Duality of Shadows-Chapter 983: Fate Changed

Alm and Bruno floated above the skies of an ordinary forest. Both were in spirit form and could feel the entire environment around them. Although they knew this wasn’t real, the power of the calamity made it seem like they had truly been transported to another world.

They could even perceive the fluctuations of the animals and plants in the forest. However, they noticed that within a ten-kilometer radius around them, the world seemed frozen.

The protagonist of this dream was Ruri, and everything revolved around her. Anything far from her remained static, while the area close to her was incredibly realistic. So realistic that, if they were thrown in there randomly, they wouldn’t immediately notice that this place wasn’t reality.

"This is a divine world from some low-level galaxy," Bruno concluded.

From the fluctuations and the Qi in the environment, which matched her memories, it became clear. Without wasting time, the two made their way to the center of it all, where, obviously, Ruri would be reliving her memories.

A small river meandered through the mountains around, bordered by farmlands. The warm rays of the sun illuminated the scene, where a group of humans with features resembling Native Americans took care of cattle and some simple crops.

In the middle of these humble people, a farmer stood out. He looked to be around thirty years old. Despite the layers of mud on his skin, it was clear that he was a red-skinned man, completely immersed in his hard work.

Almost no one there had cultivation; they seemed like a peaceful tribe living in that forest. This was unusual, as a planet in the divine region of a universe would typically have many powerful beasts.

The man constantly shouted, driving the cattle to plow the land. Only when the soil was leveled could he start planting the seedlings. The entire year’s harvest depended on the spring, so he couldn’t waste that sunlight.

"Dad!"

A lively voice echoed across the field. Alm, Bruno, and the man turned to see a little girl, who looked around nine to eleven years old, hurrying down the slope between the farms.

Her hair was tied into messy braids, and she wore simple clothes made of leather and feathers, radiating boundless energy. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, and a mischievous smile stretched across her face as she ran, hiding something behind her back.

"Huuya, why are you running like that? What did you do this time?" The man narrowed his eyes, already used to his daughter showing up with some new mischief.

The girl stopped in front of him, panting, then grinned proudly. "Dad, guess what I found!"

The man sighed. "If it’s another snake or bug, you’re in serious trouble with your mother…"

"It’s not a snake this time!" She giggled, shaking her head.

With a dramatic flourish, she pulled out what she was hiding—a vibrant brown feather radiating pure and natural earth laws.

The man raised an eyebrow, taking the feather from her hands. He rolled it between his fingers, examining its unusual texture.

"This is from a desert eagle. Where did you find it?"

The girl beamed. "Up on the hill! I think it dropped it when it flew over the village. I climbed up there to grab it before the wind could take it away."

The man sighed, crossing his arms. "You climbed up there alone again? How many times has your mother told you not to wander so far? Kid... you’re too impulsive, and when you’re excited, you stop thinking about the risks…"

"I was quick! And look, nothing happened!" she said, showing that she only had a few light scratches.

"Just because nothing happened this time doesn’t mean it never will. I’m not just talking about wild beasts… even people can be dangerous. If the wrong kind of person sees you wandering off alone… you’re a girl, Huuya. There are some truly sick people in this world." The man’s tone was firm, but filled with concern.

The girl huffed, kicking at the dirt with her bare foot. "Mom never lets me do anything fun. Only when I’m with you can I really enjoy myself."

The man let out a dry chuckle. "That’s because your mother wants you to be like other women and get married one day. Being different in the eyes of others brings fear and resentment. She just doesn’t want to see you go through that. But me… I don’t think you need to marry or rely on anyone to be happy. Happiness only exists inside you… but having someone to support you when you need it is an incredible blessing."

Before she could argue, her foot slipped on the muddy slope.

*Thud!*

The girl fell backward, landing completely covered in mud. The man stared at her seriously. She always lets her emotions take control of her actions. When she was too worked up, things like this happened all the time… and then, he couldn’t hold back his laughter.

"Well, now you look like one of those eagles you admire so much. Just… covered in dirt."

Huuya made a face, mumbling something unintelligible.

The man extended his hand and helped her up, brushing the excess mud from her hair. "Let’s go home before your mother sees this mess and thinks you fought a wild boar in the forest."

