What is the purpose of life?
This single question encapsulated the very essence of Qi Yue’an’s lifelong existential query.
As she struggled with all her might, fighting against the person she once held dearest, that very question inevitably resurfaced in her mind.
Her entire life had been painted with the hues of nihilism; looking back, she saw only a monotonous expanse of gray, neither black nor white.
She possessed no earth-shattering talent, no unyielding perseverance to see her ambitions through, no dream grand enough to dedicate her all to, and was, by her own admission, merely a reclusive and unremarkable individual.
“An, put down your weapon. You are no match for me.”
By then, Lin Xiao had already drawn his weapon, a crimson sword clutched firmly in his hand, while countless other weapons of varying designs hovered in the sky above him. The horns, symbols of a demon, had sprouted from one side of his forehead, and his surging, boundless demonic energy resembled an endless ocean. He stood like a deity descended from the heavens, and even the merest fraction of his oppressive aura was enough to make her legs buckle beneath her.
Li Yan, standing nearby, was forced back by the sheer intensity of this aura, retreating several steps to a safe distance, a sound of awe escaping his lips.
“This is my first time seeing the boss unleash his full power… Ah… can she really withstand it?”
Lin Xiao paid no mind to the other onlookers. His gaze was fixed entirely on the figure standing below him, who, despite her trembling legs, met his eyes unflinchingly.
“No.”
Her brief reply was followed by an unprecedented surge of utterly dark emotions filling her heart.
“Why?”
Lin Xiao spoke, yet he did not relent his pressure. He refrained from attacking, understanding that any forced outcome would be far from what he truly desired.
“Lin Xiao, I truly detest you right now.”
Qi Yue’an suddenly uttered these words, yet they struck him with more force than any physical blow. His oppressive aura faltered, and he stared at her face. Before he could even react, she continued speaking, her voice tinged with a slight sob, carrying a despair so profound it felt as though her very soul was shattering.
“Actually, the more perfect version of me you spoke of, I’ve already met her. I know she would undoubtedly do better than me, she would certainly accomplish all of this with greater success.”
She hunched over, resembling a defeated dog cast aside.
“So you prefer her. I understand.”
“An…”
Her words completely disarmed him. He had expected her to lash out, as she had done before, perhaps accusing him of having no right to dictate the fate of her consciousness. This was the first time he had ever witnessed such profound despair in her.
“How cruel… You’ve betrayed me yet again… and now you want to take everything from me…”
As she spoke, endless resentment coalesced into power, transforming into towering flames of jealousy. In the very next moment, she moved.
Gone were the tentative, hesitant attacks from before; this was a charge unto death, an outpouring of all her pain, a sacrifice of everything, a burning of her very soul.
Her greatsword, wreathed in boiling jealousy, tore through the air, carrying an absolute resolve to rend all apart, as it fiercely slashed towards Lin Xiao.
Wherever her blade passed, space itself seemed to warp and blur, scorched by the intensity of her negative emotions.
Facing this all-consuming assault, a flicker of imperceptible pain crossed Lin Xiao’s eyes, yet the crimson longsword in his hand remained steadily raised.
In the sky, countless hovering weapons hummed, transforming into streaks of light that precisely met the purple flaming greatsword.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening explosions thundered through the corridor of the sixth floor, as torrents of demonic energy and raw emotion violently collided and annihilated each other.
With every slash, Qi Yue’an poured her entire being into the attack, her jealousy like a living viper, desperately trying to corrode and corrupt Lin Xiao’s defenses.
Her swordsmanship was utterly devoid of form, a mere raw, frenzied outpouring, each strike imbued with the fierce declaration: ‘I would rather burn myself to ashes than ever yield to fate!’
Yet, the disparity in their power was despair-inducing. Lin Xiao did not even shift his stance; he merely controlled the myriad weapons hovering around him, like a precise, merciless machine, accurately blocking, deflecting, and neutralizing her attacks time and again.
His vast, ocean-like demonic energy steadily suppressed the wild yet weak flames of jealousy. Qi Yue’an’s onslaught was like a furious storm lashing against an unyielding reef—fierce in appearance, yet utterly incapable of moving it even an inch.
“Why… do you resist…”
Lin Xiao’s voice drifted through the lulls in the explosions, imbued with a profound weariness. More than a question, his words sounded like a rehearsed line, hollow and deep, as if he had uttered them countless times before.
