Limbo

"Limbo?" Upon hearing this, Saint Chengwei was momentarily dazed. He instinctively looked up toward the heavens, where majesty surged and erupted from within the phantom silhouette of Tiancheng. Consumed by fury, the Pope recklessly unleashed his divine power. It materialized into a colossal hand spanning heaven and earth, clutching down toward the mortal world, yet missed the final window of opportunity. The hurtling train faded into translucence like a bubble, slipping right through his palm as it plunged into the deepest reaches of the dream. Farther and farther away! Amidst the boundless turbulence of iridescent light, a speck of darkness gradually emerged, swelling and expanding rapidly like a falling world until it filled the entire field of view. "Limbo, is it?" Standing in the engine cab at the prime viewing spot, Ji Jue gazed at the approaching realm, brimming with anticipation. The vilest place in the world, the final destination of rebels, the nightmare believers feared most, and the domain where all heretics and sinners endured endless torment. Burning, freezing, tearing, flaying, crushing—endless, extending unto eternity! As the most chaotic and terrifying place in all of Huangliang, its existence stood apart from the world, yet remained tethered to it by countless threads. In the end, it became the ultimate dumping ground for everything that could not exist in the Divine Kingdom's paradise—or rather, what the Holy God deemed unfit to exist within His realm. Serving as trash bin, sewer outlet, and purification mechanism all at once, it was like the vortex of this world, striking terror into countless hearts at its mere mention. Its sheer existence was enough to keep all rebels tossing and turning at night; a mere glimpse of the boundless agony endured within was enough to chill any overambitious heretic to the bone. Perhaps no one could have imagined that one day, people would willingly leap into Limbo, scrambling eagerly one after another toward doom. Yet now, the newborn steel demons—the heretical minions chasing after the Demon Fallen from Heaven—were singing together in jubilation. They slammed their fists onto the carriage tables and stomped the floor. The chaotic noise gradually converged into a single rhythm, thundering outward like a heartbeat, accompanied by impatient chants: "Limbo! Limbo! Limbo!!!" Pair after pair of scarlet eyes were illuminated by the fiery glow. *O God, today we raise the banner of rebellion and heresy once more! If You seek to cast us into Hell, then we shall trample Hell itself beneath our feet!* *We shall seize it all!* And so they sang, they laughed, roaring with uncontrollable ecstasy: "Limbo! Limbo! Limbo!!!" Too much humiliation, too long in the darkness, and far too heavy an ordeal—those nightmares had already vanished in the flames. Now, the hour of counterattack was at hand! The train accelerated, careening and violently shuddering as it spewed bursts of crimson thunder that sheared through the void. It surged onward, undeterred by the sheer darkness and the turbulent vortex of countless dreams. Straight toward the rapidly expanding domain ahead. Amidst endless chaos and phantom illusions, it pressed on without hesitation! Even with legions of angels pursuing from behind, they couldn't even graze it, left only to swallow the bloody mist belched from its whistle in futile rage. Saint Chengwei's scalp went completely numb, his skin prickling with dread. Inconceivable, incomprehensible... The existence of Limbo was an absolute secret, a desolate land and tormenting dungeon sealed outside the Divine Kingdom by the Holy God. Even the Saints could only come and go through fixed passages during brief intervals when the turbulence settled, under strict and narrow windows of opportunity. Yet how were these heretics navigating with such effortless familiarity, pinpointing Limbo's location? A blind guess? How could it be that easy?! In this chaotic void, even Chengwei had to tread with utmost caution. A single misstep would smash one to pieces against the foundations of paradise, yet here someone was drag-racing through it with utter abandon. "Ahead, left! Left! Harder left!!!" The old Tale codger was already breaking into a sweat, his pupils dilated as he stared fixedly at the compass in his hand, which was spinning like a little motor. "Speed up, accelerate right through! Move it, ignore—" *Boom!