Every person had a turning point in their lives where they made choices that changed the trajectory of their life forever.

  This point was called a Fracture Point, and the choice they made was called an Anchor. The more possibilities there were for an Anchor, the more Fracture Points existed in this world.

  A multitude of Fracture Points formed a Void Fracture. This was where the void called its victims. To their own Fracture Points.

  The only way to escape a Void Fracture was by proving your Anchor was the absolute one.

  * *

  Going through the Fracture wasn't a pleasurable feeling. The shimmer of the fracture pierced directly into my brain, peeling through my memories as each of them was copied and rewritten into different versions.

  Like in one version, I accepted being a maid to James.

  "Blah… James, you wait. You are done."

  The world appeared to be screaming, yet no sound came out.

  For a long time—maybe seconds, maybe hours—I existed only in fragments. I lived through different possible Anchors I should've taken. I couldn't feel my senses, my body, or my soul.

  It was almost like I was in an animated equilibrium. My mind went blank. I could feel my existence slowly being erased by the void.

  That's when a cooling sensation crept into my mind.

  The ring on my hand vibrated, pulling me back from being eroded by the void. I gasped. I was standing in the same position I was in before being swallowed by the Fracture.

  It's just that the surroundings were eerily quiet. I looked down at my ring. It hadn't changed appearance, the same dull look as always.

  However, it appeared to be shining a bit, or was it just my illusion?

  "I nearly lost… right?"

  The void only accepted its victims—or 'challengers,' as it liked to call them—if they survived the corruption. Almost ninety percent of people failed at this stage, completely erased from existence.

  My heart almost popped out of my throat at the imagination of being erased from existence itself.

  If not for this ring, my fate would've been the same. A cold shiver passed through my spine as the void pulled me once more. The light vanished again.

  Then, just as I thought my mind was going to be tormented again, I landed. Hard.

  My body struck something cold. Not stone. Not dirt. Something… organic. Flesh?

  I staggered to my knees, breath exploding out of me. My skin burned on impact. My fingers twitched as the remaining essence on me sizzled and dispersed with each breath. I looked up.

  Sky?

  No. A ceiling. The ceiling stretched like a ribcage above a blood-coloured sky. Clouds twisted like coiled tendons.

  The ground beneath me pulsed faintly with a heartbeat not mine.

  My gaze followed the surroundings. Everywhere, the same ceiling arced above, like I was inside a cage which shaped like a ribcage.

  Or was it really the ribs of a creature?

  I shuddered. No way, right? For a monster to be this big…

  The ground continued to thump beneath me, with the same rhythm as my heartbeat.

  'Like I'm standing on a beating heart…'

  I instinctively turned around, back to where I had thrown James, and saw nothing. That meant I was inside the Void Fracture now.

  I took a deep breath. The collapsed buildings behind me had to be the ruins of the sect. The gate still stood proudly, though nothing stood behind it.

  For the Broken Sky Sect to be destroyed like this, whatever calamity they faced must be beyond the control of a Core Formation stage cultivator.

  Despite being only a low-level sect, they had at least ten cultivators in the Core Formation stage, with their sect master being in the ninth stage of Core Formation.

  I opted to not overthink it. That calamity wasn't something people like me should probe into.

  I turned again, eyes stretching toward the direction of Star Fall. The mountain range wasn't there. In its place, a red desert extended into the distance.

  Next turn was toward the city. Luckily, it was still intact. Then my eyes locked onto the red holographic button that hovered and darted with my movements.

  The Void Mission.

  Touching it would prompt the void to give me a mission, the task to finish this challenge and escape this hellish place.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  'Sara, it's nothing to worry about. You're talentless, so how many choices did you even have the first time around? If all your choices are the same, you don't have to prove yourself to the void—you've already proven yourself.'

  To prove your Anchor was absolute, there was only one way: defeat every other Anchor. The number of Anchors present in a Fracture depended on the strength of its challenger.

  As for me, someone not even in the Qi Gathering stage, at most I'd have to defeat one Anchor. Worst, two.

  Just one mirror self more. Nothing to worry about.

  If coping had another name, that would be 'Sara.' My lips curled as I shrugged the dust off my robes.

  It was the first time I felt being talentless was a blessing. Because of this, the number of possible Anchors I had was limited, and so the chances of me facing a too-powerful version of myself were basically nullified.

  Well, me being a null became a blessing here.

  The Fracture Point of mine was the decision I made after being expelled. Being a tea seller was my Anchor.

  I blushed. What a lame choice of Anchor. It would be a shame to talk aloud to my mirror self about my Anchor.

  'Lame? It's the most practical and smart choice! You should correct your mirror self, Sara.'

  Sure, if it allowed me to talk.

  Still, I wasn't sure if my other selves would like my choice. So discovering the possible Anchors I could've taken, and being mentally prepared to face them, would help me handle the situation better. Unlike blankly triggering the challenge and getting surprised by the outcome.

  Purely for mental health, I swear. Not because of fear.

  After all, I wasn't a violent person. So my mirror selves would most likely be a chill person. Surely, right?

  Luckily, the possible choices I had were limited. I didn't know whether to be offended by that or thankful. Either way, I thought I'd be fine with the challenge.

