章 80: Ch.80 Invasion!
Inside the apartment.
After washing up, Uchiha Shinji collapsed onto the bed.
"Spatial rift…"
Though he intended to rest, his mind kept replaying the Lamp's earlier message.
Clearly, his Lamp had detected a spatial rift and deemed it "safe."
Having experienced multiple invasions, Shinji was initially resistant to the idea of exploring the rift. He didn't think too much about it at the time and simply brought Haku and Karin back with him.
However, now that he was idle, his thoughts refused to settle.
He didn't want to invade other worlds through a spatial rift. Such actions, disturbing the peace of others, instinctively repelled him.
But he couldn't deny his growing curiosity about what lay beyond the rift.
More than anything, he wanted to understand what exactly the Lamp was and what being a Lampbearer truly meant. Why had the mysterious Lampbearer from the world of Demon Slayer invaded the shinobi world?
These questions wouldn't be answered by avoidance.
He needed to explore bravely, to find answers through action.
Perhaps this spatial rift was the opportunity he needed—a chance to unravel the mysteries of being a Lampbearer.
Suddenly sitting up in bed, Shinji thought to himself, "If I envelop myself in the lamp's shadow, I should be able to avoid polluting others' worlds."
He believed that as long as he only observed without causing pollution or destruction, there wouldn't be any harm.
The more he entertained this idea, the more he found himself unable to resist the urge.
He confirmed with his Lamp, "Can I return at any time?"
[Yes.]
[The spatial rift leads to a confirmed safe zone.]
Shinji stood up, donned his Akatsuki red cloud cloak again, put on his mask, and quietly affirmed his own rules: "No pollution, no destruction, no unnecessary interaction—just observation."
Fully disguised, Shinji, feeling both nervous and excited, called out, "Open the spatial rift!"
[Spatial rift located.]
[Do you wish to invade?]
Shinji hesitated for a moment, his mouth slightly open, before gritting his teeth and declaring, "Invade!"
Whoosh.
Shinji disappeared from the apartment.
After a brief sensation of spinning through space, Shinji landed on the ground.
Before he even had a chance to stand up, his throat began to burn as if he were inhaling embers from a fire.
Enduring the discomfort, Shinji rose and surveyed his surroundings, only to be stunned by what he saw.
The sky in this world resembled shattered glass that had been scorched, filled with cracks and fissures.
Through those cracks, Shinji could faintly see a pitch-black void, vast and bottomless, where something appeared to be roiling and roaring within the darkness.
There was no sun, no moon, no stars.
The sky was only filled with swirling flames and drifting ash.
Pulling his gaze away from the sky, Shinji looked around.
He found himself in what seemed to be a scorched wasteland, where everything in sight was charred, and the remnants of fire still smoldered in the blackened landscape.
"This is what they call a 'safe zone'?!"
Shinji couldn't help but curse out loud.
It felt like a nuclear explosion had gone off here, and even calling it that seemed like an understatement.
Then, he noticed something in his hand—a lamp.
"My lamp!?"
He examined it closely.
The lamp had a simple design, with an antique bronze handle attached to a delicate lamp jar. Inside the jar, a substance that resembled golden sand shimmered faintly. However, there wasn't much of this mysterious material—only about one-fifth of the jar was filled.
Realizing this was his Lamp, Shinji carefully tucked it into his Akatsuki cloak, hanging it securely at his waist.
He then turned his wary gaze toward the distant horizon.
Earlier, during his initial scan of the area, he had noticed several figures in the distance. Unsure of their identities, he hadn't approached them.
Now, confirming that this desolate wasteland seemed devoid of any other life, Shinji hesitated before cautiously moving toward the figures.
As he got closer, he saw 8 figures in total.
Seven of them were completely covered in black robes, their shapes barely discernible except for their varying heights and some faint outlines suggesting concealed weapons under their cloaks.
"They even wrap their weapons? How cautious…"
A chill ran down Shinji's spine.
He also noticed that while the seven figures maintained some distance from each other, they seemed to be engaged in a quiet transaction of some sort, speaking in hushed tones.
Apart from these seven, there was one other figure.
This one was a large man, nearly two meters tall, wearing an eyepatch and bandages covering his body, as if he had been injured. He was sitting on a large rock, leisurely puffing on a cigar.
When the large man saw Shinji standing at a distance, observing them, he waved his hand, signaling for Shinji to come over.
Shinji remained unmoved, standing his ground and staying vigilant.
The large man chuckled, got up from the rock, and casually walked toward Shinji.
When he reached him, the man looked Shinji up and down, "A newcomer?"
Shinji gave no reply.
Admitting it would reveal too much, but denying it would make him seem suspicious.
He also noticed that while the man was speaking in a language unfamiliar to him, Shinji had no trouble understanding every word.
Additionally, Shinji noticed that the man also had a lamp hanging at his waist. Unlike Shinji's, however, the sand-like substance inside the man's lamp was nearly depleted, though it still emitted a bright glow.
Sensing Shinji's gaze, the large man glanced at his own lamp, then smiled, "That's called 'Embers.' If you've got any to spare, you can trade with them."
The man gestured toward the seven cloaked figures in the distance, who were meticulously guarding their identities.
Realizing he'd been seen through, Shinji decided to ask directly, "Who are they?"
The man smiled, "Same as you."
"All seven of them are Lampbearers…"
Shinji's heart raced with shock.
He had thought he would invade another world, but instead, he seemed to have stumbled into a place designed specifically for Lampbearers to trade.
The man then added, "Time's short. If you want to trade, you'd better do it now."
"What do you mean?"
The man responded with a question of his own, "Do you really think this place will last much longer?"
"What happened here?"
Shinji asked, his guard up.
All the Lampbearers here were shrouded like they were hiding something, yet this large man seemed overly familiar and carefree, which only heightened Shinji's suspicion.
Moreover, the man's lamp was nearly depleted, with the "Embers" inside running dangerously low, suggesting that he might be eyeing Shinji's resources.
The man took another puff of his cigar and replied nonchalantly, "What else? It's been targeted by the Overlord."
"The Overlord?"
The man pointed to the sky.
Immediately, Shinji understood. The "Overlord" the man was referring to was likely the gigantic shadow roaring within the pitch-black void beyond the cracks in the sky.
A shadow so enormous that just looking at it from afar made Shinji's very soul tremble in fear.
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