Boundary Junction

Traces of earth still lingered on Nyla’s hands as she pondered how to change the course ahead. Even for her, reshaping this path was far from easy.

Li Tian remained silent for a long time, his gaze fixed on the small figure before him—delicate in appearance, yet fierce and resilient within. She walked ceaselessly, fulfilling one wish after another. When, he wondered, would she think for herself?

Nyla did not overlook Li Tian’s silence. Since their reunion in the mortal realm, an inexplicable bond had flowed between them—sometimes intense, sometimes faint, but never fading. Nyla had never experienced such feelings before. Sometimes she wished to escape, yet could not deny the yearning within. Just as now, her eyes turned away from his, but she could not ignore the steady gaze that refused to leave her.

The surroundings remained illusory, the road beneath their feet devoid of any sign of life. Yet Nyla’s heart was unexpectedly calm. She raised her head and saw his eyes still fixed upon her.

Their gazes met with mutual understanding.

Then, at once, they looked away, turning their attention to the path ahead.

A long, ethereal road lay behind them; its end was near. Beyond it awaited the entrance to the Underworld.

Nyla felt the familiar sensation returning. The unique aura of the Underworld swept over her, yet it differed from the true entrance she had crossed before. This was a deliberately opened passage—a narrow corridor crafted solely for the souls of the dead.

Once they passed through, it would be the first direct connection between the mortal realm and the Underworld.

Nyla stepped forward and immediately stopped. She sensed the danger here—even she could feel the immense pressure. She took a step back and found that all the pressure vanished instantly, as if it had been mere illusion. She had reached the true boundary.

Could the souls of the dead pass through this place? The answer was no.

Nyla withdrew her power, transforming herself into the most ordinary form a soul could take, and stepped forward again.

A hand stopped her. “In this state, crossing here is courting death.” Li Tian had understood Nyla’s intention—she wished to try herself. But the danger here was not something an ordinary soul could endure. With the worlds connected, the collision of forces at the boundary would multiply the pressure many times over, especially here.

The mortal world and the Underworld were born as opposites, each with an extreme force.

Nyla gently pushed away Li Tian’s hand. She understood his concern, but if she did not try, how could she know what dangers lay hidden here? Once the cycle of reincarnation truly began, countless souls would cross this threshold. If they did not understand it now, the losses in the future would be immeasurable.

Nyla, stripped of all protective power, disguised as a soul, pressed forward, challenging her own limits.

This time, before her toes touched the boundary, she felt invisible pressure threaten to swallow her whole. Yet Nyla stepped forward.

Her form seemed to shatter, falling helplessly through the air. Had she truly been a soul, she would have vanished without a trace.

Pale-faced, Nyla stared at the invisible boundary. If she had not retreated in time, she would have been destroyed.

A pair of hands supported her from behind. His palms were cold, without warmth, but a current of power flowed through them. Li Tian was restoring Nyla in his own way.

He had sensed her injury, though it was slight.

For once, Nyla did not refuse him. Only Li Tian could heal her wounds; only the power of the Underworld could erase the damage she had just sustained.

Restored, Nyla thanked him, but she was still determined to try again.

“Don’t struggle needlessly. Souls cannot pass through. This is not an ordinary passage—it is the junction of two worlds. It never existed before, and now any life that tries to cross will be repelled. With your power as the Earth Goddess, you might barely manage, but as an ordinary soul, you would only be sacrificing yourself for nothing.” Li Tian stopped Nyla. In his eyes, her attempt was futile and only risked greater harm.

What, then, was to be done? If souls could not cross, what meaning was there in reincarnation? They might as well enter the Underworld directly, without suffering such torment. The pressure she had just felt rivaled the punishment of the River of Three Crossings. Nyla could not think of any way to resolve the forces here.

Li Tian was unaffected; such power could not harm him, especially since it originated from the Underworld.

“Even if souls do not enter the Underworld here, when they arrive, they will face immense pressure. None are spared.”

Nyla thought back to her own entry into the Underworld. She had not felt such overwhelming pressure—not the sensation of being instantly consumed.

“But I did not feel that way when I entered,” she voiced her doubt.

“The entrance you saw then had already been altered. Otherwise, you would not have entered so easily.”

Nyla was even more puzzled. At that time, they were on opposing sides; Li Tian had no reason to let her pass.

Li Tian offered no further explanation. He himself could not understand why, in that moment, he had acted as he did. Though he had strengthened the barriers, he always relented in the end. If he had truly wished to destroy her, even her formidable power could not have saved her from the Underworld’s wrath, especially within its realm. She would have had no chance.

Nyla sometimes wondered about this herself. Except for her encounter with Li Ge and the Guardian in the Underworld’s temple, she had not faced true danger. Those seemingly perilous moments never brought mortal harm.

That underground world appeared outside Li Tian’s control, and he was constrained there as well.

She had not considered these things at the time; otherwise, how could she have reached the underground world so easily? Had Li Tian stopped her within the Underworld’s temple, she might not have prevailed. In hindsight, she always felt that the pressure near her would lessen at the most critical moments—he simply never struck her down.

If so, then the Underworld she had seen was not the legendary realm of danger, but a world temporarily subdued.

“In any case, I should thank Your Majesty for your help,” Nyla said, grateful for Li Tian’s final mercy. He had no obligation to help her. Given their positions, he could have simply stood by. Yet he had chosen to aid her.

The divine realm watched on, waiting for her failure and return. How much more so Li Tian, her adversary.

As for the City of Reincarnation, she had once thought the Underworld sought to expand its domain. Now, it seemed there was no sign of that. All speculation rested on Nyla’s assumptions.

If not expansion, what was the true purpose?

Nyla could not understand. She had seen too much darkness beneath sunlight, the treacherous exchanges behind brightness—even the divine realm was not immune. Yet now, in the world the mortals deemed darkest, coldest, and most insidious, the Underworld showed a light that did not fit its reputation.

Everything they did could stand in the open, subject to scrutiny.

Nyla longed to ask, “Li Tian, what do you truly desire?” But she restrained herself. She could only guess, for an answer always lingered in her mind. Could it be so? If not, then what was it?

“Do not thank me. You should thank yourself,” Li Tian did not accept her gratitude. He had never cared for such things.

“Thank myself?”

“Your deeds are worthy of your title.”

Yes, Nyla’s actions were worthy of the name Earth Goddess. Her sacrifices surpassed all that was required. She bore every danger alone, yet cared deeply for her followers. Compared to the so-called gods of the divine realm, in some ways, Nyla’s presence had overturned Li Tian’s long-held beliefs.

Had it not been for Nyla, he would never have intervened in mortal affairs. The City of Reincarnation had never truly concerned him; beyond the Underworld, he had never cared for anything. Even the Underworld itself had seldom moved him—until a sudden, unexpected figure changed everything.

Yet Nyla did not agree. She still felt unworthy of the title. If she had made no mistakes, how could such devastation have befallen the land, forcing her to seek the cycle of reincarnation, to grant innocent souls a chance to embrace the sunlight anew?

Especially since the mortal world was the sacred soil her lineage had guarded for generations—how could she abandon it?

Li Tian saw Nyla’s silence and seemed to understand her meaning. She still grieved her failures, viewing the calamity as her greatest dereliction. But such responsibility could not rest on her alone.

“This was not your fault.” Li Tian did not know how to ease Nyla’s remorse. Perhaps if it had happened in the Underworld, he too would lament his failure.

In that moment, in silence, they both understood the truth hidden in each other’s hearts. Though their positions differed, they each bore responsibilities they could never escape. Any mistake could bring incalculable loss.

Such is the burden of those who lead—an inescapable fate.