Above the Galaxy

Tang Fei dreamed of drilling through the earth.

Drilling endlessly in the dark, sticky underground, as if there were no end.

The stench in his nostrils was overwhelming, opening his mouth revealed a slab of rotting flesh crawling with maggots...

Maggot slime trickled down his jaw glands, flowing into his abdomen, the nauseating earthen scent bursting into a shivering pleasure deep within.

Crunch!

Crunch!

Crunch...

It was a chilling chewing sound.

Tang Fei's current condition was bizarre; he was both Tang Fei and the Shadow Serpent.

Both the experiencer and the observer.

His soul soared high above, while his body transformed into the Shadow Serpent, living its journey over millennia...

He could see his body extending countless tiny tendrils on its own, drilling into the crevices of corpses, greedily sucking every drop of residual fluid.

Suddenly, rhythmic tapping sounded from further away, like an ancient heartbeat from the depths of the earth.

The rancid temptation compelled him to drill frantically towards the source of the sound, through thick rock layers, past dried veins, traversing the sunless darkness.

When he finally reached the destination, before him lay a colossal ancient skeleton, with hollow sockets burning with eerie blue flames.

This entity was far larger than any prey he had devoured before, yet oddly, its surface was adorned with the same black patterns as his.

At this moment, he heard another ancient and icy voice emerge from his supposed silent mouth:

"I've finally waited for you, Tomb Guardian."

"Tomb Guardian? Who is the Tomb Guardian?"

"Am I the Tomb Guardian?"

"Whose tomb am I guarding?"

------

"Hoo..."

Tang Fei suddenly opened his eyes, gasping for breath.

"Who is the Tomb Guardian?"

"Am I the Tomb Guardian? Whose tomb am I guarding?"

"Who was that ancient voice? Was I talking to myself?"

"No, it was the 'human' within the Shadow Serpent and the observer, me, in conversation?"

------

Tang Fei's face was pale, his forehead drenched in sweat.

His head throbbed with pain, threatening to explode.

Those questions turned over and over, repeating endlessly.

"Tang Fei... Tang Fei..."

A crisp yet urgent voice called out.

Tang Fei snapped back to reality, the dark stain in his pupils dissolved, revealing the white part.

He tilted his head to see Phoenix and Little Fatty sitting beside him.

"What happened?" Tang Fei asked.

"Brother, you fainted." Little Fatty's eyes were red, his voice tinged with tears: "I went to get you water, and when I returned... I saw you lying on the ground."

The scene just now had truly scared Little Fatty.

Tang Fei was his last relative in this world, the most important person to him, someone he was willing to give his life to protect.

When he saw Tang Fei collapsed on the Gravity Room floor, life or death unknown, he felt his body shake violently, his heart sinking deep down.

It sank and sank...

He couldn't imagine, if Tang Fei truly left, how he would face the rest of his life.

Living alone?

Eating alone, sleeping alone, marrying and raising children alone...

What meaning does life have?

Tang Fei lay on the Gravity Room floor and looked at Phoenix, asking: "Why are you here?"

"Little Fatty came to find me..." Phoenix lifted Tang Fei's body, letting his head rest against her chest, so he could be more comfortable.

Tang Fei's body had been struggling and writhing just like a worm hooked on fishing bait.

As if in a long nightmare, Phoenix dared not move his body recklessly.

Seeing he was somewhat better now, she dared to hold him in her arms.

"I don't know what happened to you... so I fed you an Evil God Pill..."

The Evil God Pill was a small red pill found in the Evil God Cave Mansion; Tang Fei had told Phoenix and Little Fatty about its origin and effects.

Phoenix asked for the name of the pill, and Tang Fei said it was a gift from his good brother, the Evil God. In commemoration of his dear friend, he named it 'Evil God Strong Pill.'

"Hmm." Tang Fei replied.

Thinking, luckily the Evil God Pill had suppressed the uneasy Yin Yang Qi within him, otherwise something more dangerous and unpredictable might have emerged.

But still, what's the situation?

What's wrong with his body?

"This matter..."

"Don't worry, nobody knows." Phoenix naturally knew what Tang Fei was concerned about, speaking to reassure him.

Before a great battle, the leader of one side falling ill and fainting.

This would significantly impact morale, even influence the course of events.

Who knows if anyone would breed dissent worrying about unspeakable issues happening to the leader?

"Little Fatty only found me, we came quietly. When I arrived, I locked the training ground's door on the way. Just saying you were training, nobody dared to come over and disturb you."

Tang Fei looked at Little Fatty's tear-stained eyes, thinking this little guy was quite smart; in panic, he didn't cry out loud.

If the matter became widely known, that would be troublesome.

At that time saying nothing was wrong with his body... probably nobody would believe him.

But being the clan leader, still crying easily...

When will he grow up?

"I didn't know what to do, so I went to find Sister Phoenix..." Little Fatty wiped the moisture from his eyes, explaining: "You said, Sister Phoenix can be trusted at any time."

Phoenix glanced at Tang Fei, her heart sweetened, thinking, did he really say that?

Tang Fei found himself slightly embarrassed by Little Fatty's blunt honesty, thickening his skin to say: "Of course, Sister Phoenix is trustworthy, but not sure if your acting is trustworthy."