The instant the golden-eyed ‘Qi Yue’an’ awoke, every surveillance feed deployed by the Global Emergency Organization at the wedding venue simultaneously plunged into darkness, as if an unseen hand had severed their signals.
Qi Wei—or rather, the ancient will now presiding over this body—effortlessly sealed off the surrounding space, unequivocally ‘escorting’ the few remaining individuals, who were still struggling to comprehend the dramatic shift, out of the area.
Within the ruined hall, only she remained, along with the man whose soul seemed to have been utterly drained.
” ‘You, it seems, have always only thought of yourself.’ ”
The icy words struck Lin Xiao’s heart with a heavy blow.
He froze, countless fragments of past cycles flashing uncontrollably before his eyes—Qi Yue, sacrificed time and again in the name of ‘salvation’; Qi An, abandoned repeatedly; figures whose futures and hopes he had snatched away, all culminating in Qi Yue’an’s final kiss, laden with blood and gravity.
‘How long had it been? He had drowned in this self-pitying, unawakening dream of being a ‘savior,’ yet, with his own hands, he had repeatedly pushed the person he cherished most into the abyss.’
” ‘What’s wrong, my esteemed savior?’ ”
Qi Wei’s voice was laced with undisguised mockery, her golden pupils swirling with an icy chill.
” ‘Didn’t you win? The ticket to completion lies before you; why do you not claim your ‘reward’?’ ”
A soft yet potent radiance emanated from her, diligently mending the severely damaged vessel, reshaping and reattaching the internal organs and bones shattered by the ‘Nails of Judgment’.
” ‘Once the remaining Holy Relics are gathered, the apocalypse, as you define it, will be nothing more than a program that can be casually shut down.’ ”
However, Lin Xiao’s subsequent actions caused her pupils to contract, and a faint crack appeared in the indifferent expression she had maintained.
He offered no reply, merely shaking his head slowly, painstakingly slowly.
Then, under Qi Wei’s astonished gaze, he raised his right hand, fingers pressed together like a blade, and plunged it forcefully into his own chest.
No blood gushed forth; instead, a twisted, soul-rending light erupted from his chest.
When he withdrew his hand, his palm already cradled a miniature hourglass, exuding an arcane aura, its internal sands seemingly solidified.
He pushed this Holy Relic, which had sustained his countless cycles of reincarnation, along with the gently glowing Crown of Reason floating beside it, towards Qi Wei.
Qi Wei froze, gazing at him in disbelief.
” ‘You…!’ ”
” ‘The Feather of Death… it’s in the deepest part of this base…’ ”
Lin Xiao’s voice was dry and hoarse, devoid of all color, like a weathered stone in the desert.
” ‘The Flower of Life… it should be detectable beneath the Sanxingdui ruins… The Cup of Emptiness… it should be in North America now…’ ”
He coughed violently, dark red flecks of blood escaping his lips, his breath as fragile as a flickering candle flame.
” ‘Go… find them yourself…’ ”
He managed a smile that was uglier than a grimace.
” ‘Perhaps, this is how it was always meant to be… I… overestimated myself, foolishly attempting to alter fate…’ ”
He stumbled, as if every ounce of his strength had been expended merely to turn around, then staggered towards the shattered grand entrance of the hall, each step precarious.
” ‘Where are you going?!’ Qi Wei demanded sharply, her golden eyes alight with confusion and fury.
Lin Xiao’s steps faltered for a moment, yet he did not turn back, answering instead in a voice that was almost ethereal.
” ‘I… still have some loose ends I must tie up personally… After it’s done, the Dawn Star Palace… leave it to that boy, Li Yan…’ ”
He coughed up blood again, and the magic that had been waning in his body surged forth like a final, ominous burst of vitality, emitting a foreboding wave that threatened to consume all.
Slowly, he turned his head, his eyes, once so disdainful of reincarnation, now held only the emptiness and liberation of a grandeur long faded.
” ‘Though this is… our first true meeting…’ ”
He looked at Qi Wei, his gaze distant.
” ‘But we’ve… dealt with each other for many years, haven’t we…’ ”
He let out a low chuckle, brimming with endless self-mockery.
” ‘Whatever you desire… just go and do it… There’s no need to consider a failure like me anymore…’ ”
He lowered his head, his silver-white hair falling forward, never having looked so disheveled.
” ‘You said I only thought of myself… perhaps that’s true…’ ”
His voice was so faint it was almost inaudible.
” ‘She was always so lonely… waiting for me for so long… time and again I abandoned her… Now, it’s time… to finally stay with her properly…’ ”
He lifted his foot, intending to continue his stride towards the darkness beyond the door, a darkness that symbolized his end.
However, a golden streak of light flashed instantly, and Qi Wei was already standing before him, blocking his path.
” ‘You don’t want me to leave?’ ”
Lin Xiao’s lips twisted into a bleak smile.
” ‘Right… to be defiled and used repeatedly by a mortal like this… you certainly have reason to be furious…’ ”
His words abruptly ceased.
Without warning, Qi Wei struck, a sharp side-kick accurately connecting with his knee joint.
Lin Xiao grunted, losing his balance and collapsing to his knees.
Before he could react, Qi Wei stepped forward, planting her foot—still adorned with a torn wedding shoe—firmly on his chest, pinning him to the ground.
Simultaneously, she leaned down, seized his bloodied tie, and yanked it sharply downwards.
