CHAPTER 273: CHAPTER 273: SETTING YOU FREE FROM THIS LIFE.

He looked in the direction it was coming from...outside the building. From the high-floor window, his gaze fell on another building, one that was floating in the air. It didn’t have many floors, but because it was suspended high above the ground, it towered over the hospital.

Xu Kai’s eyes locked onto a figure standing at the edge of the rooftop of the floating building. The distance between them was considerable, but Xu Kai was absolutely certain that the malicious gaze was coming from that man.

He stared back with equal intensity. He didn’t know who the man was or why he had suddenly appeared, but he couldn’t risk leaving now...not while his wife was still admitted here.

The figure didn’t move or flinch. He met Xu Kai’s cold stare with the same interest, almost as if mocking him for his hesitation. It was as if he was waiting for Xu Kai to lash out.

But soon, when Xu Kai looked back at the rooftop, the figure had vanished. The rooftop was empty.

A strange sensation suddenly gripped Xu Kai’s heart, and his intuition screamed that something was wrong. His face turned pale as he rushed toward the ward where Aeris had been taken.

He ran toward the ward, but some nurses tried to stop him. He neither heard nor paid attention to them—his heart was beating faster with each step. His expression darkened further when the nurses used all their strength to hold him back, only fueling his anger.

"I want to see my wife..."

"No, sir, you can’t go in. The doctors will be disturbed."

"I’ll only look from outside."

"No... no, you can’t go..."

Before they could finish, several male staff members appeared—though they hardly looked like medical staff. There was something far more sinister in their eyes.

His heart sank even lower. He knew something was terribly wrong. His eyes turned bloodshot as he punched the man who tried to grab him. Soon, they were all lying on the ground. He rushed toward the ward, yanked the door open—only to find it empty. Instead, it led to another door at the back.

Aeris was nowhere to be seen.

His vision burned red as he grabbed the nearest man and snarled, "Where is she? Tell me, you bastard, or I’ll kill you!"

But the staff member only smiled—before going limp in Xu Kai’s grip.

Xu Kai checked his breath. Nothing. The man wasn’t breathing at all.

"Damn it!" He flung the body aside and rushed to the others, but their condition was the same. Every one of them lay on the ground, lifeless. All the clues to Aeris’s whereabouts had died with them.

Xu Kai cursed, refusing to waste another second. He ran through the inner door of the ward, which led to the back of the hospital.

"Fuck..." he muttered as his blood ran cold. Suddenly, he remembered that strange figure on the other building and realized—the man had deliberately stood there to distract him.

On the other side, Aeris woke up in a very different place.

The air around her felt too still, as if the world had stopped moving. She opened her eyes slowly, her breath catching in her throat. And she realized that this wasn’t a hospital room. It wasn’t any place she knew.

The walls around her glowed faintly, like they wereere made of strange material, and everything looked strangely... off. The colors were dull and yet somehow too bright at the same time.

She sat up slowly, her hands instinctively going to her belly.

It was still there, but something about it felt different now. Heavier and tighter. A pressure was building inside her, and with it, fear.

Her heart began to race. Panic gripped her chest as she looked around, trying to understand where she was and why. The space felt like it didn’t belong in any area she knew. She has never come here.

Then, without warning, she heard footsteps.

Aeris turned toward the sound, her breath caught in her lungs.

A figure was approaching her,, and the silhouette was strangely familiar.

Her eyes widened as she recognized the face.

"Kazren...?" she whispered. "Ah, brother, why are you here?"

But the person who looked like Kazren only smiled.

It was a twisted smile,, and it made Aeris shiver. Something about it was deeply wrong.

And when he looked into her eyes, she sawclearly that wasn’t her brother anymore. He had never looked at her like this; gone was the ever-gentle smile and calm look on his face.

"I am not your brother," he said, his voice low and heavy with something she couldn’t name.

Aeris tried to move back, but her body was sluggish, her limbs heavy.

"What’s happening...?" she whispered, confusion clouding her mind.

He stepped closer, and the smile remained, frozen on his face like a mask.

"You’ve done a wonderful thing," he said. "And now it’s time to reward you... by setting you free from this life."

Aeris’s heart stopped.

She couldn’t understand what he meant; his words made no sense to her. She stared at him, helpless, terrified, her body trembling.

Kazren’s voice dropped to a whisper as he crouched beside her.

"Do you know why the child hasn’t come out?" he said softly. "Because it knows. It senses what waits for it. It knows that the moment it is born... it will take all of you with it and slowly drain your life force."

She looked down at her belly, and her heart twisted with fear.

"It is not just a child," he continued. "It is a new generation of world, with the powers that could change the nature of the world. A creation of power—one I’ve spent years preparing for. You don’t remember what happened ten months ago. But you don’t need to. You were chosen. You played your part. Your purpose is now fulfilled."

Aeris’s throat was dry. "What are you saying?" she whispered.

But he just stood up and looked down at her with something like pity or maybe triumph.

"Now it’s the child’s turn," he said. "And soon... this world will belong to me."