78. A Past That Should Not Be Remembered

The sky trembled with residual void energy, the aftershocks of whatever entity had descended from the abyss still lingering. Ling Tian stood atop the ridge, his azure-gold aura subtly pulsing, stabilizing the space around him.

Beside him, Xu Qing'er was eerily silent. Her silver eyes, normally calm and unreadable, were narrowed in deep contemplation.

"What was that voice?" she finally asked.

Ling Tian didn't answer immediately. Instead, he clenched his fist, recalling the words that had echoed through the abyss.

"Found you."

Simple. Direct. Yet carrying a weight that unsettled even him.

"…Something that shouldn't exist," he finally murmured.

Xu Qing'er turned toward him. "And yet, it knew you."

He exhaled, his gaze distant.

"That's the problem."

It wasn't the first time he had encountered fragmented whispers from an unknown past—but this was different. This wasn't some cryptic omen or a vague sense of familiarity.

This was recognition.

Someone—something—had been watching him long before this battle.

And it wanted him to remember.

---

The Lingering Nightmare

That night, as the campfire flickered dimly, Ling Tian sat alone, staring into the flames. Xu Qing'er had finally drifted into a light meditation, though her aura remained vigilant.

Yet even in solitude, he wasn't alone.

"Heir of the Vanquished Throne..."

The voice slithered into his thoughts, cold and relentless.

Ling Tian shut his eyes, but instead of darkness, a shattered dreamscape unfolded.

Ruins stretched endlessly before him—a world long destroyed, erased from time itself. Shadows of forgotten beings flickered in and out of existence, their forms fragmented, as if they were barely clinging to reality.

And at the center of it all…

A throne.

Majestic. Vast. Yet utterly desolate.

Ling Tian felt a pull toward it. A whisper of something deeply ingrained in his soul.

And then—

A hand reached toward him.

Pale. Ethereal. Familiar.

And with it, a single whisper—

"You must not remember."

Ling Tian's eyes snapped open.

The fire had burned low, the embers crackling softly. His breathing was steady, but his heart thundered in his chest.

That wasn't just a dream.

Someone had interfered. Someone had forced him to forget.

But why?

And more importantly—who?

---

A Decision to Move Forward

At dawn, Xu Qing'er sensed the shift in his aura. "You saw something."

Ling Tian glanced at her, his expression unreadable. "More like… something let me see just enough."

A pause. Then—

"We're leaving."

Xu Qing'er's brows furrowed. "Where to?"

Ling Tian's grip tightened around his spear. "To find the next clue."

If the past was chasing him, then it was time to chase it back.

---