"The rumors that Warp travel can truly reach the past and future, to think those rumors were actually true."
Returning to the planet, the young man, who discovered after a discreet investigation that he seemed to have returned to the past, was slightly stunned before he could not help but smile.
"Caelus, it seems we really might meet again, though it might be a bit soon for you."
After the ship docked, the young man left the ship without anyone noticing.
After reaching the Underhive through his own means, he was astonished to find that, let alone the aberrant creatures, mutants, aliens, and Chaos cultists he had expected, there was not even a single living, breathing person left here.
He searched around and could find some traces of life and combat, but he did not see a single person, not even any corpses. It was not until he switched perspectives that he discovered a specific type of erosion mark characteristic of void energy still remaining in this space.
"Have they already left?"
The young man felt a sense of loss. He had not expected that even after traveling through time and space, he would still be unable to reunite with him, especially when he had accumulated so many stories over these many years.
He wanted to tell him what the frozen planet looked like and what kind of life the creatures there led.
And there was the famous Catachan he had heard so much about. Over the years, he had visited it to experience its splendor, though it was a pity that the flora and fauna there did not seem as brutal to him, an outsider, as the rumors suggested.
He had also witnessed the war between Chaos and the Tyranids firsthand, with both sides fighting fiercely, and he had captured many spectacular scenes through his paintings.
He had even personally participated in a massive brawl. In that war, there were Orks, Tyranid armies, and followers of the four Chaos Gods. Humans naturally participated as well. Even he did not know what happened in the end, but in short, the Aeldari and the T'au also appeared in that war.
In that war, he made many friends and personally sent many off. Some were infected by his power and became his followers. It was only then that he suddenly realized he had become the very image of Caelus that he had seen back then.
The young man, who was Omacido from the future, took a small mirror out of the backpack he was carrying. Looking at the face in the mirror, with its short grayish white hair and dim golden eyes, his expression became increasingly dazed for a moment.
When he first set out, he was still the same as before, only slightly less colorful. But as time passed and as he experienced more and more, when he accidentally saw his reflection one day, he was shocked to discover that his appearance, features, and physique had become increasingly like that of the young man he had met back then.
"The price of this power is far more terrifying than I imagined. The so called 'existence consumption' is not just about being unnoticed little by little until one completely disappears in an inadvertent moment, forgotten by others. It is that even one's own appearance and memories cannot be preserved."
Omacido felt that in just over a decade, he would completely forget his own past and name, and his original existence would be completely devoured, becoming one of the shadows of the being named Caelus who had bestowed power upon him.
The most terrifying thing was that he had not even developed any thoughts of resistance so far. The most instinctive human fear and the instinct for survival had long been obscured and almost dissipated by the void over these years.
He now had no feelings about the fact that he was about to be assimilated into the shadow of some being. Instead, he felt it did not really matter.
Otherwise, he would have long since rushed to catch up with his past self at this point in time and had him try to change the future.
But the past self did not see the future self, did he?
The causal loop of time had closed. The moment Omacido met Caelus, he naturally accepted the power of the void, rushed toward the distant stars, and embarked on a 182 year adventure. And at the end of the story, he, the protagonist, would return to the planet where he originally lived and calmly accept the complete disappearance of his existence.
The beginning of the journey is also the end of the journey.
Trying to change the future is meaningless. Moreover, over these many years, the adventure stories brought to him by this power, these 182 years of adventure, have satisfied him and made him willing to rest in peace.
Just imagine, how many people can die as contentedly as he has? In this universe, an eternal and peaceful death is such a rare thing. It is enough to be satisfied.
Omacido returned to the upper levels to see his parents. Of course, his parents could not recognize him, whose appearance and physical characteristics were now different from before. He had no intention of coming forward to acknowledge them, only stopping to watch quietly from a distance for a moment before leaving.
He returned to the lakeside where he had first met Caelus. It was strange. Many memories were becoming increasingly blurred, but the memory of this day, the turning point of his new life, remained clearly etched in his mind.
Omacido sat by the lake, feeling the breeze blowing on him. Gradually, he felt himself becoming somewhat lethargic, experiencing a sense of laziness he had not felt for a long time.
Sunlight shone warmly on him, and the breeze on the lake gently brushed against his body. This comfortable feeling caused a sensation of sleepiness, something he had not felt in a long time, to well up. Finally, he closed his eyes, his hands hanging limply, with the travelogue he had written over the years resting on his lap. It was a collection of all the stories he had experienced over these years, rewritten after he had rebound them.
With a satisfied smile, Omacido fell into a deep sleep.
His figure became increasingly gray and dim, eventually turning into a pool of liquid that flowed into the ground below. On the chair where he had been sitting, only an unopened book remained.
That was the past that an adventurer had not had time to share.
In the lower worker area, a worker who was working numbly on an assembly line suddenly felt a few drops of liquid fall on him.
As if possessed, he stopped the movements of his hands.
What is the point of such a meaningless life? Like a machine, repeating this disgusting work here? And then dying from fatigue or some other reason, becoming food in the mouths of others?
If so, then why should I live?
A strong sense of void filled his heart, making this worker genuinely loathe and hate his current life.
No, life should not be like this. We should not be like this either.
Rarely, he raised his head and looked upward at the metal ceiling that obscured his vision, as if he could see through it to the more distant, endless starry sky.
At this moment, all the workers in the lower levels, including those overseers and soldiers, were looking up, gazing at the endless starry sky with burning and longing eyes.
The power of Nihility caused all living beings to begin searching for existence.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)