Chapter 1343
Let everything return to void
August 2nd, Material Realm.
After the Nine Great Paths completed their sublimation, in the Endless Night where the sun, moon, and eternity had all perished, someone initiated the Ouroboros Ring ritual once again.
The one pulled into this ritual this time was the creator of the “Ouroboros Ring” ritual, the chief Heavenly Envoy of the tenth Path, “Stillness.” He was known as the Heavenly Envoy of Ouroboros, the Heavenly Envoy of Infinity—collectively revered as the Ring Heavenly Envoy, [Ouroboros].
He descended into the Material Realm at the Spirit Tower!
Directly above the Spirit Tower, a colossal ring-shaped crimson gate appeared.
This massive red ring resembled a sun with its heart gouged out, barely illuminating the pitch-black sky in this eternal, lightless night.
As a result, people from all directions cast their gazes, filled with either curiosity or worry.
For in the very next moment, with a crackling sound like popping beans, the crimson ring shattered piece by piece!
It was like a snake with exploding scales, like a spine, or like glass shattering in the summer—this was the ring forged from the spines of the Abyss Heavenly Envoy and the Amber Heavenly Envoy.
Under the control of an extremely twisted and monstrous force, the spine, linked head to tail to form a ring, was torn and twisted inch by inch.
Like bending an iron ring, it shattered and twisted before everyone’s gaze, eventually transforming into the symbol “—”.
As the red outer layer faded, its interior shone with a brilliant deep purple, its texture akin to crystal. The red shell clinging to the amethyst looked like residual bloodstains.
An endless surge of power flooded forth, dyeing the entire pitch-black sky a resplendent purple. It was like a giant purple flower slowly blooming, with intricate petal patterns visible within the coiled sky.
A humanoid figure gradually materialized, suspended above the twisted ring.
He appeared so small—that from a distance, he was merely an almost imperceptible black speck to the naked eye.
If the purple twisted ring was the size of a bracelet, and the Spirit Tower below it was like a candle, then he was, at best, the size of a sesame seed.
Yet, despite his indistinguishable features, an awe-inspiring pressure could be clearly felt from tens of kilometers away.
His divine majesty was like a prison.
Upon closer inspection, he was seen standing naked from the waist up, quietly in the sky.
He exuded no aura of any Path, nor did he radiate any extraordinary brilliance. He appeared like a mortal.
However, no mortal possessed such an aura, nor could any mortal stand in mid-air without any power!
The Ring Heavenly Envoy’s long hair, changed from black to pale white, was tied into a ponytail that reached his thighs. His hands were tucked into his pockets, and his upper body displayed incredibly clear, bulging muscle lines, resembling a sculpture.
His features were much sharper than Eivass, with extremely defined lines. From his neck to his shoulders and then to his arms, intricate veins and sinew patterns were clearly visible. Only the muscles of his chest and abdomen were as hardened and fair as armor.
He had jet-black scales on his earlobes, collarbones, jawline, forehead, and the backs of his hands. His tail, however, was nowhere to be seen.
This was undoubtedly the body of a youth in his twenties, filled with explosive power and the unique vitality of youth.
Yet, his pupils, dim yellow and as cold as ice with a hint of death aura, his lusterless white hair, and his marble-like white muscles all gave the impression of an elder.
It was as if he wasn’t a young man with white hair, but an elderly man with a muscular physique in his twilight years.
On his chest, nestled between his muscles, were complex and ancient black runes forming a symbol of the sun, which extended to his back.
On his shoulder blades, on both sides, a purple, shape-like symbol pulsed with flowing light.
It looked like severed wings of light, or perhaps the roots of wings.
The Ring Heavenly Envoy stood in this world, motionless.
He was merely breathing deeply.
His arms were spread, as if sensing the energy in the world—or perhaps just reminiscing about the air of the Material Realm.
Suddenly, the Ring Heavenly Envoy raised his right hand upwards.
His body arched forward—or rather, his head naturally tilted backward.
He maintained a posture as if he would lose his balance and fall at any moment.
The Ring Heavenly Envoy’s right finger pointed to the sky, and his left finger to the ground.
The purple “flower” burst forth abruptly, its eerie purple color rapidly spreading across the sky of the entire world. Meanwhile, a deathly darkness swept across the land, swallowing all sound.
“—Let everything return to void.”
The Ring Heavenly Envoy recited in a ethereal and void-like voice, audible only to himself.
In an instant, the sky suddenly split open, and the earth began to boil and melt.
The crimson purple sky twisted and melted, merging with the pitch-black earth to form a terrifying, viscous purple-black vortex. The sky and earth, like stirred latte art, collapsed and dissolved. The center of the vortex was fixed upon the Ring Heavenly Envoy’s right index finger, pointing at the sky.
The time of the entire world began to accelerate, and the area covered by this “vortexization” gradually increased.
From dawn to twilight, from twilight to dawn, time rapidly sped up—
If nothing unexpected occurred, it would utilize the power of the “Endless Knot” to accelerate time by eight days from August 2nd, reaching August 10th.
After eight days, the scale of this black hole would encompass the entire world.
By finding “difference” within the Path of “Change,” this world would be reduced to a void of deathly stillness—if everyone vanished, the world would naturally be “still.”
For the [Whisper of the Void], which lacks physical destructive power, completely destroying a world is extremely difficult.
It must attach itself to an individual possessing world-ending power to effectively guide civilization towards its end.
If it fails to destroy the world in one blow, it is prone to inducing variables during a prolonged massacre and pursuit—such as in the zeroth iteration of this world.
Therefore, the Whisper of the Void’s initial plan was to descend upon an individual capable of becoming a Pillar God.
To destroy the world using the power of the Origin River.
In this way, it could absorb all the power of the Origin River and become the sole Pillar God of this ruined world—the Pillar God of the Path of Stillness, Void.
Or rather, the Whisper of the Void.
The Tenth Origin River, and also the Zero Origin River.
A universe that lacks even “creation” is undoubtedly “void.”
Then, what it could swallow would not only be this civilization, but also the Origin River that birthed these two generations of civilization. However…
Just when only a day and a night had passed, this abnormal acceleration of time suddenly came to a halt.
It was like a videotape fast-forwarding at double, quadruple, and then sixteen times the speed, suddenly being paused.
At the end point of “meaningless” void, crushed by the purple-black vortex—
—a sliver of white light suddenly ignited at the Ring Heavenly Envoy’s fingertip.
“What is that—.”
The Ring Heavenly Envoy looked up, his weary and indifferent dim yellow pupils fixated on it.
His gaze pierced through the black hole, seeing the object within that should have been swallowed by “meaninglessness.”
“Is that—a painting?”
“Ring Heavenly Envoy” murmured.
