misty World, but...

As time went on, the survivors captured by the Mist World became weaker and weaker, while the consciousness of the Mist World began to do something earth-shattering.

sublimation!

The consciousness of the misty world yearns to transcend this universe.

However, under the limitations of this cosmic consciousness, the highest level of strength is only the tenth rank.

The only way to transcend this universe is to integrate the consciousness of the universe into his body.

This is how all sorts of survivors came to be.

Each time a batch of survivors is eliminated, it means that the universe's consciousness has been further eroded by the mist.

Now, the expansion of the Mist World has spread from the center of the universe to almost 99 percent of the universe.

And those ruins within ruins are worlds swallowed by the mist and destroyed.

And so, ruins were born.

The ruins were forcibly fused together from countless fragments of a broken world, with layers upon layers of internal space, and in some places, the rules were chaotic and disordered.

In fact, the ruins that Lin Xiao and his group went to were only the outermost edge of the entire ruins.

The outermost edge of the ruins is the adaptation zone, where the environment is relatively stable. It holds a large number of races, but their individual strength is relatively weak. They have struggled to survive over the long years and most have succumbed to despair.

However, there are also some powerful races, like the Wind and Thunder Demon Dragon, that have not been corrupted by the mist.

The middle level is the domestication zone, where the pressure of the rules is stronger, but resources are also relatively concentrated.

The races imprisoned here were either once extremely powerful or possessed special value.

The power of the mist penetrated even deeper here, and many races, driven by despair and temptation, gradually accepted the mist's taming, even becoming semi-tamed servants.

Dark Erosion Worms, Blood-Weeping Demon Vine Forest, and Crystal Devourer Clan are among the representatives.

The innermost layer of the ruins is the desolate Abyss, where terrifying beings capable of shaking the very foundations of the Misty World were once imprisoned, as well as conceptual dangers that could not be educated and could only be permanently confined.

The seal there is the most severe, completely distorting time and space.

However, the Abyss Zone is now almost deserted, and all the most powerful troublemakers are gone.

Instead, a misty wave flows through every space.

Above the center of the ruins stood a manor the size of a star.

On the throne in the core room of the manor sat a skeleton draped in a tattered black royal robe.

Two eerie green flames of soul burned in its eye sockets, and its skeletal hands gently caressed the countless struggling faces embedded in the armrests of the throne.

The giant, over ten thousand meters tall, that Lin Xiao saw when he left the ruins, stood respectfully to the left of the skeletal figure.

The dragon-devouring serpent that had once coiled around the giant had shrunk in size and now lay coiled at the feet of the skeletal figure.

That skeletal figure was the ruler of this ruined manor, a seventh-tier powerhouse—"Netherworld Skeleton" Kelsu.

He was once like the King of Gold, the last leader of a glorious civilization, but unfortunately, he encountered the arrival of the mist.

Even his current status as the ruler of the ruins was obtained at a great cost from the God of Mist, the will of the Mist World.

Of course, it could also be said that as long as the God of Mist has not removed him from his position of ruler, he will remain the ruler of the ruins.

"Groom".

Minghai's voice was dry and hoarse, like bones rubbing together violently.

From the shadows beneath the throne, a colossal figure slowly emerged.

It was a shadowy giant over thirty meters tall, its body seemingly formed from the densest darkness, with subtle shadow ripples constantly flowing across its surface.

He deliberately shrunk his body to this size.

It was dressed in a smart but old-fashioned black butler's uniform, and held a shimmering silver tray in its hands, on which lay a command letter written with the power of rules, just delivered by the Mist Messenger.

Although they cannot directly interfere in the position of ruler, they can still issue some orders to Kel'Thuzad.

"Master, the order from the core of the mist has been delivered."

The shadow giant butler, Groom, bowed slightly, his voice low and respectful, but his face, formed by shadows, revealed no expression.

The soul fire in the eye sockets of the Netherworld Corpse swept over the command letter, and its eerie green light flickered slightly.

"Unseal the seal... Adaptation Zone and Taming Zone..."

Minghai tapped the throne lightly with his bony fingers: "It seems that there are new variables in the outside world that are making those above uneasy."

"And this variable was actually caused by a familiar little bug!"

At this moment, Kelsu remembered that a few months ago, that little bug had also caused a ruckus in several areas under his control.

Ultimately, due to the rules imposed by the God of Mist, they were released.

"But unexpectedly, the rules set by the God of Mist have already been relaxed to some extent?"

"And that lord didn't even come out to stop it. Sure enough, he must have reached the most crucial point!"

Grum remained bowed: "Should I summon representatives from the various races of the 'Taming Zone'? The Queen of the Dark Corrosion Worm, the Mother of the Blood-Weeping Vine, and the Elder Council of the Crystal Devourer... They all crave more flesh and souls to nourish their races."

"And there's Tiamat, the Dragon-Eating Serpent."

Groom added, "It recently advanced to rank six, and now is the time for it to eat and replenish its energy!"

Minghai remained silent for a moment.

"Execute the command."

Finally, He slowly said, "Open the outer seal. The taming zone can deploy half of its combat power. You will be in command. Target—Wood Soul Domain—seize that faith formation!"

"Perhaps... with the help of that formation, the ascension of the God of Mist will proceed more smoothly!"

"But remember this!"

The soul fire in the sockets of the corpse's eyes was fixed on Grum: "You represent the will of the ruins, but you don't have to represent my will."

"Orders from above must be carried out, and the rules of the ruins must be followed. As for those prisoners who were released... how many will return depends on their own fate."

"The power of the Five Elements Soul Domain is not as simple as it seems!"

Groom bowed deeply: "Understood, Master. I will let them know what the joy of the hunt is, and... what the price is."

The shadowy giant butler turned and walked into the shadows with silent steps that shook the entire hall.

The dragon-devouring serpent also left with the shadowy giant butler.

Moments later, the deep sound of horns echoed throughout the ruins.

In the adaptation zone, countless numb people stared blankly at the sky, which began to tremble slightly.

The seal... has loosened?

Some races, whose hopes had been extinguished by long imprisonment, huddled together, while others, whose eyes still held a savage flame, began to stir.

Meanwhile, the low-level survivors in the ruins were torn to pieces in a state of bewilderment.

The reaction in the domestication zone was much more intense.

Inside the enormous, dark red nest, countless segmented, sucker-covered giant worms raised their heads and emitted silent hisses.

Their queen is a Dark Erosion Worm Queen, over a kilometer long, whose carapace is covered with strange runes.

Its enormous body was wriggling, its mouth opening and closing, dripping with corrosive saliva.

The will of the mist is calling to them, promising them a new hunting ground where they can freely devour life force.

Deep within the crimson forest, where countless vines intertwine, a gigantic demonic vine covering several kilometers trembles slightly, and blood-red flowers bloom simultaneously on all the vines, emitting a fragrance that makes one's soul dizzy.

The mother plant of the Blood-Weeping Vine exudes a mixture of joy and thirst, and its offspring require blood to nourish them.

In a honeycomb city made up of countless prismatic crystals, the elders of the Crystal Devourer Clan gathered together.

Their humanoid bodies are covered with ever-growing clusters of colorful crystals that can devour energy and assimilate matter.

The leading sixth-tier Crystal Devourer elder's eyes gleamed with greed: "The Wood Soul Domain... a place brimming with life energy... is the perfect breeding ground for our race's evolution!"

At this time, the Wood Soul Domain was unaware that the rules of the entire Mist World had changed, and it was even unaware of the impending disaster.

The Wood Soul Domain is about to be engulfed in war once again.