* The train shuddered violently, as if slamming into something unseen. The colossal visage of Saint Yidela wailed in anguish, weeping tears of blood without cease. Again and again, it whipped up the thunder of divine retribution to shatter whatever blocked its path. Further off, the stench of Limbo gushed forth! "Close, almost there! Steady—keep it steady—" Bao Dachai could already feel the summons sent by the spirits of Tale Alchemy, guiding him through the fog and across the final hurdle. As he had said before, everything leaves a mark. Whenever things touch, they inevitably leave an imprint upon one another. In terms of physics, it was a transfer of matter; to an Aether Celestial Chosen, it was the flow of phenomena. Just as the Celestial Eye Hall could track the camp's location through the traces left by the Rabbit Hole, there was no reason why the same principle couldn't work for Bao Dachai. If anything, it was thanks to the Celestial Eye Hall's interference with the Divine Kingdom's paradise, which enhanced the traces left by the flow of phenomena. Otherwise, his job wouldn't have been anywhere near this easy! In truth, Tiancheng's plan and tactics had been plenty prudent and solid, anticipating and countering the heretics as thoroughly and rigorously as possible. Alas, laymen could never understand the noble virtues of craftsmen. For example, the sheer lack of conscience in a certain Profound elite surnamed Ji, or the ancient traditions upheld by a certain heir of ancient alchemy—specifically, the compulsive habit of stuffing a backdoor into all their creations. Couldn't help it; out of habit, going without one just felt wrong and kept them up at night. The more backdoors an item had, the better it was. The better it was, the better it was for the craftsman, and thus the nastier it was for everyone else. Whether users or their enemies— The crux lay in the large batch of Wedges given away as bargaining chips over recent days while Yu Shu interacted with other rebel camps. They could temporarily strip away an angel's divine power, reverting them to their original form. To any resistance camp, such artifacts were veritable trump cards—lifesaving treasures in times of crisis. Alas, while you shared your heart with a brother, your brother played mind games with you. Bao Dachai had never mentioned that anyone who used a Wedge would have their soul stamped with a mark—or rather, an undetectable tracker implanted so seamlessly that it merged with their spiritus. Through the resonance of spiritus, Bao Dachai could easily track their movements. Even if they were cast into Limbo... Yes, precisely. From the very beginning, Ji Jue had already plotted out a path for these 'brothers in adversity'—refuse to merge when asked, refuse to unite when asked, greedily demanding benefits without paying the price, unwilling to part with even a scrap of supplies. If you won't pay for the product, then you become the product yourself. Nothing to be done; that's how free stuff works. Where in the world was there a free lunch? Thanks to the Order's cooperation, which resorted to ruthless means to purge heretics under the pressure of Holy Advent Day, more and more "good brothers" had been cast into Limbo over the past few days. The convergence and resonance of all those marks shone like a beacon in the dark night, illuminating the path forward for Ji Jue and his crew. Target locked! In that instant, the old codger burst into wild laughter. He shoved the throttle lever all the way down and threw his weight against it, his face flushing crimson as the train's speed exploded once more. Running at near-suicidal output. It turned almost entirely into a surging torrent of crimson lightning, tearing through the blockade outside Limbo with crushing ruin, and plunged straight into it. Vanished! Final stop reached! Witnessing this, Saint Chengwei, left with nothing but impotent fury, could only roar in rage: "Pursue! After them! And notify Tiancheng—open the passage at once, send reinforcements! We must not allow Limbo to suffer a single mis—" Before the syllable "hap" could even leave his lips, he heard a colossal rumble echoing through the chaotic void. *Boom!* That was— A cave-in! It was like a haphazardly dug mine shaft, an unsupported cave and tunnel system excavated without surveying or unified planning. From the moment Ji Jue drove this tunneling shield machine to dig, dig, dig with a roar right inside the Holy God's little garden, this outcome had been sealed. Now, the cave-in caused by illegal mining and reckless excavation had begun. The entire Dream of Huangliang violently convulsed. Vast torrents of phantom light erupted, stirring the chaos and whipping up a raging storm in the boiling churn. Every angel caught in it was utterly annihilated in an instant, without even the chance to scream. Even the fixed passage could no longer be opened. Under the premeditated chain-reaction collapses and tremors, the link between Limbo and the mortal realm had been temporarily severed. From this moment on, for three whole days, the entirety of Limbo would face the ravages and devastation of the Enemy of God in total isolation! One wrong step led to every step going wrong. Under Ji Jue's meticulous orchestration, from the second the train started moving, there was no longer any turning back. And now, within Limbo— The true devil had arrived! When the piercing sirens blared across Limbo, the highest entrance was