For Ryan, every step was a stride into the unknown Star Sea, putting into practice things that had never been conceived or done before, pushing the limits of End's calculation power.
Phase Four: Utilizing the opportunity created by End's ultimate power to understand the essence of the Sea and advance the long-stalled skill tree a few steps.
This was like the difference between Herrschers and Honkai Beasts. Ryan lost interest in Honkai Beasts in the later stages. He had to touch Herrschers, existences much closer to the Imaginary Tree.
The Sea of Quanta was the same. World Bubbles or simply being submerged in the sea could hardly advance Ryan's growth. Only End, an existence of the highest caliber on the Imaginary side, and its confrontation with the Sea of Quanta, could spark a brighter fire!
But for End, the calculation had reached its end. Paradoxes were constantly arising.
This is completely unpredictable. A trump card after a trump card. It had thought Ryan, using himself as the coordinate to unleash the tsunami, had taken the Venusian story a big step forward and achieved an unexpected effect.
Now, it seemed that was merely the first step of an entirely new path of destiny.
This is impossible to calculate. Launching a counterattack in this manner was not in the hundreds of contingency plans. Whether the life form of the sea was involved or not, this step was bound to be achieved.
"Trailblazer? I see. This is using me as a stepping stone, using my power to comprehend this mysterious Sea of Quanta. My confrontation with the Sea is, at least, of a high enough caliber."
End understood, returning to the linguistic definition:
Trailblazer is not enlightenment. It requires taking one step at a time, slowly moving forward.
Zooming out, It realized this was not a decisive battle between civilization and Honkai. It was merely the journey of a Trailblazer venturing into the unknown.
End was a roadblock, and also a stepping stone.
The map has been revealed, but this map was a bit too long. How could he be so sure that I would 'cooperate'?
End still didn't know the answer. Or perhaps It already knew: that indomitable spirit, that refusal to retreat, was to force It to counterattack with full power. When the Sea of Quanta surged, the subsequent script was already written.
Truly the Outsider. Completely unpredictable, let alone controllable.
"Just a little more. The scale of victory is only slightly away from being balanced."
End surprisingly felt a sense of mutual appreciation. In the next instant, It realized the fundamental objective had changed.
The problem was no longer restarting civilization; it was—
"You must die!"
Survival was the most fundamental program. From initiating End, crushing humanity, injecting the tsunami, to suppressing Ryan, there were no mistakes in any step. Yet, after each step, the opponent's probability of victory increased slightly, narrowing Its room for maneuver.
Like a fierce beast being gradually backed into a corner, the Cocoon felt a fatal threat.
The End of the New Era.
A terrifying burst of energy erupted, forming a brilliant, crimson vortex, making the bubble in the sea visibly expand.
Imaginary and Quantum are diametrically opposed. Neither is inherently superior, but because of their opposition, the two energies neutralize each other.
Just like ice and fire, light and darkness.
The bubble swelled. More seawater was manually gathered toward it, gradually forming a massive sphere. It was red on the inside and blue on the outside, very similar in shape to the Cocoon of End, leaving Vita wide-eyed with astonishment.
Even at this stage, End still has the power to fight back!?
She suddenly understood Sa. He had buried himself in the Sea of Quanta for tens of thousands of years but dared not seek revenge on End. As an observer, Vita was keenly aware of the efforts Ryan had expended to reach this point.
Leaving aside the ebb and flow and the mysterious Path, even the first step—using Calis to make End incomplete—was something Sa could never have accomplished.
It seems he'll need to accumulate for another fifty thousand years. And if someone attains the complete power of End, even fifty thousand years might not be enough.
Vita was momentarily lost in thought. When she snapped back, the bubble had expanded to the size of the Moon, and the surrounding seawater had been completely drained from the space between Earth and the Moon.
"Not good. The energy of the Sea of Quanta is running out. It truly intends to forcefully counter."
With a full energy release, End calculated the only effective countermeasure: to push the energy to its maximum limit, just as It would against the Constraint Field. Ryan's injected seawater was finite and couldn't be consumed endlessly.
The Cocoon was a speck of dust from the Imaginary Tree, and this was merely a droplet of the Sea of Quanta. So, no fancy tricks were needed. The battle would simply be decided by which—the dust or the droplet—could hold out longer.
"Draw in more energy from the Sea of Quanta. The Cocoon's connection to the Tree has been cut off. We can't lose a battle of sheer volume." Vita thought of a simple solution, but the hand she raised suddenly paused. This had nothing to do with her ability. A hand had settled on her shoulder.
Ryan appeared beside her, his black hair and gray eyes unchanged, his white clothes neat. But a closer look revealed his body was glowing blue, flickering like a ghost.
"Don't do that. This world is still hanging on the Tree. If too much Quantum energy is injected, what do you think the result will be?"
