A few hours ago.
Right after Zeig had just killed the Fragmentum Trampler that jumped out, he heard such a call.
'Preservation... Do you know the will of Preservation...?'
"What? Village household system?!"
Zeig looked around.
In the distance were armies composed of three different forces.
Nearby, people kept coming and going, passing by him.
He scratched his head, puzzled:
"Did I hear wrong?"
Suddenly.
That deep voice came again.
'What is Preservation...?'
"What is village household?"
Zeig looked around again, trying to find the source of the deep voice.
"Village household means the families in the village!" Zeig answered to the air.
Immediately.
The deep voice fell silent.
'...'
Just as Zeig was about to leave, he suddenly found his entire vision darkening.
The world seemed grayscale.
He couldn't help widening his eyes, examining the surrounding environment.
The voices of others speaking gradually became unclear to him, as if isolated from the world.
"I... did I get heatstroke...?"
Zeig felt the whole world inverting in black and white, involuntarily curling up and squatting on the ground.
While his head ached unbearably, he noticed something faintly glowing in his vision.
Following the direction of the light, it was an ice spear, quietly lying at the feet of an elegant lady.
In Zeig's eyes, the entire world was now grayscale, only this spear emitting a fiery red color.
He quickly crawled under Cocolia's crotch, sticking his head between her legs, silently examining the ice spear on the ground.
Cocolia: "..."
The elegant and intellectual lady looked down speechlessly.
Soon, she moved her legs aside, pulling her young daughter away, gradually distancing herself from the pervert playing with the spear.
Zeig lay on the ground, touching the ice spear.
The instant he touched it, he felt his consciousness pulled into another illusory space.
At this moment.
Countless stars swirled above his head.
A pathway composed of a starry river appeared before Zeig.
After stunned for a moment, he still walked forward.
Along the way, strange sounds and images constantly appeared around him.
Like someone's life flashing before their eyes.
Zeig didn't know how long he walked; it felt very long.
Finally, he arrived before a beam of light rushing toward the sky.
It was utterly quiet here.
Those ethereal voices sounded in Zeig's ears again.
'This city is crying out... The power of Preservation is fading.'
'In the end... we still could not resist the will of the Stellaron.'
'Over the past seven hundred years, the Fragmentum has expanded every minute and every second. What we leave to our successors... is not faith or wealth, but boundless despair.'
A small illusory figure appeared beside Zeig.
She gazed at the distant flaming spear emitting light, her ethereal voice continuously narrating.
'Witnessing the homeland sworn to preserve gradually vanishing before one's eyes... is a torment. Add to that the lingering, incendiary whispers...'
'Even the firmest will is bound to waver. This day was destined to come. His protection... was destined to leave us.'
Zeig lowered his head, staring blankly at the little girl who had appeared at some point, realizing: "I think I really did get heatstroke..."
Will of the Guardians: "..."
The little girl slowly turned back, carefully examining Zeig's face.
"You... a mere passerby, yet insist on overturning the fate of an entire world..."
"Very well..."
"Go try... Go touch the amber light, Trailblazer. See if the will of Preservation in your heart is strong... strong enough to attract His gaze."
The little girl turned back, quietly gazing at that beam of light, saying no more.
"..." Zeig couldn't help rubbing his eyes.
That light was so real.
He looked left and right; there were no other paths around.
Finally, he stepped forward, examining the flaming spear, exclaiming in surprise:
"Abyss Flower, I found a match for you!"
With that, he reached out to grasp it.
In an instant, light burst forth!
Filling the entire space.
Rainbow light filled the sky.
The flaming spear in his hand transmitted immense heat!
In that moment, he saw a colossal entity.
That sky-obscuring body stood before him, quietly looking down at him.
Only then did Zeig realize he hadn't gotten heatstroke.
"This is... an Aeon?!"
He gazed at Qlipoth's body, murmuring: "There really is an Aeon here! No—the Aeon isn't here; it's a consciousness body!"
The deep voice, ancient and distant, slowly sounded in Zeig's ears:
"Human... do you also wish to tread the path of Preservation?"
Zeig tried to stay clear-headed amid the grand sound, answering:
"Preservation or not aside first—can you help me clear the ice and snow on this planet, along with the Antimatter Legion?!"
The colossal figure was silent for a moment, then shook its head regretfully.
"My time is limited. The remaining great power cannot achieve that extent. Human... since you do not wish to inherit the will of Preservation, do you have any other wishes...?"
Zeig shouldered the flaming spear, smiling slightly at the giant shadow before him:
"This must be what they call a glance from an Aeon, right? You must know the tragic state of this planet. This wisp of your consciousness probably won't last much longer either—why not help me out now? I'll use you to unsheathe!"
"You truly do not want the power of a Path...?"
"..."
…
A few hours later.
Accompanied by the final huge noise.
The entire Belobog city area experienced another violent shock!
Boom boom boom boom——!!
March 7th stared at her phone, enduring the shaking, anxiously saying to Dan Heng:
"Dan Heng, Mr. Welt said he originally wanted to come over, but now the entire planet is full of aftershocks from the giant sword strikes—flying vehicles simply can't operate normally!"
"He said Zeig even refused the Path of Preservation, and is frantically squeezing the remaining consciousness force within that glance from Qlipoth the Aeon!"
Dan Heng raised an eyebrow, finally understanding the full picture.
No wonder the Taixu Sword God could strike so far, even appearing on the other side of the planet.
So these sword shadows were unleashed jointly by Zeig and Qlipoth!
On the phone, Welt continuously uploaded images taken from outer space to March 7th and the others.
One could see that on the side of the planet farthest from Belobog, the ice, snow, and Fragmentum creatures there had been completely pierced through!
The original vast white was gradually turning chaotic.
As long as there was no blizzard, restoring the original ecosystem was no longer unattainable.
Suddenly, with a thud.
Zeig collapsed.
He gripped the long spear, sprawled at the top of Qlipoth Fort, saying weakly:
"Hahahaha... This time we actually blasted five-sevenths of the glaciers. Aeons are truly badass! Taking out even the farthest ones—truly a gift that fell into my lap!"
March 7th also squatted down, very curious:
"How do you have so much energy? Is the Stellaron that powerful? Able to support Qlipoth's consciousness to unsheathe so many swords for you?"
Zeig shook his head, sighing:
"Don't mention it—the Stellaron's been drained dry by me too. Good thing I slacked off for so long before and never used it, so the energy was plentiful. Don't expect me to unsheathe again within a week—I'm truly depleted now..."
…
Every time a patch of ice and snow disappeared, the Stellaron of Yarilo lost one more place to transfer to.
At this moment.
A dim yellow Stellaron was quietly hiding deep within an ice layer, constantly trembling.
[...]
…