# 2030
Chapter 2014: Within the Gray Layer
Lin Qiye stood motionless behind the iron door, gazing at the massive core for a long while. A resolute light flickered in his eyes.
Figures flashed through his mind—one after another: Pangpang, Cao Yuan, Qingyu, Zhuaige, Jiang Er, Wang Mian, Yuzuri Takishiro, Wu "Old Dog", Guan Zai, Hongying, Wen Qimo... Those people who had appeared countless times in his dreams seemed to extend countless threads of karma, piercing through the void and connecting tightly to his heart.
"I will definitely win... I will bring you all back."
He clenched his fists tight, about to turn and walk back toward the ward, when suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed from the distance!
BOOM—!!!
Lin Qiye's head snapped toward the sound. In the leaden sky above, spatial currents like bolts of lightning flared with blinding brilliance, then vanished in an instant.
Lin Qiye frowned slightly. He stared at that patch of sky for a long moment, then glanced at the massive core whose breathing remained steady. In the end, he turned and left.
In this vast, mysterious higher-dimensional universe, there were far too many natural phenomena. During the countless gaps between dream cycles in the past, Lin Qiye had witnessed several such occurrences. However, no matter what phenomena appeared, none would affect the asylum itself.
As he departed, this space once again fell into dead silence.
After a long while, within the massive core that breathed silently outside the asylum, a crimson light suddenly surged forth!
Within that crimson glow, a struggling giant eye opened, its gaze seeming to pierce through the asylum's other buildings and shoot into the虚无的【Chaos】体内！
【Chaos】's body shuddered violently, then quickly returned to normal, as if nothing had happened. The giant eye that had opened from within the massive core also fell back into confusion and struggle... slowly closing.
Seeing Lin Qiye walk straight toward the room without hesitation, 【Chaos】gritted his teeth and spoke:
"You're going to continue dreaming again? It's useless... No matter how hard you try, the great Lord Azathoth will never be defeated by you! Lord Azathoth is invincible!!"
Lin Qiye didn't even glance at it, walking straight into the ward and locking the door behind him with a backward push.
His gaze swept across the walls covered in knife marks. Most of the walls had already been covered by auto-generated wallpaper from the asylum, but Lin Qiye could still clearly feel the emotional edge hidden within them.
Before entering the next dream cycle, Lin Qiye had one more thing to do.
After entering the dream, the outside 【Chaos】 would also have a portion of its consciousness pulled into the dream. After all, at present, it had become the physical manifestation of Azathoth's consciousness within Lin Qiye's mind, cycling endlessly with his consciousness.
And once Azathoth's consciousness manifestation stirred up trouble in the next dream, doing something that deviated from the predetermined trajectory, it would alert Azathoth who had taken its place. That would not only shatter the dream instantly but also put Lin Qiye in a passive situation.
Therefore, he absolutely had to manifest a consciousness of his own to balance 【Chaos】's consciousness.
Lin Qiye's index finger gently pressed against his brow, then pulled outward. A beam of white light was dragged out, morphing before him into the shape of a small boy.
The boy bore a strong resemblance to Lin Qiye. Or rather, he was Lin Qiye—the ground beneath his feet was paved with light, and his eyes were filled with determination and seriousness.
Lin Qiye studied the small boy before him, asking tentatively:
"Who are you?"
"I am... Lin Qiye." The small boy answered thoughtfully.
"Don't hesitate." Lin Qiye shook his head, raising his finger to point at the walls about to be swallowed by the wallpaper. Several scratches remained clearly visible there. "You absolutely must not forget... You are Lin Qiye!"
The small boy was Lin Qiye's autonomous consciousness avatar. If, in the dream, even he forgot who he was, Lin Qiye's will would likely be instantly devoured by Azathoth's consciousness.
"I am Lin Qiye!" The small boy answered firmly.
Upon seeing this, Lin Qiye's heart finally settled. Enduring the splitting agony in his mind, he walked to the bedside and lay flat upon it.