She sighed in defeat and clung to her father’s arm as they walked. Together, they crossed the farmlands and followed the forest trail leading to the village.

Alm and Bruno watched it all from above, completely invisible to everyone. They were merely spectators, unable to interfere or change anything at that moment.

The little girl was clearly Ruri. Born among that simple people, she seemed like a little fairy, standing out among them. Was that a good thing? Alm and Bruno sighed heavily, as it was obvious it wasn’t.

If she were simple and average, there would still be a chance, but... the nail that sticks out gets hammered the hardest. A woman like her, born in such a simple and defenseless place, almost certainly had a dark fate waiting for her.

The village wasn’t very large, consisting of just a few dozen families. They lived off the land, relying entirely on farming, hunting, and gathering.

As the two arrived, some women who were taking care of the children smiled at them, praising the girl for being smart and cute when she smiled. Even seeing her often, it seemed like it was never enough.

The girl was very adorable, affectionately calling them third aunt, second aunt, and so on. These indigenous people led a simple, honest life, and everyone got along well with each other.

A woman approached as soon as she saw them. Noticing the state of the girl, she became upset and distressed. The little one lowered her head, listening to her mother’s scolding.

"She’s fine, she just fell and got her clothes dirty. Why don’t you take her to change? I’ll get back to work," the man said, rubbing the girl’s head before walking away.

The girl’s mother brought a set of clean clothes and, while helping her change, abnormal sounds suddenly echoed through the village, followed by frightened screams.

"What’s happening?!"

That man, who was Ruri’s father, was in the middle of the screams, but after a muffled groan, his voice was abruptly silenced.

"Huuya, don’t move. Mommy’s going to go out and see what happened." The mother left the little one inside and hurried outside.

When she arrived, she froze at the sight of more than ten men dressed in white, wearing light silver armor. Each of them had a striking and beautiful appearance, shouting orders as they spread chaos throughout the village.

The woman quickly spotted her fallen husband and screamed in desperation. She ran to him, and when she saw him up close, she was horrified. His nose was crushed, his teeth ripped out, and his face was covered in blood.

The entire village was thrown into panic. They had never encountered people so powerful. The villagers quickly grabbed their children, watching in fear as the men seemed to radiate their own aura under the sun.

Some carried swords and sabers at their waists. Their immaculate clothes contrasted with their actions; to the villagers, those men seemed like bloodthirsty demons.

Soon, the farm workers came running back. Seeing the first man fallen, they yelled angrily:

"What are you doing?!"

*Slash!*

One of the men in white unsheathed his saber and, without hesitation, cut off the head of one of the workers who had just shouted.

Blood shot up high like a waterfall. The sound of the body falling echoed in the middle of the silence. It was a macabre and terrifying omen.

"AH! They’re murderers! Run!"

The chaos spread quickly, but one figure among the invaders, who seemed to be the leader, stepped forward and spoke in a booming voice:

"Sinners! We are the missionaries of the White Guardian God. We are here to save you from your sins and send you to the heavens. In another life, you will be blessed by the merciful God and become his faithful followers!"

"NO! HELP!"

One of the women, desperate, screamed but was immediately cut in half by another man. The villagers were terrified. The sounds of crying and panic echoed everywhere.

"Sinners, accept divine purification! The evil within you must be eliminated! The White Guardian God loves you and will not forget you in another life!"

One of the men spoke while others smiled sadistically and massacred the villagers without mercy.

Among them, a man with green eyes and a vile smile focused his gaze on a group of figures trembling in fear as they tried to escape. His attention was on a child standing next to the women.

She was like a little fairy. Immediately, a cold light gleamed in his eyes as he found a rare treasure.

"Run!" An indigenous man yelled to the women, rushing forward with a pickaxe toward one of the men in white. "Die!"

But he didn’t even get to attack. Before he could lower the tool, a sword pierced his chest. He looked at the blade lodged in his body before collapsing.

"Daddy!"

A seven-year-old boy ran, crying, but was thrown away with a single kick from the man in white.

Alm and Bruno watched the scene from above, impassive. It was a common sight for them, things like this were stories they had heard and witnessed countless times. That deity seemed to want to make an example: either people worshiped him, or they would be massacred. For him, anyone who wasn’t a faithful follower was a potential enemy, and they needed to be eliminated. It was a brutal and common view of the world.