  'If my mirror self chose to be a maid to that idiot… that would be a blessing.'

  Imagining that haunted my self-esteem. Yet if that happened, the challenge would be child's play.

  'James, if that's what "me"—no, "mirror me"—ugh, whatever—chose, you'll get one kick less. Out of the hundred I had saved for your jewels, of course.'

  Either way, most of the choices I would've taken weren't too worrying, except one.

  'What if one of my mirrors chose to go to Star Fall and become a body cultivator?'

  I hurriedly shook off that thought. There was no way an ordinary person like me could survive there just to become a body cultivator.

  My worries started to dispel as confidence overtook them. With a simple thought, I tapped the red button.

  My vision turned blank as a cold, merciless voice rang from every corner.

  {A fragmented mirror once pulled yourself into it, pushing out your reflection to wander in the world. Now, the reflection stares into the mirror, but the mirror is empty.

  Stare back at that reflection.}

  'What in the demonic, godless choice did I make to get this mission?'

  "I call foul…"

  No one replied to my rant. A hot breeze passed by, almost like it was expressing its schadenfreude.

  I cursed into the air for a few seconds before calming my foul mood. Having no one around felt like a blessing in this situation. I could do anything, and no one would be here to watch.

  I would run naked around if possible. I pushed that thought aside. Shameless.

  [Cough, Master… are you okay?]

  "Who?" I spun around, alarmed. No one was there, not even in my senses. This place was already under my full perception. That was the main reason I chose to throw my outburst here freely.

  "Is it an illusion?"

  [Eh? Master, not an illusion.]

  This time, I clearly heard the voice. I looked down at my finger. The broken ring was gone. In its place was a small tattoo: a snake's head, coiled around my thumb.

  The tattoo… it appeared to be alive. It circled around my finger like a serpent, slowly pulsating.

  I nearly screamed my lungs out.

  "What the fuck?!"

  [?]

  "How can you speak? No—what are you? Where is my ring? What did you do with my ring? Did you eat it? Spit that out, bastard!"

  Surely, I couldn't be blamed. Imagine your ring-the one you considered your only family—suddenly disappeared and in its place a talking, moving snake appeared? That's my reality now.

  I tried to shake off the little snake from my thumb, but it didn't budge an inch. That's when I noticed it wasn't a foreign body, rather, my veins moving like a snake. The dark green colour of it made me mistake it for a tattoo.

  It's just that the vein had a snake head at its end. I hurriedly pulled up my sleeve, horrified to find that the vein moved along my forearm, through the shoulder, reaching toward my chest where my heart drummed its fuel out.

  [Master, a modest woman will never undress herself outdoors.]

  "Shut up, you…"

  [So Master isn't that modest. I'm fine either way. Anyway, who cares if a girl runs naked in this world, right?]

  I was completely at a loss. The yapping of my vein—if I could call it mine at all—angered me to the core. But I couldn't do anything to it, because hurting it was the same as hurting myself. I absolutely never wanted to do that.

  Yet a talking vein suddenly appearing in me was terrifying, even if I tried to overlook the creepiness in it. And it looked like panicking wasn't helping me at all. So I quickly calmed down, or attempted to.

  It helped me perceive things more positively and discern my situation clearly. Whatever this abomination was, I had perfect control over it. Like stopping its movements the same way I controlled my limbs. A single thought made it disappear under my skin.

  I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, it's gone. That relief only lasted a short time, though.

  [Master, your insides feel good.]

  "…"

  [Master?]

  "Who the hell are you?"

  [Me? Do you forget already? I am your inventory!]

  I was taken aback by the slight accusation in that voice. I furrowed my brows.

  "Inventory? What in the nine heavens is that? My ring?" I asked in a strained tone. I already knew the answer, but it was too unrealistic to be the truth.

  My ring—the old, almost broken ring—started to speak? And it's telling me it's an inventory? I recalled reading somewhere that legendary artefacts might form a spirit sense and could talk to their owners.

  However, there was no way my ring could be a legendary artefact. If it was, it would've already been stolen from me by those in the sect.

  Sure, ordinary disciples might not discern an artefact, but the elders or even the sect master must have ways to uncover its secret. If not, at least sense its uniqueness.

  They didn't find anything like that, which meant it was just an ordinary ring. At least to their probes.

  So, what in the demonic, godless situation was this?

  I stared at my thumb again. Even though I'd hidden it under my skin, the tattoo was still visible. The snake head appeared to be staring straight into my soul.

  [A ring? Master, I am the great divine inventory—something you must never associate with a mere ring!]. It appeared to be disappointed.

  I turned my thumb a few times.

  "Seems like a ring to me. With a snake head."

  [Maaaster!]

  "Enough… explain what you are."

  [As I said, I am a divi—no—an ordinary inventory. I can hold things and have infinite space…]

  I knitted my brows.

  "That's all?"

  Just a storage ring. So not a legendary artefact.

  […And can upgrade each item to its maximum potential—even extract some of their properties.]

  Didn't think so.

  [Master, in simple terms, I am an inventory that can absorb anything and evolve it to its maximum potential. I can extract some of their properties for you to use.]

  [I am a divine artefact, Master. And you are my Divine Master.]

  Was this world fully turning crazy, or was it just me?

  Only time could tell.