At this moment, Jing Yuan and the others were in a very awkward position.
The cracks in the mirror world were too far away and too small.
Even if they endured the shockwaves and forced themselves to move through the terrifying energy fluctuations, it would still be extremely difficult for them to pass through the mirror world and leave.
But if they stayed here, it seemed there was no way for them to escape the terrible explosion unharmed.
Aemdo was still struggling. More and more wounds appeared on his body, and exhaustion showed on his face.
Aside from the firm resolve still shining in his golden eyes, he had almost turned into a hunched old man.
Fatigue kept rising, wrapping around him. He let out a long sigh, knowing his life was nearing its end, that he had almost reached his limit.
At this moment, Aemdo turned his head and looked at Jing Yuan and the others with deep shame, his emotions tangled and painful.
General Jing Yuan of the Luofu, and the people of the Astral Express, should never have had to face something like this, nor such a tragic ending… but everything had been caused by his own stubbornness.
Aemdo quickly withdrew his gaze, gathered the last bit of strength he had, and poured every remaining ounce of energy into lifting the mirror world upward.
Once more, perhaps for the last time.
It had been a long time since Aemdo had done something like this, throwing himself into it completely, offering a devout prayer, conveying his wish to Him.
As someone who had been abandoned, he did not know whether he would still receive a response.
He only thought that, at the end of his life, he would pray once more, just like a knight had done long ago.
His sanity was crumbling, his thoughts breaking apart. His consciousness grew more and more blurred. Aemdo suddenly raised his head.
The world before him had become so hazy that no boundaries could be seen. There was only blinding white light and countless overlapping, tangled outlines.
It felt as if he heard a soft sigh by his ear, and that sigh made his heart, already burned to ashes, beat once with renewed vitality.
Blinking, Aemdo held his breath. It seemed as though a magnificent starry sky was unfolding before his eyes.
Amid the twinkling stars, nebula-like clouds slowly rotated, rising in clusters through the endless deep space like countless glowing particles dancing in mist.
As the galaxy flowed, it seemed to form pale violet ribbons drifting gently. From within, a hand reached out and lightly rested on his head.
In that instant, Aemdo's spirit trembled violently. Just like when he had endured the bombardment on that barren planet, his spirit was filling again, strength rapidly returning, his body becoming strong once more, as if a withered land had finally received nourishing rain.
Aemdo felt his power return, and it was even stronger than before.
In the next moment, a massive crack appeared before Jing Yuan and the others.
Just as they were cautiously observing the door-like fissure and trying to guess what it was, Aemdo's voice rang out, "Everyone, I know I may not have the right to speak now."
"But I have already lost this duel. There is no need for you to die because of this. Leave through that door. I will send the mirror world further into deep space!"
Jing Yuan glanced at Aemdo and said nothing more. He made a decisive call and immediately led the others through the crack.
Watching them leave, Aemdo once again focused on controlling the mirror world. Time passed, he did not know how long, until exhaustion and suffocation returned.
By the time he pushed his strength to the limit, he had become a frail old man. He could no longer control the mirror world.
He fell backward, and as the mirror world crumbled, he dropped into a canyon formed by the fractured land, falling into endless darkness.
He did not know how much he had accomplished, but he had already done everything he could.
At that moment, a force suddenly supported him from behind, slowing his fall, as if he had landed in a soft veil.
Aemdo struggled to open his eyes. His golden eyes had already withered, but through them he could still faintly see a quiet, beautiful galaxy.
A sense of peace slowly filled his ash-like heart. He let out a long sigh, feeling as though he was lying in His embrace. Clear tears flowed from his clouded eyes as memories flickered through the darkness of his mind.
In the long years since he had fallen into becoming an omen, he had not felt His gaze so clearly for a very long time. Aemdo had once believed that, having fallen, he was no longer worthy of being seen.
Only now did he realize that he had never been abandoned.
Whether as a Knight of Pure Beauty, as the Omen of Burning Stars Falkorez, or as the Mirror Holder Aemdo Wesker, the source of his power had never turned toward anyone else.
From the very beginning, Aemdo had disagreed with the ideas of most Mirror Holders. He only wished to purge evil and believed that collecting the fragments would help bring Him back.
Aemdo understood clearly that everyone had a different understanding of beauty, a different definition, a different pursuit.
But only now did he realize something else, Because of that, Pure Beauty gazes equally upon every person, every living being, every piece of matter."
"Whether they believe in Him or oppose Him, whether they know of Him or not… He has always been there, watching."
"He allows some to find beauty in suffering, and others to experience struggle within beauty. He lets some pursue meaning in emptiness, and others fall into emptiness within vibrant lives."
"Protecting what is before you can be beauty. Destroying it can also be beauty. Enjoying life can be beauty. Devoting oneself to emptiness can also be beauty."
"Intelligence and brilliance can be beauty. Confusion and ignorance can also be beauty. External splendor can be beauty. Inner loyalty can also be beauty. Unity can be beauty. Individual brilliance can also be beauty…"
"He is the best god, abandoning no one. He is the worst god, whose equal gaze upon all is almost indifferent."
"Ah… so in the Xianzhou, He is called a Heavenly Lord, not a Fate-giver…" Aemdo murmured weakly at the edge of death.
BOOM!
A terrifying explosion erupted in the deep space where the Luofu Xianzhou was located. An extremely dazzling light illuminated the entire star system in an instant, and the radiance continued to spread outward.
Terrifying radiation and energy surged outward, carrying heat capable of melting planets in an instant. Yet a brilliant star core flowed around the center of the explosion, like drifting veils.
No matter how destructive the explosion was, its devastating force could not penetrate that thin "gauze."
As the radiant star core contracted, the explosion was compressed into a flat plane, like a massive star painted across the sky yet emitting real light, illuminating every planet in the system, and even the skies of worlds far beyond.
The radiance of Pure Beauty descended. On some planets, or on ships docked within this region of space, intelligent beings looked up. It seemed as though they saw a beautiful silhouette within that blazing sun.
Beauty… whether they understood the meaning or not, whether they had the word for it, whether they even possessed the capacity to think, every being that gazed upon that star felt this concept arise within them.
That figure and this idea were etched deeply into their hearts, their minds, and the depths of their souls.
On the Luofu Xianzhou, the people who had escaped the mirror world looked up at the violent explosion.
"Do you guys see a figure there? She kind of looks like Nero…" March suddenly spoke, but then hesitated, her expression turning strange.
The next moment, she burst out in confusion, "Wait, was Nero actually a girl!?"
No one responded to March.
Mr. Yang, after hearing her words, took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, then looked up at the sky again. This time, it seemed he saw a red-haired woman with twin ponytails.
But earlier, when he still had his glasses on, what he saw didn't seem to be her… it looked more like Arahato…
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