Ash felt like he was looking in a mirror.

The same "Ya Sha Jin" feathered shoulder capes, the same twisted masks, the same hairstyles, the same steel-soled boots, the same "Fish-Slicing Dragon" undershirts, even the "Hosted God" belts were identical—Could you also transform into a transcendent Jail-Mad Dragon Knight?

The only difference was in his eyes, which revealed a complex yet familiar spectrum of emotions. It was as if he had seen them in Igula's eyes, in Harry's eyes, in Empress Yisu's eyes, and also... in Silver Lamp's eyes.

"You have already made your judgment," he said calmly, "So why do you still need me to give an answer?"

"The origin of the Twin Sect, the starting point of a perfect destiny, plus their view of this Abyss as forbidden territory..." Ash spoke, "Are you my 'Fate Twin'? My other half?"

"Just someone who happens to have the same memories and appearance as you," he replied, "I was born from this place when you fell."

"Then you're not exactly like me," Ash said, "At least our birthdays are different."

"But I am Ash, and you are Ash, too. How should we call each other?"

"No need for special names. You don't have split personalities, and neither do I. Just speak up a little, and I will naturally know whether you are talking to me or being sarcastic."

"No, that won't do. Although names are used by others and not ourselves, if we don't have names, then we truly won't have even the slightest thing that belongs to us." Ash counted on his fingers as he spoke, "Our bodies will enter the cycle of the world, our spirits will become the inheritance of the Void Realm, and after countless years, all traces of us will be erased, only our names might continue on into the future."

"Necromancer's body philosophy? Spirit Mage's nihilism? Or perhaps the influence of the Drama Poet and Ya Sha Jin?" he said, "Did you really keep such thoughts hidden?"

"No, just using it as a reason to persuade you to choose a name." Ash's enthusiasm grew, "Who hasn't thought about picking a new name for themselves? Something simple; Ash Heath—should I just call you Heath? No, no, that doesn't feel right; it feels like there's an ominous premonition with that name... Do you still remember those names we thought about when we were kids? Ya-Soul, Ya-Mourn, Ya—"

"Call me 'Observer'," the Observer interrupted.

"How about 'Ya-Weep-Fate'? I think three syllables sound better—"

"My name is Observer, and you're Ash."

Ash helplessly spread his hands and sat down on the steps with a look of disappointment, carefully choosing his words as he asked, "You say you have all my memories—"

"Aurora's Mage Manual, Sword Maiden, Witch, Weiser, before the crossing, after the crossing." The Observer spoke, "I know all your secrets; you are transparent to me."

As he said this, the Observer's voice became low and profound as if squeezed from the darkness, filled with indescribable coldness.

The next second, his shoulders were pressed down, and his entire body was pinned against the wall. The Observer felt no ripples in his heart and was even somewhat relaxed, but when he looked up, he saw Ash's face full of uncontrollable joy and excited eyes.

"Did I die suddenly? My parents should be alright, right? The insurance I bought should pay out, right? They shouldn't go through my computer data, right? And... and what else..."

Watching him spill questions like a floodgate opening, the Observer felt slightly dazed, then calmly said, "If you don't know the answers, how would I know?"

"But with your brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and nephew, the old folks might be sad for a while but will recover quickly. You've always been working away from home, only returning for the Spring Festival, and you rarely called home... They have become accustomed to their days without you."

"It's 'we'!" Ash corrected, "What's there to talk about on the phone? No good news to share. Do I tell mom and dad that "I worked overtime to rush a project last night and didn't get even four hours of sleep"? But I didn't expect that working away from home would have this one advantage, to die outright so cleanly..."

"Observer: Insurance won't be an issue. You bought it precisely in case of sudden death anyway. As for your computer data, it's mostly going to be searched."

"Sigh..."

However, since so much time had passed since he had crossed over, Ash quickly pulled himself out of the emotional mire. He looked at the Observer and grinned, "It is said that 'Fate Twins' come in similar, complementary, and opposing kinds. You don't seem much like me, so that means..."

Ash chuckled and slung his arm around the Observer's shoulder, "You're the complementary type to me, right? I look forward to learning from you!"

"I won't take care of you," the Observer replied coldly, "Fend for yourself."

"So what should we do next?" Ash looked around and finally at the huge circular hole he had fallen through, "How can we escape from here? Is there something like an elevator?"

The Observer pointed toward a wall on the opposite side.

Ash blinked and surveyed again, quickly noticing the pattern: In the circular underground hall, there was a passage at regular intervals. The direction the Observer was pointing to should also have had a passage, but it was now blocked by a wall.

"The Observer: There should be 16 passages here; now only 15 remain. Silver Lamp and her companions must have chosen this passage to delve deeper."

"Ash: 'They' are just like us?"

One Silver Lamp had turned the Senluo Wasteland upside down; Ash didn't dare to imagine what two of them could do.

"Since they chose to delve deeper, it means the way out must be found by further exploration." The Observer looked at him, "Do you want to choose or shall I?"

Ash glanced at the multiple indistinguishable paths, "It's all the same, you decide."

The Observer nodded and led the way into the nearest passage. The source of the light in the passage was unknown, and far ahead shone a dazzling bright light. As Ash walked an unknown distance, he heard a loud rumbling behind him. He turned to see the entrance sealed shut.

