In the scorching heat of the inferno, the girl remained unharmed. She gazed at Jixie's figure, sensing that incredibly powerful destructive force.
Another vessel.
However,
She wondered if this vessel truly understood itself.
Jixie wielded the incomplete concept of Destruction. He was the vessel with the strongest destructive power she had ever witnessed. Without exaggeration, his combat prowess undoubtedly surpassed hers.
Moreover,
Regardless of the incomplete concept,
Jixie held an absolute advantage in terms of Tier. The gap between Tier 3 and Tier 4 was too vast; this level of suppression rendered any struggle futile.
Sensing a gaze,
Jixie looked towards a spot where the girl's figure was no longer visible. Then, his expression turned cold, and he manifested a Spear of Light.
Whoosh!
The spear of light instantly tore through the sky.
On the other side,
The Hermitage Society was racing against time to unseal the Lucerne Text. Samuel, alone, went to the crimson spear's sealing location, releasing the spear from its sealed state.
The spear in hand,
Samuel felt a chill.
This was the spear that had twice slain the Father God. Samuel didn't know if he could wield the spear's power, but he had made his resolve.
He couldn't hope that this group of outsiders would leave any leeway for this planet. If his life could serve some purpose, then it was worth the sacrifice.
"You cannot wield that spear's power."
A soft voice sounded behind him.
Samuel turned.
This was his first time facing the girl without any trace of hostility. At this moment, his life and time should not be wasted on other matters.
"One must at least attempt it."
When the sky falls, someone always has to hold it up. But if others wouldn't step forward, Samuel could only do it himself. He had never been a coward.
"There's no room for extraneous luck."
The girl extended her hand, and the crimson spear immediately fell into her grasp: "You don't have much time to waste. I can't hold them off for long. Go and carry out what you must."
The reasoning was simple.
This was her home.
She was just a human, not Fate.
With that,
The girl vanished.
Boom!
The light spear crossed more than half of Apokolips, instantly destroying a certain mountain peak. The terrifying heat vaporized the rocks and everything surrounding it.
One strike.
The Theological Society suffered heavy casualties.
Hum—
Jixie's divine aura descended. He looked down upon the ants on the ground like a god. The members of the Theological Society, witnessing this scene, were utterly terrified.
Every being in the sky possessed power equal to the Father God!
Jixie's gaze swept across them.
Furious.
He detected the blood of the Divine Sovereign race flowing within the members of the Theological Society. This was an immense insult to their lineage.
"You are guilty of ten thousand deaths!!!"
Jixie roared coldly.
As his words fell,
Irresistible destructive power swept across everything. All matter, upon contact with this power, instantly reverted to its primordial state.
Boom!
Matter returning to its primordial state released immense energy. Intense light and explosive energy, like a raging storm, devoured everything.
A huge crater was blasted into the ground.
The flashing light could be clearly seen even in distant space.
The Theological Society could offer no resistance. In the face of Jixie's destructive power, they met only annihilation, even with the stolen power of the Father God.
After the explosion subsided,
The Father God's corpse hovered before Jixie. Jixie looked at the corpse, his expression chilling to the extreme, then coldly ordered his kin positioned behind him.
His killing intent was palpable.
"Destroy this planet. Cleanse their sins."
"Understood!"
However,
Before they could act, a streak of light flashed across the horizon. The crimson spear tore through the sky, carrying a terrifying and violent force that split the heavens in two.
Jixie's expression changed drastically.
He was then struck by the spear.
It felt like being hit by a sun traveling at the speed of light. That almost unstoppable power sent shivers down Jixie's spine.
Boom!
The girl, wielding the crimson spear, drove Jixie deep into the earth. The entire continent violently trembled, but at this moment, she couldn't afford to worry about such minor details.
The power was immense.
However,
"You are too weak!"
Deep beneath the earth,
A pair of golden eyes opened. Endless destructive power annihilated everything, forcing the girl to temporarily halt her attack and create distance.
Indeed.
