Joshua and the others rushed to the scene at full speed, only to find the entire mansion engulfed in a strange black, slimy substance.

A swarm of wandering zombies poured out from inside, staggering their way outward.

"Shoot them in the head!" S roared as he continuously fired, carving a path forward.

At the same time, Henry’s voice suddenly sounded right beside Joshua. "Joshua, after this, I’m going to use up all your fame points."

Joshua stared at Henry in shock, unable to comprehend how Henry even knew about that thing.

Facing Joshua’s gaze, Henry suddenly smiled faintly, a glint of red flashing in his eyes. Joshua asked suspiciously, "Nine...?"

"I’m Henry. Your Henry, Joshua," Henry said firmly.

Joshua’s Henry?

Joshua paused, then suddenly smiled. "What’s mine is Henry’s anyway."

Henry looked deeply at Joshua’s smile. Then he abruptly raised his hand. In an instant, the mass of zombies surging inside the mansion exploded into a pile of mangled flesh, revealing Luther’s body—no longer even remotely intact.

Joshua’s pupils contracted. Almost without hesitation, he rushed forward.

Henry watched Joshua’s retreating figure, his gaze dark.

He was still Joshua’s Henry, but Joshua no longer seemed to be his Joshua. For a brief moment, Henry even hoped that Joshua wouldn’t be able to save Luther—yet he wanted even less for Joshua to be sad.

Henry silently clenched his fist, then finally turned and walked toward the center of the crack. At the same time, the fame points—another way of saying the faith stored within Joshua—were rapidly drained away. Their tycoon was instantly left penniless.

But Joshua didn’t care about any of that right now.

He dropped to his knees in front of Luther, at a loss as to where he should even touch him.

By now, Luther had been gnawed on until he barely resembled a human being. His entire body was drenched in blood, terrifying beyond measure. Joshua gasped for breath, and the tears he had never managed to stop finally spilled even more freely.

He held his hand suspended above Luther’s body. At the same time, a gentle light suddenly flared up, enveloping Luther’s shattered form.

The pain jolted Luther awake almost instantly. He snapped his eyes open. Everything in his vision was still terribly blurry, yet he could still make out Joshua, his face soaked with tears as usual.

Luther couldn’t help smiling faintly. "Crybaby."

But Joshua didn’t respond. Luther wasn’t even sure whether his voice had made it out of his throat.

He wanted to wipe Joshua’s tears away, yet he could barely move at all. Still, why did Joshua look like he was glowing? And his own hands... it seemed like his wounds were healing. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

What was Joshua doing?

By instinct, Luther lifted his hand, wanting to grab Joshua’s.

Not enough. Too slow. Luther was hurt far too badly. Even though his ability could help him recover, it was nowhere near fast enough to outpace the infection.

Joshua would never allow Luther to be infected.

Joshua instinctively glanced down at his wrist. There, powerful pulses filled with life throbbed steadily.

Memories of the laboratory research surfaced, and a wave of nausea rose in Joshua’s chest. Yet without the slightest hesitation, he dug his fingers in and tore open his flesh, scratching until blood welled up from deep within.

The pain was so intense it became numbing. Luther clearly saw what was happening. His eyes widened as he struggled desperately, as if trying to tell Joshua to stop.

But Joshua seemed not to notice at all. He directly pressed his blood-soaked wrist to Luther’s mouth and said softly, "Drink. You’ll get better soon."

The metallic taste nearly drove Luther mad, yet instinct made him keep swallowing. Perhaps because of the infection, the fresh blood even tasted unbelievably sweet to him.

Meanwhile, the crack was facing an inescapable fate. It struggled to flee before completely disappearing from this world. Even though it was now nothing more than a wisp of black smoke, it could never stand against Henry.

Unwilling—utterly unwilling. It needed more energy. It needed more fresh blood.

Flesh and blood... it had already caught the scent—the body it was about to devour: Luther’s.

In an instant, the black smoke vanished, shooting straight toward Joshua as if trying to snatch Luther away. Luther was already drenched in blood, perfectly suited to its current state. It no longer had the strength to attack an ordinary person.

Joshua felt the entire space around him abruptly twist in a split second.

Everything plunged into pitch darkness. A clattering sound echoed. Joshua snapped his eyes open, only to find himself standing in the middle of a laboratory, with something fluttering down all around him.

Joshua instinctively raised his hand and pulled down a handful of snow-white hair.

He remembered now. This was the early period after he had been brought into the laboratory. All kinds of drugs had caused his body endless pain and forced changes upon it. Very quickly, all of his hair had fallen out. His appearance had become so ugly that Joshua hadn’t even dared to look in the mirror.

Realizing where he was made Joshua gasp for breath in disarray. His fingernails dug into his flesh, tearing out horrifying streaks of blood.

But at that moment, a sound suddenly rang out beside his ear—like something chewing and swallowing food.

That’s right. Joshua suddenly remembered. He was trying to save Luther.

So why was he here?

The overlap of past and present sent waves of uncontrollable pain crashing through Joshua’s mind.

He wanted to get out. He wanted to find Luther. But he was so afraid. He almost completely lost control as he curled up in a corner, instinctively clutching at his hair—yet not daring to pull it out, terrified that even more would fall away.

"Luther... Luther..."

Joshua sobbed under his breath. In the end, he couldn’t hold back anymore. He lifted his head and, trembling, crawled forward.

The space seemed to grow cramped once more, as if it were about to crush Joshua to death.

A group of people in white coats suddenly appeared outside the door. Joshua trembled. The moment the door was flung open, he almost thought he was about to die.

But the light was far too dazzling, forcing him to squeeze his eyes shut as he looked up in a daze.

The light poured in, nearly wiping out all the phantoms around him, saving Joshua from the cage that had haunted his soul for so long.

Joshua saw someone standing within the light. That person smiled at him and said gently, "Last time, you left before I even had the chance to treat you."

That voice... was Joshua’s.

Or rather, Joshua from Eden—the Joshua who believed he could save everyone. As for the current Joshua, he was nothing more than a coward, afraid of the very things he had once reached toward.

"I... I’m not strong..." Joshua murmured. Tears streamed down his cheeks, dripping onto the ground and flashing with a golden sheen.

"I’m scared..." Joshua whispered.

But at that moment, a hand suddenly reached out toward him. Joshua lifted his head blankly and saw him smiling at him, saying softly, "You’re very strong. You’re just sick right now. I’ll heal you."

Really... really?

As if sensing Joshua’s doubt, he lunged forward, grabbed Joshua’s hand, and pulled him into a run.

Behind them, it was as if panes of glass were shattering one after another. Fierce winds sent shards slicing past Joshua’s skin, the pain piercing straight through his heart—so terrifying that his legs nearly gave out.

But he stared at the pure white figure ahead and ran like mad, until that figure disappeared as well, until the narrow path ahead held only himself.

Fragments of his past memories suddenly sprang vividly to life.

It’s all over now, Joshua. No one will ever be able to hurt you again. No one will ever be able to lock you away again.

Joshua tore apart the thing that had always imprisoned him.

Light burst forth. He suddenly snapped his eyes open and, without the slightest hesitation, lunged forward and wrapped Luther—who was entangled in black smoke—tightly in his arms.

He despised that person. He hated that person. Yet at this very moment, he used what that person had taught him to bring an end to the long, lingering nightmare that had stretched from that world to this one...