Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction. Even amidst the Antimatter Legion's most ferocious assaults, the Xianzhou had never truly considered THEIR presence.
After all, throughout the Legion's long history of cosmic conquest, Nanook, like other lofty Aeons, rarely manifested directly. More often, it was the Lord Ravagers, terrifying agents of Destruction's will, who carved paths of annihilation across the stars.
Therefore, the Xianzhou fleets had operated under the assumption that this latest Legion attack, however devastating, was merely driven by the individual ambitions and destructive urges of the attending Lord Ravagers.
Unrelated to Nanook… or rather, even if related, what conceivable difference would it make? What could they do?
Neither the astute Jing Yuan nor the venerable Huaiyan, neither the sharp Feixiao nor the supposedly infallible General Yaoguang on the distant Yuque Xianzhou, had factored The Blemished One's direct intervention into their calculations.
If it were just the Legion, even bolstered by multiple Emanators, it would be a calamitous, yet potentially surmountable, threat for the combined might of the Xianzhou Alliance.
But if The Blemished One THEMSELF arrived… any resistance, no matter how valiant, no matter how desperate, would clearly be an exercise in utter futility.
Like General Yueyu, who perished under the unerring gaze of Lan's Aeon Arrows centuries ago. Like the sprawling Abundance follower alliance effortlessly annihilated by those same celestial shafts of judgment.
Mortals could scarcely comprehend, let alone contend with, Aeons.
Precisely because they understood this immutable truth, they had subconsciously, perhaps willfully, excluded this absolutely unbeatable existence from the realm of possibility.
However… gazing now at the chillingly malicious smiles stretching across the faces of Iron Tomb and Celenova, coupled with their expressions shifting between profound reverence and abject fear, no matter how much they tried to deceive themselves, Huaiyan finally understood the true, terrifying final gambit behind the Legion's invasion.
"The Blemished One…!"
His mouth felt dry, coated with a sour taste of ash and rising panic. Even using such a derogatory, defiant title for THEM, it couldn't diminish the sublime, horrifying status of an Aeon.
The syllables Huaiyan uttered were like the tolling death knell of a funeral bell across the void. Almost instantly, that sense of presence – origin unknown, location unfathomable, yet utterly overwhelming – swept over every single being on the battlefield.
In their minds, they seemed to see wounded infants bleeding, weeping without solace.
They seemed to witness the catastrophic, slow-motion fall of a vibrant planet crumbling into cosmic dust.
From the planet's inevitable fall to the sudden wilting of the most resilient flowers, from the blinding combustion of supernovae birthing nebulae to the silent, indifferent shattering of interstellar meteorites…
Witnessing this inexorable process, HIS name, THEIR essence, surfaced unbidden in their minds: Destruction.
"Lord Nanook!"
Amidst the fervent, almost ecstatic expressions of Iron Tomb and Celenova, a pair of molten gold eyes slowly opened in the fabric of the void – utterly emotionless, filled with the profound dead silence of entropy, yet radiating an undeniable divine nobility that crushed mortal spirits.
"…The Blemished One…!" Feixiao gritted her teeth, drenched in a sudden cold sweat that had nothing to do with the vacuum of space.
To mortals, the difference between an Emanator blessed by an Aeon and an ordinary person was a vast, insurmountable chasm. But… wasn't the gulf between an Aeon and an Emanator just as immense, perhaps infinitely more so?
Jing Yuan let out a short, bitter laugh, followed by a deep sigh that seemed to carry the weight of centuries. "No wonder… No wonder General Yaoguang gave such a divination result…"
They had all assumed the source of this foretold great calamity was the Legion's unprecedented full-scale attack on the Alliance.
The participation of several Lord Ravagers certainly attested to the battle's apocalyptic intensity; indeed, even during the great, protracted wars against the Denizens of Abundance, Emanator-level clashes of this scale were virtually unheard of.
Only during the nightmarish Swarm Disaster of ages past, facing the terrifying might of Tayzzyronth, the Swarm King Broodmother, had the universe potentially witnessed such a concentration of Emanator-level power.
Who could possibly have foreseen… that the final, ultimate adversary would be The Blemished One THEMSELF.