Did he need to kill the untrained natives? Of course not, they didn’t pose a direct threat. But, maybe another deity would convert them, or someone would use them to create demonic metal... anyway, there were several ways to use them against this deity. So, for him, it was better to just eliminate them.

The men in white were cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Realm, the second mortal realm. Alm and Bruno noticed the man with the vile smile approaching Ruri, already holding silver chains in his hands as he advanced toward her.

Her fate was already well-set. At just ten years old, that man wouldn’t kill her. She was like a pearl in the mud, with immense potential for the future. If she were just sold as a beautiful slave, that would already be an "acceptable" fate. But from the man’s look, it was clear he had other plans. He didn’t seem to care about wealth and wouldn’t sell her.

Alm and Bruno snorted as they remembered the conversations they had with Ruri, when she shared a bit of her past lives.

She had said she felt a natural repulsion toward men, especially after living a life very similar to Nixis, when she was abandoned in the Divinestone clan. In that life, a vile man had captured her after killing her family; then he used her as he wished, not even allowing her to die, prolonging her beauty and life with resources.

Bruno sighed and tried to get closer to that vile man. He knew Ruri well; she wasn’t the shy type who liked to be submissive or protected. In this life, she had probably been raised with a lot of love and had never needed to fight, but with a little push...

’I’ve got it!’ Bruno focused on manipulating the law of calamity. Unfortunately, the artifact could only replicate this law at 70% of its totality. Still, he understood a bit of how that dream worked and focused on the man.

Suddenly, the man’s eyes changed. Bruno took on his role in this dream and could now interact with the event.

He turned toward Ruri and ran, then attacked a woman holding a pointed knife near Ruri.

The woman had a fierce look, and when she saw him approaching, she stepped forward to block him. But suddenly, the man seemed to stagger and fell to the ground. She widened her eyes, but didn’t hesitate and jumped on him, stabbing the knife.

However, she missed badly, hitting a non-lethal spot. He twisted and drew a sword. The woman, nervous, quickly pulled out the knife, but as she withdrew it, Bruno struck her hand, making the weapon fly.

With a twisted face, she stepped back. Bruno spun and pretended to try to cut her in half, but... made a long move full of openings... as if waiting...

*Pierce!*

A knife pierced the man’s back, interrupting the attack as he spat blood.

’Right in the heart... her instincts are sharp as always,’ Bruno murmured mentally, as his soul left the dead man’s body, which collapsed.

The little Huuya, who was Ruri, held the blood-stained knife, trembling. Even though she was naive and had no memories, the instincts of when she was a powerful cultivator were still present in her.

Bruno attacked the woman near Ruri and staged the ridiculous theater so the knife would fall near the girl. He was sure she wouldn’t let the woman protecting her die without trying to act.

Alm felt something shift completely in that dream. ’Ruri’s fate changed from now on.’

From now on, her memories would be completely different from the events. A gleam passed through the young girl’s eyes, and Alm and Bruno felt the Blade of Devotion faintly recognize Ruri’s Dao Heart. It was just an initial recognition; she would need to prove herself much more.

Not far from there, the leader of the invaders arrived in front of Ruri’s father, who had just been woken by his wife.

Upon seeing the invading men, he immediately pushed his wife back and shouted, "If you have the courage, come at us! Leave the women and children alone!"

"No sinner will survive. All will be purified!" The leader said coldly before kicking the man in the chest, throwing him and his wife backward.

Ruri saw everything from afar and gripped the knife in her hands. Alm laughed inwardly; the young girl had fully flipped the switch now. All it took was a little blood and encouragement for Ruri to become a wild lioness.

The leader raised his sword and pointed it at her father’s neck, showing no mercy.

"Don’t hurt daddy!"

The little girl screamed and ran toward him. The man stopped when he saw her approaching, standing in front of her injured father’s body. Her eyes showed unwavering determination, with no fear at all.

Desperate at seeing his daughter in danger, the man quickly pulled her back and handed her to his wife. "Run with her quickly!"

Ruri’s mother grabbed her arm and fled immediately. The white-clad man was about to chase them, but her father grabbed his waist and stretched his leg. In the moment of carelessness, the white-clad man stumbled and fell to the ground.

