Chapter 63
The battlefield, shrouded in crimson mist, fell into an eerie silence.
The armored beast horde ceased its charge, the underground channels of the Tide Lotus Alliance stopped flowing, and the Shadow Buds huddled in the shadows, uttering soft whispers.
For the first time, they felt a sense of unease.
—How can light and darkness coexist in the same individual?
**The leader of Shattered Shell Ridge, "Rinse Armor Emperor," roared in a low voice, his voice like the scraping of metal: "This barrier has swallowed half of our offensive... If we continue to charge recklessly, we will only waste the strength of our tribe."
The elder of the Tide Lotus Alliance, "Vortex Eye," narrowed his eyes, staring at the barrier of light and shadow: "This is neither a pure light domain nor a pure shadow domain... It is self-devouring, like... a piece of fermenting rotten mud."
His voice was laced with malice, “Anything that merges itself has a gap. What we need to do is not to confront it head-on, but… wait for it to collapse.”
The shadow buds remained silent.
They swayed silently in the fog, their black filaments burrowing into the ground as if weaving an invisible net.
Occasionally, one could hear a few murmurs:
"Coexistence... is ultimately an illusion."
"The more he relies on that power, the more he will fall into our arms..."
—The enemy did not retreat.
They just changed their approach.
Sprout 12 stood inside the barrier, feeling the suffocating atmosphere from afar.
He bit down on the leaves and whispered to 237, "They're waiting... not to leave, but to see when you'll show a crack."
Seed 237 gazed silently into the distance.
The light spot on his forehead still flickered erratically, and the black veins inside his body surged like a tide, ready to surge back at any moment.
He said softly, "I know. But if even I am afraid of this power, then I am not qualified to protect this place at all."
Sprout12 wanted to refute, but was silenced by 237's gaze.
In those eyes, light and darkness intertwined, like both hope and an abyss.
A gust of wind began to blow, rustling the fallen leaves among the ruins.
Beyond the barrier, the shadows of the three forces gradually receded into the depths of the mist.
—They will not give up.
This time, however, the attack will no longer be a simple frontal assault, but rather a stealthy, infiltrative, manipulative, and divisive maneuver...
It was as if the entire wasteland had been transformed into a giant trap, waiting for the power of light and darkness within the barrier to consume itself.
Seed 237 did not back down.
He slowly stretched out his branches and leaves, touching the interwoven barrier, and whispered:
"Since they're betting on how long I can hold out... then let them see what 'real perseverance' really means."
In the distance, crimson mist surged, as if countless eyes were staring intently at this lonely city.
But a conspiracy is brewing quietly.
As night deepened, the barrier of light and darkness pulsed slowly across the ruins.
On the surface, it shimmers like a galaxy, solid and unshakeable; but at a deeper level, subtle ripples are already quietly vibrating.
—That was the whisper of Shadow Sprout.
Instead of launching a direct attack, they disguised themselves as remnants of the Light Domain Spirits.
In the instant the barrier swayed, slender black shadows transformed into streams of light and pierced into the light veins of 237.
Sprout 12 sensed something was wrong in an instant and suddenly looked up.
However, the barrier's fluctuations are extremely slight, almost in sync with the origin.
“…Oh no, something’s gotten in.” He whispered, biting down on the leaves, but it was too late to stop it.
Seed 237's body trembled slightly.
He saw countless familiar figures appear in the light realm within his heart.
—The seedlings, compatriots, and spirits of the light domain that he once protected.
They died in the storm, but now they reach out to him with gentle smiles.
"237, stop being so stubborn."
"Come with us. There is no war, no darkness, only peace there."
"You don't have to bear all of this alone."
The sounds came in like a tidal wave.
That was not a mere illusion, but rather, through the form of a "remnant spirit," Kageya precisely struck the deepest wound in his heart.
Light and darkness clashed within him, and the parasitic alternate personality, Shadow, smiled coldly:
"See? They're trying to pull you away. But their embrace is actually my embrace."
"As long as you let go of your will and stop resisting, you can 'reunite' with them... and no longer be alone."
237's gaze began to waver.
Countless familiar faces, with tears in their eyes, called for his return.
The barrier trembled, and the fog from the outside immediately seeped in, flowing along the roots of light like corrosive water.
As Sprout 12 watched this scene, his heart sank.
He roared as he charged towards 237, slashing through several dark figures with his branches, and howled:
Wake up! They are not your allies!
They are dead. What you need to do is not to wallow in illusions, but to make their sacrifice meaningful!
237's figure swayed in the field of light.
He was almost dragged into that false peace.
Countless "familiar hands" clenched tightly, gentle yet cold.
Just then, Sprout 12 suddenly pounced forward, burying its branches and leaves deep into the core of the light root of 237.
The pain spread instantly, but it also brought a real tactile sensation.
Sprout 12's voice was low and trembling, yet more real than any illusion:
"You are not alone, 237."
If you're going to sink, then sink with me—
But before that, you must first abandon me with your own hands!
boom!
A violent tremor erupted from the depths of the light field.
The illusion crumbled like a broken surface of water, collapsing inch by inch.
Those "remnant spirits" twisted into the true form of Shadow Sprout, and were burned to ashes by the resonance power of 237 and Sprout 12.
Seed 237 trembled all over, and its eyes regained their hard light.
He whispered a sentence:
"...I will not let falsehoods take away from me again."
The barrier instantly regained its brightness, and the whispers of shadows temporarily receded.
In the distance, however, crimson mist surged, and the ruler of the Shadow Buds let out a hoarse laugh:
“Very good... The more it resists, the more it nourishes the true ‘Shadow Fruit’.”
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