In response to the heavy, threatening voice of Yama Castle, a soft sigh reverberated out from room ‘1.’ It was so gentle, so ethereal, just like a drifting feather, but carried the same weight and power of a mountain. All sounds, from the marching of footsteps to the gyrating of gears to the emergency alarms, were silenced. 

 

They were simply unworthy to be heard over this soft sigh. 

 

Following that sigh was a melody, and then singing. 

 

The melody played out like an old memory that would never fade. It traveled to the soul and pierced the heart with melancholy, calling for sweet days of cool spring and warm summer. It felt as if eons had gone by since it occurred, but it still lingered in mind. Perhaps even if all things disappeared, even if the people were no longer who they used to be, even if the scenery changed, even if it was in another lifetime, this old memory of fonder years would remain eternal. 

 

The singing echoed out like recalling a dream of the distant past. It too moved the spirit, but with blessed words and enchanting rhythms. It inspired thoughts of the good times, of the fortunate days, of loving embraces, of epic sagas, of golden eras, of grand ambitions. Wonderful imagination bloomed under this singing, that which would be remembered as a dream of clarity and radiance. 

 

A melody of an eternal memory. A hymn of a radiant dream. 

 

Together they formed a song of yearning that pierced through the very walls of the Yama Castle.

 

......

 

In the eternal darkness of room ‘406,’ a pair of eyelids opened. It was impossible to see these eyes as they were darker than black itself and blended well into the room. Anyone who somehow could see these eyes would also see the emotions that was erupting inside the pupils of these dark eyes. 

 

“This is... the song of the Princess.” The dark entity's voice was gritty and harsh, but contained limitless joy. It spoke in the exact same tone as a boy who has been waiting eagerly for his parents at home. Much like the song, this one line was filled with everlasting yearning. 

 

When the dark entity heard the song, it stayed where it was for a moment. A message came along with that song of yearning, a command that could it hear with its soul. 

 

“As you wish... my Princess.” 

 

Room ‘406’ trembled. Soon, a tiny hole appeared where the number ‘406’ was and a jet-black stream of mist flew out of it.

 

......

 

In room ‘789,’ the red pond was still as usual. When the song of yearning vibrated across the room, the red pool began to bubble. At first, it was just some bubbles. Then, it began to bubble some more. And after some time, the pond began to bubble so much that almost looked as if it was boiling. 

 

A red stream of mist flew out of the room as well. 

 

......

 

In room ‘49,’ four pairs of golden eyes pierced through the darkness when the song of yearning arrived. 

 

"So it begins!" Laughing heartily, the golden-eyed entity spat out a blue stream of mist that left the room. However, it soon closed its eyes and returned to a deep slumber. 

 

......

 

Similar scenes occurred everywhere in Yama Castle. Thousands upon thousands of streams of mists were floating about in the castle, causing more alarms to be set off. 

 

Now, the Void Terminator Bomb was set to detonate in exactly one hour. 

 

However, none of these entities cared. They each paid a great price to open a tiny window from their rooms to the hallways of Yama Castle. Then, they each sent out a small stream of their consciousness through that tiny window. 

 

Each entity here was strong; so strong in fact that they could put a dent in the rigid natural laws that governed Yama Castle. However, the sacrifice that they made would set them back for quite some time. Perhaps forever leaving them stagnated in their current state. 

 

But it was all worth it. All for a single cause. 

 

"With my authority as the Ninth Princess... I hereby order you... using any means necessary... to bring me the descendant of Magister Yama... alive... Now!" 

 

These streams of consciousness all gathered around each other, assembling like the warriors of a legion, and transformed into... an arrow! 

 

The arrow, shining with myriad colors, stirred into action. 

 

As it moved, the natural laws of time and space shattered, releasing awe-inspiring energies that could throw the many macrocosms into chaos. It passed through the walls, subverted the labyrinth-like nature of Yama Castle, and pierced the void to arrive in front of... Yan Xiaolong!

 

"What!?" Frightened, Yan Xiaolong instinctively shifted his body to side. But it was too late. 

 

Bam! 

 

The arrow pierced his forehead and immobilized his body, which dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes. 

 

Thousands of different consciousness entered his mind, each carrying a will that could drain seas and crush mountains. They were truly like a legion of warriors, dead-set on conquering the unknown and slaughtering all enemies in their path. 

 

"We're here in his sea of consciousness!" 

 

"Take it! Suppress it! Crush it! Whatever is necessary to drag this brat's body to the Princess!" 

 

"Oi! Calm down. We need to keep him alive. Just seal his sea of consciousness and take over the body." 

 

"Hmph! So what if we give this brat the rough treatment? He's a lowly descendant of that blasted Magister Yama!" 

 

"Stop bickering! We don't have a lot of time left!" 

 

These consciousnesses broke the many barriers to Yan Xiaolong's sea of consciousness and entered it like fishes returning to the sea. By entering his sea of consciousness, they could now possess his body and alter his mind. 

 

However, to their surprise, Yan Xiaolong's sea of consciousness was completely empty. A regular sea of consciousness would have orbs of memories and experiences, filled with myriad colors that represented different emotions, and thrived with currents of thoughts and imagination. 

 

Yet, there was nothing here. No memory, no experiences, no colors, no emotions, no thoughts, and no imagination. Not even Yan Xiaolong's soul or will was located here. It was as if everything was erased, wiped clean from existence. 

 

"What's going on? Why can't we find... anything?" 

 

"He's like an empty husk. D-Did we do this?" 

 

"Crap! His sea of consciousness might've been erased because of our will!" 

 

"I forgot that he was just an incompetent little human! Oh God, oh fuck! What do we do now!?" 

 

As the many entities were panicking, Yan Xiaolong's sea of consciousness began to emit a burning light at its very core. It restricted the many streams of consciousness by tightening the surrounding area. At the same, heat began to build up inside the sea of consciousness. It was not physical heat, but rather, a spiritual heat.

 

And it was scalding! 

 

"What the hell is happening!?" 

 

"How could this be!? This brat has such great control over his sea of consciousness and a strong will!" 

 

"No, something's wrong. I can feel it. It's not him!" 

 

All of a sudden, that burning light grew more intense until something manifested in that light. It was hard to tell what it exactly was, but the combination of heat, light, majesty, and power resembled that of... the sun! 

 

Oooooaaaaahhhhhhhh!!! 

 

An angry roar thundered from the burning light and became an attack that slammed into the many streams of consciousness. They tried to escape, but the weaker ones were directly exterminated while the stronger ones were set ablaze. In the end, over half of the steams of consciousness were wiped out, while the others were severely injured. Some were fortunate and managed to escape while lingering outside of Yan Xiaolong's sea of consciousness. 

 

After that roar came a boundless rage. 

 

"What rights do you think you have to possess the body of the Ancient Flame Hell Champion!?"

 

Yan Xiaolong's sea of consciousness shook, causing waves of psychic water to roll out. 

 

"What rights do you think you have to profane the successor of a High Monarch!?"

 

Two black bone-like objects grew from the burning light. It first curved backward and then pointed forward. At first glance, they may seem like two axe-like blades, but upon closer inspections, those objects were actually horns. 

 

Two gargantuan horns! As they aim upward, it almost looked like they were pillars that supported the sky itself! 

 

"This brat may be incompetent, but none of you are qualified to be in my presence! For your impudence, I declare you all... dead!" 

 

With another flare from the burning light, every stream of consciousness inside Yan Xiaolong's sea of consciousness was slaughtered!