’A cultivator at this level doing something so ridiculous?’ Alm mocked. This universe seemed to be of very low-level, to create such pathetic cultivators.

With an angry roar, the invader finally activated his cultivation and punched Ruri’s father in the back.

*CRACK!*

The sound of breaking bones echoed, and the man’s spine was destroyed instantly. He was just an ordinary person, while his opponent was a cultivator. Even so, with his spine broken and unable to move his lower body, he still clung to the invader.

*BOOM!*

Furious, the man used a powerful wave of Qi that broke the desperate father’s arms, sending him flying. He vomited blood uncontrollably as he was thrown into a wall.

His body crashed into the wall. It was completely deformed, no longer looking human. He stopped breathing, but his eyes were still fixed in the direction his wife and daughter had fled. They were full of longing... but soon, he closed his eyes forever.

"Dad!" Ruri let out a heart-wrenching scream, but her mother didn’t look back and kept pulling her arm, tears streaming down her face.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

Suddenly, the woman shuddered. A sword pierced her back, coming out through her chest. The tip left a shallow cut on Ruri’s cheek, leaving her stunned.

"Mom!" she cried, looking at her mother.

The woman’s eyes were filled with reluctance, her mouth opening and closing as if she wanted to say something, but couldn’t. The woman’s body fell to the ground, her blood staining the family garden’s vegetables.

"Sinner, accept the gift and mercy of the White Guardian God. You may die now."

The man looked at little Ruri, who was crying in desperation, and ruthlessly kicked her. She was thrown into a wall.

That kick was enough to kill any average adult, let alone a child. The man didn’t even spare her a second glance and walked in another direction. But... she got up again. A chilling coldness appeared in her eyes.

’So charming,’ Alm murmured, watching with excitement.

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This was her dream, and she was the protagonist. From the moment she changed her memories, her Dao heart became the greatest power in this place, as the test judged it. If this were reality, there’s no way a child would survive and get up. But now, she stood up, perfectly healthy, magically.

Bruno saw a blade near her and pointed, exclaiming, "There! Finish that bastard!" He said, although it was obvious Ruri couldn’t hear him.

However, it seemed she had truly been influenced by those words. She turned and grabbed it—it was a short but sharp sickle. Gripping the handle tightly, she moved toward the man... silently, like a snake about to strike its prey.

That man was the leader commanding. He looked around, searching for any fish that might have slipped through his net, everything had to be perfect. He truly didn’t notice that a little girl was sneaking up behind him.

"Watch out!" Suddenly, one of his companions let out a frightened shout, realizing that the girl behind him had already raised the sickle in her hand.

*Slash!*

Before he could react, the sickle came down. No one knew where the girl got such strength, but the heavy sickle, meant for chopping wood, cleanly struck his neck.

However, he was a cultivator, and the strike only gave him a superficial cut. The man let out a startled scream and instinctively swung his sword backward.

It was an automatic reaction, meant for adult opponents. His strike aimed at waist height, while his attacker was just a little girl.

By instinct, Ruri crouched slightly; the sword passed directly over her head. Missing the attack, he lost his balance and staggered ridiculously, falling to the ground.

His head hit the floor, and then he saw the sickle grow even larger in front of his eyes. His eyes widened, and he froze, never to move again.

As if unaware that he was already dead, the little girl continued cutting his body with the sickle. Blood splattered all over her small body.

"A bit uncontrolled... but it makes her even more charming," Alm murmured, while Bruno snorted.

With blood staining her skin, Ruri felt an endless energy flow within her. She kept swinging the sickle, even as the man’s body was reduced to minced meat. Still, she didn’t stop.

Each strike was stronger than the last. The other men around turned, but froze, stunned, witnessing the bizarre scene: a little girl using a sickle to destroy their leader, the strongest cultivator of the group.

Finally, Ruri collapsed unconscious to the ground, fainted from exhaustion. Only then did the men approach, their expressions filled with fear and caution.

Seeing the leader’s body reduced to minced meat and the little girl, who looked like a cute doll covered in blood, they were left speechless.

"This girl is extremely bizarre... we found a treasure," one of them murmured with excitement, before picking her up and leaving with the others.

Soon, they were all gone. However, the village, once peaceful, had turned into a land of death. Aside from that little girl, all the other inhabitants had died.