Chapter 76
The Wheel of Annihilation slowly pressed down, and darkness, like a coffin swallowing the sky, compressed the entire battlefield to a suffocating state.
The blade of Sprout 12 is broken in half, but the edge is still burning.
His body was covered in charred black leaves, yet he resolutely raised the broken knife and chuckled softly:
"Even if only half remains... it will be enough to cut through the abyss."
237's chest was stained with blood all over his body, but the light spot on his forehead suddenly burst open at the limit.
Light and darkness roared out of control within him, as if trying to tear him apart completely.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and poured all his pain into a vow:
"Rather than be swallowed up... let us ignite the end with our own hands."
The roots of the mother tree's afterimage appeared beneath their feet, and the light patterns rapidly rose, like torches burning themselves.
The broken blade of Sprout 12 and the light spot of 237 converged in mid-air.
The two forces were no longer a forced fusion, but a complete burning and sacrifice.
The blade shattered, turning into countless blazing white fragments.
The points of light exploded, coalescing into a chain of light that stretched across the battlefield.
Fragments and chains of light intertwined, forming an enormous, phantom blade—
The blade is engulfed in flames from its roots, yet its edge is as black as night, as if the very opposite of the world itself has been forged into a weapon.
The Wheel of Annihilation crashed down, covering the entire sky.
The giant blade was raised high, and the two roared simultaneously:
"—To live together, to perish together!"
The giant blades of light and darkness cleaved straight down into the sky.
At the moment of impact, all sound in the world was sucked away.
The next second, a deafening roar completely tore the battlefield apart—
The cracks, a mixture of light and darkness, spread in all directions, the Wheel of Annihilation shattered inch by inch, and the abyss in his chest was forcibly cleaved through.
The black flames surged backward, the tentacles snapped off one by one, and the enormous outline of the avatar twisted violently.
Countless eye sockets let out a mournful wail in unison, as if the entire other side of the rift was trembling with anger and fear.
And in this tearing light,
The figures of 237 and Sprout 12 gradually blurred, their power burning away along with the giant blade.
They knew—
This attack was more than just a combined strike.
Instead, they used their last breaths to directly shatter the arrival of the "other shore".
The void was shattered by an indescribable wail.
The crack in its chest burst open completely, and black flames surged back like a flood, engulfing its own pieced-together body.
Countless tentacles struggled wildly, only to be burned away inch by inch by the residual marks of the light blade.
The dozens of eye sockets exploded simultaneously, turning into black tears that fell to the earth.
The colossal shadow swayed and collapsed, its massive shell eventually transforming into a collapsing abyssal vortex.
The power on the other side of the rift was forcibly severed.
The whispers in the sky abruptly ceased, as if even the abyss had been forced to fall silent.
As the storm subsided, only scorched ruins and swirling embers remained on the battlefield.
The beam of light cast by the lingering shadow of the mother tree gradually faded, like a guardian who had completed its mission, quietly dissipating in the wind.
Sprout 12 knelt down on one knee, his long blade completely shattered, and the light pulse on his chest gradually extinguished.
He looked up at his side and found that 237's figure was slowly becoming transparent.
“…No, that’s not right…” Sprout 12’s voice was hoarse as she reached out to grab it.
However, my fingertips only touched cold, glittering shards of light.
237 looked down and saw that the mark on his chest had split into several deep cracks.
He could feel that the power of light and darkness had completely torn him apart, and the only thing holding him together was the pull of the void.
Deep within the vortex, darkness is opening its invisible maw.
It's not so much a devouring as it is an inevitable call from fate.
237's body was dragged step by step towards the center of the vortex.
Sprout 12 roared and struggled, but it didn't even have the strength to stand up.
"Don't go...you haven't won back yet!"
237 turned around, a brief look of relief and a smile flashing in his eyes.
He didn't speak, but simply raised his hand and, with his last bit of strength, patted Bean 12's chest—
He handed over the last remaining trace of light and darkness within his body to him.
Then, his figure was completely swallowed by darkness.
The battlefield fell into dead silence.
The wind stopped, the fire went out, and only the aftershocks of the collapsing vortex remained, slowly shrinking.
