Whispers of Worlds Beyond: A Series - Chapter 16: Stairs In the Woods

On this land of real souls, with millions of different martial art institutions, there’re so many strong fighters just like the trees in the forests.

Long Chen, a crippled youth who cannot cultivate, is constantly targeted and bullied by his fellow noble heirs. After a particularly vicious beating, he wakes up and realizes a Pill God’s soul has somehow merged with him, giving him some additional memories. Within those memories is the mysterious Nine Star Hegemon Body Art, a cultivation technique that even he can train in, but whose secrets and origin are still a mystery to him. Relying on his improved instincts as he finally begins to cultivate, he realizes a huge conspiracy is underfoot within the Phoenix Cry Empire, one involving his father, members of the imperial family, and even the Emperor himself.

Time is an illusion, and reality is a fragile thread in Kael's fractured world.Kael's life is defined by darkness, memories that flicker in and out like glitching shadows. Struggling with haunting nightmares and terrifying hallucinations, he finds himself trapped in a reality that doesn’t make sense—a reality where time is breaking, and nothing is as it seems.When a mysterious red notebook, filled with cryptic symbols, falls into his hands, it opens a gateway to a world where the laws of time no longer apply. Every hour, every minute, every second twists and warps, and Kael begins to realize that something—or someone—is manipulating time itself, pushing him to the edge of his sanity.But he's not alone. A girl, whose existence is as twisted as the world around them, seems to be connected to his suffering. Kael's bond with her grows as they both search for the truth behind their disturbing experiences, yet the more they uncover, the deeper they fall into an abyss of despair and madness.The Pulse, an unfathomable force that distorts time and reality, pulses through their very existence. As Kael inches closer to the truth, he faces a devastating choice—one that could either save them or shatter everything they hold dear.Time is collapsing, the Pulse is awakening, and Kael must confront the horrors lurking in the fractured timeline before it consumes them all.