Her wedding gown, already severely damaged from the previous battle, gaped with this forceful movement, exposing large expanses of pale skin and breathtaking curves to the air.
Yet, she paid it no mind, her eyes, burning with golden flames, fixed intently on Lin Xiao’s wide, astonished gaze.
” ‘This is your final answer, after contemplating countless cycles of reincarnation?’ ”
Qi Wei’s voice was piercingly cold, the fury contained within it almost palpable.
Lin Xiao was stunned by the unprecedented, genuine emotional upheaval in her eyes, instinctively wanting to avert his gaze, but her grip on his tie forcibly held him in place.
” ‘You are truly… arrogant!’ ”
Qi Wei enunciated each word, her voice filled with contempt and an indescribable heartache.
” ‘She dedicated her entire world—her past, present, future, even her very soul—to you! But what about you? You wouldn’t even struggle a little more, consider other possibilities, or even… swallow your pathetic pride to beg me further! You so easily chose the most cowardly, most self-abandoning path!’ ”
Lin Xiao’s pupils trembled violently.
He attempted to struggle up, but the increased pressure from Qi Wei’s foot and the tight grip on his tie pressed him back down onto the cold ground.
” ‘You… you mean…’ ”
His voice was laced with an incredulous tremor.
” ‘You… have a way?!’ ”
Qi Wei took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her surging emotions.
She released her grip on his tie, but her foot remained firmly planted on his chest.
” ‘I truly don’t know… what she ever saw in you…’ ”
Her tone carried a profound sense of bewilderment, tinged with unwillingness and resentment.
As the most ardent ‘An-faction’ within the Crown of Reason, she would have, in truth, done everything in her power to try and save Qi Yue’an even if Lin Xiao had done nothing.
Yet, the man’s current display had filled her with deep disappointment.
” ‘Her soul is indeed utterly shattered, dispersed into its most fundamental informational components.
In the conventional sense, there is absolutely no possibility of repair.’ ”
Qi Wei’s voice regained some of its composure.
” ‘Originally, I, too, was powerless to reverse it… However, just now, through the residual memories and perceptions of this body, I captured a miraculous instant.
After her soul completely fractured, she managed to forcefully maintain an exceedingly brief consciousness, driven by some incomprehensible obsession.’ ”
As she spoke, she reached for the floating Crown of Reason, placing it back upon her head.
Simultaneously, she gently pressed the hourglass, symbolizing the authority over time, towards her heart.
The hourglass silently merged into her, as if dissolving into water.
” ‘I can utilize the power of the ‘Sands of Time’ to briefly and within a very small scope reverse the river of time, capturing and solidifying the fleeting moment her consciousness still existed.’ ”
Qi Wei’s fingertip touched the Crown of Reason, and the diadem began to emit a light more intricate and profound than before.
” ‘Concurrently, using the faint spatial authority remaining in my soul’s essence, derived from the ‘Cup of Emptiness,’ I can forcibly seal and contain that specific fragment of time and space within the deepest reaches of the Crown of Reason…’ ”
Her pace of speech quickened, and her gaze sharpened as she looked at Lin Xiao.
” ‘But this is the most brutal and unstable operation.
The sealed consciousness will be in an extremely chaotic, fragmented state.
You will need to enter the world within the crown, find her there, awaken her, and… persuade her to willingly accept the subsequent fusion.’ ”
Lin Xiao’s heart plummeted.
” ‘Fusion? ‘Become a part of me’… what does that mean?’ ”
A cruel curve appeared at the corner of Qi Wei’s mouth.
” ‘It means exactly what it says.
I will forcibly gather all her information, engrave it upon the Crown of Reason, and then permanently fuse her ‘essence of existence’ with your soul.’ ”
She paused.
” ‘If I were to explain it… it’s akin to a forbidden technique once conceived by a long-extinct civilization, known as ‘Ghost Servant’ or ‘Bound Spirit.’
Her body will become a toy remotely controlled by your magic, and her consciousness will transform into a secondary personality, dependent on you, living for you.’ ”
Observing Lin Xiao’s instantly pale face, Qi Wei’s voice turned as cold as a blade.
” ‘The dead cannot be resurrected; that is a fundamental law.
Unless you can find the fourth Holy Relic, representing ‘life,’ and gather all five Holy Relics, allowing her… to claim everything I am and become a complete ‘god’.’ ”
She took a step closer, her golden eyes firmly locking onto Lin Xiao’s.
” ‘However, you no longer have a choice.
You have less than ten minutes before her fragments of consciousness completely dissipate into nothingness.’ ”
” ‘So, tell me, Lin Xiao, what is your choice?’ ”
” ‘Will you continue to wallow in your tragic sense of self-sacrifice, letting her vanish completely? Or…’ ”
Her voice fell like shards of ice.
” ‘…once again, in the name of love, cruelly strip her of the right to ‘death,’ dragging her back into this world of suffering, to become an eternal puppet dependent on you?’ ”
He lifted his head, finally extending his hand towards her, his eyes filled with resolve and obsession.
Qi Wei, seeing his unwavering determination, shook her head.
” ‘Sigh… you’ve always been this way… Go on, Xiao.’ ”
Once again, she uttered that familiar appellation, one that belonged only to them.
The gold in her eyes began to recede, as if her life force was draining away.
Ignoring Lin Xiao’s astonished gaze, she used her last vestiges of strength to place the crown upon his head.