Every person had a turning point in their lives where they made choices that changed the trajectory of their life forever.
This point was called a Fracture Point, and the choice they made was called an Anchor. The more possibilities there were for an Anchor, the more Fracture Points existed in this world.
A multitude of Fracture Points formed a Void Fracture. This was where the void called its victims. To their own Fracture Points.
The only way to escape a Void Fracture was by proving your Anchor was the absolute one.
* *
Going through the Fracture wasn't a pleasurable feeling. The shimmer of the fracture pierced directly into my brain, peeling through my memories as each of them was copied and rewritten into different versions.
Like in one version, I accepted being a maid to James.
"Blah… James, you wait. You are done."
The world appeared to be screaming, yet no sound came out.
For a long time—maybe seconds, maybe hours—I existed only in fragments. I lived through different possible Anchors I should've taken. I couldn't feel my senses, my body, or my soul.
It was almost like I was in an animated equilibrium. My mind went blank. I could feel my existence slowly being erased by the void.
That's when a cooling sensation crept into my mind.
The ring on my hand vibrated, pulling me back from being eroded by the void. I gasped. I was standing in the same position I was in before being swallowed by the Fracture.
It's just that the surroundings were eerily quiet. I looked down at my ring. It hadn't changed appearance, the same dull look as always.
However, it appeared to be shining a bit, or was it just my illusion?
"I nearly lost… right?"
The void only accepted its victims—or 'challengers,' as it liked to call them—if they survived the corruption. Almost ninety percent of people failed at this stage, completely erased from existence.
My heart almost popped out of my throat at the imagination of being erased from existence itself.
If not for this ring, my fate would've been the same. A cold shiver passed through my spine as the void pulled me once more. The light vanished again.
Then, just as I thought my mind was going to be tormented again, I landed. Hard.
My body struck something cold. Not stone. Not dirt. Something… organic. Flesh?
I staggered to my knees, breath exploding out of me. My skin burned on impact. My fingers twitched as the remaining essence on me sizzled and dispersed with each breath. I looked up.
Sky?
No. A ceiling. The ceiling stretched like a ribcage above a blood-coloured sky. Clouds twisted like coiled tendons.
The ground beneath me pulsed faintly with a heartbeat not mine.
My gaze followed the surroundings. Everywhere, the same ceiling arced above, like I was inside a cage which shaped like a ribcage.
Or was it really the ribs of a creature?
I shuddered. No way, right? For a monster to be this big…
The ground continued to thump beneath me, with the same rhythm as my heartbeat.
'Like I'm standing on a beating heart…'
I instinctively turned around, back to where I had thrown James, and saw nothing. That meant I was inside the Void Fracture now.
I took a deep breath. The collapsed buildings behind me had to be the ruins of the sect. The gate still stood proudly, though nothing stood behind it.
For the Broken Sky Sect to be destroyed like this, whatever calamity they faced must be beyond the control of a Core Formation stage cultivator.
Despite being only a low-level sect, they had at least ten cultivators in the Core Formation stage, with their sect master being in the ninth stage of Core Formation.
I opted to not overthink it. That calamity wasn't something people like me should probe into.
I turned again, eyes stretching toward the direction of Star Fall. The mountain range wasn't there. In its place, a red desert extended into the distance.
Next turn was toward the city. Luckily, it was still intact. Then my eyes locked onto the red holographic button that hovered and darted with my movements.
The Void Mission.
Touching it would prompt the void to give me a mission, the task to finish this challenge and escape this hellish place.
'Sara, it's nothing to worry about. You're talentless, so how many choices did you even have the first time around? If all your choices are the same, you don't have to prove yourself to the void—you've already proven yourself.'
To prove your Anchor was absolute, there was only one way: defeat every other Anchor. The number of Anchors present in a Fracture depended on the strength of its challenger.
As for me, someone not even in the Qi Gathering stage, at most I'd have to defeat one Anchor. Worst, two.
Just one mirror self more. Nothing to worry about.
If coping had another name, that would be 'Sara.' My lips curled as I shrugged the dust off my robes.
It was the first time I felt being talentless was a blessing. Because of this, the number of possible Anchors I had was limited, and so the chances of me facing a too-powerful version of myself were basically nullified.
Well, me being a null became a blessing here.
The Fracture Point of mine was the decision I made after being expelled. Being a tea seller was my Anchor.
I blushed. What a lame choice of Anchor. It would be a shame to talk aloud to my mirror self about my Anchor.
'Lame? It's the most practical and smart choice! You should correct your mirror self, Sara.'
Sure, if it allowed me to talk.
Still, I wasn't sure if my other selves would like my choice. So discovering the possible Anchors I could've taken, and being mentally prepared to face them, would help me handle the situation better. Unlike blankly triggering the challenge and getting surprised by the outcome.
Purely for mental health, I swear. Not because of fear.
After all, I wasn't a violent person. So my mirror selves would most likely be a chill person. Surely, right?