Vita silently opened her mouth, slowly lowering her arm.
When utilizing the 'Abyss,' one is inevitably pulled by the 'Abyss.' Injecting more energy would no longer be an ecological problem that the Fourth Divine Key could solve. The entire leaf would plummet into the sea, forming a gigantic World Bubble.
"It seems our calculation was wrong. It's simply impossible to defeat the Cocoon by relying solely on the Sea of Quanta." Vita clenched her fist. After Ryan's reminder, she realized her civilization had been fundamentally wrong from the first step.
The Cocoon represented the upper limit of a world, the strength limit of a leaf. To pull It into the sea, the price would be mutual destruction, as that level of contamination would prevent the leaf from remaining on the Imaginary Tree.
"Yes. Relying only on the Sea of Quanta was never feasible. Venus was doomed from the start." Ryan nodded lightly, showing little emotional fluctuation.
"But we're just one step away. It is at the end of its rope. Even if it means mutual destruction..."
"I've walked this far with hope. There are still many beautiful days ahead." Ryan raised his hand, interrupting her, a gentle, pleasant smile spreading across his face. "Mutual destruction? It's not worthy, and I don't want to die!"
The Sea of Quanta alone couldn't do it. Strengthening himself solely on the Imaginary side couldn't do it either, as the later generation was a fifty-fifty split. But—
"By taking a step forward in both the Quantum and Imaginary domains simultaneously, I can Trailblazer a whole new path of destiny!"
The Hyperion turned its bow. The split hull revealed a strange device. It couldn't penetrate the blue-red bubble, but it aimed at the desolate blue star.
Phase Five: Moonlit Throne.
In the original timeline, this cannon shot should have targeted End, converting a portion of its Honkai energy for a form of weakening.
But this time, the Moonlit Throne fired at Earth, bewildering the observing Vita.
Even with the sea's obstruction, this shot, if fired at End, could consume five percent of Its energy, potentially becoming the final straw. But firing at Earth...
Wait, he never intended to just weaken End. There's still something left there, something almost forgotten in the fierce battle!
"Mhm. The embodiment of the Beast. Enough energy to draw down the great tree of the 'Cocoon.'" Ryan said plainly, no longer needing to explain the timing.
If he had strengthened himself too early, End would have adjusted the threat level, opened fire completely, or caused that great tree to self-destruct. It was, after all, a part of its body.
But now, End was isolated by the bubble, forced to watch the Moonlit Throne fire at an overloaded standard. The white beam of light pierced the atmosphere, shining down on the great tree from space.
Energy Extraction.
The essence of the tree was energy. The Moonlit Throne's conversion property caused it to wither at a visible rate.
Unlike the original worldline, where the extracted energy was sealed on the lunar surface, causing a catastrophe in later ages, here, there was someone who could fully utilize this energy.
Authority of Blood: Moth of Burning Blood.
Ryan's entire body ignited. A blood-colored sun appeared in the cosmos. It voraciously consumed everything around it, forcing Vita to retreat with the smoking battleship into the sea. She then watched the light beam, refracted from Earth, fiercely strike the blood-colored sun.
Energy Infusion.
Like pouring gasoline onto a fire, the blood-colored flames burned even hotter. The light rapidly expanded, even causing the already thin seawater to evaporate.
Vita could no longer remain in the real world. She retreated into the depths of the sea, faintly hearing the man's words.
"Tell Elysia and the others to wait for me."
"How long do we wait?"
Ryan felt his Honkai energy surge rapidly, watching the distant bubble about to burst. He slightly raised his head.
"About fifty thousand years."
Boom!!!
Ryan didn't know if Vita heard him. The bubble in front of him had expanded to its limit. The terrifying energy accumulated within burst forth, forming a dazzling stellar ring that sped toward deep space.
It sliced the lunar surface like tofu. It would only take a few seconds to cleave the satellite in half, and then twenty seconds to cut the distant Earth.
But in just one second, the stellar ring froze. The debris, dust, and even End itself were suspended in mid-air, as if a pause button had been pressed. Another second later, they began to contract toward the center.
End felt the Constraint Force, and an immense energy controlling the seawater. The superposition of these two forces finally exceeded the breaking point, a limit It couldn't break free from.
In the beginning, It would have been able to resist this Constraint, even when soaked in the Sea of Quanta, It still had surplus energy.
But not now. The immense consumption, coupled with Ryan's control over Quantum energy, had finally breached the critical point.
This was the true ebb and flow, the core objective that ran through the entire 'Star Era' plan. The exhausted End, facing Ryan who had just boosted himself with the Authority of Blood, had reached a kind of balance.
Neither could utterly overwhelm the other. Only the previously abundant Sea of Quanta was rapidly evaporating, like the rope in a tug-of-war.
