Ashes of the Great Abyss

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A dark, oppressive, and unknown space stretched endlessly before him, filled with rows upon rows of mysterious plants radiating a faint white glow. The sight seemed infinite. Qin Yue sat at the edge of the field, gazing at the distant, indistinct figures stooping to work the land, his heart adrift in confusion.

A few hours earlier, he’d spent his day off at a long-awaited national treasure exhibition. The resonance between past and present left him marveling at the wisdom and civilization of his ancestors. As he admired the seven recently returned bronze animal heads, the bronze statue of the rat suddenly seemed to come alive. Its eyes emitted two dazzling beams that locked with his own—and then, nothing.

When he awoke, it was in this enclosed space, and his mind was filled with memories that were not his. This place was called the Ice Abyss—a vast underground cavity sealed beneath a thick layer of ice. The temperature remained constant, though it was not cold. The people living here were known as the Convicted, their sole task to cultivate Ice Lotus, each person responsible for a particular plot.

Every three years, the plants reached maturity. Then, someone would descend from the “Heavenly Ladder” to collect them. If the plants were poorly tended, the quality substandard, or the quantity insufficient, the person in charge would be harshly punished.

As someone with a cynical sense of humor, Qin Yue almost wanted to make a sarcastic remark, but now he could not laugh—this was no dream.

He had crossed over.

This was a pris