“This is...”

Book after book rose into the air, floating all around Li.

Every book carried an archaic air. None had a title; each was marked only with a serial number. This had to be the complete sum of a pharmacist’s lifetime of research...

Li casually picked up a book and opened it. Every page was filled with experiments! Records upon records! And then the results—every one a daring formula Li could never have imagined. These had to be potions that no longer existed in this world!

They were things found only in ancient times, in that miraculous age!

One glance was all it took. Perhaps it was the Night King’s instincts as an alchemist, but Li couldn’t tear their eyes away. They stared fixedly at every page...

These... These had to be it! They were what I’d been searching for all this time, but could never find—and could never develop myself...

Even if I’ve been given the title of Medicine King! Just like my friend said... there are some things I could never create, no matter what. Even the Medicine King... Li couldn’t create a universal panacea...

But now, it wasn’t just the universal panacea. Every formula and every step here was something Li had never even considered.

“I wonder if Heaven made me fall into this Abyss of the Underworld so I could meet you... Hortons.”

“Fate is always so mysterious.”

“Fate is always so mysterious...? Maybe it is...”

“The excitement on your face is fading bit by bit.”

“Yeah... When I remember certain things, I can’t feel happy anymore.”

Chloe...

Even if that device could keep Chloe alive for a long time, Li had already fallen into this Abyss of the Underworld. They didn’t even know if they could ever leave. This wasn’t something Li had wanted, but...

Li was truly worried about Chloe’s condition... and their little sister’s.

“Are you thinking about your family?”

“Yeah. I was abandoned. I can barely remember what the person who left me looked like... but the fact remains, I was cast aside. The only family I have now is my sister, the one who shares my blood and has always stood by me. I came to the edge of this continent searching for the beasts of Mesoma... but some terrible things happened, and I ended up falling into this Abyss of the Underworld... Hahaha... Revenge... I have to get revenge! I have to climb out of this Abyss of the Underworld! How can I die here? Chloe is waiting for me!”

“Soma... the universal panacea... Kid, you’re chasing something that might not even exist, too.”

“The universal panacea is every alchemist’s dream. I’m no exception. Out in the world... heh... I was just a fraud basking in empty fame. I couldn’t even cure my own sister! What kind of alchemist does that make me?”

That was right. Li couldn’t even cure their own sister. Even after people began calling Li the Medicine King, Li never called themself that. Li believed they had no right to the title until they cured their sister. No right at all!

This regret... no matter what, Li wanted to make up for it! No matter what...

That was why Li had to climb out of here! Back to that world! Back to Chloe!

Before Li even realized it, they’d clenched their fist tight... Their nails weren’t long, but they’d still broken the skin and dug into their palm.

“So, kid, will you accept my inheritance? No! Rufas Cromwell! Will you accept my inheritance?”