Split Zone No.13

311 Leave With Me

“Why are you able to see her?”

Nobody else could see her except for me. Even though Piercer is a living weapon, she’s still a body of consciousness. Gaoqin Jiuye’s Shen Qi did not look like he sensed her presence either, so why is Piercer able to do that?

“I don’t know why I’m able to either. I just can. That’s not my point here though. The point is that you’ll have to get used to these abilities if you want to win and if you want to achieve that eventual goal of yours. You have to learn how to use and control your power.”

“This power doesn’t belong to me.” I refused to acknowledge it.

I did not want to acknowledge that this terrifying power slept within me. It wasn’t something I was proud of. It was something that had brought about endless solitude and something that made others shun me for seemingly no reason.

I didn’t want to understand or accept her, but I had no other choice right now.

There will always be things we have to compromise on.

“You’re regretting it so quickly when you were so clear about your goal just moments before?”

“No,” I said as I shook my head. “Fine, it’s true that I can use her power. Tell me what I should do next.” It came out this way because I was unwilling to accept that power.

“No matter what it is, I want to remind you once again. Ah Shen, no one can take this power that comes from within you. You are also strong enough to protect yourself and everyone else whom you want to protect here. It’s just that you aren’t able to accept that power in your heart. Right now, you wouldn’t be able to gain access or use her power if you aren’t able to accept her. If that happens, you wouldn’t be able to achieve your goals either.”

“I’ll accept her, if it’s to protect them.”

I answered Piercer as I looked over at the fight happening between Jiao S and Du Yue.

Piercer nodded. “Then you’ll just have to make good use of that ring on your finger. There’s another thing I want you to know. That ring on Nie Zun’s finger is also invisible to others, except for me. What I’m afraid of is that, if I’m able to see it now, someone else might be able to do the same in future. Though Nie Zun’s ring is very similar to yours, it’s actually different. I can feel the demonic aura that’s emanating from that ring of his. It’s that very demonic aura that’s controlling him, and I suspect that it has something to do with that demon cave.

“From what they’ve said earlier, it seems like you are the only one who has the ability to change the demon cave when you enter it. It might have something to do with your constitution of having two personalities.”

As Piercer was explaining patiently, Feng Zhu and Li Qing stood facing each other under a façade of serenity.

However, I felt the atmosphere around Feng Zhu getting heavier and heavier. My gut told me that nothing but chaos would ensue if this ruler of the Gate of Heaven exploded in a fit of anger.

Even so, I was not the least bit worried about Li Qing. I was confident in her abilities.

Though Piercer praised Du Yue and said she looked like a goddess of war in battle, the real goddess of war was none other than Li Qing.

Li Qing was well-versed in battle, and she had an in-depth understanding of all the events that led up to the situation today. Neither Du Yue nor Jiao S could hold a candle against her. Furthermore, I don’t remember Li Qing having lost in any fight she had voluntarily joined in.

Li Qing was the real ‘Split Zone Goddess of War’ whom others feared.

Li Qing remained calm and collected as her indigo hair flew in the wind. Her silvery-white armor and that halberd she carried on her back would made others shrink a little in fear once they laid eyes on it.

Both of them had overpowering auras, and they seemed to be testing each other, as if looking for a weakness in each other’s MF that could be used as a point of entry.

Battles between aces did not always look glamorous. Both sides knew when to attack the opponent and when they should stop.

The two of them were in such a state right now. It was highly possible that the first one who launches an attack would find themselves at the losing end.

I thought Li Qing might make the first move even though that might mean losing the advantage in battle. I didn’t think she was someone who liked playing mind games like these, since she looked like someone who preferred to jump straight into the thick of things.

“Are you planning to just stand here and watch?” A familiar and pleasant voice asked.

It was Nie Zun.

Jie Pa was still standing behind him. The two of them seemed coordinated in black jackets, and they looked like they were waiting for something to happen, just as I was.

“What else? No one is fighting me right now. Or do you actually want to try?” I didn’t know why I just couldn’t be polite to him when I actually wanted to hug him so badly.