"Now even Igula and the rest can't find us if they come here..." Ash said, "Speaking of which, Igula and the others won't be in trouble, will they?"

"Since the Twins are free to act, the downfall of the Natural Sect is imminent," the Observer said. "The Twin Sect places tremendous value on this Abyss. The Twins even saw you fall into the Abyss with their own eyes. Even if they have taken a liking to you, they won't harm your companions."

"They're our companions," Ash said. "You make it sound as if you never had any adventures with Igula and the others."

"The definition of companions is not whether there are shared experiences in the past but whether there are aligned interests in the future."

"It's precisely because of the shared experiences from the past that the future can have aligned interests."

The Observer didn't continue this topic with Ash. Perhaps he had no interest in it, or perhaps because a door appeared in the corridor ahead.

As the two of them stood in front of the door, the crystal blocks above emanated green light, then the alloy door automatically opened. An energetic female voice rang out from within: "Welcome Trialist No. 2, Twins. Please select appropriate equipment promptly. The reincarnation passage will close in 8 minutes and 36 seconds, and the trial will officially begin in 18 minutes and 36 seconds."

Trialist, reincarnation passage, selecting equipment?

Inside the room, there were three areas: the weapon zone, the equipment zone, and the appearance zone. The equipment zone housed suits of combat attire with various styles but all exceptionally designed; the weapon zone was filled with a variety of sharp melee weapons. Although there were guns, they were not only long guns but also rotary bolt-action rifles. Facing such weaponry, Ash was confident he could be quicker and more accurate within a seven-step range.

While Ash was observing, the Observer had already changed into combat attire and equipped himself with two long swords.

"You know how to use dual swords?"

"Golden Level swordsmanship encompasses all the basic sword techniques," the Observer said indifferently. "Let alone dual swords, you could quickly master the Three Sword Technique or even Eight Sword Technique. Dual swords are just more adept for rapid assaults."

Ash also changed into combat attire, but he didn't pick up a weapon; instead, he produced a sweet words and a hidden dagger from his mouth. The Observer glanced at him and knew what he wanted to ask, "Everything you got from 'Aurora's Mage's Handbook,' I don't have; I only possess memories and skills."

"I thought I might exploit this game system's bug with you..."

The two went to the appearance area, which was different from the equipment section, filled with cloaks, masks, capes, jewelry, makeup, and even hair dye—seemingly lavish but pointless accessories beyond adding cosmetic appeal. Ash naturally continued using his dark red coat and twisted mask, while the Observer casually donned a black coat. When they returned to the doorway, they saw a counter rise from the ground with two watches on it.

In this strange place, with their magic power bound, even Ash knew to obediently follow the instructions. After putting on the watches, they saw the LCD screens light up with a countdown: 14 minutes and 12 seconds.

"What now?" Ash asked. "Do we just wait here for the countdown to end?"

"Trial." The Observer uttered only this word and continued down the corridor.

Since it was a trial, it couldn't possibly be about testing their ability to hide-and-seek in the room. If Ash wasn't mistaken, they were meant to travel as far as possible before the countdown ended. If they dared to hide in the room, he feared a punishment would befall them—like the expulsion secret poison of the Sea of Knowledge.

"You truly are complementary to me," Ash remarked while walking beside the Observer, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses. "You favor dual swords, while I excel in single sword. You act decisively, I'm good at pondering. You..."

As Ash prattled on, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, time quickly slipped away. When the countdown reached the last ten seconds, Ash instinctively quickened his pace, fearing rocks might tumble down or a horde of Fish-Slicing Dragons might appear behind them.

However, when the countdown reached zero, another 30-minute countdown appeared, but with an additional indicator reading "Number of Trials: 1."

Ash glanced behind them and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

"The trial is up ahead," the Observer said, halting in his tracks.

Ash turned his head to see a silhouette slowly emerging in the bright light of the corridor ahead. The shadow stretched long and reached the feet of Ash and the Observer.

As the Observer gripped the hilts of his dual swords, Ash still found it hard to believe what was unfolding in front of him: "Could it be—you are—"

Accompanied by a Spiritual Scream that exceeded human auditory range echoing through the corridor, the trial began!

...

At the same time, night fell over the Underground City.

Hearing footsteps from behind, Igula turned around to see the Twin Sect's Hosted God approaching and asked, "Are the sounds of battle gone outside? Have you dealt with the Natural Sect?"

"There's a small faction still desperately resisting. After all, their Great Skill is not here; a fight to the death is their fate," the Twins said. "I heard there was a disturbance here—"

The Twins froze.

The change in the circular pit was clear even from a distance.

It had been sealed.

Where there used to be a deep pit, now lay a smooth surface. The Twins immediately rushed over, stroking the patterns on the ground, their voices trembling, "Will it... will it revert back?"

"The trial should restore it once it's over," Harvey said.

"What trial?"

Harvey pointed, and the Twins noticed several lines of text in the area Black Crow was inspecting. They went over to look, and their faces showed disbelief, and then... ecstasy.

"A Divine Fire Trial?" they murmured. "There's a Divine Fire System under the cover of night?"

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