Dead silence.
When the golden dragon flames that swept across the heavens and the signal from the inverted tower were cut off, the entire Antarctic ice sheet fell into a chilling, absolute silence.
The overwhelming sense of being watched by the "scavenger" vanished, and the shadow that had loomed over the dimension of reality seemed to be temporarily swept away by an invisible giant hand, revealing the original color of the sky—a deep, inky cosmic curtain with sparse stars.
Three seconds, or perhaps five seconds, time lost its meaning in this region distorted by the dramatic change in energy.
Lin Yi was the first to break free from that transcendent state of fusion between his soul and his original self.
His consciousness receded from the pulse that pierced the Earth's core, like the receding tide, and re-condensed into this flesh and blood body.
The oppressive aura that once dominated time and space has vanished, replaced by a more restrained yet subtly connected and powerful presence that resonates with countless living beings.
He suddenly opened his eyes, and deep in his pupils, the fleeting embers of dragon flame had not yet been completely extinguished.
He didn't look at the silent, collapsed tower, but instead immediately looked towards the center of the formation—the place where Long Wu should have stood.
There was no one there.
"Report!" Chu Yao's voice broke the silence, carrying a tremor of relief and uncontrollable excitement.
The virtual screen in front of her flickered like snowflakes, and the data stream refreshed frantically like a burst dam.
"[Group Consciousness Broadcast] Channel overload restored! Global vital sign monitoring shows that all awakened superhumans simultaneously experienced 'Dragon Flame' visual residuals three seconds ago! The consciousness network was forcibly activated, the 'Paradoxic Spark' protocol... succeeded! We copied the 'protagonist' template billions of times!"
Her voice grew louder and louder; it was a triumphant shout.
They gambled everything, placing their only hope on this insane plan, and now, the initial returns are already showing.
However, Lin Yi's heart sank.
He looked around; apart from them, there was nothing else on the ice field.
Long Wu, the man who bore all the backlash in the most direct and intense way, disappeared.
"Chu Yao, lock onto the monitoring coordinates at the edge of the universe." Lin Yi's voice was frighteningly calm. "Show me that 'symbol'."
Chu Yao was taken aback, but immediately understood Lin Yi's intention.
The joy of victory was instantly replaced by tension. Her fingers flew across the screen, bringing up the airspace that had once been frozen by the aurora.
On the screen, the one-eyed symbol, tightly bound by countless chains, still hovered above the black monolith of the universe, but it no longer had the indifferent and aloof demeanor it once possessed.
Cracks, like a spider web, spread from inside the single eye. Even more shocking, drops of dark red liquid, like congealed blood, slowly seeped from those cracks, dripping silently down the chains and dissolving into nothingness.
It was injured.
This realization made Chu Yao gasp.
They succeeded; they truly harmed that unspeakable "system" with their mortal bodies!
But what followed was an even deeper chill.
A wounded wild animal is far more dangerous than it is when it is hunting.
"The countdown to the arrival of the Cleaner... has stopped." Chu Yao reported the latest discovery with a strained voice, "But it's not canceled, it's... status unknown. The other side is assessing the logical pollution caused by the 'Paradox Spark,' and we... have angered it."
Just then, Ivan, who had been lying on the ground, let out a painful groan.
The runes on his body dimmed rapidly, and the blood vessels under his skin contracted like withered vines, as if all his strength had been drained away.
He struggled to lift his head and look at Lin Yi. Now, every soul ignited by the 'paradoxic spark' has become a source of reverse infection.
The cleaner fish... it dares not touch us easily anymore.
It's not that I can't, but that I dare not.
Lin Yi instantly understood the difference.
They didn't win a victory, they just gained a breather.
"Where is Long Wu?" Lin Yi asked again, his gaze sharp as he swept over the now-cooled, upside-down giant tower.
The outer shell of the giant tower has a glassy texture that looks like it has been scorched by high temperatures. The energy reaction inside has been completely reduced to zero, turning it into a huge metal tomb.
“He…” Ivan’s eyes became complicated. He seemed to sense something and raised his hand with difficulty, pointing in a direction. “He is not dead… He is completing… the final ‘anchoring’.”
Following the direction Ivan pointed, Lin Yi and Chu Yao looked over at the same time.
About a hundred meters away on the ice field, a figure stood quietly.
It's Long Wu.
He had his back to them, his posture still as straight as a spear, but his body was undergoing some incredible change.
Golden light, as if it possessed a life of its own, flowed from his heart, gradually eroding and assimilating his flesh and blood along his blood vessels and meridians.
His left side, from his shoulder to his arm and then to his leg, had completely lost the texture of flesh and blood, turning into a translucent crystal burning with golden flames.
That's not energy attachment, but a complete transformation at the material level.
He seemed to have become a statue forged from flesh and blood and divine metal, half mortal and half god.
"Is this... the price?" Chu Yao murmured to herself, her eyes filled with shock and reluctance.
She had witnessed countless scenes of superhuman beings transforming, but none could compare to what she was seeing before her.
Long Wu is using his existence to bear the "paradox" that is enough to overturn the laws of the universe.
Lin Yi remained silent. He could sense that Long Wu's life force had not dissipated; instead, it had become even more magnificent and powerful in a way he could not comprehend.
That semi-crystalline body contained terrifying power capable of incinerating stars, yet it was firmly bound by Long Wu's iron will.
Just then, Long Wu made his move.
He slowly raised his right foot, which was now completely crystallized, and then took a step forward.
"Sizzle—"
A sound so faint it was almost imperceptible made everyone present's heart skip a beat.
The crystal burning with golden dragon flames beneath his feet landed on the Antarctic ice sheet that had remained frozen for millennia.
There was no melting, no explosion, and no water vapor evaporation.
The instant the crystal foot touched the ice surface, the thick, solid ice seemed to be injected with completely opposite physical rules and was instantly ignited!
A golden flame appeared out of nowhere, leaving a deep, burning footprint with glass-like edges on the ice surface, centered on the spot where he landed.
One step, a burning brand.
The flames did not spread outwards, but burned quietly within the footprints, like the karmic fire that never goes out in the depths of hell.
Long Wu did not stop. He lifted his foot again and walked steadily towards the depths of the ice field.
Behind him, a trail of burning footprints stretched into the unknown distance.
With each step, his body became more crystallized, and the golden light intensified.
He didn't turn around or say a word; he simply declared his rebirth and destiny in this silent and resolute way.
Lin Yi and Chu Yao stared blankly at his receding figure. The trail of golden flames that stretched across the vast ice plain was like a shocking scar, or a ray of dawn piercing the darkness.
Where is he going? What has he become? And what kind of ending will these burning footsteps lead to?
Nobody knows.
All that is known is that from this moment on, the world has gained a solitary pilgrim who walks on the icy plains, using himself as fuel, each step a fire burning brightly.
At the edge of the universe, a single, bleeding eye coldly watches this ever-extending, rebellious flame through endless space and time.
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