"Yes… It truly is ten deaths, no life…" Huaiyan stroked his beard, his voice thick with lamentation, the fight seemingly draining from his ancient frame.
If it were just Lord Ravagers, Emanators of Destruction, the Xianzhou, though grievously wounded, could still strategize, resist, perhaps even prevail through sacrifice and sheer determination. But the enemy's ultimate boss THEMSELF had shamelessly rolled up THEIR cosmic sleeves and stepped directly into the fray.
What, in the name of all Paths, could they possibly do?
Forget just the Yaoqing and Luofu combined; even if the entire Xianzhou Alliance converged upon this single point in space, it would likely only make Nanook's task of destruction more efficient, wiping out the culmination of Lan's followers in one fell swoop.
Of course, there was one other, vanishingly small possibility: the arrival of Lan, the Reignbow Arbiter.
But how could that be possible?
True, Lan seemed to hold a special, albeit distant, regard for the Xianzhou, not only fully opening the Path of the Hunt to their peoples but also occasionally utilizing the Sky-Piercer Divine Construct mirror to aid them in eliminating particularly troublesome targets aligned with Abundance.
But… right now, the Reignbow Arbiter was likely wandering inscrutable paths somewhere else in the vast, uncaring universe, pursuing THEIR eternal Hunt.
By the time the Xianzhou could coordinate, aim, and utilize the Sky-Piercer to successfully draw Lan's attention here, Nanook would have long since reduced them all to drifting atoms and forgotten memories.
"…Although it's likely far too late… Dan Feng, Baiheng!" Gazing resolutely at the impassive, golden eyes of Nanook, Jing Yuan made his grim decision, barking orders at Dan Feng and Baiheng, who were equally stunned into momentary inaction:
"Return to the Xianzhou immediately! Have Qingque utilize the Huangzhong System with utmost priority! Notify the Yuque Xianzhou to deploy the Sky-Piercer without delay!"
"Elder Yan Qing and the others, Jingliu, Blade, and I, will buy you as much time as possible."
"This…" Baiheng hesitated, looking back at her friends, her comrades.
But Jingliu shook her head sharply, her voice cutting through the despair. "Listen to Jing Yuan. Go. Now."
"You two are different from us," Blade's unexpectedly calm voice rang out. He flicked the Shard Sword borrowed from that March 7th girl, glancing towards Dan Feng with eyes that held ancient pain but lessened fury. "We… have no future left. We are relics burdened by sin. But you both carry two entirely new futures within you. They shouldn't perish alongside us."
"…"
"Though a part of me would love nothing more than for you to die alongside me here," Blade snorted softly, a trace of his old displeasure surfacing before being suppressed, "we remnants of a bygone era shouldn't drag down the next generation… My grievances are… mostly resolved. Accompany her through this final journey. Go, Imbibitor Lunae."
Having had his fractured mind somewhat mended by Kafka's methods, and perhaps influenced by the unexpected reunion and shared peril, Blade—Yingxing—had found a measure of release from his all-consuming hatred for Dan Feng, at least for this moment.
"Alright." Dan Feng offered no further argument, giving a curt nod. He knew the weight of Jing Yuan's command and Blade's difficult words.
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In the battered Galaxy Ranger camp nearby:
A thoroughly scuffed-up Boothill watched Nanook's arrival, spitting out a string of curses. "Son of a crimson cosmos! Why's that darned Blemished One, that walking unlucky star, gotta show up here too…?!"
"This fella's lookin' a bit thorny, boss, seems like we can't possibly beat 'em… How 'bout we bounce? Skedaddle?" the pink-haired, wide-foreheaded girl beside him whispered nervously, slipping into slang.
"Dangnabbit, babe! Does that sound like somethin' a Galaxy Ranger oughta say? Weren't you always braggin' 'bout blowin' up planets for breakfast? How come you're gettin' spooked now seein' one lousy Aeon?" Boothill retorted, though his grip tightened on his weapon.
"Duh! That's an Aeon! An Aeon of Destruction! You tellin' me you ain't scared?"
