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Chapter 551 - CHAPTER 551 - Reality and the Void  

Summoning another Titan Warrior mech, Li Lin ensured the dual anti-demon devices and the protective barrier of the Banshee's Veil were fully operational before disengaging the lockdown mode. His gaze swept cautiously across his surroundings, deliberately avoiding the colossal eye beneath the Glacial Ice. 

The elegant black-and-blue robes were still in sight not far away, but the figure of Lissandra, who had previously lain prostrate upon the Glacial Ice, was nowhere to be found. A chilling, oppressive silence permeated the space, carrying an overwhelming sense of despair. Streams of maddening darkness flowed within the gradually melting Glacial Ice. Yet, with no energy source to sustain them, the grotesque, writhing monstrosities trapped inside could not breach the multiple elemental seals. 

Regaining his full view, Li Lin quickly activated the anti-gravity system, ascending through the opening above him. His eyes scanned the surroundings urgently. 

"Where did Lissandra jump off to?" he asked, his tone sharp and anxious. 

Li Lin didn't fully understand why Lissandra had suddenly succumbed to corruption, but leaving her unchecked was undoubtedly unwise. Lissandra had sealed the Void before; surely, she knew how to break its bonds. Moreover, even if she still retained some shred of sanity and resisted the Watcher's influence, her absence from maintaining their dream left the fragile sealing system dangerously vulnerable. Should the Watchers fully awaken, it would take mere minutes for them to shatter the seals. 

[Northwest!] 

As Li Lin's words left his lips, the AI quickly highlighted the coordinates on the holographic map where a drone had recently captured movement. 

The powerful engines propelled the mech's massive frame forward at high speed, navigating the seemingly endless abyss. The howling winds clawed past, each icy gale carrying a deadly chill that could instantly freeze any ordinary barbarian from the Freljord who lacked Frostborn blood. 

The mech's surface was coated in a glistening layer of frost, crackling and breaking with every move Li Lin made, producing faint, crisp sounds. Within seconds, he had maneuvered through the winding corridors and arrived at the northwestern edge of the Howling Abyss, where the path terminated. 

Ahead lay only the dense continental plate that separated the abyss from the frigid seafloor of the Ice Sea. Unlike the Conqueror's Sea or the Watcher's Sea, the arctic ocean in the extreme north lacked the thousands of meters of depth. Even if he somehow drilled through the crust, he would encounter endless rock before ever reaching water. 

Li Lin stood at the brink of the Glacial Ice, its surface marred with blackened veins. He peered down into the bottomless chasm below, a void so profound that even the mech's scanning systems couldn't accurately map it. 

"So, this is where Lissandra jumped…" His fists clenched tightly as he frowned in contemplation. 

"I can't wait any longer." 

[Master, surely you're not planning to…?!] The AI's typically neutral voice was laced with alarm. 

[You can't go down there!] 

"Do you have a better option?" Li Lin's tone was unnervingly calm. 

[We could deploy the mechanical units…] 

"But they aren't me, and they're far inferior to what I can do. If something down there causes any of the machines to malfunction, it would just hand the Void a surge of energy." 

[But…] 

"Enough stalling. Summon the Titan Mech now," Li Lin commanded sternly. "If Lissandra is given too much time, she might actually release the Watchers early!" 

[…] 

After a brief silence, a super-dimensional portal over a hundred meters tall opened behind Li Lin. 

The Titan Mech, already in combat mode, emerged from a curtain of crackling electricity and white light. Its massive feet hovered mere centimeters above the Glacial Ice below, never making contact. 

Li Lin quickly entered the cockpit, connecting the nerve network systems of both the Titan Warrior and the Titan Mech, layer upon layer, like Russian dolls. He took deep breaths, focusing his attention as he slowly maneuvered the mech deeper into the abyss. 

Darkness enveloped everything, and the temperature, nearly at absolute zero, made controlling the mech slightly cumbersome. However, as the miniature stellar reactor's energy efficiency increased, this minor issue was swiftly resolved. 

Unlike the Conqueror's Sea, where he could simulate the lightless environment through scanning, this abyssal passage didn't lead directly to the heart of the Rune Lands. Instead, it opened into another void dimension, one that no living being had ever explored. 

Gradually, time and space seemed to lose all meaning. In the thick, impenetrable shadow, countless distorted whispers battered against the mech's hull, desperately trying to find any possible gap to penetrate the mech's mental barriers. 

Even as a mechanical master, with four physical enhancements and three mental barriers akin to those of a superhuman, Li Lin could still feel his head begin to spin. This was an involuntary shiver, one that reached into his very soul. 

"Has it really been thirty minutes...?" 

The Glacial Ice had not fully sealed off the tunnel between reality and the void. Now, even the AI could only roughly estimate the depth. The blackened Glacial Ice that had once been eroded by the Void had completely vanished. 

Li Lin exhaled, feeling the thinning connection between the mech and the outside world. Thankfully, the quantum communication system was still intact, preventing a total loss of contact. 

"Where exactly did Lissandra fall to? Could she have dropped to the other side of the universe?" 

As the whispers in his ears grew louder, and their mental influence became more oppressive, the environment suddenly shifted. 

[Master, gravity has ceased to function. The surrounding physical laws are slightly distorted.] 

Li Lin frowned, halting the mech's anti-gravity system for the moment. The AI's description was spot on—gravity had completely vanished here. Even without the engines pushing forward, the mech remained suspended in place, showing no signs of falling. 

"It looks like Lissandra should be nearby." 

The scanning devices had failed, unable to reconstruct any semblance of light in the area on his screen. Reluctantly, Li Lin dispatched a few drones. In this anti-gravity zone, they were still able to fly. 

To avoid getting lost in this disorienting region, Li Lin set up a beacon as a reference point. The drones circled the Titan Mech, maintaining a radius of five hundred meters, ensuring they stayed within range. If anything went wrong, Li Lin could reach them quickly, preventing the drones from being damaged and the energy core from falling prey to the Void. 

Seconds turned into minutes, minutes into hours. Time passed unnoticed. Li Lin, his nerves taut, had wandered far through this space between reality and the void, but still, no sign of Lissandra. 

Staying here wasn't the solution. He was already considering leaving Lissandra behind. After all, he was fully prepared to face the Void. The remaining preparations were just extra measures. 

Before the Watchers inevitably arrived, he could take advantage of the time to strengthen his forces, to better handle the other Void creatures. Even if the Watchers did descend upon the Rune Lands today, Li Lin had no reason to fear. If he couldn't fight, he could always retreat. After all, abandoning the Rune Lands wasn't the end—thanks to the Starfall Bastion, other intelligent species would still have a place to reside, as long as they weren't bound to the Rune Lands like the natural spirits. 

"Such rusted gears, so stiff... If I really leave that woman behind here, who knows what kind of trouble she'll cause." 

Just as Li Lin was hesitating on whether to return to the surface, seize control of the Frostguard Keep, and stay vigilant for any potential breach of the Watchers' seal, Lissandra's unmistakable voice suddenly echoed in his ears, laced with wild, hysterical madness.

"Mine! All mine! The time has come! Freljord, this world, all of it will be mine! Those who do not recognize me as Empress… shall be buried beneath the ice!" 

(End of chapter)

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