A cataclysmic calamity befell the heavens, a final farewell to you.
Yunxi's soul shattered into specks of light little by little in her arms.
Mo Xiaoyu knelt on the ruins of the battlefield between gods and demons. All around her were crumbling palaces and a burning Milky Way. Scorched earth and the stench of blood mingled together, creating the smell of the apocalypse. But she could neither smell nor see anything.
Her entire world consisted only of the fading god in her arms.
His once pristine white robe was now soaked in dark golden divine blood, tattered and mangled. His once cold and jade-like face, which had once made the three realms pale, was now so pale it seemed to melt into the wind at any moment.
"Don't cry..."
He raised his hand, imagining wiping away her tears as he had done countless times over the past millennia. But his fingers, which had once held the fates of billions of beings and stabilized the cycle of reincarnation, now weakly pierced through her cheek, leaving only a cold void.
He paused, a faint, indulgent smile curving his lips, his voice as soft as wisps of cloud.
"From now on... no one will care about you... you can... be free..."
These words were like an ice-cold dagger, piercing precisely into Mo Xiaoyu's heart and then twisting it violently. Freedom? Wasn't what she once longed for most precisely to break free from his silent control and pursue that so-called, fiery freedom?
But now, she would rather give up everything to have him look at her with those calm eyes again, even if he still doesn't say a word.
The light emanating from his body grew fainter and fainter, his outline began to blur, and he transformed into countless tiny golden specks of light, like stars drifting against the current, irrevocably flying from between her fingers and into her embrace toward the dark sky.
His breath was so faint it was almost gone, and his last words, scattered in the wind, were sharper than any divine weapon in the world, shattering her last defenses.
"Just... don't... meet me again..."
The moment his words fell, his last figure vanished completely in her arms, transforming into a grand yet desolate golden rain of light, illuminating this deathly silent world and also illuminating Mo Xiaoyu's instantly empty and lifeless eyes.
it's over.
The God of Fate who fed her with a thousand years of divine power, shielded her from the tribulation of transformation, silently cleaned up the mess after she messed up the Book of Fate, and silently watched over her as she ran towards someone else...
For that utter fool, her soul was scattered and her body was never found.
Time seemed to freeze. All sounds in the world vanished, leaving only the echo of her own heart being torn apart. She remained in the embrace, her arms wrapped around the empty space, a violent tremor spreading from her fingertips to her entire body.
"ah------!"
A mournful, inhuman cry, a blood-soaked wail, finally burst forth from the depths of her throat, hoarse, desperate, and filled with earth-shattering regret. Like a beast whose soul had been torn apart, she curled up on the ground, tears mingling with the blood and dust on her face, streaming down her cheeks, yet unable to wash away even a trace of the excruciating pain.
Why... why did she only see everything clearly at the moment of complete loss?
His silent companionship, his clumsy care, his hesitant gaze... it wasn't indifference, it was his unique and unfathomable tenderness.
But she discarded the most precious sincerity in the world like trash, and even pushed him into the abyss of destruction with her own hands.
An ancient jade pendant fell silently from the dissipating light of Yunxi, landing in her cold hand. It was something he never parted with, and now it felt as cold as his last warmth.
"Oh……"
A cold, mocking laugh rang out from the pervasive demonic energy.
Ling Yuan, or rather, the Demon Lord of Annihilation, materialized from the surging black mist. He still wore the black armor symbolizing the Star Lord of the Broken Army, his face incomparably handsome, but now he was surrounded by demonic energy, his eyes filled with indifference and mockery as if looking down on ants.
"Truly moving." He strode forward, stopping in front of Mo Xiaoyu, looking down at her disheveled state and pain. "He risked his life to save you. Are you satisfied now?"
Mo Xiaoyu didn't look up; her gaze was fixed on the jade pendant in her palm, as if it were the only piece of driftwood she could hold onto.
Ling Yuan's gaze also fell on the jade pendant, and a cruel smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"For you, this ungrateful little fish, he defied fate and took the blame for the heinous crime of releasing the original. Heaven was enraged and stripped him of his divine status, punishing him to suffer nine lifetimes of reincarnation, to love you in every life and to die for you in every life."
Every word he uttered was like a heavy hammer blow to Mo Xiaoyu's already shattered heart.
"But what about him? He could have returned to his divine position simply by following the Book of Fate through these nine lifetimes. Yet, in this first lifetime, in order to protect you, he forcibly awakened his divine power and fought against the original self... and as a result, you saw it."
Ling Yuan leaned down, his icy breath brushing against her ear, his voice like a demon's whisper.
"Mo Xiaoyu, tell me, was it really worth it for him to defy the heavens for you, to have his soul destroyed for you?"
Is it worth it?
How could it be worth it?
Does she deserve it?
Does she deserve his silent protection for a thousand years, his courage to defy fate, and his tragic end?
She doesn't deserve it.
She's just a fool who's blinded by pretense, stupid, blind, and deserves to be damned!
It was she who stole the Key of Reincarnation, broke the seal, and released the demon who destroyed him.
It was she who, with the trust he placed in her, became the sharpest knife that pierced him.
Endless regret, like a poisonous vine, coiled around her heart, tightening ever more until it almost suffocated her. She clutched the jade pendant tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms, drawing blood, yet she felt no pain whatsoever.
Because the pain in my heart has long exceeded the limit that I can bear.
Ling Yuan straightened up, admiring her utterly defeated state, as if appreciating a perfect work of art. With a wave of his wide sleeves, demonic energy surged behind him, with countless demonic shadows appearing and disappearing within it.
"The show's over." He said indifferently, "The Three Realms will welcome a new ruler, and you, this useless pawn..."
Before he could finish speaking, the ink-black fish, which had been as still as a stone sculpture, suddenly moved.
Extremely slowly, with her hands stained with blood and dust, she gripped the jade pendant tightly, pressing it firmly against her cold heart.
Then, she raised her head.
Those eyes, once bright and mischievous, later brimming with innocent affection, are now nothing but lifeless ashes. Yet, deep within those ashes, a faint, almost stubborn light struggles to shine.
She looked at Ling Yuan, at this purgatory born because of her, her chapped lips parted slightly, her voice hoarse beyond recognition, yet carrying a resolute power.
"He let me...live."
It was not a request, not a wail, just a statement.
Ling Yuan raised an eyebrow, seemingly somewhat surprised by her reaction.
Mo Xiaoyu stopped looking at him. Her gaze passed over the endless ruins and was cast into the unknown distance, as if she were staring through this devastation at the figure that had already vanished.
With all her might, she propped up her broken body and stood up unsteadily.
The jade pendant in my palm remained cold.
But this time, she won't let go.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