Sprout 12 knelt on the scorched earth, clutching the broken blade, her eyes filled with barely suppressed trembling.
The sky fell silent again, but everyone knew that the true end had not yet arrived.
Because 237 did not die.
He fell into the depths of the crevice.
That was a place no one knew.
silent.
Utter silence.
When 237 opened his eyes again, the surroundings were no longer ruins, but endless darkness.
There was no earth, no sky, only an endless abyss, as if the whole world had been stripped of its color and weight.
He looked down and saw that his body was translucent, with cracks spreading like a spider web.
The forces of light and darkness intertwined within him, but instead of exploding, they were forced to maintain a precarious balance.
In the dead silence, a low breathing sound echoed.
It is not the wind, nor a heartbeat, but the primal pulse of some existence.
Ahead, darkness slowly rose.
An unimaginably enormous eye opened in the void, its pupil revealing a flowing galaxy, yet devoid of any warmth.
What followed were countless overlapping voices:
"...Embers...falling..."
"...Light and darkness...will eventually return to nothingness..."
"...You don't belong to either side..."
Every word struck 237 directly into the depths of his soul, making his chest feel as if it had been pierced by a heavy hammer.
This was not an illusion, but the true origin beyond the rift, watching him in its most primal way.
237 staggered and looked up, the light spot on his forehead flickering erratically.
His throat was dry, but he managed to squeeze out a hoarse voice:
"...I belong neither to the light nor to the darkness..."
"...But I will use this power...to protect them!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the crack on his chest suddenly lit up.
The lingering echoes of the fragments and afterimages of the mother tree resonated within him, igniting a new flame.
The void trembled, and the colossal eye of the primordial source slightly contracted, emitting a roar even deeper than thunder:
"...Protect? You're so insignificant... You can't even protect yourself..."
Countless tentacles emerged from the abyss, as if to completely engulf him.
237 took a deep breath and stretched out his hand.
At that moment, the light and darkness within him finally stopped tearing apart and instead condensed in his palm, forming a tiny mark.
It flickers with a light like a spark, fragile yet steadfast.
"If this is what you call nothingness..."
"—Then I will carve a new path out of nothingness!"
Countless tentacles, carrying swirling black currents, rushed in from all directions.
They have no physical form, yet each one is as heavy as a mountain, carrying an oppressive force that threatens to obliterate existence, and is determined to tear 237's figure to shreds.
237 gritted his teeth, and the light spot on his forehead suddenly exploded brightly.
"--bring it on!"
boom--
Light and darkness burst forth simultaneously, converging into an irregular protective barrier around him.
The tentacles are scorched and cracked by the intense light as soon as they touch the surface, but they regenerate in the darkness, like an endless flood.
Each defensive maneuver caused the forces within 237 to collide violently.
The crack in his chest cavity kept expanding, and he felt as if his soul was being torn apart repeatedly, the pain almost numbing him.
“Protect...them…”
My mind swayed in pain, almost completely swallowed up.
Just as I was on the verge of collapse, a voice faintly surfaced from the depths of my memory—
Sprout 12's unwavering persistence on the battlefield
The silhouette left behind as the afterimage faded away.
And those repeated "You are not alone".
His heartbeat suddenly resounded, more violent than any empty pulse.
"I am not alone!"
237 roared and slammed the fire in his palm into the void.
That faint glimmer of light seemed to ignite the very essence of the rift.
boom--!
The black tentacles were burned through by the flames, and a crack appeared in the empty abyss, from which light poured down.
It was not pure light, but a chaotic brilliance mixed with shadows, like his unique mark.
The giant eye contracted violently, and chaotic ripples surged in the deep galaxy.
The countless overlapping sounds roared once more:
"...the rebellious...spark..."
...You will bear an unbearable weight...
But before the sound had completely faded, 237 had already taken a step, his figure moving forward against the crack in the light.
Every step felt like crushing the soul, yet the resolve remained unwavering.
"Unbearable?"
He smiled, blood and cracks flowing down his body, yet he remained perfectly lucid.
"—Then let me prove I can handle it!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