She couldn't inflict substantial damage on the opponent. The crimson spear was unstoppable, but unfortunately, the girl couldn't fully unleash its potential. To easily slay a god, it probably required its former master.
The spear was powerful.
But its former master was even stronger.
That was the key factor.
The girl knew that this unexpected strike couldn't truly wound Jixie, so any future combat would likewise be unable to breach his defenses significantly.
Jixie's figure slowly emerged from deep within the earth. He stood high in the sky, like a monarch ruling the world, like a god transcending all others.
He looked at the crimson spear in the girl's hand, noticing the blood of another race clinging to it.
He declared: "Your weapon is excellent. It belongs to me."
Wielding the spear,
The girl, at this moment, stood gallantly like a war goddess. Without a word, her aura rising to its peak, she clashed with Jixie once more. Tier 3 versus Tier 4.
Spear and sword collided, shaking the world.
For a moment, winds howled and clouds gathered.
The earth trembled violently.
Until a certain moment,
The destructive sword struck. The girl's blood stained the sky. Her right arm was instantly obliterated. The crimson spear flew from her grasp.
Jixie seized the spear.
He felt an unparalleled, immense power.
"To be so neglected in the hands of the weak is too great a pity. It rightfully belongs to me. I will use it to erase you and this heavily sinful planet from the cosmos."
But at this very moment,
A vast, ancient aura enveloped the world. The power of time broke through this spacetime. A being from a distant era descended upon this location.
Hum—
A vast and boundless aura surged, filling the entire world.
Jixie's movements paused momentarily, as if processing the current situation. He then coldly snorted: "Summoning people from the past? A planet that hasn't even entered the cosmos. Senior ants are still just ants!"
Hermitage Society.
Following the girl's stark warning, Samuel and the others immediately abandoned any illusion of luck. They swiftly moved to unseal the Lucerne Text at top speed.
Over a dozen ascetics gathered around the twenty-four stone slabs of the Lucerne Text, chanting the renowned incantations with the utmost solemnity and reverence.
Samuel's expression was complex; he was uncertain if this action was correct or deeply misguided.
"Stars filling the sky, illuminate the secrets of this world…"
As the incantation was chanted, using the Lucerne Text as a conduit, the power of Incantation of Lore flowed against the river of time, traversing from ancient epochs to the distant three thousand years ago.
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Vast.
Ancient.
A being from myth descended.
Three thousand years prior, during the Lucerne era, the ancient nation of Firenze.
Massive stars hung high in the sky. A supreme throne overlooked the world. The Twelve Knights stood guard on either side. This time, Mei occupied the divine throne.
She opened her eyes.
Reflecting the river of time, observing all beings across all ages.
An ancient and majestic aura passed through the river of time, appearing eternally unwavering. Even the mighty cleansing of the river of time could not sway her in the slightest.
Gradually,
Jixie's expression froze.
The aura enveloping the world grew stronger and stronger, escalating to an unimaginably powerful state. He couldn't help but feel a surge of genuine fear, and began contemplating immediate retreat.
He couldn't comprehend it.
Why did this planet possess such immense power in the past?
Boom!
Suddenly, the world trembled violently. All things in the universe stirred rapidly. A terrifying aura, so potent it induced despair, swept forth from ancient times.
"Retreat!"
Jixie shivered, shouting loudly.
But,
It was already too late to depart.
Boom!
A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. The lightning struck with incredible swiftness, directly piercing one of the Divine Sovereign clansmen.
A bloody, gaping hole appeared in his chest.
The Divine Sovereign clansman looked utterly astonished.
Then he powerlessly collapsed onto the ground.
A silver-armored knight materialized without warning. He held a battle-spear forged from lightning. His voice resonated like interweaving thunder.
"Ant."
This was absolute, distilled contempt.
A Tier 3 combatant was thus instantly eliminated.
However,
It wasn't over.
Almost simultaneously,
An icy sword light flashed, severing the head of another Divine Sovereign clansman. The world was swept by a raging storm, and in an instant, this Divine Sovereign's mutilated body was torn to shreds.