"If I was scared, I wouldn't be callin' myself a Galaxy Ranger! Worst comes to absolute worst, it's just kickin' the bucket, ain't it? Tarnation, I already sent that Executioner Lord Ravager packin', ain't this just Executioner's big boss?!" Boothill declared, puffing his chest out with bravado that barely concealed a tremor.
"Come to think of it, I ain't never actually fought an Aeon before. Hmph, by the blessed starry cosmos, watch me love THEM to death with my Big Baby!" He hefted his modified weapon, grinning fiercely.
"Sigh… Guess there's no choice then, gotta risk it all…" the girl muttered, readying her own equipment.
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Meanwhile, in the IPC contingent:
Topaz mischievously nudged her Warp Trotter companion. "Go on, Numby, go take out that big fella for Mama."
"Pwee~?!" Numby looked utterly terrified, shrinking back, clearly confused. Me? Fight THAT?
"Topaz, this is hardly the time," Opal said, shaking her head wearily before turning to the imposing figure of Diamond. "Diamond, what's the directive now?"
The hulking Emanator sighed, the sound like grinding stones. "Let nature take its course, I suppose. After all… the Legion isn't likely to simply let us depart either."
They had anticipated a potentially lucrative, albeit dangerous, venture. At worst, facing down a few Lord Ravagers alongside the Xianzhou. But… Nanook THEMSELF showing up changed every calculation, voided every contract.
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In the brief, terrifying moments following Nanook's arrival on the battlefield, every heart was undoubtedly filled with a maelstrom of complex emotions – hesitation, terror, despair, and a flickering ember of defiance.
However, amidst their fleeting internal struggle, they drew upon the courage forged through countless battles and lifetimes of duty, taking the first, desperate steps of resistance against the embodiment of Destruction.
"Blemished One! Perhaps YOU are indeed incomparably powerful! An existence beyond mortal ken! But the Xianzhou people will never yield to Destruction!" Jing Yuan roared, his voice resonating with command even in the face of oblivion.
"Perhaps this time, the Luofu and the Yaoqing will face annihilation! But even in death, we shall serve as the spearhead of the Hunt, declaring the unwavering will of the Reignbow Arbiter to YOU! The Hunt's vengeance will surely come!" Feixiao declared, channeling her resolve.
"My body is the spearhead of the Hunt! My spirit, the soaring flight of the Xianzhou!" Huaiyan bellowed, casting aside his earlier lamentation.
"**Radiant Spirit Invocation, Heed My Command, Sunder the Wicked!**"
The overwhelming power of the Lightning Lord surged forth, coalescing into a form far more potent, far more condensed than Jing Yuan typically unleashed. Facing an Aeon, even to leave the faintest scratch, required gambling one's very essence, one's entire existence.
"I shall pursue and hunt, even unto the end!" Jingliu's cold voice echoed, her power flaring.
"Soaring flight unbroken! Cloud Knights ever victorious!" The cry rose from countless throats, a unified defiance.
"Flying Aureus! Fight alongside me one last time!" Huaiyan commanded, his legendary automaton blazing with renewed energy.
Watching his two longtime colleagues ignite their spirits, their auras climbing to desperate peaks, Huaiyan stroked his beard, a fierce light entering his ancient eyes. He felt a familiar heat coursing through his veins.
"Hoho… Getting this old man's blood boiling too, it seems…"
The next moment, crimson flames, thick and viscous like arterial blood, erupted from Huaiyan, shooting towards the heavens. As Yingxing's former master, the dangerous technique of unlocking immense power through the burning of one's own lifeblood originated from him.
Though Huaiyan might not possess the blessing of Shuhu's undying curse and couldn't match the sheer resilience of Blade in some aspects, when it came to the raw, sacrificial act of burning life force for explosive power, this two-thousand-year-old General of the Xianzhou was no mere figurehead.
The final, desperate blows of the Xianzhou Generals, the all-out, reckless attacks of the Galaxy Rangers, the calculated supporting fire from the IPC… even the countless Cloud Knights, their individual contributions perhaps minuscule, yet united in purpose, hurled their weapons, unleashed their energy blasts, launching attacks that represented their collective defiance towards Nanook.