“Isn’t it better to accept ‘completeness’? Everything will be destroyed anyway; only by doing so can we overcome it…”
“I don’t care!”
Qi Yue’an roared, the flames of jealousy scorching wounds onto her body, yet she seemed oblivious to the pain. Only the purple glow in her eyes intensified, growing brighter and brighter.
“I know no one truly needs me like this. If there were a better me, everything would certainly be much better. I could take care of my family, you could be happy, Xiyin and the others could be happy…”
“I know all of this… but I’m not reconciled! Why treat me this way? Giving me hope only to imply I don’t deserve any of it! Why didn’t you just replace me from the very beginning!”
With another full-force collision, the greatsword in Qi Yue’an’s hand was wrenched free by an irresistible power, sent flying from her grasp. She herself was flung backward like a kite with a severed string, crashing heavily against the cold wall, the jealous flames around her dimming noticeably.
Despair, like a cold tide, instantly engulfed her.
Having poured out her everything, she was still like a mayfly attempting to shake a tree. She huddled in the corner, gazing at the god-like figure standing unmoving, the purple flames in her eyes flickering as if on the verge of extinguishing.
The realization that she was an ‘imperfect, defective product’ echoed like a curse in her mind, threatening to drag her into an abyss of self-denial.
She repeatedly rose to her feet, launching desperate attacks, striving with all her might to conceal the resignation that had, in truth, already settled deep within her heart. Without her weapon, her combat strength had plummeted significantly.
Pfft, pfft, pfft—
Countless weapons tore through the air, piercing her body, and she collapsed wretchedly on the spot, the fire in her heart gradually dying out with her despair.
Lin Xiao watched all of this intently, the light in his eyes dimming little by little. Even the ever-present guilt and weariness within them dissipated, leaving behind only emptiness.
In truth, it was not as she had said. He had already witnessed countless future versions of Qi Yue’an descend into destruction, and had stood against her time and again. In each new beginning, the memories of the original her were the greatest motivation that sustained him.
“I’m sorry.”
His hollow words held neither apology nor any other emotion. A massive spear erupted from the ground, piercing her instantly—
However, before it could, a figure like starlight suddenly shot into the sky.
Qi Yue’an, who had gently closed her eyes, resigned to her fate, suddenly snapped them open.
Before their battle began, Lin Xiao had erected a thick wall around them. While this deprived Qi Yue’an of assistance, it also brought her a measure of relief, as she knew she could never defeat Lin Xiao, whose power was unfathomable, and she did not want this matter to implicate Xiyin.
Yet, by some unknown means, Xiyin had silently breached this barrier.
“You talk about replacing yourself… How could any of us ever be happy with something like that!”
She forcibly pulled Qi Yue’an away from under the spear, her eyes burning with a finally unbearable fury.
“The person I know, that’s her—irreplaceable, the one I vowed to be companions with for life!”
“I understand all this talk of saving the world, but if the cost of salvation is sacrificing everything she holds dear, time and again… even if it was her own will at first… I still won’t agree!”
Xiyin turned back towards Qi Yue’an, her demonic energy surging, its color dyeing the dome of the barrier into a starry sky.
“I once said that when I chose my title, it was because I saw the brilliance of countless stars.”
“I’ve also been lost, and I’ve tried to force myself to become a completely different person…”
“But I couldn’t. The one who adds color to our lives should never be someone else. Don’t be afraid of the intangible.”
The cup in her hand began to shatter, and a pure white flower, radiant as life itself, flew from her grasp towards Qi Yue’an.
“No… don’t! This is my own affair! You can’t get involved!”
Qi Yue’an saw what was in Xiyin’s hand and seemed to understand. Her face, no longer reflecting despair or resignation, was now etched with urgency.
“Take care of Bai Jin and Bai Zhi, and journey into the future together. Even if destruction is truly our destined end, I will be waiting for you at the close of all things.”
Xiyin offered her a faint smile, and a never-before-seen destructive radiance began to brew within her, like a supernova slowly ascending from the earth.
Qi Yue’an’s limbs were already mangled beyond recognition, heavy metal pinning her body firmly to the ground. She crawled forward futilely, like a dog with a broken spine, appearing helpless and utterly wretched.
“Please, I beg you, stop her! I’ll do anything!”
She pleaded for help towards Lin Xiao, yet he merely watched it all unfold. He watched that star’s destined bloom, accompanied by the shrouding and turbulence of space, and the destined flower, and the destined antagonism.