Bang!
Chariots thundered past, utterly crushing several Divine Sovereign individuals who could not escape. A knight wielding a battle-axe arrived, cleaving a Divine Sovereign in two.
Instantly,
The dozen or so Divine Sovereign clansmen Jixie had brought were effortlessly dispatched by these knights, like butchering livestock. They possessed no power to resist, not even a chance to counterattack.
All were one-hit eliminations.
An indescribable, immense terror rushed to his mind. Jixie's pupils constricted to the extreme. In that fleeting moment of distraction, a sharp pain struck.
A brilliant and scorching sword light tore through space itself. That golden hair, dazzling like the sun, and those eyes, seemed like the very embodiment of the sun, compelling one to avert their gaze.
"Aah!!"
Jixie shrieked.
A blonde knight severed his arm. Fiery flames incinerated the stump. The blonde knight snatched the crimson spear from Jixie's hand.
His demeanor was solemn and righteous.
"You are unworthy to touch my Empress's belongings!"
My Empress?
Jixie's breathing hitched, then he erupted in uncontrollable rage, unleashing his destructive power with all his might: "To insult me so! You deserve annihilation!"
Hum—
Destructive power engulfed the area, then instantly froze within the spacetime. At this moment, time seemed to halt. An even more powerful, indescribably terrifying force descended.
The earth trembled.
The cosmos teetered on the brink of collapse.
Boom!
Spacetime shattered section by section.
The river of time stirred up massive waves. Unparalleled and majestic power almost crushed this world into cosmic dust. The supreme throne manifested high in the sky.
Jixie was terrified to death.
He had never faced such a level of power. Before this force, capable of even destroying spacetime, he was the true ant.
Looking up at the sky,
Jixie saw a Divine King's throne. An indescribably majestic being on the throne reigned over the world. A single gaze descended, cold, contemptuous.
And bearing the will of death.
In an instant,
Only a gaze descended from the Divine King's throne. The powerful pressure instantly shattered Jixie's bones and flesh, then he exploded into a shower of blood and perished.
Bang!
Jixie was no more.
A Tier 4 combatant had thus perished.
Jixie couldn't see Mei's full visage. However, even if he could, he wouldn't have recognized her. He had encountered Mei a millennium ago.
He was the one who had stumbled into the divine battlefield ruins earlier.
Destructive power?
Mei was utterly indifferent.
Jixie's demise meant another vessel would inherit this power. If one thought the vessel's continued existence would cause Mei hesitation, they were completely mistaken.
She could traverse the entire river of time. Time held no meaning for her. Eternity transcended past and future; all worlds lay within her grasp.
"Is this… the Primordial King?"
Hermitage Society.
The ascetics were utterly powerless against the immense pressure weighing upon the world. Everyone knelt, struggling painfully, their faces pale and sweat pouring like rain.
The Primordial King's power far exceeded their wildest myths, reaching a level they couldn't begin to quantify.
Samuel gazed at the divine throne in the sky, recalling the ancient records within the Lucerne Text. Now, those written words manifested before his eyes as the most terrifyingly real scene.
【Lucerne Text · The Fifth · Throne of God】
【Fragment: She is god, she is supreme, she is monarch—the first monarch—ruler of millions of divine subjects, sovereign of the divine throne, lord of this land and this world.】
If,
This primordial and most ancient queen, this sovereign of the divine throne, desired to rule this land, or even this cosmic region again, it would likely require almost no effort.
However,
This was entirely Samuel and the others overthinking the situation.
Just like Mei's gaze upon Jixie, she utterly disdained this world. This land, this cosmic region, this world—they were not worthy of her rule.
