In the deepest depths of Senluo, the origin of the apocalypse, this fissure in the earth named the Silent Spiral let out a despairing roar that swept across the world—for the first and final time.
Yet within this chaotic, brutal storm of crystalline gravel, the light of hope began to kindle bit by bit. The green crystal gravel submerged in the silver light was swiftly coated in brilliant silver, shattering as it hit the ground and dissipating with the light, leaving behind only an inaudible sigh of relief that felt almost like an illusion.
Silver Lantern took the source crystals from Yaxiu and placed them into her lamp base as fuel. Watching this, Yaxiu zoned out for a moment. So different gods used source crystals differently... The God of Mengxing inlaid source crystals onto a staff...
Yet in the next second, Yaxiu forcefully reeled his thoughts back, refusing to ponder such pointless details. He had been like this since childhood. When summoned to the homeroom teacher's office and scolded for chatting during class, he would unconsciously inspect the pattern on the floor tiles, the shape of the pen holder, what clothes the teacher was wearing today... Only by filling his mind with meaningless thoughts could he escape the interrogation of reality.
But he was no longer a child; he couldn't afford to have a favorite color.
Looking at the Silver Lantern God before him, Yaxiu quietly organized the information he had gathered. Yulanweise was real. She was both the fanatic who had brought ruin to Senluo and the operator Yaxiu had pulled from the search system. Yaxiu had always harbored doubts before, but Yulanweise's confession now confirmed that the search system in Aurora's Sorcerer Handbook did not conjure things out of nothing—these individuals genuinely existed.
Thus, the 'Heart-Beguiling Girl', 'Shadow Concubine of Purple Grudge', and 'Blood-Hidden Empress' that had once appeared in the gacha pool were definitely real as well, and like Yulanweise, they might have already appeared by his side.
Of course, more importantly:
The Witch and the Sword Princess were real, living people—people he could truly touch.
Perhaps at this very moment, within the Sword Flower Academy of the Stars, the Sword Princess was sweating profusely as she practiced her swordsmanship; perhaps at this very moment, the Witch...
Yaxiu's train of thought suddenly seized up. He just remembered that the Witch had never revealed any information about her reality to him. Of course, Yaxiu had never asked, because they had long agreed... Agreed?
Come to think of it, why was the Witch unwilling to tell him about her situation in reality, and why did she show no intention of meeting in real life? Constantly demanding that he go offline to meet up in the Stars like the Sword Princess did was what normal dating looked like. Yaxiu himself also very much wanted to travel to the Stars—not for any other purpose, purely for sightseeing and meeting friends; as for already having picked out names for their future children in his head, that was just because he was bored...
Looking at it this way, within this Void Realm team that was rushing toward meeting in reality, the Witch seemed completely out of place. She neither disclosed her location nor asked Yaxiu to see her, as if a long-distance relationship in the Void Realm was enough to satisfy her emotional needs.
If she merely didn't want Yaxiu to visit her, there was no need to hide her real-life circumstances either. Unless knowing her reality would have an unimaginable impact on their relationship...
These thoughts rippled across Yaxiu's mind, but ultimately failed to form a full brainstorm. The information he possessed was still insufficient; it was too early to pursue the truth. Besides, for Yaxiu, knowing that the Sword Princess and Witch could truly be held was enough.
Furthermore, he still had a storm in front of him that needed resolving.
Silver Lantern looked up and shook the lamp base in her hand, signaling that the source crystals had been refueled. Gazing at the young Silver Lantern, two different figures surfaced in Yaxiu's mind.
One was a quiet girl of few words, remarkably low-maintenance, who actively supported the team.
The other was a swift and decisive, stubborn and resolute apocalyptic fanatic whose terrifying name echoed across Senluo.
Two clearly unrelated individuals had now overlapped, giving him a surreal feeling. Even now, Yaxiu did not know when she had fallen for him, what she liked about him, or how she had felt watching him being affectionate with the Sword Princess and the Witch. She had hidden it too well. Had Yaxiu not feigned sleep in the Dead City and overheard her true feelings that one time, he too would have believed it was all just an illusion.
Yaxiu had never truly understood her, nor had he ever drawn close to her, except on those rare occasions when they crossed paths and he would hold an umbrella to stand beside her. She was always dripping wet, pitiful, bristling and defiant, yet sometimes gently leaning close to him. But soon they would part. When Yaxiu left under the umbrella with others, he would look back to see her silhouette blurring once more in the torrential rain.
Yaxiu did not want to pity her, nor did she need pity. If she succeeded, she was not worthy of eulogy or praise; if she failed, she had no need for sympathy or pity. Her ideal was just such a chaotic endeavor. She was caught in the pouring rain, yet yearned to become part of the storm.
The people of Senluo were all like this—her, Tamashi, those cults... It was as though they had extracted enough spiritual fulfillment from their faith that they had no need whatsoever for validation from the outside world.
Yaxiu had no right to 'pity' them. It was just... just...
"What if..." he murmured softly.
"What if what?" little Silver Lantern asked.
Yaxiu let out a breath, smiled once more, and extended a hand toward her. Little Silver Lantern placed her hand in his. Hand in hand, the two pushed through the storm as the silver light paved the way directly toward the core.
The effect of the Silver Lantern God was not merely 'purification' or 'dispelling,' but 'silverization.'
The reason the silver-lit region remained unaffected by the dark-green storm was that all the crystalline gravel swept into it was silverized, thoroughly losing all effects. Naturally, it could no longer hold the souls of the people of Senluo, causing it to directly annihilate into light.
In other words, as long as Silver Lantern was given enough time, her silver light was enough to purify all the green beasts in Senluo, release all the tormented souls, soothe every wound across this land, and paint the world in bright silver.
Just as Weise had said, dying and ascending to godhood within this apocalyptic catastrophe meant her divine power was guaranteed to perfectly counter the calamity.
Naturally, that included dealing with the instigators.
As they neared the eye of the storm, the birdcage in which White Dove and Blue Bird had imprisoned themselves appeared within the silver light. Bathed in the blazing silver glow, the cage was swiftly plated in soft, bright silver. Yaxiu drew Honeyed Words with a Dagger and sliced through the cage with a gentle slash.
Hearing the sound, the young White Dove and the young Blue Bird opened their eyes. They slowly looked at Yaxiu, then down at Silver Lantern.
Yaxiu slashed downward, and the embracing twin gods instantly parted. The sun-blotting apocalyptic storm began to disintegrate in that very second, and Silver Lantern's radiant light of hope was about to pierce through the Silent Spiral from its deepest floor.
Expressionless, the young White Dove raised his cane and poked at Yaxiu's head.
Once again bursting Yaxiu's head.
Chapter 740