still a bustling mess. Amidst turbulent volcanoes and vast lakes of lava, countless sinners and heretics were submerged in molten rock and blazing fire, thrashing violently as they scrambled to climb out, only to fall short of that final inch. Burning and dissolving, they reduced to ashes again and again, only to regenerate from the ash once more. In the end, they didn't even have the strength left to wail, flailing feebly and numbly having given up resistance. Their only movement was frantically grabbing whoever was beside them, trying to step on their heads to steal a fleeting breath of respite before burning to ash. Scenes like this truly grew tiresome after seeing them enough. The archangel guarding the entrance of Limbo sat slumped in his massive chair, scratching his chin in boredom, thoroughly devoid of motivation. This damn shithole didn't even have liquor—nothing but ash, ash, and more ash. Even in Tiancheng, garrisoning and rotating through Limbo was an outright miserable chore. The only ones locked up alongside prisoners were fellow prisoners—the only difference being they didn't have to suffer the torments. Perverts who enjoyed watching people suffer were a minority after all, and even a pervert would get sick of it after ten years. If completing a rotation cycle didn't earn a bestowal from the Realm of Ultimate Bliss, hardly anyone would be willing to come here. Nowadays, aside from going through the motions of his duties, Huomeini's greatest comfort was watching the calendar as his rotation date crept closer day by day. Just two more years, and he could return to Tiancheng from this godforsaken place. He would never come back! Even fighting on the front lines against heretics beat staying here. He yawned and glanced at the dossier in his hands. "More heretics? They've been sending an awful lot of heretics over lately." The angel stationed at the checkpoint nodded. "Tiancheng has resolved to wage total war against the heretics. The scale of this campaign is likely the largest in decades." "Tsk, what a shame—" Huomeini felt an itch in his fingers, tinged with regret. If not for this damn Limbo, why would he be stuck here watching others rack up glory and merit? "Fine, no need to read further." He waved his hand listlessly, glancing at the heretical sinners chained together in a line, iron yokes around their necks. Some were weeping and wailing, some were trembling too hard to walk, and some were hoarsely crying out, repeating over and over that they wanted to inform, that they possessed crucial intelligence on the Enemy of God Ji Jue—yet nobody cared. Others merely glared at him coldly. Even now, that feral madness hungry to tear someone apart remained unshaken and undeterred, brimming with venom and hatred. Even with broken teeth, they still longed to rip their throats out. "Quite a few tough nuts this time," Huomeini sneered. "Someone prepare the welcoming party. Throw these heretics into the fire pits and roast them for three years to start!" He had seen plenty. After a few years of burning, even the toughest bones would soften like dough. If that didn't work, add a few years of stoning and blade lashes. No matter how stubborn a diehard heretic was, before long they would become drooling imbeciles who pissed themselves at the sight of an angel, just like dogs. "I do love youngsters with backbone." He tilted the man's chin up with the tip of his lance, grinning. "Don't disap—" *Boom!* The instant the ear-splitting siren wailed, everyone froze. Instinctively, they turned toward the central sanctuary, wondering what the hell that racket was—only to realize a moment later that it was the highest-level alert! Too late. The moment he turned his head, Huomeini heard a colossal roar behind him. Bronze mountains caved; iron walls crumbled. Amidst an unprecedented din, a gaping hole was ripped through the sky, and immediately after, a ferocious train bathed in thunder and flame plunged from above. *BOOM!* Like a golden serpent, the massive train slithered forward, plowing straight into the entrance fortress, piercing through, skidding, and crushing Huomeini's body to pulp before finally grinding to a halt in a screech of friction. After the violent tremor, everyone stood flabbergasted. Angels and heretics alike widened their eyes in bewilderment, and then they saw—a bald old codger suddenly shove open a window, lean over the sill, and retch violently. Motion sickness. Immediately afterward, the doors swung open. Muffled footsteps echoed. The unexpected passenger walked slowly out from the darkness, setting foot onto this cursed land. "So this is Limbo?" Ji Jue sniffed the sulfur and ash drifting in the air. Raising his eyes, he surveyed the distant volcanoes, the lava, and the staggering silhouettes wandering the wasteland, nodding in approval. "Nice fresh air, and quite scenic too." Alas, no one responded. Only the screech of scraping metal rang out in waves. Amidst venting plumes of scalding steam, bulkhead gates slammed open one after another. Deep in the darkness of the train carriages, pairs of crimson eyes gradually ignited. "Well then, this Hell Express has reached its final destination—Limbo," Ji Jue said languidly, clasping his hands behind his back. "In a moment, passengers are requested to gather their luggage and disembark in an orderly fashion. Please do not crowd or stam—" *Stamp!