I can rewind time to prevent death

As his body slowly floated upward, Yan Junze saw Director Yan in the lab shrinking into insignificance before his eyes.

He realized he was sinking into endless darkness.

"Do you think you can escape?"

Just then, a familiar voice suddenly resounded by his ear, yet its reverberations rang loudly in his mind.

"Void Demon!" Yan Junze jolted in shock.

He felt as though his limbs had long ceased to obey him, drifting deeper and deeper into the void, sinking so far that the lab's buildings were no longer visible—completely enveloped by darkness.

"Think. Every time you've disappeared, you've relied on the Void where I lurk. Did you really think I wouldn't prepare for you to use that ability? Hahaha..." The Void Demon's tone carried an air of smug satisfaction.

"So, as I initiated Spacetime Shuttle, you were drawn along through the Void by my trajectory?" Yan Junze countered, realization dawning in his mind.

This Void Demon was certainly no ordinary kind of monster—it had truly managed to follow him through the Void and traverse space-time to appear alongside him.

Of course, Yan Junze believed the Void Demon had the capability to traverse the Void. However, entering another parallel space-time—surely that would remain out of its reach. At least, in its currently sealed state, the Void Demon couldn't achieve that.

For it to appear here, it must have secretly been lured here—drawn in without Yan Junze realizing it.

This creature was deviously cunning. In the past, Yan Junze had repeatedly passed through space-time rifts to enter its hidden Void and vanished immediately afterward, which surely led the Void Demon to speculate about his unique abilities.

This is why it had guessed correctly that he might use his space-time traversal ability at a critical moment—and had stealthily lingered, waiting to be drawn along.

"So, this is your last resort!" The Void Demon finally stopped laughing.

Yan Junze felt the pull on his body strengthen once again, yanking him fast toward a certain point in the dark Void.

His body still couldn't move—as if it no longer belonged to him—and at that moment, he faced directly toward that deep darkness in the Void.

To the Void Demon's surprise, after his initial panic upon realizing he was floating, Yan Junze had suddenly grown calm.

He quietly observed the vast Void before him, until slowly, an indistinct shadow emerged before his eyes—approaching closer and closer. At that moment, a faint smile tugged at Yan Junze's lips.

"Why are you smiling?" The Void Demon's voice rang out in his mind, sounding perplexed.

"Because you guessed wrong," Yan Junze responded through thought. "This isn't my last resort."

As his words fell, he was forcibly yanked to the edge of the Void Demon's presence—in the same situation as when he activated Super Spatiotemporal Fixed Insertion—with the two now face-to-face, poised at the brink of fusion.

Seeing the Void Demon, which looked uncannily like another version of himself, Yan Junze showed no trace of nervousness. He simply gazed at it, calmly, as though staring into a mirror.

"And now, you still have a last resort left?" The Void Demon sneered, skeptical of the possibility that its plan could falter.

It had already seized full control of Yan Junze's body, monitoring every pore and twitch with precise clarity. No matter what Yan Junze tried, there was no way he could turn the tides.

"My strategy is simple—to merge with you." Yan Junze smiled at it serenely.

"Such arrogance!" The Void Demon smirked coldly, stepping forward to meld its form with Yan Junze's.

However, in the next instant, the two figures immediately recoiled from one another. Yan Junze didn't move; the Void Demon stumbled backward, hastily lowering its gaze to inspect itself.

On its bare black body, an even deeper shade of black began spreading swiftly from its chest outward.

"This is…" For the first time ever, a look of terror appeared on the Void Demon's face. It raised its head to glare at Yan Junze, speaking in a trembling voice: "Dark Poison!"

"This is my strategy," Yan Junze's voice whispered beside the Void Demon's ear. "You can ignore the Void's barriers, but Dark Poison can do the same. Ever since you fell at the gates of FH Community, trapped in my spacetime overlap, I already activated Tricky Silk on you—and the condition for deploying Dark Poison is... fusion!"

He paused briefly before continuing, "During that incident, you must have been distracted and shocked to see Sylvanus and his Book of Summoning trying their futile attack on you with the True Word Barrier, isn't that right? All those were mere diversions—the true objective was to plant the Dark Poison on you!"

Yan Junze hadn't overlooked the risk at the beginning. He knew full well that, once the Void Demon declared it would be targeting him, its every move—its avatars and traces—would be connected to the spacetime rifts he had previously traversed. After another traversal, the possibility of it tracking him down would inevitably remain.

So he had gambled on this strategy—using Dark Poison as his trump card.

"You bastard! Hahahaha…" The Void Demon laughed hysterically in rage. "Do you think mere Dark Poison is enough to kill me?!"

Yan Junze shook his head. By now, some control over his body had returned, showing that the Void Demon had taken damage from the Dark Poison, diminishing its grip on him.

"Killing you isn't my goal. And I know there's little chance of Dark Poison ending your life. My aim is just to weaken you—that's all I need. After all, this is merely one of your avatars, isn't it?"

Before his eyes, the Void Demon trembled fiercely, convulsing uncontrollably. Its knees buckled, and it fell to the ground, completely unable to stand.

"Impressive!" Yan Junze gave it a thumbs-up. "Your body doesn't show a single sign of dissolving—it seems you really can withstand the Dark Poison."

In excruciating pain, with its eyes rolled back and teeth clenched, the Void Demon spat out: "It's only a matter of time. And even if I'm weakened, you still can't kill me. You'd better hope you run fast—because once I recover, your death is certain!"

"Who said I'm going to run?" By now, Yan Junze could move freely again. Instead of fleeing, he stepped closer, crouching before the gravely weakened Void Demon.

"I never intended to kill you, and I've already explained my thoughts to you clearly—I only wish to merge with you," Yan Junze smiled.

He rose to his feet, calmly gazing at the Void Demon sprawled before him, knowing full well it was resisting the venomous erosion of the Dark Poison. He also knew this avatar of the Void Demon could endure the toxin, even under such extreme weakness.

An indeterminate amount of time passed until the Void Demon collapsed entirely, curling into a motionless heap, while the Dark Poison began retreating—receding like a tide, slowly dissipating.

The Void Demon had survived, resisting the Dark Poison!

But now, it lay utterly debilitated—incapable of movement, slumped like a defeated animal.

Without hesitation, Yan Junze stepped closer, crouching down until their forms overlapped.

The Void Demon's weak body quivered slightly—this time not with rage, but with a profound fear it had never known before.

Merging required strength, and now the Void Demon understood—as weakened as it was—it had never been more vulnerable. If forced into fusion, its survival itself would become uncertain.

"Yan... Jun… Ze!"

Almost unconsciously, the Void Demon let out a final roar of fury, before falling silent.

A violent tremor shook the space suddenly. Yan Junze slowly stood up as an incomparably potent force coursed through his body, reverberating within. The Void Demon, once coiled in defeat, had vanished entirely.