A dark shadow moved swiftly through the vast jungle, resembling a nimble cheetah. A black demon bear was in a panicked escape, narrowly avoiding several arrows landing dangerously close to it. The fear in its eyes comically displayed on the face of the black bear.
"Sizzle—!"
Theresa left a mark on the ground with her steps, blocking the black bear's path. Quickly drawing a short knife from her waist, she ruthlessly stabbed it into the bear's back.
"Roar—!" The bear howled in pain, its massive paw fiercely swiping towards the girl. A black aura accompanied the strike, but the green-haired girl managed to evade. As the bear's paw hit the ground, it created a one-meter wide crater.
Although the bear was grazed, its tough fur protected its vital areas. The pain ignited its wild beastly nature, causing its eyes to redden and its aura to grow more ferocious.
"Bang bang bang—!" The surrounding trees continued to collapse under the bear's rampage. The immense power made the green-haired girl hesitant to risk her life, so she could only dodge and use her bow and arrow to attack. However, its effectiveness was limited.
"Crack—!" Suddenly, a faint sound echoed from above. An astonishing aura swept through, causing both the girl and the fleeing bear to stop and look up. The innate danger sense of the bear made it flee even faster than when it was chased by the girl, almost as if it had eight legs.
"Boom—!" It was as if a forceful strike from within shattered the crack, causing the space to break like a mirror. A black hole emerged, releasing a powerful aura. Both the girl and the fleeing bear were in a sorry state under this pressure. The girl, weaker in constitution, even coughed up blood and nearly fainted.
"Rustle rustle rustle—!" The impact spread, and a dreadful suction abruptly released, as if a category twelve storm had emerged in place. Everything around began to retreat, trees uprooted, and chunks of the earth swallowed into the cracks.
"What is this?" The green-haired girl struggled against the suction of the crack. Despite her efforts, she was inexorably drawn closer. Helpless, she could only watch as the crack inched closer, awaiting the moment of being devoured.
"Finally out!" Just as the girl despaired, a voice suddenly sounded, and she saw a figure within the crack growing larger.
"Boom—!" Before she could react, the girl felt a heavy object collide with her body.
"Hey! Someone!" Bexia realized he had bumped into something and, propping himself up, saw the green-haired girl underneath him.
"You...get off me!" Flustered at being pinned by the opposite sex, the girl glared at Bexia.
"Oh!" Bexia quickly jumped up, but sensing the spacetime crack on his back becoming unstable, he glanced back, then hoisted the girl onto his shoulder and bolted away.
The chaotic spacetime energy around the crack rendered Bexia unable to even perform space jumps, forcing him to rely on his legs to flee.
"What are you doing?!" The girl struggled on Bexia's back. However, upon seeing the scene of destruction caused by the crack, she froze in shock, forgetting to resist and simply staring at the wiped-out forest, leaving only a deep, bottomless pit.
"This is just my luck!" Bexia lamented his fortune. He had originally planned to go back to the exact moment he left, only to encounter a spacetime storm. If not for his knowledge of the mysteries of the years' power, he might not have survived being swept away by the river of time.
"Hey, can you put me down?" A voice made Bexia realize he still had the girl on his back, prompting him to set her down.
"Sorry!"
"No need to apologize, I must thank you for saving me!" The green-haired girl smoothed her tousled hair and extended her hand to Bexia. "I'm Theresa!"
"Oh! I'm Bexia."
"How did you come out from such a dangerous place? You must be quite strong, right?"
"Just had bad luck, my strength is pretty average," Bexia's power was entirely focused on the Abyssal Lord's physique, with his current strength merely an inheritance, lacking even compared to immortal gods.
"By the way, can you tell me where we are?"
"We're in the Phivuru Mountains!"
"Phivuru Mountains?!" Bexia repeated but had no clue where that was.
"I meant to ask what world is this?"
"This is the realm of the Arolasys Gods. How do you not even know that?"
"Never mind..." Bexia felt there was no point in further queries and chose to leave the topic alone.
"I'll be going now!" Bexia vanished from the spot in a flash but reappeared beside the girl shortly after.
"Why did you come back?"
"...I'm lost!" Bexia fabricated a lame excuse, but in reality, he couldn't escape the constraints of this world and enter the cosmic space. He was locked within this world by an unknown force or, rather, had locked everything within this world internally.
"Hehe, you're quite a character!" Theresa couldn't help but laugh.
