Scepter Core.
Time twisted into a chaotic vortex here, and space became meaningless fragments.
The colossal divine body of Terminus floated, and every unconscious pulsation made the foundation of reality tremble.
Stelle, Dan Heng, March 7th, Phainon (TC), Cyrene, five precarious specks of light, were being ruthlessly crushed by divine power.
"Stelle! To your left!"
Dan Heng's roar was torn apart by the storm the moment it left his mouth. The tip of his Cloud Piercer burst with a dragon's cry; a lifelike golden dragon, the instant it touched Terminus's divine body, disintegrated into countless grains of sand.
Stelle's quill, imbued with the will of trailblazing, wrote a brand new picture scroll, yet it was still mercilessly shattered.
The red and white jellyfish beside March 7th continuously attacked Terminus, only to be mercilessly crushed again and again, yet she gritted her teeth and continued to condense new power.
Phainon (TC) tightly gripped Dawnmaker, but every time he charged with all his might, he was easily thrown back by the overflowing aftershocks of Terminus, his body almost collapsing.
They were a tiny boat in a raging sea; the next wave would be their demise.
Cyrene drew her bow and shot at Terminus. Her arrows were like fireflies drawn to a flame, a drop in the ocean, but in her clear eyes, the obsession called hope still burned.
Just then.
A figure appeared without warning in the very center of the battlefield.
He stood there quietly.
The moment he appeared, the raging energy currents around him, powerful enough to tear dimensions apart, instantly subsided, and silence fell upon everything.
Terminus's eternally operating divine body suddenly stopped moving, as if a pause button had been pressed.
The movements of the five — Stelle, Dan Heng, March 7th, Phainon (TC), and Cyrene — froze in place.
They looked at that back, a back they thought they would never see again.
His mask was gone, and the exposed side of his face, illuminated by the chaotic light and shadow, revealed a dead stillness and weariness, as if everything had been burned away.
"Phainon..." Stelle thought it was the saddest hallucination she saw before she collapsed from exhaustion.
Then, that figure slowly turned around.
It was him!
It really was him!
"Phainon—!"
Stelle was the first to rush forward, using her last shred of strength to crash into his embrace.
Stelle hugged him, feeling the reality of what she had lost and found again.
However, the warmth she expected did not come. What she held was not a flesh-and-blood person, but a cold body.
The previous scorching heat was now a bitter cold!
It had nothing to do with temperature; it reached the soul.
"You finally... came back!"
March 7th and Dan Heng followed closely, embracing Phainon from left and right.
"You're back... you're really back...! Wuwu... Sure enough, Evernight was right, you always show up at the most crucial moment!" March 7th's cries were incoherent accusations, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Dan Heng said nothing, only placing a heavy hand on his shoulder; the power of his silence was worth a thousand words.
But the moment his palm landed, his expression changed drastically. What he felt was not a solid arm, but a bottomless void.
Phainon said nothing, just letting them hold him, grasp him.
He slowly raised his hand, his movements somewhat sluggish, like an unfamiliar action not practiced for a long time, and drew the three into his embrace.
His expression was very calm, almost indifferent.
His eyes, once burning with madness and wisdom, now held only endless depth and sorrow.
He had returned.
But something had been left in the past forever.
After personally experiencing everything, his understanding of the path had surpassed the past, and humanity gradually became a luxury.
His gaze passed over their shoulders, falling on Phainon (TC) not far away.
Phainon (TC) also looked at him, at this "self" who was identical to him, yet carried thirty million reincarnations.
"You succeeded." Phainon (TC)'s voice was a little dry.
Phainon shook his head, his voice so flat that not a ripple could be heard, "Not yet."
He slowly walked towards Phainon (TC).
"In this life, do you have any wishes?" His voice was very soft, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.
Phainon (TC) was stunned, shaking his head blankly, "I... I don't know."
"Then go search for it."
At Phainon's fingertips, a barely perceptible yet utterly pure golden spark quietly merged into Phainon (TC)'s glabella.
That was a power, a power that completely transformed the data life of the "Phainon" before him into a physical life.
"You are not Khaslana, and you don't have to bear any reincarnation. You are Phainon, the Phainon of the Iron Tomb. Go live... your own life."
Phainon's voice was an edict of liberation.
Phainon (TC)'s body trembled violently, an unprecedented warm current spread throughout his body, and he felt the tangible sensation of "life."
He understood that this person before him had granted him the only right that could be called "life."
At this moment, Phainon's gaze fell on the grown-up Cyrene, "This is my final battle."
"The outer Iron Tomb has already broken free. Your battlefield is the universe."
"Hey, what do you mean!" Stelle was the first to react, a huge unease rising in her heart.
The next instant, golden flames erupted from his body!
Not ordinary flames, but eight hundred million sparks, all the pain, hatred, madness, and sacrifice of sixty million reincarnations, completely ignited at this moment!
His very existence transformed into the ultimate weapon capable of incinerating the universe.
"Wait!" Stelle suddenly realized something. She let go, wanting to grab him again, but was pushed away by a gentle force, "We'll go together!"
Phainon, however, shook his head.
The flames burning around him made him appear distant and compassionate.
Stelle had seen it before, at Herta Space Station she had seen it; once ignited, what awaited Phainon would be... Phainon turned, looking at his companions one last time, "This is not a battle we can fight side by side, but a responsibility only I can bear."
"I need to destroy all factors related to destruction. In the entanglement of love and hate, only love can fill the world."
Their figures finally reflected in those dead eyes, stirring a ripple that truly belonged to "a person," a deep reluctance and longing.
"Take care of yourselves. And... on my behalf, go see the scenery of tomorrow."
As his words fell, he snapped his fingers. An irresistible power enveloped Stelle, Dan Heng, March 7th, and Phainon (TC).
"No!" Stelle roared, tears welled up in eyes... swinging her quill at the power, but it was like a mud ox entering the sea.
"Phainon!" Dan Heng's Cloud Piercer burst forth with a brilliant dragon's cry, yet it could not shake that barrier in the slightest.
Their figures began to become transparent, being forcibly teleported away.
"Don't!!" March 7th reached out, her eyes blurred with tears, seeing only the lonely back engulfed by golden flames.
The next moment, Stelle, Dan Heng, March 7th, and Phainon (TC) completely vanished from Phainon's sight.
Then, he slowly plunged his right hand into his own chest.
[Emotion Threshold: 1000%]
[Warning! Warning! System... is about to... crash!]
Phainon ignored the system's warning.
His entire body was completely ignited by the golden divine fire. He knew that when he re-entered this fully burning state, it would be the final countdown of his life.
He would once again turn to ash, disappearing into the universe.
He walked step by step towards Terminus, his back resolute and solitary.
Finally, both were enveloped in brilliant yet sorrowful flames.
At the end of that light, a golden wheat field swayed.
[Eternal Reincarnation Data Backup No. 1 purged...]
[Eternal Reincarnation Data Backup No. 2 purged...]
[Eternal Reincarnation Data Backup No. 33550336 purged...]
[Phainon's life... terminated...]
[Experiment...]
[...Successful]