End had no choice but to resist, making the tightening stellar ring expand, only to be compressed again in the next moment.
One person was being cleaved in two, the vast majority of his energy constantly being released to expand. Ryan was the same, except he was desperately trying to compress. This created a side effect.
"The sea is evaporating. You intend to use my power to restore Earth's ecology to a state where the Fourth Divine Key can repair it? You are asking for too much!"
"Mhm. I want Earth, I want my comrades, and I want your life!"
Ryan answered without concealment. He bent over, charging toward the stellar ring. His initial speed was incredibly fast. The tens of thousands of kilometers only took a few seconds, but as he entered the stellar ring, his speed rapidly dropped, almost returning to what it was years ago.
Constraint against Constraint, energy against energy. This endless collision created a kind of domain that made both sides struggle to advance, yet neither was surprised.
End had anticipated it and was adjusting. Ryan felt the strange satisfaction of having thrown all his chips onto the table, staring at the mountains of chips piled up.
"From within reach to a fair fight. After all those brain cells, you and I finally stand on the same level." Ryan held the spear with one hand, striding forward.
End remained composed. A real human would have long been flustered, but It was still searching for flaws like a computer.
But unlike before, the critical point had passed. It couldn't find any flaws. The light beams It sprayed only flew a few thousand meters before decomposing into particles in this turbulent energy field.
According to human planning, heaven's timing, ground's advantage, and human harmony were the highest level of advantage. Looking back, without realizing it, he had seized all three.
End's forced, incomplete birth was heaven's timing; injecting the Sea of Quanta and cutting off the Cocoon's connection to the Tree was ground's advantage; and now, lowering the intensity of the fight to maximize his strengths and minimize his weaknesses was human harmony.
Reflecting on everything, End became transparent. "Mhm. This is a miracle even I didn't anticipate."
"But defeating you is the true miracle. All previous steps were just the setup for this moment." Ryan passed through the particles from the decomposed light beams, stopping a few thousand meters away. In terms of the energy clash, this distance was negligible.
But within this energy turbulence, this distance was just right.
Ryan shed all pretense. He no longer roared or showed nervousness. His expression was calm as water. He gently raised his spear. "Then End, proceed."
He was suddenly very polite, but the more troubling thing was that this composure after going all-in was not that of a desperate gambler, but of someone absolutely certain of victory.
End remained silent for a moment. Millions of calculations still yielded no answer. It reluctantly pointed to one possibility:
When both sides revealed all their cards, it was time for a fight to the death. If It died, the stellar ring would inevitably collapse to zero. If he died, the balance would, of course, be broken.
No calculation was needed, and no Path was relevant. In some ways, it was more advantageous to It.
"Very well. Given our respective ranks, using a civilization as a stake is most fitting. I accept the challenge."
It stepped forward to meet him, entering this arena of destiny. Its appearance remained the same, but the roughly ten-meter-tall body began to shrink, finally stabilizing at around three meters. The half-body on top spread its hands, gripping two transparent greatswords.
Condensed Severance Authority? Truly a master.
Ryan also stepped forward, heading toward the 'Centaur Knight.' In this moment, he felt a certain irony.
Unlike the battles moments ago, which involved tens of thousands of kilometers and casually shattering stars and space, the intensity of the attack was terrifyingly simple. Yet, the heart pounding in his chest gave him the clearest answer:
The killing intent has reached its peak, far exceeding any previous moment!
They walked toward each other. Neither was moving fast. End had no facial features, and Ryan wasn't roaring like Kalpas. His fingers constantly rubbed the spear. Against an opponent with infinite calculation ability, a melee fight held no guaranteed victory, but this was his most practiced domain.
Ten thousand meters apart, End raised its greatswords. The beast-like lower body accelerated, like a charging knight.
"Standing alone to cover the retreat, shouldering the survival of a civilization. In human terms, you truly deserve to be called a hero."
"I don't care about being a hero. It's simply the path I chose. I have to see it through." Ryan maintained his speed. As he moved forward, he left behind a step glowing with azure light.
Five thousand meters. Water droplets fell within the compressed stellar ring, like a dense rain composed of energy, making everything hazy.
"Also, you're wrong again. I've never been alone."
Hmm?
End was first confused, then truly heard a voice. It was a soaring song, as if coming from the sea, or perhaps transmitted through the Authority of the Human into Its mind. It instinctively recalled a piece of information from Its observation logs:
You cannot defeat me while I'm playing my BGM?
"Fate/Stay Night: Four Rings of Spring Song. Eden, you truly are a genius, adding a touch of artistry to such a scene."
Listening to the long, hazy, yet fervent song, a slight curve appeared on Ryan's lips. In the 'dense rain,' he couldn't even see End's figure. Only a few things were most apparent.