【Key coordinate · Established】
【Upgrade Task 8·Complete】
【Truth Manifestation Level·Upgraded】
【Truth Manifestation ·LV9?】
——
【Ability: Truth Manifestation】
【Level: LV9】
【Description: All sentient perceptions in this world are the wielder's perceptions. All sentient beings' fantasies, legends, myths, and concepts in this world can be temporarily manifested. Duration: one billion years. The specific effect cannot exceed the controller's current Grade.】
——
【Key coordinate · Established】
【Upgrade Task 9·Complete】
【Truth Manifestation Level·Upgraded】
【Truth Manifestation ·LV10?】
——
【Ability: Truth Manifestation】
【Level: LV10】
【Description: All sentient perceptions in this world are the wielder's perceptions. All sentient beings' fantasies, legends, myths, and concepts in this world can be temporarily manifested. Duration: permanent. The specific effect cannot exceed the controller's current Grade.】
——
A total of two key coordinates were established. One was Mei ending the First World War, bringing peace back to the world, profoundly influencing its entire trajectory.
Descending from three thousand years ago to this present moment, ending the invasion of the Divine Sovereign Civilization and Jixie—this constituted the second key coordinate established. Two upgrade tasks were thus completed.
Truth Manifestation advanced from LV8 to LV10. Just as Mei had speculated, the effect of Truth Manifestation finally reached a permanent manifestation state.
This meant that any concept materialized by Truth Manifestation could exist eternally. Even if only one concept could be maintained at any given moment, it was more than sufficient.
However,
Permanent manifestation still seemed not to be the absolute limit of Truth Manifestation. One last upgrade task remained. Truth Manifestation could be leveled up one final time.
【Main Mission · Phase Four · Complete】
【Points Acquired: 30,000】
【Main Mission · Phase Five: The great beings born at the dawn of the new universe have vanished without a trace. The Supreme God has either perished or fallen into slumber. Please ensure you make contact with a vessel for a reviving deity.】
【Mission Reward: 50,000 Points】
【Remaining Points: 1,317,600】
The Main Mission had reached its fifth and final stage. For Mei, this was essentially a bonus question. However, before completing the Main Mission settlement, she still had sufficient time to accomplish a few more crucial matters.
"The primordial and most ancient queen…"
The girl gazed up at the divine throne in the sky.
Indeed.
It was that entity.
Other than her, no other being possessed such immense power. The girl could vaguely sense that all Fates were being held under suppression.
Everything would inevitably meet its conclusion.
"What is your intention?"
The girl felt perplexed.
Mei offered no reply.
In the void,
Extreme causality reversed the river of time, tracing back to the very genesis of the universe's birth. Simultaneously, it flowed forward toward the terminal point of all existence, the end of time itself.
Countless threads of causality intertwined and converged.
Finally,
Completely suppressed.
Even if the Hermitage Society members couldn't perceive the higher-level power being exerted, they could feel the increasingly violent tremors shaking the spacetime continuum and the cosmic heavens.
Samuel was gripped by terror.
"What in the world is the Primordial King doing?!"
People across the entire world looked up toward the divine throne in the sky. They could only perceive a blurry phantom; some entity was seated upon that distant throne.
Everyone was astonished.
"What is that?"
"A mere illusion?"
The next moment,
The spacetime above shattered completely. The power of the river of time poured into the world, causing the entire cosmos to exhibit a bizarre scene of temporal distortion.
People could even witness projections of the past and future manifesting in the sky. The history of the Firenze Empire was displayed, allowing everyone to learn the true historical account.
Once,
There existed such an empire in history: a vacant throne, an unseen monarch. A knight named Julius single-handedly conquered thirty-seven kingdoms.
Establishing the Firenze Empire.
Unifying this vast expanse of land.
The legend of the Empire's Twelve Knights once astonished the entire world. Time could not erase its legendary allure; instead, it imbued that period of history with profound weight.
Clang!
The sword was returned to its scabbard.
Julius, holding his spear, plunged it into the earth. Just as he had once sworn allegiance to the Queen beneath the Firenze throne, he knelt on one knee, his right fist pressed against his chest.
"My Queen, it is my lifelong honor to have followed you!"
Bang!
The heavy battle-axe struck the ground.
Hegram also knelt on one knee, his right fist against his chest.
"My Queen, it is my lifelong honor to have followed you!"