His eyes slowly closed...
"I... am back..."
As Lin Qiye's eyes closed, the outside 【Chaos】 suddenly collapsed unconscious. The entire asylum fell into dead silence, leaving only the small boy alone, standing motionless in the gradually dimming ward.
On that last wall being swallowed by the wallpaper, a brand-new scratch was clearly visible:
【I WILL WIN!!!】
...
Gray Layer.
An elderly man in white cloud robes stood alone in the churning gray world, gazing up at the heavens as if waiting for something.
Soon, from the void above his head, a parchment letter suddenly flew out, drifting gently into his palm.
The old man raised an eyebrow and accepted the letter to read. After a moment, he nodded slightly.
"Thankfully... it seems to be going smoothly."
Just as the old man spoke, from within the endless gray, a massive silhouette slowly drifted forth...
It was a massive structure entirely enveloped in jade-white luminescence, with ethereal qi swirling within it—grand and magnificent, as if it had existed in this world since time immemorial.
If Lin Qiye were here, seeing this structure, he would undoubtedly be shaken to his core.
Eternal Heavenly Court!
The previous dream cycle had shattered along with Lin Qiye's awakening, but this Eternal Heavenly Court had not disappeared with it. Instead, it appeared within the gray layer, drifting slowly toward Yerand...
And at this moment, atop this Eternal Heavenly Court, two figures stood side by side.
"Another cycle has ended, then..." A robed figure, slightly plump, let out a long sigh. "How many times has it been now?"
"One hundred twelve million, two hundred twenty-nine thousand and seventeen times."
Beside him, a woman with flowing black hair dressed in blue Han clothing answered.
"After ascending to half-step 'Transcendence,' one no longer disappears with the end of a dream cycle. Instead, one retains all memories, wandering within the gray layer..." Lingbao Tianzun glanced at the empty Eternal Heavenly Court, his expression complex.
"Every time, exiting this way... Not even a chance to say goodbye to him properly."
"We don't need goodbye. Because sooner or later, we will meet again in the next cycle." Jialan answered seriously.
"But when we meet again next time, he won't remember us."
"Then we'll get to know each other again." Jialan turned to look at Lingbao Tianzun. "When we survived from the original Fifth Universe, we agreed to accompany him through all the cycles... Are you having second thoughts now?"
"How could I possibly have second thoughts?"
Lingbao Tianzun paused for a moment. In his eyes, a trace of guilt flickered. "It's just that... at the end of every cycle... he learns that Cao Yuan isn't dead, that Zhuaige isn't dead, that An Qingyu didn't betray him, that Jiang Er is still alive... yet he will always believe that I am still just the Lingbao Tianzun."
Jialan fell silent for a moment, then consoled softly, "Someday, he will know."
The two, along with the Eternal Heavenly Court, arrived before Yerand. The latter smiled faintly and stepped forward to meet them.
"Two, it's been a long time."
"Mr. Yerand, have you received Qiyi's reply?" Jialan asked immediately.
"I have." Yerand handed the letter to the two of them. They read the letter carefully and felt somewhat relieved.
Seeing this, Yerand couldn't help but ask:
"Since you two worry so much about him, why not let me mention your existence in the letter? In this world, the only ones who have reached half-step 'Transcendence' and wander the gray layer are us three."
In the original Fifth Universe, with Lingbao Tianzun's awakening, he had completely stepped into the realm of half-step "Transcendence." After Jialan's complete fusion of 【Eternal Life】and 【Immortality】, she had also become the sole Eternal Immortal in the world. Though she had not stepped into half-step "Transcendence," thanks to the nature of 【Eternity】, she had also survived.
Then, through numerous dream cycles that followed, Jialan had officially stepped into half-step "Transcendence" from her original Supreme Realm.
Jialan and Lingbao Tianzun exchanged a glance and苦涩ly shook their heads.
"In his eyes, we may have already died long ago. Rather than letting him know through a letter now and adding to his burden, it's better to reunite face-to-face after everything is settled..."