Chapter 60 Hero, Ye Fei!

“Where am I?”

At this moment, Sikong Xu’s vision was pitch black; he couldn’t see his own hand before his face. He only remembered that after touching the “Hero” stone statue, a blinding white light had seared his eyes, and when he finally opened them again, darkness engulfed him.

“Damn it, could that white light have blinded me?”

A sudden terror seized him. The light had indeed been overwhelming, so intense that for a fleeting instant, Sikong Xu couldn’t even feel the existence of his own eyes.

“If I really am blind, what a tragedy!”

Since he couldn’t see anything, Sikong Xu raised his hands and groped blindly around him, slowly moving his feet as well. He had a vague sense that the strange statue had somehow transported him elsewhere—after all, not only had the white light assaulted his eyes, but his whole body had felt as if it had been plunged into chaos.

“Hey! Is anyone here?”

“If there’s someone, just make a sound!”

His voice carried far, but there was no echo at all. This place must be quite vast, Sikong Xu surmised.

“I’ve been waiting for you…”

Suddenly, a deep voice came out of nowhere, and, at the same time, faint starlight began to appear before his eyes.

Thankfully, he wasn’t blind. Seeing the glimmering stars around him, Sikong Xu realized he had indeed been transported somewhere else.

In an instant, the starlight beneath his feet shifted, and colored points of light began to float all around him. These points multiplied, gradually forming dazzling constellations and galaxies.

“This… What is this!”

Above, below, all around him, beautiful and magnificent galaxies appeared, radiating multicolored light. It was breathtaking. Sikong Xu felt as if he were truly standing in the universe itself—the realism of these cosmic formations far surpassed anything three-dimensional virtual technology could produce.

While Sikong Xu was marveling at the beauty of these cosmic scenes, a sudden jolt ran through him, his body tensing up. He remembered the deep voice that had sounded just before the galaxies appeared.

“Who are you! Show yourself, don’t hide!”

His body was taut with caution. This place was far too mysterious, and until he knew the identity and intentions of the speaker, Sikong Xu remained on guard.

“Haha, relax, kid. I’m a good guy. Just turn around and you’ll see me.”

Hearing the voice, Sikong Xu immediately turned. Sure enough, there was a figure standing behind him.

The figure was a young man, no older than twenty, with neatly trimmed short hair, exuding youthful vigor.

But when Sikong Xu laid eyes on him, his own widened in shock as though he’d witnessed something impossible.

“You… why are you dressed like that?” Sikong Xu exclaimed.

The young man had orange short hair and wore a black robe embroidered with red clouds, a headband with a metal plate on his forehead, and—most strikingly—his eyes were marked with eerie concentric circles, unsettling in their depth.

“The Rinnegan! Pain!”

Sikong Xu could hardly believe it. The man’s attire was bizarre in this world, but Sikong Xu recognized it instantly—it was cosplay of Pain, the Deva Path, from “Naruto.”

“Heh, you do know it.” The man chuckled at Sikong Xu’s reaction.

“Who are you?” The voice’s lack of hostility allowed Sikong Xu to relax a little.

“Me?” The man smiled at Sikong Xu’s confusion. “To be precise, I’m your fellow countryman.”

“Fellow countryman?” Sikong Xu was baffled at first, but a moment later realization dawned. “You… you mean you’re from…”

“Yes.” The man nodded. “I crossed over just like you did—only, I arrived about a century earlier.”

“Why is there such a gap in time? In our original world, we should have been contemporaries.”

Now that he knew the other came from his own world, Sikong Xu felt less wary.

“It must be due to a difference in the flow of time between worlds. But that’s not the main point.” The man continued, “My name is Ye Fei, but you can call me Brother Ye. Bringing you here was my doing.”

“Brother Ye, it seems you have something important to entrust to me.” Sikong Xu was quick-witted and guessed the purpose at once.

“More or less.” Ye Fei nodded. “To be honest, I’ve already died. What you see now is just my soul, and I can’t leave this stone statue.”

“So you’re the ‘Hero’ people talk about?” Sikong Xu asked.

“Uh, sort of. Back then, some did call me a hero, but I don’t know what happened after I died.” Ye Fei went on, “I called you here partly to meet a fellow countryman, and partly to entrust you with something.”

“What is it?”

“It concerns the secrets of interdimensional wars.” Seeing Sikong Xu remain silent, Ye Fei continued, “You should know something about the Barkliel world.”

“Barkliel world?” Sikong Xu asked, puzzled.

“Oh, the so-called alternate dimension.” When Sikong Xu nodded, Ye Fei explained, “The world we’re in now is a parallel version of Earth. When I crossed over, it destabilized the interdimensional space, creating a fissure that connected the Barkliel world and Earth. In fact, the invasion of Barkliel was mainly caused by me.”

Ye Fei’s tone was tinged with guilt. “To be honest, the power difference between Barkliel and Earth is enormous. Their magic and battle energy are far too strong—even nuclear weapons can be countered by their methods.”

“If I hadn’t had some ability back then, Earth would have fallen long ago.”

“Fortunately, perhaps influenced by Barkliel, the laws of the Earth world changed. Originally, people here couldn’t possess magic or other mysterious powers, but after the change, they could learn magic, battle energy, and so on. That’s why I founded the Dimensional Academy.”

“I see.” Sikong Xu nodded thoughtfully.

“I brought you here to give you a special mission.”

“A mission? What kind of mission?”

“That will be revealed when the time is right.”

“Damn… Can I refuse?”

“No.” Ye Fei smiled at Sikong Xu. “Actually, the moment you crossed over, you took on this mission. Even if you refuse me, you’ll still encounter it eventually.”

Sikong Xu frowned. He was always someone who disliked trouble, and the idea of carrying a mysterious mission gave him a headache. As for whether Ye Fei was lying, Sikong Xu thought it unlikely that someone would go to such lengths just to deceive him.

“Alright, let’s leave that aside for now. By the way, is your Rinnegan real?”

“It’s fake—contact lenses. Before I died, though, things like the Rinnegan were easy to obtain. There were even abilities far more powerful than it. But now, as a soul, I have no power.”

“Good grief…” Sikong Xu was exasperated. He’d thought Ye Fei really had the Rinnegan; if so, he’d even considered asking Ye Fei to transplant them for him, given how formidable that power was.

“Haha, don’t be disappointed. With your innate talent, acquiring such abilities is the simplest thing.” Ye Fei saw through Sikong Xu’s thoughts and laughed.

“By the way, let me ask you a few questions—about the fantasy world.”

Suddenly, Sikong Xu remembered Mikasa, whom he had yet to summon.

“Alright, go ahead.”