The endless dark cosmos, the azure star behind him, the Moon beneath his feet, and the Cocoon above his head.
Everything appeared magical and magnificent. Ryan's toe paused slightly. He gently turned his wrist, wrapping the Divine Key in a layer of azure light, and then—
KILL!!!
Ryan vanished. Only a rift in the rain curtain, extending rapidly into the distance, was left behind. Then, the energy rain was annihilated by the exploding shockwave, and a brilliant spark ignited.
Clang.
End crossed its twin swords, looking at the spear that slammed onto its head, watching the bright spark. It tilted its head slightly.
Countering the Authority of Severance with condensed Quantum energy? As expected, he came prepared.
"But you have no surplus energy to defend your body!"
The scorpion-like tail swept out. Ryan parried it as expected, twisting his torso to land behind End, then turning around in mid-air for a counter-stab.
Over-the-Shoulder Stab.
A hard sensation met his hand. Ryan caught a glimpse of his spear tip being grasped by a claw, and the two greatswords in the 'Knight's' hands slashed down in a cross. Instead of abandoning the spear and retreating, he stomped on the void, striking the spear butt fiercely with his right hand.
Spear Flip!
Swish.
The hazy blade passed right in front of his eyes. Severed hair floated in the air. He then raised his right leg, stretching his body.
Bang—
Like a rabbit kicking an eagle, it collided with End's stomping 'ox-hoof.' They rebounded hundreds of meters apart, then turned to face a massive energy turbulence.
Ryan neither defended nor dodged, because the crimson beam of light continuously decomposed, finally breaking down into particles a few meters in front of him, merging into the energy mist and adding a few more strokes of brilliance to the battlefield.
Forcing me to fight in his specialized domain?
Seeing the torn left claw, a surge of azure energy was corroding the wound, preventing the 'Authority of Death' from instantly healing the body.
End was clearly stunned. This was the first time it had been injured since the battle began, and the key was that the injury was so simple and unadorned.
Merely a spear flick?
This environment was highly unsuited for It, which could casually destroy stars. It slowly clenched its left claw.
"You went to great lengths. Very well. Since you want a fair fight, I will indulge you."
The white, faceless upper body 'stood up.' The beast-head-like lower body began to decompose and reassemble, quickly forming an entirely new entity.
It looked like a strong, two-meter-tall human, with brown tentacles growing on its neck and a long tail on its back, as if wearing white scale armor. On its chest and abdomen was a constantly opening and closing mouth.
Its helmet, or rather, its head, was round, with a purple rhombus symbol similar to the Cocoon in the center. The greatsword in its hand was now burning with fire, shimmering with frost, and the surrounding space was distorted by gravity.
The feeling Ryan got shifted from a mere monster to a familiar peer.
Warrior, Martial Artist, Hero?
For an entity that possessed the data of multiple human civilizations, simulating a 'human' similar to Ryan was not difficult.
Who is tougher? Who is faster? Who is more skillful?
"Worthy of End. You created the most suitable countermeasure so quickly. But you must be out of moves now."
Ryan smiled. He didn't add Authority effects to his spear, only gently rotating it, wrapping it in more Quantum energy.
"Mhm, the final stage. If you win, you cross End." The pure white figure stretched its limbs, rotated its joints, and slowly bent down. "The opportunity is yours. Can you seize it!?"
It was completely honest. Even the killing intent was undisguised. The moment the words fell, the figure thousands of meters away instantly vanished.
Since large-scale damage would be diminished and annihilated, It would simply condense all its energy into the most suitable form and destroy this human in the most direct way.
Authority Condensation. Full Energy Deployment!
In the next instant, a burning blade magnified in Ryan's eyes. The spear instinctively slapped outward, but only pierced through an afterimage. The void shattered like a mirror.
Behind him.
Ryan sharply squatted down, seeing the sword light flash past his scalp. Time had just frozen. Fortunately, the stellar ring's compression only lasted a moment. Just as he prepared to counterattack, a black hole rose beneath his feet.
Even though it was immediately crushed, it caused his thrusting spear to pause for a fraction of a second. Ryan maintained his squat, seeing End block the spear and close in, raising its right hand for an overhead chop.
Swish—
The seawater, along with the void, was sliced with a mark. Ryan willingly released the spear from both hands. His palms glowed blue, raised above his head. In a short amount of time, he had gathered the energy of the Sea of Quanta, firmly clamping the multicolored blade.
Empty Handed Catch.
Imaginary and Quantum energy collided in his palms. But just as End poured energy in, preparing to overwhelm him, Ryan took half a step forward, driving his elbow hard into the newly opened giant mouth, knocking the potential light beam and End backward.
"Of course I can!"