"This is the substantial manifestation of 'Annihilation.'" The Goddess of Life's expression was grave. She extended her slender hand, and life force poured down like a waterfall, injecting into the Tree of Life. The ancient tree's light flourished, the barrier's crack beginning to slowly heal, the seeping black substance gradually decreasing, but not stopping.
"It's probing." The God of Destruction stared at that rift, purple light flashing in his eyes, "Though the Eye of Annihilation was wounded, its tendrils have already touched our world. This crack wasn't forcibly broken open, but 'assimilated'—it's using its own characteristics to slowly dissolve the foundation of the barrier's existence."
Xiao Wu looked toward her son worriedly. Tang Wulin, supported by Qian Renxue, stood somewhat further away. His face was even paler than usual, fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead.
"Wulin, what's wrong?" Xiao Wu quickly walked over.
"It's... calling me." Tang Wulin said with difficulty. He stared at those seeping black substances, the mark in the depths of his soul burning hot, "No, not calling... resonating. The mark within me is resonating with those things."
Before his words fell, a sudden change occurred.
Those seeping black substances suddenly boiled, no longer slowly diffusing, but condensing into several tendrils that fiercely stabbed toward the barrier! At the same time, Tang Wulin's body shook violently, faint dark red patterns appearing on his forehead—that was the mark left by the Eye of Annihilation, now manifesting uncontrollably.
"Suppress it!" Tang San shouted sharply. Sea God divine power transformed into chains, entwining toward those black tendrils.
The God of Destruction and Goddess of Life acted simultaneously—destruction authority tearing space, life force constructing cages. But those tendrils were bizarre beyond measure. They weren't physical attacks, but directly acted upon things' "existence" itself. Divine power attacks landed on them, most being "erased," with only the most core law power able to cause slight damage.
And even more troublesome was Tang Wulin's side. The resonance of the mark grew increasingly strong; he felt his consciousness being dragged toward some abyss. Qian Renxue held him tightly, sacred power pouring in with all her might, yet like a clay ox entering the sea—sacred power restrained all evil, but annihilation wasn't evil, it was "Nothingness," and sacred power couldn't purify what didn't exist.
"Let me go..." Tang Wulin gritted his teeth, trying to push Qian Renxue away, "It wants me, stay away from me..."
"Impossible!" Qian Renxue's voice carried sobs, yet was exceptionally firm. She not only didn't loosen her grip, but held even tighter, "We die together or live together—you won't abandon me again!"
"Xue'er..." Tang Wulin wanted to say more, but his consciousness was growing increasingly blurred. Before completely sinking into darkness, the last thing he saw was his wife's resolute face and the glistening tears at the corners of her eyes.
Then, the world fell silent.
No, not silent—"Nothingness."
Tang Wulin once again experienced that state—no light, no sound, no temperature, no space, no time, even the concept of "self" became blurred. But this time, something was different.
He "felt" Qian Renxue.
Not through the five senses, but through some more fundamental connection. Her existence was like a warm fire, burning in this absolute "Nothingness," though weak, incomparably clear. That was the bond of souls, the weight of vows, built through countless life-and-death struggles together, something that could never be erased by anything.
"Xue'er..." Tang Wulin "thought," and thus this thought became "Something."
Immediately after, more "Somethings" emerged from the void—his parents' concerned gazes, children's laughter, companions' trust, Isis's final smile... every memory, every emotion, was a point of light, lighting up in this ocean of "Nothingness."
Then, the Eye of Annihilation's will descended.
It had no concrete form, only a "tendency"—a tendency to drag these lights into "Nothingness." But this time, Tang Wulin didn't resist, but instead welcomed it.
"I understand." His consciousness echoed in this void domain, "You don't want to devour—you want to 'prove.' Prove that everything will eventually return to nothingness, prove that existence is meaningless, prove that all persistence is futile."
The Eye of Annihilation's will fluctuated, transmitting emotions mixed with mockery and curiosity.
"But look," Tang Wulin's consciousness continued to spread. Those points of light began to change with his thoughts—they were no longer passive existences, but active "narratives," "Every memory, every emotion, every choice, is defining who 'I' am. You erase them, and you erase 'I' itself. But if 'I' no longer exists, what meaning does your erasure have?"
A logical paradox. The eternal entanglement of existence and non-existence.
The Eye of Annihilation's will showed hesitation for the first time. It was accustomed to confrontation, accustomed to using absolute "Nothingness" to dissolve all "Something," but this insignificant existence before it, this soul that should have collapsed during its first erosion, was using "existence" itself to question its foundation.
"Look at this." Tang Wulin's consciousness condensed, a point of light transforming into a scene—that was his wedding with Qian Renxue, exchanging vows under the witness of the Divine Realm gods, promising eternal commitment.
"This vow, the moment it was spoken, was already 'real.' No matter whether we are together in the future, no matter whether we still remember, that moment's promise has already occurred—it became part of history, became a line constituting this world. You can kill us, you can erase memories, but can you make that moment 'never happen'?"
Another point of light transformed into a scene—the morning Tang Xuanyu was born, him holding his swaddled son, looking at those eyes similar to his own, the tenderness and responsibility welling up in his heart, almost overwhelming him.
"This emotion, the moment it was born, changed the universe. It made me a father, made Xue'er a mother, made Xuanyu our child. These relationships, these definitions, these ways of 'existing,' once established, can never be completely erased—because to erase them would require reversing the entire universe's time, reversing cause and effect. Can you do that?"
Point after point of light, scene after scene. Every laughter, every tear, every gathering, every parting, every choice, every persistence. Tang Wulin used his thirty-some years of life to construct an indestructible "existence network." He wasn't resisting annihilation, but "displaying" the richness and complexity of existence itself.
The Eye of Annihilation's will began to fluctuate. It tried to erase these scenes, tried to cover them with "Nothingness," but for every one erased, new ones emerged from elsewhere—not Tang Wulin creating them, but those existences themselves interconnected, forming a web that couldn't be completely dismantled.
"You've lost." Tang Wulin's consciousness calmly declared, "Not to me, but to 'existence' itself. You can kill life, you can destroy matter, you can even twist time, but the fact that something 'existed' is something you can never erase. Just like rain falling—you can evaporate all the water, but the fact that rain 'fell' has been forever engraved in this universe's history."
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