Chapter 35 – Echoes of the Devourer
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A Lingering Presence
The ruins stood still, yet Luo Fan could feel it—something watching. Something lurking beneath the fabric of reality.
The figure—whatever it was—had vanished, flickering out of existence like a corrupted data fragment. But its words lingered in his mind.
> "The Devourer… is still watching."
Luo Fan exhaled slowly, his fingers tightening into fists.
> "So, Boss… How are we feeling about all this? Panicked? Slightly terrified? Desperately pretending we don't have a cosmic horror inside us?"
Luo Fan rolled his shoulders, pushing down the tension. "I'll let you know once I figure out which emotion to start with."
> "Great! Personally, I'm voting for 'rational fear.' Just saying."
Shen Mu studied him for a moment, then spoke, her voice calm but firm. "If what that entity said is true… then rejecting the Reset may have only delayed something far worse."
Luo Fan's jaw tightened. He had thought taking control of the System—rewriting the rules—had severed the Devourer's hold. But what if it hadn't?
What if it had only changed how it manifested?
EchoStar crackled to life, its screen flickering with fragmented data.
> "Welp. Time for some damage control. Lemme run a diagnostic on your soul and make sure we're not about to get surprise-possessed."
Luo Fan sighed. "I'm not possessed."
> "Oh really? Say that after I finish my scan. Please."
The floating screen buzzed, text scrolling rapidly.
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Internal Diagnostic – System Analysis
> [User: Luo Fan]
Status: Active (Severely Weakened)
Cultivation: In Recovery (???)
Spiritual Veins: Altered. Foreign Energy Detected.
System Integrity: 37% (Stabilizing…)
Anomalies Detected: [1] Unclassified Residual Signature
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> "Aaaaand would you look at that! 'Foreign Energy Detected.'"
Luo Fan frowned. "That wasn't there before."
> "Yeah, no kidding. You've got something extra hanging around in your soul, Boss."
Luo Fan's mind sharpened. If the Devourer's power was still inside him—even in fragments—then it meant two things.
First, the threat wasn't over.
Second… he might still be able to use it.
Shen Mu stepped closer. "Do you feel any changes?"
Luo Fan focused inward.
For a long moment—nothing.
And then—
A pulse.
It wasn't spiritual energy. It wasn't qi.
It was something else.
Something vast.
Something hungry.
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The Path of Devouring
Luo Fan's breath hitched. For a fraction of a second, he saw something—visions flashing across his mind.
A world devoured.
A sky torn apart.
A system collapsing.
And in the center of it all—a figure standing alone.
Himself.
But different.
More.
He snapped back to reality, his heartbeat pounding.
> "Boss?"
Luo Fan exhaled. "I'm fine."
> "Liar."
Shen Mu's gaze sharpened. "You saw something."
Luo Fan hesitated. He wasn't sure how to describe it.
But one thing was clear—
The power of the Devourer was still there.
Waiting.
EchoStar flickered.
> "Soooo… what's the plan? Suppress it? Study it? Try not to explode?"
Luo Fan closed his eyes. He had a choice to make.
Suppressing it would be safer. But understanding it might be necessary.
Because if the Devourer was truly watching—
Then he needed to be ready.
He opened his eyes.
"EchoStar," he said, his voice steady. "We study it."
> "…Ohhh, this is gonna be fun."
Shen Mu exhaled. "Then let's begin."
Somewhere, in the void beyond, something stirred.
And Luo Fan took his first step toward mastering what should have never existed.
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[Chapter End.]