The data void following the battle with the Guardian lay in absolute ruin. The stone walls of the Ruins of Wisdom no longer flickered; instead, they began to fracture, revealing the true structure beneath: not ordinary masonry, but uniform, pitch-black cubes, as dense as if forged from the cosmic void itself.
Lam Vu stepped through the fissure. Before him, the Ruins emerged under Aethelgard's silver moon. Once a majestic library of the gods, it was now a graveyard of knowledge. Towering marble pillars were split vertically, exposing energy conduits that pulsed like jagged veins. Headless statues of ancient scholars still clutched stone scrolls, their former glory eroded by the sands of time. The air smelled of decay and electronic dust—a ghostly space where the blue remnants of the predecessor God of Wisdom drifted aimlessly. A deity's greatness, now buried in the dust of ages.
[Warning: Life form detected within 20m radius.]
[Status: Depleted, bearing the 'Data Slave' brand.]
While reflecting on the desolation, the system's alert snapped Lam Vu back to reality. He gripped his Tungsten bone, his sharp gaze fixing on a pile of rubble. From the shadows, a scrawny figure bolted—not to attack, but in frantic flight. Hot on her heels was a monster whose face was a featureless black void. Its body was composed of a stretchable dark mist, with long, razor-sharp blades for hands. Its appearance completely redefined Lam Vu's understanding of this world's creatures.
"System, what is that?"
[Scanning... Detected: Void Stalker (Level 3). Speed: 70, Strength: 200. Danger Warning!]
The Void Stalker glided over the ground without feet, leaving corrosive black trails that ate through reality.
"Help... help me!"
It was a girl clad in tattered animal skins. Her face was smudged with soot, yet her eyes possessed a strange, intellectual depth. A collar of glowing light tightened around her neck, radiating the sigil of the God of Light. The monster swung its blade, aiming for her back. Lam Vu did not hesitate.
"Overwrite Reality: Ground Friction!" he muttered.
Zip! Directly beneath the monster, the smooth stone floor became as sticky as industrial adhesive. The stalker's pounce caught a snag as the laws of physics shifted. That split second was enough for the girl to roll away, narrowly escaping the blade before collapsing at Lam Vu's feet.
"Causality Simulation: Melee Mode!" Lam Vu stepped forward coldly.
The Void Stalker let out a piercing screech. It vanished into the void, reappearing instantly behind him. But Lam Vu didn't need to turn; his Divine Eye had visualized its path 0.5 seconds in advance. He dropped low, driving the Tungsten bone backward at an impossible angle through the black mist, stabbing precisely into the pulsing purple core within its body.
Sizzzz! The monster shrieked as its misty body exploded into shards of light before vanishing completely.
[Target eliminated. Absorbing Void energy. Synchronization: 12%.]
Lam Vu retracted his weapon, impressed. His strength and skill mastery had reached a new level. Absorbing this creature provided a significant boost; challenging higher-level foes was no longer out of reach.
He turned toward the girl on the ground. He reached out, not to help her up, but to inspect the collar around her neck.
"Who are you? Why do you carry a slave brand?"
The girl trembled, looking at him with awe. She saw the code flowing beneath his skin—something she had never seen in any being on this continent. She bowed her head, her voice shaky but firm: "My name is Aria. I was once a 'Harvester' for the God of Wisdom... I escaped an energy concentration camp. You... you are not of the Church of Light. Who are you?"
The system displayed: [Subject: Aria. Role: Fragment Holder. Value: Possesses 15% of the hidden map to the Central Core.]
An ally or a data packet to protect? Lam Vu smirked. "My name is Lam Vu. I am the only bug in this world, and the only one who can save you from that collar. If you want to live, prove your value, Aria."
Under the silver moon, Lam Vu met his first local. Despite the uncertainty of her motives, he remained highly vigilant. After a moment, Aria decided: "I will tell you everything you wish to know and fulfill any request within my power to repay you for saving my life."
Lam Vu grew pensive. "You said you were a Harvester for the God of Wisdom. Do you know the 'Truth' that he discovered?"
Aria gasped, looking toward the distant ruins. She realized he was the chosen one. Her eyes shifted from shock to reverent awe. "So you are the one he chose. Only the Chosen can know the 'Truth'. I have finally waited long enough for you." She turned toward the ruins and bowed deeply, like a devout believer.
Lam Vu frowned; he detested the feeling of being manipulated. Aria continued, "My Lord, the God of Wisdom entrusted me with a fragment of the 'Central Core' map. Being hunted, I hid it in the 'Quarantined Sector'—a place other gods fear to enter due to the risk of corruption. To reach it, we must cross the Dead Fields of the God of Darkness."
"Smart of you, hiding it where the gods cannot go," Lam Vu remarked.
Aria replied bitterly, "You flatter me, but the Dead Fields are perilous. I sacrificed over a thousand comrades and nearly died there." She shivered with fear and sorrow at the memory.
Lam Vu raised an eyebrow and spoke with resolve. "Perilous or not, it won't make me falter. But first, we deal with that slave collar, or our movements will be exposed in no time."