* An impatient Yan Fei shoved through the crowd. Spreading his iron wings, he shot forward and slammed his foot down on an angel raising a weapon, trampling the foolhardy resister into paste. Blood splattered outward, nearly speckling Ji Jue's trouser cuff. Following him, the unending screech of metal echoed as rampant metal giants poured out of the train cars with savage expressions, swinging their weapons to batter the nearest enemies in a frenzy. Crashing thuds resounded as devastation spread. Ji Jue sighed helplessly. "Fine, forget I said anything." Amid the battle cries, he glanced around, feeling as if someone was missing. Then he noticed—on the VIP seat, a petite figure was fast asleep, wearing an eye mask. Mhm, a heap of empty bottles at her feet... Downed chug-chug-chug style, and still hadn't woken up. He couldn't help but feel that the longer she tried to quit the damn booze, the harder she drank when she relapsed. *Drink less, will you?!* Whatever, let her sleep a while longer—not like they were in a rush anyway. Ji Jue sighed, looked left and right, and strolled casually through the carnage. Stepping over corpses and vaulting over a desk, he took a seat in the luxurious chair at the center, shifting into a comfortable posture. And quietly watched the show. The sounds of slaughter and battle cries were relentless, and distant thunders drew ever closer. At the very center of Limbo, within the towering, perilous sanctuary, radiant beams soared into the sky one after another as the legions of angels garrisoned here took flight, sweeping across the horizon in a blotting swarm. A terrifying scale, overwhelmingly vast. Flooding the entire firmament. Yet inside the hall, silence had descended once more. The ripped-apart angels lay strewn about, their divine radiance dimmed and utterly devoured by the spears of the demons. As for the sinners who hadn't yet been punished, they were rounded up and herded into the train. "Mr. Ji." A hulking metal demon returned bathed in blood, bowing respectfully to request orders. "Should we temporarily avoid their brunt?" "Their brunt? Where is this brunt?" Ji Jue chuckled nonchalantly, waving a hand. "No need to back down. I'll be right here; the rest is up to all of you. "The hour of vengeance has arrived, gentlemen. I have bestowed this power upon you, and everything I promised is right before your eyes. "Go tear off their wings, sever their heads, strip their halos, and finally, cast them into the flames to burn, so they can feel what you once endured. "No peaceful death shall be granted to them, and no easy end. "This rage and retribution shall not cease until one of us is burned utterly to ash—" In that instant, the blood-soaked demon grinned, bowing his head in fanatic devotion as he dropped to one knee. "By your command." Spearheads scraped against the floor, iron wings clattered against iron wings, and steel clashed with steel. Amidst pools of blood, a howling gale erupted. Beneath surges of scalding radiance, the metal demons leaped into the sky. Gripping spears and lances, forged of living iron, crowned with savage horns. They surged without hesitation straight into the blotting deluge! In the hall that had fallen silent again, apart from the rumbling collapse, only a pained groan at Ji Jue's feet remained. From the mire of gore, the mangled archangel struggled through regeneration, groaning in dazed agony and crying out instinctively, desperate to ask what had just happened. Yet when he raised his head, he met a pair of pitch-black eyes studying him. "Shh—" Ji Jue raised a finger to his lips, offering a friendly reminder. Yet that smile left Huomeini utterly stunned and bewildered. Turning his head, all he saw were shattered carcasses in pools of blood, and subordinates squirming in despair after being stripped of their divine power, silently crying and wailing without a sound escaping their throats. "You... who on earth are—" Huomeini's pupils trembled and dilated, almost screaming. "Hello there." Ji Jue slowly extended his hand, pressing it against the twisted, terror-stricken face. Finally, he gave a warm farewell: "Welcome to Limbo." *Snap!* A breeze swept by, and the archangel turned to ash and dust. Only dancing cinders drifted into the blood, dyed dark gray. Now, from the high throne, Ji Jue looked up, taking in the flame-scorched earth in the distance, the skies filled with slaughter and war, and everything in sight, smiling with unbridled delight. Welcome to *my* Limbo!