"Is it really you two? This isn't some trick by that voice is it?" Guan Yu said in disbelief. The rules of the Chaotic Dogma Realm were crystal clear. Once a player died while inside they would experience an existence wipe that would permanently delete their character.
Therefore, how was it possible that Zi Yi and Valentine were perfectly safe and standing right next to them?
However, Zi Yi and Valentine were just as baffled by their situation as Guan Yu.
"Oh? Have you missed me after I've only been gone for such a short period of time?" Valentine said as he winked at Guan Yu. However, with Valentine's unique appearance, that simple wink caused shivers to run down Guan Yu's spine.
"Okay, I don't need any more proof!" Guan Yu instantly replied. It was unlikely that the voice would go to such great and detailed lengths to make him miserable!
Zi Yi shook her head and sighed, but a small smile found its way onto her face. How could she not be happy that all of her effort and hard work had not been in vain? The thing she would have regretted the most was losing a chance to access the Amaharpe Palace Library. After all, such opportunities were not easy to come by at the moment.
But, the thing that truly bothered Zi Yi was that she had failed in their fight against Ruin and Lulazali. After Zi Yi was eliminated, she had no idea what happened and who would survive that battle.
If they were struggling to hold their ground even before her death, how much longer could they survive after losing a party member?
As Zi Yi began to remember her failure at executing a proper plan and leading everyone one step closer to death, the smile on her face had vanished and it was replaced by a feeling of guilt and gloominess.
Luna noticed that Zi Yi's initial delight had calmed down and her entire mood had shifted in a completely opposite direction. She understood exactly how Zi Yi felt at the moment. After Valentine died when she took the lead, Luna blamed herself and her lack of strategizing for his death.
Luna made her way towards Zi Yi and stopped right directly in front of her. She then took Zi Yi by the hand which startled her.
Zi Yi blinked a few times, "Luna?" She was confused by Luna's random action.
"It's not your fault, Zi Yi. Even with the best plan in the world, if the difference in power is too great then there is nothing that can be done. However, we will continue to grow stronger and stronger so that such a thing never happens again. Besides, think about how much your elder sister will spoil you if I let her know that you're feeling down." Luna said with a smile on her face.
"Yes, you're right! I feel better already!" Zi Yi said with a lovely smile on her face. Luna's smile and words may have seemed innocent to everyone else, but Zi Yi could clearly see the evil lurking beneath it all. She was clearly using her elder sister as a threat for her not to blame herself!
"What just happened?" Guan Yu was confused as to why Luna and Zi Yi were suddenly standing there with smiles on their faces.
"Brother, it's something we'll never understand." Halls said as he shook his head helplessly.
As everyone was chatting away happily, Izroth inwardly shook his head at the scene before his eyes. He was someone who had traveled to every corner of the Seven Realms, uncovered countless secrets and mysteries, fought against dragons and phoenixes, as well as, unlock the many truths of the heavens.
However, even with his vast knowledge and wisdom, he would have never believed that he would end up in a situation like this. Arriving in an unknown world where people like cultivators were considered a mere fantasy and playing something called a video game, it was all quite bizarre in its own unique way.
But, after seeing how well everyone present got along and how carefree they behaved, it brought up some very distant memories of his. It had been too long since he could speak to others without them fearing him or being afraid of even breathing too loudly near him.
The path of a cultivator that leads to the pinnacle is one that also leads to isolation. After experiencing that feeling of isolation for so long, it was easy for one to forget how to simply enjoy themselves and the moment itself.
After thinking about his current ridiculous situation that no one in the Seven Realms would ever believe, Izroth's body began to shake slightly before a light sound exited his mouth.
Soon after, a joyous laugh filled up the room. However, when everyone realized who the one laughing was they were stunned in place. Izroth was laughing? Not just a small chuckle, but it was actual laughter!
Everyone's attention was now on Izroth and as they saw him laughing, smiles could not help but find its way onto their faces.
A lovely smile blossomed on Luna's face as she watched Izroth. For some reason, she felt happy hearing him laugh in such a sincere way for the first time.
A few moments later, Izroth's laughter died down as a carefree smile appeared on his face.
'It has been far too long since I've enjoyed a good laugh. I had nearly forgotten the sensation.'
"It is good that we are all safe. However, we aren't quite finished just yet." Izroth said as he set his gaze upon the gateway placed at the top of the stairway before them. If this was not the end of the Chaotic Dogma Realm as he predicted, then they did not have much time remaining to find the true end.
"Where is this place anyway?" Guan Yu asked as he and everyone else began to make the trip up the stairway.