Gathered together, concentrated into a single torrent of destructive intent, their combined might was enough to make even Celenova or Iron Tomb blanch and consider retreating.
This was an attack potentially capable of severely wounding, perhaps even killing, an Emanator.
However… the being they faced was an Aeon.
Celenova and Iron Tomb showed no discernible emotion on their alien faces, merely watching the spectacle unfold quietly from a distance.
No mockery, no disdain, only silent, patient waiting.
Because the moment Lord Nanook THEMSELF descended upon this battlefield, the outcome was irrevocably sealed.
The Xianzhou's destruction was no longer a possibility; it was merely the statement of an undeniable, impending fact.
And this resistance, however brave, however spectacular, was ultimately feeble, laughable, tragically weak against the inevitable.
Nanook's lowered molten gold eyes calmly observed the 'ants'' desperate offensive. THEY slowly raised THEIR hand. Flowing, incandescent golden blood, the very essence of Destructive Imaginary power, coalesced into streams, forming an impervious barrier that halted the insignificant attacks in their tracks, preventing them from advancing even half a step closer.
And next, inevitably, came destruction.
Destruction absolute, plunging everyone into the deepest abyss of despair.
However…
Just as the finality of oblivion seemed ready to descend—
A young woman, having stepped silently into the void at some unknown point, now stood amidst the howling cosmic winds, her azure hair flying wildly around her.
A faint, almost lazy smile played on [Qingque's] lips as she watched the scene unfold. She raised her index finger in a simple, almost casual gesture.
"Domai... ekkhemm, Tile manipulation… let's try… **All Honours.**"
Her voice, soft as a mosquito's buzz yet somehow cutting through the cosmic silence, seemed to echo directly in everyone's ears.
From her figure, an immensely vast circle of shimmering light rapidly expanded, seemingly encompassing the entire star system.
Then, around [her], a circle of translucent Celestial Jade tiles materialized out of nowhere, rotating gently. They began to multiply, expanding outwards, splitting into countless shimmering copies that filled the entire battlefield, eclipsing stars.
Clack
The crisp, sharp sound of Mahjong tiles connecting echoed through the void, impossibly loud.
Countless Celestial Jade tiles clicked together in intricate, rapidly shifting patterns.
Amidst the collision, the different faces of the tiles – Bamboos, Dots, Characters, Winds, Dragons, Flowers – accompanied by strange, melodious, almost heavenly notes, finally coalesced into the unmistakable, enormous image of a leaping fish, crafted from pure light and improbable fortune.
Then, with an unseen force, this colossal 'Fish' seemed to gather the scattered, halted attacks of the Xianzhou and their allies, absorbing their defiant energy, merging it with the inexplicable interstellar power drawn from the entire cosmic region.
It swelled to an impossible size, radiating an overwhelming aura of perfect alignment, before ramming straight into the momentarily unprepared Nanook.
It all happened in an instant, faster than thought. Nanook, focused on the initial wave of attacks, didn't even seem to fully register the new threat before being struck head-on by the giant, luck-infused fish construct and sent tumbling uncontrollably through the void.
"Lord Nanook?!" Celenova and Iron Tomb, snapping back to shocked reality, looked utterly incredulous, their alien features contorted in disbelief.
Jing Yuan also spotted the instigator, [Qingque], who had arrived on the battlefield at some point, his usually calm face etched with profound astonishment:
"Qing… que?!"
"Good work, Generals~ And everyone else… hmm, there are too many to thank, I won't list you all one by one. Now isn't really the time for pleasantries, is it?"
Stepping lightly through the void as if strolling through Starskiff Haven, the girl in blue, now clad in slightly different, more intricate attire that seemed subtly radiant, looked valiant and heroic, offering a gentle, reassuring smile.
"Now then, leave the really big one to me."
"I'll leave the small fry and the cleanup to you~"
The next moment—
With a light, almost playful clap of her hands.
Nanook, still reeling, was suddenly engulfed by a swirling torrent of silvery, tile-patterned light and vanished without a trace, leaving only [Qingque]'s cheerful, fading voice echoing in the void.
