A World That Shouldn't Exist
Luo Fan's feet dragged against the cracked earth, his breath steady despite the dull ache in his limbs. The two-day journey had felt like weeks. Without spiritual energy, every step was a reminder of how fragile he had become.
But now, he stood at the edge of something that defied reason.
A city.
Not ruins, not a wasteland—an actual city, shimmering in the distance like a mirage. Tall pagodas stretched toward the fractured sky, adorned with banners that fluttered despite the absence of wind. The streets were pristine, the glow of lanterns casting warm, golden hues along the walkways.
It was untouched by the Reset.
Luo Fan narrowed his eyes. "This shouldn't be here."
> "Understatement of the century, Boss."
EchoStar flickered beside him, its mirror-like form hovering at his shoulder. It had been relatively quiet for the last stretch of their journey—probably conserving its limited power—but now, its sarcastic tone was back in full force.
> "Let's review, shall we? Multiverse: broken. Cultivators: erased. Livestream: dead. And yet, somehow, we have a city standing here all pretty and intact. Doesn't that seem a little suspicious?"
Luo Fan crossed his arms. "If it exists, there has to be a reason. Maybe some anomaly from the Reset?"
> "Or a death trap."
"Or a clue," Luo Fan countered.
EchoStar hummed.
> "Or a trap and a clue."
Luo Fan sighed. "Only one way to find out."
With that, he stepped forward.
---
A City Without People
As he entered the city's gates, an eerie silence greeted him.
The place was perfect. Too perfect. The roads had no cracks, the buildings showed no signs of decay, and yet—there were no people. No signs of life.
A teahouse stood with its doors open, steam rising from freshly brewed cups. Market stalls displayed exotic fruits and treasures, as though their owners had only just stepped away. The entire city felt paused, frozen in a moment that should no longer exist.
Luo Fan's fingers twitched. "This place feels… wrong."
> "Gee, you think? I was just about to book us a nice vacation home here."
Ignoring the sarcasm, Luo Fan approached one of the stalls and reached out—
His hand passed through the fruit.
A glitch rippled through reality. The market stall flickered, distorting for a brief moment before stabilizing again. Luo Fan took a slow step back.
> "…Ohhh boy."
EchoStar's voice dropped its usual amusement.
> "Boss, you're not gonna like this."
Luo Fan's jaw tightened. "Explain."
> "This city? It's not real."
Luo Fan's mind raced. "An illusion?"
> "Nope. Worse. It's a fragmented memory—a piece of the old multiverse stuck in a loop."
Luo Fan exhaled slowly. A remnant of the world before the Reset. Somehow, it had survived, persisting like a ghost in a timeline that no longer existed.
Which meant there was something here worth finding.
---
The First Echo
A chill ran down his spine as the air shifted.
The lanterns flickered. Shadows stretched unnaturally.
Then—
A whisper.
> "...Who…?"
Luo Fan spun around.
A figure stood in the middle of the street.
Not a person. A shade—translucent, barely more than a distortion in the air. Its face flickered between multiple appearances, shifting between an elderly merchant, a young woman, and a battle-worn cultivator.
> "Who… walks this broken world…?"
Luo Fan stayed still. He had encountered spirits before, but this was different. This was a fragment of the past.
> "Oooookay. Not liking this. Permission to run?"
"Denied," Luo Fan muttered.
The shade tilted its head, its voice hollow.
> "You… should not exist…"
Luo Fan exhaled, steadying his breath. "Neither should this city."
Silence.
Then, the shade's form rippled, glitching like a broken image. A pained, static-laced voice whispered—
> "The Echoes… must be restored… Find… the Archive…"
The moment the words left its lips, the entire city shuddered.
Walls cracked. The streets distorted.
The illusion was breaking.
> "Ohhh fantastic! City's crumbling, spooky ghost is glitching out, and we still don't know what 'The Archive' is! Love this journey for us!"
Luo Fan gritted his teeth. "Then let's find out—before this place disappears for good."
The shade flickered one last time before vanishing into static.
The city began to collapse.
Luo Fan ran.
---
Race Against Time
Buildings dissolved into code, the sky fracturing into shards of golden light. The once-perfect city was unraveling, consumed by the Reset's delayed effect.
> "Left! Go left! No—YOUR left! Gods, I forgot how bad you are without a mini-map."
Luo Fan barely dodged as a pagoda crumbled beside him. His heart pounded as he followed EchoStar's erratic guidance, weaving through collapsing streets.
A towering temple loomed ahead. Unlike the rest of the city, it wasn't breaking apart.
> "That has 'important plot point' written all over it. Go!"
Luo Fan didn't hesitate. He lunged forward, pushing through the temple doors just as the world outside blinked out of existence.
Darkness swallowed the city.
Then—silence.
---
The Archive
A dim glow illuminated the chamber.
Luo Fan exhaled, steadying himself. He had made it.
The temple's interior was vast—rows upon rows of floating crystalline tablets hovered in midair, pulsing with a faint light. Unlike the chaotic collapse outside, this place was untouched.
> "Holy crap."
Even EchoStar sounded impressed.
> "Boss… I think we just found the Archive."
Luo Fan stepped forward, gazing at the shifting records. "This… is a repository of the old multiverse."
> *"Bingo. Memories, knowledge, maybe even system data. If anything can help us rebuild, it's this."
Luo Fan clenched his fists. This was it. A real lead. A chance to regain what was lost.
But before he could take another step, a new voice echoed through the chamber.
> "I was wondering when you'd arrive."
Luo Fan's breath caught.
A figure emerged from the shadows—an old man in flowing robes, his eyes filled with wisdom and recognition.
> "Welcome, Survivor."
---
[Chapter End.]