Izroth then took a moment to explain what happened after he was transported by the platform. However, he left out the part regarding Aegis and simply told them about the final trial and the choice offered to him.
"Legendary gear?!" Everyone was shocked! Izroth had turned down not a full set of legendary equipment just to save them.
"Brother, your will is truly strong. I would not have blamed you if you decided to take the legendary gear." Halls said as he shook his head. He would like to believe that he would have done the same if he were placed in the same situation as Izroth.
"I agree. Even if you only sold one piece of legendary gear you would have made a fortune. You could have easily reimbursed everyone with that alone." Valentine said.
"I disagree." Zi Yi said which surprised almost everyone.
"Why? It's legendary! I haven't even seen a single piece of epic gear floating around, let alone legendary." Guan Yu said.
"There's an old saying that goes when things seem too good to be true, then they probably are." Zi Yi responded.
She then continued, "Honestly, a complete legendary set sounds a little too good to be true. I'm 99% certain that there was some catch to it. After all, such a thing would destroy the balance of the game."
"What's the 1% for?" Halls asked.
"Well, there is always a chance that arrogant voice was actually telling the truth and there was no catch. In that case, it really is quite a shame. However, I am grateful that you chose us in the end, Izroth. Thank you." Zi Yi said.
Everyone else followed suit and thanked Izroth as well.
"Equipment is something that will eventually be upgraded and forgotten. However, I can say with certainty that those I have journeyed with are not the same." Izroth said as they finally reached the gateway.
Izroth and his party stepped through the gateway as the stairway that led up to it collapsed and the gateway itself vanished into thin air.
…
"You won't escape from me this time! You will pay the price for what you did!" Qi Jiguang said as he chased after Silent Steps who was currently running away from him. It took him a while to locate Silent Steps, however, thanks to a useful item and some tracking skills he managed to do so.
Silent Steps looked incredibly gloomy as he ran away from Qi Jiguang. It was humiliating! He had not been given a single moment to rest and Qi Jiguang was slowly closing the distance between the two of them.
"You dare chase me?! Do you not care what happens to you after we leave this place?!" Silent Steps said as he attempted to threaten Qi Jiguang once again.
"We? What we?! Only I will be leaving this place alive. You, on the other hand, will have yo leave your dog life behind here!" Qi Jiguang said as he gained a burst of speed. One of his movement skills had just finished its cooldown as he finally caught up to Silent Steps.
Silent Steps as startled as Qi Jiguang was suddenly within attack range. By the time he turned around to try and block the attack, all he saw was a fist covered in light blue energy headed straight towards him.
"It's over." Was that only thought going on through Silent Steps' mind at that moment, but then the strangest thing happened. Just as Qi Jiguang's fist was mere centimeters away from making contact with his body, he was encompassed in a brilliant light.
Not only him, but Qi Jiguang was also covered by a brilliant light as his movements were completely frozen.
"What's going on?" Qi Jiguang questioned.
However, at another location inside of the Chaotic Dogma Realm, Mariposa and her remaining party members were also trapped inside a brilliant light. A few moments later, they all disappeared and received the same message from the system.
〈System Alert: A party has successfully reached the end of the Chaotic Dogma Realm.〉
〈System Alert: You have been forcibly transported out of the Chaotic Dogma Realm.〉
…
After Izroth and his party entered through the gateway, they arrived in a small room with a transparent crystal sphere the size of a fist floating at the center of it. It was the only object in the room.
However, everyone was on guard at the moment. It was due to the fact that a woman was actually standing next to that crystal sphere! They were unsure of the woman was friendly or hostile.
She was wearing a pure white robe that covered her entire body and only the lower half of her face was visible. However, one could see the long silver hair pouring out that fell all the way down to the floor.
"Interesting. No one has ever reached this place before. You must excuse my poor hospitality, but I was not expecting any guest." The woman said in a gentle tone of voice.
"Who are you?" Izroth asked as he observed the woman. There was no information that showed up about her from the system.
"Ah, you must excuse my poor manners. I am the guardian of the Endless Pandemonium Tower, Aeshima." The woman called Aeshima responded.
"Guardian? You mean it's not that voice who controlled this place?" Guan Yu was surprised. He figured that the rude voice was the owner of this place.
"Voice? Oh, you must mean Ophidian. You should not worry too much, he is just a little grumpy because of the task he was assigned." Aeshima replied.
"Is this another test?" Izroth asked.
Aeshima giggled slightly as she responded, "If you all went any further with your current level of strength you would die without knowing how. No, there is no more test. I suppose I should complete my duty and inform you all properly."
"Congratulations, you all have reached the end of the Chaotic Dogma Realm." Aeshima said with a small smile on her face.