"She…"
This miracle-like, utterly baffling scene left Feixiao completely stunned, mouth agape, wanting to speak but unable to find any words that could possibly encapsulate the moment.
Of course, the Xianzhou Generals weren't the only ones dumbfounded. The Galaxy Rangers were practically short-circuiting:
"Son of a cybernetic biscuit! Did my optical sensors just glitch or did I see that right… That short, sleepy-lookin' little gal… just sent The Blemished One flyin'?!" Boothill exclaimed, lowering his weapon slightly in sheer confusion.
"Flew off somewhere, dunno where," the pink-haired girl added matter-of-factly, seemingly less surprised by the absurdity.
Jingliu: "…"
"Ahem… Anyway… everyone, let's focus and deal with the remaining Antimatter Legion forces first," Jing Yuan coughed twice, clearing his throat and his buzzing mind. Though countless questions swirled within him, he prioritized the immediate tactical situation.
The next moment—
With Nanook inexplicably gone, the remaining Lord Ravagers, Celenova and Iron Tomb, instantly felt countless dangerous gazes lock onto them, filled with predatory intent and renewed, focused hostility.
Feeling the undisguised malice radiating from the Xianzhou forces, including several Emanator-level presences among them now fully committed to their destruction, the two agents of Destruction swallowed hard, a new kind of fear gripping them…
Lord Nanook! Lord Nanook, YOU left! YOU actually left! What are WE supposed to do now?!
"**Radiant Spirit Invocation!**" Jing Yuan roared, the Lightning Lord reforming with vengeful speed.
"Flying Aureus! Ram them! Grind them into dust!" Huaiyan bellowed, his battle rage fully ignited.
"All for the Amber Lord and the preservation of the Alliance!" Diamond added, his massive form lumbering forward.
In an instant, sparks flew anew, lights flashed dazzlingly across the void, and the battle resumed with a vengeance, the hunters suddenly becoming the hunted.
---||---
As for Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction, whom Celenova and Iron Tomb were desperately, futilely thinking of.
After crashing through countless shimmering sub-spatial crystal walls and turbulent Imaginary tides, THEY finally arrested THEIR uncontrolled flight.
Regaining THEIR cosmic senses, THEY reached out and grabbed the lingering essence of the bizarre fish construct. Surging, raw Destructive Imaginary power flowed from THEIR grasp, instantly refining it, obliterating the construct of light and luck without leaving even a trace particle behind.
Indifferent, yet undeniably surprised, Nanook stared at the girl who had somehow followed THEM to this unknown, chaotic interstitial space, the girl who was now smiling faintly at THEM.
"It's you."
THEIR utterly monotonous, non-emotive voice conveyed this simple meaning, a statement of fact rather than recognition.
Although, for some reason, the feeling emanating from this girl was completely different from any previous encounter – strictly speaking, THEY had never directly met her before – Nanook instantly understood that this mortal girl named 'Qingque' was, somehow, the target. The anomaly.
Yes, Nanook's target was 'Qingque'… the source of the perturbation THEY had sensed, the reason the Legion was directed towards the Xianzhou. Even if Nanook THEMSELF wasn't entirely sure why before, the confrontation clarified it. The target wasn't a place, but this improbable being.
But… ultimately, it didn't matter why.
Anyway, the Legion's ordained purpose was the eventual destruction of everything in the universe. Whether the Xianzhou Alliance was destroyed sooner or later was merely a matter of 'sequence' in the grand, entropic tapestry.
It wasn't something truly worthy of Nanook's direct, sustained attention.
THEY simply desired to destroy the source of that anomaly which had drawn THEIR focus.
"Looks like you have some business with me," Qingque observed calmly, her smile not fading.
Nanook didn't respond verbally, nor did THEY bother to. As the Aeon embodying the Path of Destruction, the best, the only response was, and always would be… 'Destruction'.
Since the target was identified, THEY just needed to act. To erase.
However…
For some inexplicable reason, Nanook suddenly felt a faint, unfamiliar chill run down THEIR metaphysical spine, as if something vast, ancient, and utterly furious was staring intently at THEM from across the dimensions, provoked by THEIR focus on this girl.