# 2032
Chapter 2032: Contaminated Dream
Fengdu.
In the dark, lightless great hall, an ancient and heavy gate was slowly opened.
A figure draped in a dark crimson cloak stood outside the door, and after a moment, cautiously walked into the hall…
He passed through the hall lined with armored soldiers, raised his fingertips, recited a line of poetry, and a wisp of firelight illuminated one corner of the hall.
He frowned, examining these armors covered in scars, as if puzzled by something. Then his gaze turned to the depths of the hall, where a coffin of ancient black patterns on crimson ground lay quietly on a stone platform.
He walked to the coffin and examined it carefully. Just then, a dull thud echoed from within the coffin!
Thud—!
The dark crimson figure was startled and immediately gripped the blade's hilt, his eyes filled with vigilance.
He tried to distance himself from the coffin, but the farther he moved away, the more sounds came from within, as if someone inside was trying to keep him there.
After much deliberation, a determined look appeared in his eyes. He索性 walked straight to the coffin and forcefully pried it open!
"With strength to move mountains, spirit that overwhelms the world!!"
As the verse rang out, the coffin lid was lifted by force. He caught a glimpse of a figure wearing a blue Han robe inside, and his heart lurched with shock.
The next moment, three hundred bronze-armored soldiers simultaneously drew their blades and charged toward him!
His gaze hardened, and he immediately drew his blade to engage them in combat. Just then, the deep blue figure rushed out of the coffin at lightning speed, using their body to shield the dark crimson figure. All the bronze-armored soldiers immediately stopped their movements!
"…Retreat!"
As a fuzzy syllable escaped from her throat, all the bronze-armored soldiers returned to their wooden stands, as if everything before had been an illusion.
"Who are you?" The dark crimson figure sheathed his Straight Blade and asked the deep blue figure in a low voice.
The blue-robed girl turned around, her eyes gazing at that familiar face. In that moment, she seemed to have returned to that world filled with red ribbons, and those voices carved into memory rang out once more:
【Jialan… I found it! I found it!!】
【I didn't break my promise! I said I would come to marry you, and I will!】
【What does it matter if the underworld serves as the hall? What does it matter if the coffin serves as the matchmaker?! I've walked through half the city, everywhere filled with fame and greed, yet I found not a trace of love… Perhaps only this realm of the dead is the final resting place of all love!】
【Whether it be a wedding of the living or the dead… Today, you and I… shall hold our grand wedding… right here in this Hall of the Underworld!】
The same place, the same coffin, the same them…
Only, starting over from the beginning.
She parted her lips, as if wanting to say something to the figure before her.
In the end, she only took his hand and, with her fingertips, carefully wrote two characters into his palm, stroke by stroke:
—Jialan.
…
"…After all, it's something that represents our squad's image… This is truly too unsightly."
"…"
"Fuck your【White Slash】!! Fourth Reserve Squad… all draw your blades!!!"
"…"
"If we don't return, then so be it. But if we do return… then we shall be Great Xia's Fourth Special Squad."
"…"
"All I desire beneath this night is that those I cherish may find peace and safety in all things; that those I oppose may have their souls utterly destroyed; that our fate may be in our own hands; that we may be invincible… Our name is【Night Watch】."
"…"
"All supporters of divine authority, hello. We… are the 'Blasphemers'."
"…"
"Takeishiro, watch closely… Pure kindness cannot save this world. Only fear can halt the clash of arms."
"…"
"If you want to destroy this monument… Kill me first!!!"
"…"
"I, Lin Qiye, swear before all beings of Great Xia, that should the dark night finally fall…"
"…"
"A Jin, do you see it… The peaceful era you left for Great Xia… Brother here has protected it."
"…"
In the dim ward, as Lin Qiye's voice faded, his body trembled as if someone falling in a dream. After a moment, his eyes slowly opened.
At this moment, the little boy who had been guarding the edge of the room suddenly opened his eyes!
He stepped on that wisp of light and came before Lin Qiye in the pitch-black room. Those eyes gazed at Lin Qiye, as if trying to identify whether the suddenly awakened soul was the consciousness of the Fifth Universe… or Azathoth.
"Who are you?" The little boy asked in a low voice.
Between sleep and waking, Lin Qiye sat up as if sleepwalking, motionless.
"Who are you?" The little boy asked again.
In his sleepwalking state, Lin Qiye下意识ly answered: "I am Lin Qiye…"
Upon hearing this answer, the little boy's expression relaxed somewhat, but then he seemed to think of something and shook his head.
"Wrong…"
"Where am I wrong?"
"You… are not me."
As the little boy's words fell, he pressed his palm against Lin Qiye's forehead. The latter's body went rigid and fell back onto the bed, falling asleep once more…
After this, the little boy returned to the edge of the room.
Second by second, time passed. On the sickbed, Lin Qiye's murmurs continued without end… The Battle of Chennan Pass, the Battle of the Moon, the destruction of Olympus, the publication of Night Watch to the world, the desperate battle in Cangnan City, returning from the depths of the universe…
This dream had reached its end. He seemed on the verge of awakening.
Just then, the figure lying stiffly in the corridor,【Chaos】, who should have been unconscious, slowly opened his eyes…
A sinister crimson hue seized his pupils.
At this moment, the little boy seemed to sense something, shock flickering in his eyes. He rushed out of the ward at once. By now,【Chaos】was already standing in the corridor, the sinister red nearly flooding the entire corridor.
"Azathoth??" The little boy sensed that surging aura, his pupils slightly contracting. "How is this possible??"
According to reason, as【Chaos】's consciousness had entered the dream along with Lin Qiye, his physical body outside should not have been able to move…
【Chaos】stood in place, his red eyes lacking any light or expression. He was like a walking corpse, with only the most primal and pure killing intent spreading throughout the asylum.
The little boy gritted his teeth and lunged toward【Chaos】at full speed, his fist leaving afterimages as it thrust directly toward his face!
Bang—!
【Chaos】steadily caught the little boy's fist. In those hollow eyes, a strange gleam flickered to life…
The next moment, like a tidal wave, sinister crimson light climbed the little boy's body at a startling speed. The latter immediately let out a scream of agony!
At the same time, Lin Qiye, lying asleep on the sickbed, instinctively trembled!
The dream fragment floating above him was being eroded by that sinister crimson hue, layer by layer. Cracks spread密密麻麻 across its surface. Faint roars emanated from within, as it plunged completely into madness and chaos.
Lin Qiye on the sickbed猛地 opened his eyes, an unprecedented sharp pain filling his mind!
"Azathoth!!"