Gray.
Camelo.
Theophilus.
Tellugh.
...
The Twelve Knights, just as they once had, bade their final farewell to their Queen. On the throne, Mei slowly rose. She took a single step, and the entire world instantly collapsed.
At the end of time,
A colossal hand reached out from the cosmic void, seizing Patrick. The power of Conceptual Counter-Creation swept through, instantly obliterating the recovering conceptual deity of Time.
With the concept of Time in hand,
Mei manifested at the end of time.
Alone in the cosmos, devoid of the universe's lingering darkness and death, all things were extinguished. As time elapsed, the last star also burned out its light.
The universe plunged into complete darkness.
In that lost instant,
Mei turned back the river of time.
Causality, Time, and Eternity—the three great high-order concepts—activated simultaneously, tracing back to the very genesis of the universe's creation, and then to the absolute end of time. Mei was resolute.
"It's time to conclude everything."
Boom!
In an instant,
Eternity traversed the beginning and the end, instantly compressing the river of time into a single point. The world reverted to its primordial state, then expanded anew.
At the dawn of time,
The universe was born, but the conceptual deities were not brought forth with it. Mei altered this universe's origin; the conceptual deities ceased to exist.
Manipulating the past river of time, there had been no descent a thousand years ago. Without conceptual deities, there would be no staged demise of conceptual deities.
Vessels, naturally, could not be brought into the discussion.
Recreating the past world, everything was perfectly ordinary. A thousand years ago, a girl washed clothes by the river, and found no teardrop-shaped gem.
"Hum hum hum…"
The girl hummed a folk song as she carried the washed clothes past Mei. This brief crossing signified a brand new history.
The Church's destruction was postponed.
The unified continent was no longer the Firenze Empire, but the Amber Kingdom, as predetermined in history. Mei watched intently as the Amber Empire's banner rose over the Jade Territory.
"Giddy up!"
On the road, Theophilus, behaving like a country bumpkin, recklessly drove his carriage, drawing loud curses from the populace, but he merely laughed.
A thousand miles away,
Julius led his horse onto a distant, unknown road. He had heard the world's edge was a vast ocean. And what lay beyond that ocean? He decided he would cross the seas.
Whoosh!
An arrow struck the bullseye.
Tellugh practiced archery day and night in the knight's encampment. Camelo silently polished his sword until it gleamed. Hegram wielded his battle-axe, sweat pouring like rain.
They had never met.
They never became Vessels. Many regrets and tragedies would not occur. Apokolips was just an ordinary planet, no longer the universe's epicenter.
However,
...
1860.
179 Downing Street.
A man whose arrogance was practically written on his face knocked on the apartment door: "I heard this apartment is being advertised for rent. Are you the landlady, miss?"
"Yes."
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Fabian."
The haughty, obnoxious man moved into the second-floor apartment at 179 Downing Street. He lived slovenly there, disliked socializing, and still, as always, harbored a deep dislike for his landlady.
1863.
The arrogant man and Gloria entered the halls of marriage. The following year, they welcomed a daughter, whom they named Valerie, meaning "Star of Wisdom."
1885.
Valerie, as always, came to play chess with Mei. Over the years, her chess skills had greatly improved, but she was never able to secure a single victory against her aunt.
However,
Today was different.
She felt her current state was excellent. Her mind was incredibly agile. With one move, she could foresee ten or even twenty moves ahead. Her eyes shone brightly.
An unknown amount of time passed.
Perhaps ten minutes.
Or perhaps an hour.
The girl seized an opening from her aunt, making a winning move with a pawn. An unprecedented sense of accomplishment naturally arose, and the girl was extremely excited.
"Haha, Auntie, checkmate!"
Unfortunately,
There was no reply.
The girl looked up. The opposite side of the chessboard was empty. She scanned the apartment but no longer saw her aunt's figure. The joy of victory suddenly vanished.
"Auntie?"
At this juncture,
This universe no longer bore Mei's traces. She had recreated a world without her—and a better one.
