The Amnesiacs

The assassination specialist realized something was wrong. Slowly turning his head, he caught sight of an enormous spider crawling out from the reverse golden rain. Its body resembled obsidian, bearing eight eyes more brilliant than rubies. Its mouthparts were dense, packed, and unimaginably sharp—terrifying enough to instantly paralyze the courage of any onlooker. Atop the spider's bristling, hairy back sat a cross-legged figure. Before Amoduo could make out his features, the Eight-Eyed Weaving Spider spat a barrage of silk, drowning Amoduo's body— "Shattering Fang Pillar"! "Mechanical Mind"! "Earth Bulwark"! Realizing this was a life-or-death crisis, the assassin instantly unleashed multiple defensive miracles in an attempt to prolong his life. Yet every attack and defense met nothing but empty air. The white spider silk seemed translucent, passing effortlessly through all obstacles and settling gently over Amoduo. It did not look as though Amoduo had been bound by the silk; rather, it looked as though he had willingly walked into it. The instant he touched the silk, Amoduo's mind began to scatter. His thoughts drifted far, far away. He saw himself slaying Yaxiu, earning a massive bounty of points, finding his destined soulmate through the Book of Gospel, advancing to Sanctuary Sorcerer, becoming a partner in the Blissful Tranquility Agency, and founding his own clan in Azula... This was not an illusion, nor was it hypnosis, because Amoduo knew that so long as he wished it, he could break free at any moment. Yet he could not break free. Because this was his destiny. Destiny... woven... Amoduo's eyes gradually turned lifeless and vacant. The spider silk bound him tightly and hurled him back to the following retinue. Wyverns, fire drakes, and ichthyosaurs gleefully tore into their prey and devoured him. Compared to native species of the Time Continent, the murky souls of sorcerers that had never been baptized by hell were like deep-fried junk food heavy in oil, salt, and spice—immensely favored by knowledge creatures. The commander atop the Eight-Eyed Weaving Spider paid no mind to the unlucky passerby. He glanced down at the tire tracks in the mud, frustration surfacing in his gaze. *They sure can run. Have they mastered advanced Logistics?* Overlooker Denzel gazed out at the reverse golden rain before him. His vision seemed to pierce the watery veil, fixating on that open-top sports car barreling forward for dear life. To ambush Star Shepherd Bledo, they had planned and prepared across over a dozen turns. Among the Six Nations, Star Hall was by no means an exceptionally strong faction. If they could eliminate Bledo—an "Avatar of the Stars" standing at the forefront of Heroic Spirit combat power—the Spider Tower could seize the opportunity to encroach upon part of Star Hall's territory. However, if Bledo were allowed to escape back, the ambush would end in utter failure. Even though Bledo had lost a massive force, this was currently an era of peace when all Six Nations possessed ample resources; Star Hall could easily help Bledo raise another army at any moment. He had to press the pursuit. He could not allow him to escape into Star Hall's turn. He had to either slay him outright during the Spider Tower's turn or leave him frozen in the Spider Tower's territory until the next turn arrived! Although he had not yet caught up, Denzel had been deliberately channeling their escape route during the chase, preventing them from fleeing toward Star Hall territory. As long as the target remained within the Spider Tower's borders, their defeat was only a matter of time... Denzel opened the Spider Tower's map. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed as he noticed a special building not far ahead. *They wouldn't...* Right on cue with that thought, a scouting Red Hat Skirmisher spotted the sports car swerve into the wooden cabin's perimeter, where the three occupants hopped out and headed straight inside. Before long, the Spider Tower Legion encircled the wooden cabin from all sides. Yet the rules of the Void Realm barred knowledge creatures from setting foot in the courtyard, leaving hundreds of armed combatants with nothing to do but surround the perimeter and look on. Denzel fell into contemplation. First of all, a Heroic Spirit would never enter a special building to take refuge, for it served no purpose. Once the Ox of the Sky Carriage passed, time would freeze; holed up inside a special building, a Heroic Spirit would simply be waiting for death. Moreover, Heroic Spirits subconsciously avoided special buildings. To them, these structures seemed to bear signs reading 'No Commanders or Dogs Allowed,' causing Heroic Spirits to feel a deep, instinctive aversion to stepping inside. Although Denzel had retrieved a soul fragment from hell to mend the void in his heart, his mode of thinking was still rooted in the Heroic Spirit template; the twin beds in his mind were occupied solely by two tenants—logical deduction and absolute rationality. *Heroic Spirits do not enter special buildings.* *Therefore, they are not Heroic Spirits.* *They are sorcerers who killed a Heroic Spirit commander, obtained a Soul Summoning sorcery spirit, and were thus mistaken for a Heroic Spirit.* Once he shifted his angle of thought, Denzel uncovered numerous suspicious details: they had no retinue troops, the three of them traveled together, they rode in a bizarre alchemical vehicle, and their appearances matched none of Star Hall's commanders... Most likely, they truly were not Heroic Spirits. Which meant Bledo was already dead. Yet the "Avatar of the Stars" still existed. The orders Overlooker Denzel had received were to destroy the "Avatar of the Stars." Since it was now on those sorcerers, his mission remained unfulfilled. Furthermore, because the targets were sorcerers, they could simply sever their Void Realm connection from within the building and safely return to reality, which would mark his mission as an absolute failure. However, while Denzel would normally never enter a Void Realm structure, the mechanics of every building within Spider Tower territory were already documented on the map. After a quick review, he discovered that he still had a chance to salvage the situation. Even as he pondered this, another sorcerer blundered straight into his troops. Naturally, the unwelcome visitor was quickly dispatched by the Red Hat Skirmishers and Bluebeard Spellbreakers. Had they crossed paths with forces from another faction, that sorcerer might have had a chance to escape. But the armed forces of the Spider Tower excelled above all else in control and restraint. In Denzel's millennium-long military career, no one had ever slipped past the Spider Tower's pursuit. The ones before him were the sole fish that had escaped the net. Having drawn his conclusion, Denzel stepped down from the Eight-Eyed Weaving Spider and walked toward the wooden cabin alone. Retinues could not enter special buildings, but a Heroic Spirit commander who had once been a sorcerer still possessed the qualification to set foot inside Void Realm structures. An ordinary Heroic Spirit commander would never attempt such a thing; their hollow hearts could not sustain the initiative to adapt on the fly. Only a Heroic Spirit who had reclaimed a few seconds of heartbeat from hell and regained a sliver of humanity possessed the license to act with such willful abandon. The moment he pushed open the cabin door, Denzel felt a sudden lightness in his body, as if something had vanished, and countless thoughts in his mind fell into silence. Inside the cabin stood six individuals. A man and a woman were locked in a tense standoff; another woman was shivering in a corner; and three others watched calmly from the sidelines. What was impossible to overlook was that the three spectators sitting on the side possessed the exact same appearances as the three facing off and shivering. When Denzel walked in, the confronting man and woman looked over simultaneously, asking in unison: "And who are you?" "The same as you," Denzel said, looking at the three strangers before him. "Someone who has already lost his memories."