Velra turned her head and looked at Savra. Her expression was serious.
"Are we really going to believe that?" Velra asked. "That Zain’s past world and this one... are actually the sa place?"
Savra didn’t answer right away.
She stared at the giant hole in front of them, then slowly nodded.
"It’s not impossible," she said. "Zain didn’t say it looked similar."
"He said it was exactly the sa. Sa size. Sa cracks. Sa feeling."
Velra frowned. "But how could that be? His past world had qi, right? Cultivation, sects, martial arts."
"This world runs on ether. They’re two completely different systems."
Savra raised a brow. "Are they really that different, though? You’ve seen the cultivators in this world, too."
"They used martial arts just like the ones in Zain’s stories. And they told us their ancestors used to cultivate with qi... until sothing changed."
Zelia stepped forward, joining in. "I think what Savra’s saying makes sense."
Velra looked at her, surprised. "You do?"
Zelia nodded. "Think about it. We’ve never heard the full history of this world."
"No one really knows what happened thousands of years ago. And those cultivators said their ancestors did sothing special."
"Sothing that allowed them to use ether instead of qi."
She paused, glancing at the pit again.
"If that’s true, then it ans there was qi in this world long ago."
"Which ans... this could really be the sa world Zain lived in before."
Savra smiled slightly. "Maybe sothing happened. A big shift. Qi was replaced by ether. Ti passed. People forgot. But the land remained."
Velra looked unsure, but she didn’t argue again. "Even so... that would an this world is much older than we thought."
Zelia nodded. "Exactly. And if the qi turned into ether... maybe the old power still lingers sowhere. Maybe Zain’s return wasn’t an accident after all."
Zain had been quiet the whole ti. But now he finally spoke.
"You’re all making good points," he said, eyes still locked on the pit.
"It could be the sa world. Or it could just be a strange coincidence. Who knows?"
He looked over his shoulder at them and gave a small smile.
"But in the end, does it really matter?"
The girls looked at him.
Zain continued, "I’m here now. This is the world I live in."
"I don’t care if it’s my old world reborn, or a new one built on the ruins."
"What matters is that I’m alive... and I’ve got work to do."
Zelia smiled softly. "You’ve really changed."
Zain smirked. "Maybe. Or maybe I’ve just rembered who I really am."
Savra chuckled. "Well, if this world is the sa... maybe it’s fate. You ca back to finish what you started."
Velra nodded slowly. "Then let’s make sure we finish it right this ti."
Zain’s smirk widened.
He took one last look at the pit before speaking firmly, "Yeah. This ti, I’m finishing everything."
He turned around and started walking, the wind brushing through his coat.
The others followed behind him without question.
As they walked, Zain’s voice cut through the heavy silence.
"This pit... it ans sothing."
"If this world really is the sa, then that ans the place where I built my sect... it should still be here."
Savra raised an eyebrow. "So you think your old sect is still sowhere in the core area?"
Zain nodded. "That would explain why the ether here feels so familiar."
"It’s not just the environnt... It’s sothing deeper. Sothing powerful. Sothing connected to ."
Zelia glanced around. "Do you think the sect still exists? Or maybe just ruins?"
"Either way," Zain replied, "that land was mine. That territory belonged to the Heavenly Demon Sect. If even a part of it remains... It’s enough."
Velra stepped closer. "Then what now, master? Are we going to reclaim it?"
Zain smiled. "No. We’re not just reclaiming it. We’re rebuilding it. Stronger. Better."
Savra grinned. "Then lead the way, Supre One. Let’s go see your castle."
Zain looked ahead. His eyes burned with silent fire.
The idea that his old sect might still be here gave him a new wave of energy.
"If my sect truly lies within the core zone... then that’s where we’re going," he said.
"And if it still stands... then it ans the Heavenly Demon never really died."
Zelia walked beside him. "And if it doesn’t stand...?"
"Then we build a new one," Zain said with no hesitation.
"From the ashes. From the bones. From whatever remains. The world will rember the na Heavenly Demon Sect."
The four of them walked deeper into the corrupted land, the ether swirling stronger with every step.
Zain clenched his fist.
’This ether... It’s not just similar. It’s almost identical.
No one else in this world should have ether like mine... unless sothing from my past is still alive.’
He looked ahead.
"Co on," he said to the girls. "Let’s go find my past."
And with that, they moved toward the heart of the core zone.
After a long walk, they arrived at a strange, broken area.
Zain stopped and looked around slowly.
Then he smiled.
"This is it..." he said. "This is where it all began."
The girls looked around curiously.
Zain pointed toward a small river nearby.
The water was dark, and a cold mist rose from its surface.
"That river," Zain said, "we called it the Cold River. It was used to train the bodies of disciples."
"You had to swim across it naked, even in winter. The water cuts into your skin like blades."
Velra raised an eyebrow. "That sounds brutal."
Zain nodded. "It was. But it made our bodies strong. If you couldn’t cross it, you weren’t allowed to eat that day."
Savra looked at the river with interest. "So this is where the Heavenly Demon Sect trained the body. I like it."
Zain then pointed to a tall, sharp cliff nearby. Its side was steep and covered in broken stones.
"And that cliff," he said, "we had to climb it every week. No ropes. No tools. Just bare hands."
Zelia looked at the cliff. "And if soone fell?"
"They fell," Zain said simply. "So broke their legs. So died. That was part of it."
Velra tilted her head. "This place really was harsh, huh?"
Zain gave a short smile. "The Heavenly Demon Sect wasn’t for the weak. We were shaped by pain. Trained through hardship."
He walked forward slowly, hand brushing the side of a cracked wall.
"I carved my path here," he said. "Bled here. Killed here. And now... I’m back."
The girls followed behind him in silence, watching as Zain reconnected with the past.
"Let’s keep moving," Zain said. "There’s more I want to show you."
And with that, they headed deeper into the ruins of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
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