I suppressed the emotion that threatened to spill out of me because of a few simple words from him. This is not the time to pause for love. I had to destroy the Split Zone and save those I had to save.

Love is useless, and love can’t bring me towards salvation.

“Miss Ah Shen, all of you have to calm down.” Jie Pa adjusted his glasses as he stepped out from behind Nie Zun.

“Calm down? I’m being calm. What do you guys plan to do now?” I asked as I looked at Jie Pa.

“Come with me,” Nie Zun spoke suddenly, his gaze indifferent. Is this a joke?

I shuffled quickly up to him, asking in a low tone, “What are you trying to do? You’ve been acting like this after you came out from the demon cave. What do you want and what are you planning? You’re not telling me anything. You took my heart and returned it. Just what are you trying to do?”

There was this look of suppressed agony that spread across Nie Zun’s face.

I couldn’t bear looking at such an expression when he wasn’t talking. I thus swallowed the words that were about to come out of my mouth.

“It’s not as complicated as you think it is. I just want to live here on my own. I’ve had enough of being tied down to you.”

Though Nie Zun explained it to me like this, I didn’t quite believe him. I just didn’t.

“Then why are you asking me to leave with you?” I laughed in self-mockery.

“I can’t leave you alone here and just let them fight over you like this.”

Jie Pa took a meaningful look at Nie Zun before he turned to me. “Miss Ah Shen, no matter what it is, it’s still a better option to leave this dangerous place right now.”

I shook my head in vehemence. “I’m always running away. The Western District has already been destroyed, and I won’t have anywhere else to go anyway. I’d rather face this head-on and find out if I can really leave the Split Zone and uncover its secrets to gain freedom. I really don’t have the time or the energy right now to understand whatever you’re thinking about or hear about whatever you’ve been through. Let’s just go on our separate paths from today onwards, as you have wished.”

The ground of the central plaza began to shake as I finished. The shaking was gentle, but there was a warmth that accompanied it.

In a few seconds, my feet felt like they were stepping on hot coals. The split symbol on my ankle was also heating up.

I turned around to look at her. She was in a red dress, and she looked at me with a pair of flirtatious eyes that seemed to hold an enchanting mystery.

“Can you feel the power that I’m giving you?” She asked while smiling sweetly at me.

‘Why do you have MF?’ I looked at her, posing her a question through my head.

I had realized earlier that I could actually communicate with her in my mind. In this way, others wouldn’t treat me like I was insane when I looked like I was speaking at nothing but air.

She lifted a hand to cover her mouth in a laugh. “Because… I am you…”

Tamping down the hate I felt towards her, I looked at the heated split symbol on my ankle.

It didn’t look any different. I then looked at the blood-red skull ring on my finger.

“Where did you get that ring?” I didn’t know when Nie Zun caught sight of it, but he asked in a low voice where only the both of us could hear.

So he could see the ring too.

I wasn’t surprised by this. It seemed that everything which involved him would make sense to me, including that inseparable link we had. It started from the very first day we arrived in the Split Zone, and he had even ended up here because of me.

If he could see the ring, could he see her too?

I was a little afraid of such a possibility. I stared at him as I went closer, replying in the same low voice, “Can you see her?”

Nie Zun’s pupils widened. “Her?”

Seems like he cannot see her.

That made sense. If he can, he would’ve seen her long ago. There was also no need for him to keep up the pretense for so long.

“Haha, there’s no need to ask him about that. He can’t see me, unless I want to let him see me. In that case, he’ll be able to…” I heard that sultry voice right in my ear.

So you make the decisions on everything. Are you that willful, devil?

“She was the one who gave me this ring. You know who I’m referring to, don’t you? It’s the same person who gave you a similar ring before,” I said.

Nie Zun stared at me. “You’re finally willing to accept her?”

I remained silent.

Nie Zun put a hand on my shoulder. “You’ll be in danger if you accept her, especially in your current condition. Everyone here has their eyes on you because of her. They’re all looking for her, don’t you understand that?”