Chapter 974 - Squalor
It was just a hazy figure of a man but those hunched shoulders, lowered head and that air of exhaustion that was coming through without any facial features whatsoever were oh-so-familiar to him.
It was so unexpected in fact that Jin Wang's heart skipped a beat. He slowly reached out to try and grab his shoulder but his hand went through the smoke and the figure did not register him at all.
The scene changed again and this time the figure was sitting at the head of a long table with two rows of more than twenty individuals seated on either side. There was no sound but their actions were quite animated as they pointed at each other, slammed the table and some even made some threatening gestures.
Anyone could tell it was quite a heated discussion and a fight could break out at any moment. The one familiar figure sat in his chair without moving. His forehead rested in the palm of his left hand as if he was too tired to even look up.
The rumbling smoke moved and created a new scene, one of a battlefield. Two figures stood in front of one another, weapons drawn and pointed at each other although one was more reserved than the other.
He could see their heads moving as if they were talking but there was no sound again.
Jin Wang regained his composure and remembered why he was there in the first place. He looked around but was unable to see or feel the presence of any other being.
He reached into his pocket and took out a small round fruit before allowing it to naturally roll off his open palm. It rolled to the right side, from the direction he had come from. He followed after it and after just three steps found himself standing in front of Hao Xuan.
His body had almost 'materialized' out of nowhere but one look at him was enough for him to understand what was happening.
All that smoke that was filling up the room, creating those various scenes and figures was coming from him, his open mouth to be exact.
In the air above him and a little to the right was a ball of burning plasma, a miniature sun that was lighting everything nearby. It was the only source of light in here.
The fruit rolled right up to Hao Xuan before suddenly stopping in its tracks just a few inches away from his body. Jin Wang extended his hand in his direction and felt a strong force push it back.
The gravity in his immediate vicinity was almost 7 times higher than normal. It had created a kind of black hole that was pulling everything inwards but just as it got near it was stopped by the gravity.
Jin Wang looked up towards the ceiling but couldn't see it. There was just a layer of smoke hanging overhead, pregnant with deadly lightning.
More and more smoke was spilling out of Hao Xuan's mouth every second without any sign of stopping but he didn't even seem to be aware of it. He was on his knees, hunched over looking down.
Jin Wang walked around until they were facing each other and bent down to try and get a look at his face. Hao Xuan's eyes were glazed over as if he wasn't even there.
"Hey, can you hear me?" Jin Wang whispered gently but Hao Xuan's eyes remained unfocused.
Jin Wang became a little concerned that there was no reaction at all so he reached out again with both hands this time and pierced through the 'forcefield' before grabbing him by the shoulders.
"Hao Xuan, follow my voice, come back, NOW!" he shook him lightly and finally got a reaction.
Hao Xuan looked up and stared him right in the face. His pupils focused in on him as he muttered his name.
"Jin Wang..."
"Yes, it's me. Good that you still recognize my beauty," he said jokingly but Hao Xuan's eyes glazed over again for a couple of seconds before returning to normal.
"Where did you go??" Hao Xuan yelled in a panic.
This time Jin Wang was close enough that he caught another detail. He was staring right into Hao Xuan's eyes so he could see the inverted reflection of the scene he was seeing, and it was not the one they were in.
It was something completely different, a city made of red bricks located on the back of some gargantuan beast that was floating through an empty void. Hao Xuan was in there living in squalor and disease.
In that one brief moment Jin Wang was able to see several days worth of passage of time.
"I'm right here, right in front of you, don't worry," he replied finally realizing what was going on.
Hao Xuan was experiencing several different timelines all at once. After being pulled into this timeline and his existence cemented into the lives of others that would have a lasting effect, he was finally able to have a ground to stand on.
But as is nature's way, it was trying to correct itself.. The 'weave' was still trying to get back to the original path, the one where he was somewhere else.