The Shattered Cosmos

Meanwhile, deep within the Artificial Cosmic Prison, a stark, inky black streaked through a world of pristine, endless white, an abrupt and jarring contradiction to its serene surroundings.

[Subject 43, cease your futile efforts. The Artificial Cosmic Prison is a world comprised of Infinity; your physical body will never reach its boundaries.]

“Then let me out!”

[I apologize, but I have not received any orders for your release. Please continue to wait patiently.]

“Hmph… hmph… hmph~”

Liu Yu collapsed onto the ground, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath. She had no idea how far or for how long she had run, yet the edge of this pristine white world remained perpetually out of sight.

If, as the cube had claimed, this world truly was infinite, then how was she supposed to escape? What method could possibly free her from this prison?

Unable to conceive of any viable solution, Liu Yu’s mood grew increasingly agitated. The Shadow covering her body, mirroring her turmoil, became exceptionally active. A stream of black, resembling flowing water, subtly seeped into her pocket without her noticing, only to re-emerge, dragging out a small box and presenting it before her eyes.

“What was this again…?” Gazing at the small box, Liu Yu pondered for a moment before slapping her hand, as if a sudden realization had struck her.

“I remember now, Villy practically shoved this box into my hand. Inside is… wait, why did you pull it out? Don’t tell me you want to eat it?”

More accurately, it wanted to devour the Inhibitor nestled within the box. Liu Yu felt she generally understood the Shadow’s intent, and so, with a resigned sigh, she reached out and unlocked the spatial box with her fingerprint.

“Click.”

The moment the box sprang open, the Shadow surged into it eagerly, only to rapidly retreat just as suddenly. Liu Yu, her curiosity piqued, peered inside the box, finding it, as expected, completely empty.

Seeing this, she couldn’t help but swat at the Shadow, scolding, “Can’t you control your appetite? Even a pig doesn’t eat as much as you do!”

“…….”

As if too lazy to bother with its master’s foolish antics, the Shadow on Liu Yu’s body began to coalesce once more, independently. It then formed a longsword in the girl’s hand, its shape indistinct and ethereal, like the moon’s reflection shimmering in water or a flower’s image dancing in a mirror.

“Eh? This sword is…”

Liu Yu remembered this; it was a new skill that had manifested in her mind at some unknown point… or perhaps an enhanced form. She recalled it being called Sword Draw, and its purpose was to significantly boost all her abilities.

However, since she had only encountered minor adversaries along the way, there had been no compelling reason to use it. Moreover, activating it would cause the Shadow’s ability to conceal her appearance to vanish entirely. Thus, she had always been reluctant, and saw no necessity, to employ this particular move.

But now, the Shadow had actively summoned this sword in response to her thought, ‘I want to leave here.’ Did this mean the key to breaking free lay within it…?

…She would try it.

Acting on the impulse, Liu Yu’s mind stirred, conveying her intent to the Shadow. Consequently, all the black covering her body surged like a powerful tide towards her right hand. Before long, it completely filled in the ethereal longsword, solidifying it into a tangible weapon.

“Hmm… and now what?”

With a flourish of the sword, Liu Yu felt an immense surge of power, strong enough to… swat a thousand Senior Yao Jings with a single, dismissive blow. But Senior Yao Jing was simply too weak, easily crushed with just one finger, making him a completely useless benchmark for her newfound strength.

It was only then that she envied the protagonists of novels she’d read, who, upon leveling up, could immediately grasp their newfound strength, then effortlessly turn the tables on their enemies, leaving behind a graceful figure as they calmly departed. ‘Wow, I truly hope I can be that cool someday.’

[Chaos Edge]

Another ability that had suddenly appeared in her mind. Liu Yu suppressed the urge to complain and glanced at the skill description.

‘Hmm, this should be a skill specifically designed for spatial structures.’

Once she confirmed its utility, the girl raised the demonic sword and plunged it fiercely into the ground.

“Crack…”

The murky Shadow flowed from Liu Yu’s right hand to the sword’s blade, then from the blade to the tip, finally seeping from the tip into the very fabric of space.

Immediately afterward, the entire world began to experience violent tremors, one after another, shaking violently. The Shadow flowing from the sword’s tip actually broke its ironclad rule of never leaving Liu Yu, appearing densely as black points of varying sizes across every expanse of the pure white space.

Then, as if by telepathy, all the black points simultaneously began to expand. They grew larger and larger, connecting with each other, and swiftly wove a crisscrossing spiderweb across the pristine white world.

[Alert! Alert! The Artificial Cosmic Prison is being warped… Alert… Al… Destruction… Szzzt… Szzzt…]

The cube’s melodious female voice gradually became intermittent, until finally, only the electronic buzzing sound of “szzzt… szzzt…” remained.

Chaos-infused Shadow blotted out the sky and earth, and a black demonic hound faintly materialized behind the girl, poised to completely dye the pure white world into a dark, bottomless abyss.

“Crack, crack, crack… Bang!!”

With the sound of shattering glass, the infinitely vast world was pulverized…

And Liu Yu finally saw the world outside…

****

……..

………

“Eh? What is this place!?”

What appeared before Liu Yu’s eyes were not familiar skyscrapers, but a dreamscape of unparalleled beauty. The vast, boundless night sky was dotted with myriad twinkling lights, each one a distant gleam. Upon closer inspection, they were actually individual “stars” emitting a beautiful radiance, scattered sparsely across the darkness, shimmering and dazzling brilliantly in a captivating interplay of light.

“Wow…” Awe-struck by the magnificent sight, the girl instinctively reached out towards a luminous sphere floating above her. A round, spherical object flew over, settling gently into her palm.

“What… is this?”

Liu Yu curiously examined the “star” she had plucked from the sky. It was remarkably light and small, yet it seemed to possess a magical allure. A single glance drew her gaze into the boundless white world contained within the sphere, and the familiar environment immediately startled Liu Yu, sending a jolt through her.

‘Was this, then, the true form of the so-called Artificial Cosmic Prison?’

However, now was not the time to dwell on that question. Her attention had been utterly captivated by an alluring figure contained within the sphere. Incredibly, despite being separated by nearly an entire world, the mere sight of that figure made the girl, who was outside, parched and filled her with an inappropriate, almost primal, desire.

“Hoo… hoo… Don’t tell me…”

Liu Yu gently licked her lips, a dawning realization spreading across her face. These were the vanished snacks—ah, no, the Bloodkin. She never imagined Titan would have secretly hidden them here; no wonder she couldn’t find any trace of them outside.

‘Black-blooded are enemies, Black-blooded are a disaster, Black-blooded are corruption, so it wouldn’t be a crime if I ate them, right? After all, I’m doing this for a future where humanity can live in peace…’

Having successfully convinced herself, the intense, gnawing hunger emanating from her body prompted the Shadow to act once more. Before long, the entire surface of the spherical prison was enveloped by flowing black, consuming it completely.

“Hehe, obediently become my food.”