The head was crushed. The residual energy floated around the body. After a moment, the fragments were ground into dust, and finally, along with the headless body, disappeared into the 'fine rain,' like soil being washed away under a spring shower.
It was over.
Ryan maintained the posture of cupping a head, watching the purple particles dissipate one by one, as if watching a swarm of fireflies fade away.
His face was expressionless. There was little sense of victory or excitement at having defeated a powerful foe. As always, the vanquished turn to dust. It was true for a tiny Honkai Beast, and it was true for the mighty End. Why harbor unnecessary thoughts about a 'dead' entity?
The dust settled. A deep silence reigned.
The intense battlefield became a flower of yesterday. If not for the lingering pain in his body, Ryan would have thought he had a long, illusory dream.
"Phase Six complete. End has been crossed."
He slowly clenched his open hand into a fist, taking a deep breath of the 'air' filled with energy particles. The gradually cooling blood began to boil again.
Victory was unsubstantial, but the gain was exhilarating. A path, unprecedented and unique, had finally been forged. This was not just about solving the problem of the Previous Era; it was about charting a new course distinct from the Future Era.
No grandstanding, no plot armor based on sheer willpower. From the moment of the Third Herrscher, step by step, Ryan had walked to the end of this road. And judging by the final confrontation, he had used every bit of his strength.
The full force of both intellect and martial prowess, science and the metaphysical.
Looking back, as soon as he realized the Cocoon of End might overturn the table, Ryan decisively initiated the plan.
Preparation Phase: Establishing a rapport with Calis to induce the Cocoon to descend as an incomplete End. This was a prerequisite that also bypassed the problem of Elysia. Because It was incomplete, It could potentially be defeated. Because Elysia was present, the Fire Moth-Chaser could act as a cohesive unit.
Phase One: Forcing the Cocoon to land in the real cosmos, breaching the space-time barrier, and starting the final test. The Apostle's strength was slightly unexpected but remained within the overall plan's limits.
Phase Two: Using the Fire Moth-Chaser to force the Apostle of End to overextend itself, making It choose between Ryan and the Flame-Chasers, thereby securing a ten-second window.
Phase Three: Utilizing that window to open the Sea of Quanta valve on the lunar surface. The surging seawater would sever the Cocoon's link to the Imaginary Tree and weaken the Apostle of End's power, creating the condition of 'ground advantage' for him, while also sending the surviving members of the Fire Moth-Chaser away.
Phase Four: Ground advantage was not enough; or rather, it was insufficient for guaranteed victory. At this step, It exceeded the Cocoon of End's calculation limit. It began to step, one by one, into the trap.
Like a drowning person, End struggled with all its might, recklessly countering with Honkai energy. Ryan exploited this, both to avoid the fate of Venus, controlling the ecological destruction to a level the Fourth Divine Key could repair, and to utilize the entanglement of Imaginary and Quantum energy, creating the soil for his Trailblazer.
Phase Five: After the ebb and flow, using the concealed Moonlit Throne to elevate his Imaginary-side strength to the same level, giving him the qualification for a fair fight and the prerequisite for Trailblazer a new skill tree.
"Phase Six, gradually mastering this brand-new power, turning this stellar ring into my domain." Ryan stirred the flying particles with his fingers, a slow smile spreading across his face. "This is the true ground advantage. The more you struggled, the faster my understanding grew. By the time we reached this stage, you were already beyond saving."
Link after link, using many counter-intuitive actions. For example, the Moonlit Throne. End likely never calculated that the shot would be saved for the final stage and fired at the nearly forgotten great tree on Earth.
It was sufficiently tumultuous but not breathtaking, consistent with Ryan's usual style: he preferred to front-load the preparation, using the most scientific methods to complete every step methodically.
The only real difference was that experiments could be rerun, but the battle offered only one chance.
"It's thanks to everyone that this plan could be successfully completed." Ryan took a soft breath. The plan was not his achievement alone; in a way, it was the ultimate masterpiece of human civilization.
From Mei, who planned with him, to the ordinary engineers who built 'Genesis,' every detail was infused with human ingenuity, and every step of execution shone with the glory of civilization.
And, of course, the efforts of the warriors. Without their embrace of death, the plan would have ended at the second phase.
"I merely served as the flag-bearer of civilization, carrying their expectations and playing the most crucial role."
Ryan lowered his hand. He wasn't being falsely humble, but he also didn't want to carry the title of 'Savior.' Just as he chose his inscription during the squad division:
"I am merely a Trailblazer, stepping over your sweat, blood, tears, and even corpses, crossing the threshold of End, and venturing into the unknown."
He slowly turned, as if ascending an invisible staircase. Every step was steady, and every step brought back countless memories. The decades of this civilization's era were like a long journey of discovery.
He stepped over Honkai Beasts, over Herrschers, over End. Raising his head again, he saw the Cocoon gradually descending. That wasn't even the endpoint. At most, it was the final step of the 'Star Era' plan.
The Final Phase: Transcending End.
The Cocoon was falling. After reconnecting to the Imaginary Tree, it would once again possess infinite energy, but the program had been breached. It could no longer birth a new Apostle.
The faceless being's idea was simple: to detonate the Cocoon, an explosion powerful enough to incinerate the entire leaf.
"I've been waiting for you to make this move. The entire plan had to be driven by you. I couldn't have caused the Cocoon to fall."
Ryan walked toward the Cocoon. Its immense energy was so unfathomable that merely approaching it would cause one to dissolve. But why wasn't It exploding yet?
The reason was simple: a deep azure helix appeared on the far side of the Moon. The endless Sea of Quanta was pouring in. This was enough to sink the entire leaf into the sea, but the opposing force of the Cocoon, which was about to explode, created a balance.
Neither could prevail over the other. It was like throwing a fireball into a water tank. The fire, supplied by the Tree, could not be extinguished, and the water in the tank, supplied by the Sea, would not evaporate.
"The energy created by the Apostle of End and myself was barely enough to even begin. It was, at most, a single byte. With some luck, I understood that byte," Ryan approached steadily, his eyes showing a craving he hadn't displayed even against End.
"Now, I will continuously import the infinite database that follows that byte. How will you cope with the long time I'll need to comprehend it?"
"Creating a specific zone to understand the roots of the Tree and the Sea, gradually developing a completely new power. There's no need for the tiresome journey of traversing the void like Akivili. Just being a homebody, using the 'Internet' to explore the world—this is the most scientific use of the Path of Trailblazer."
As a modern scientist writing a thesis, one wouldn't travel to libraries worldwide. One would sit at a computer, typing on a keyboard, using databases to search for the unknown. The result was the same, but the efficiency was incomparable.
As he walked forward, Ryan's body began to blur. In the language of cultivation novels, he was creating a Heavenly Cave and Blessed Land. Since this was the case, it had to have boundaries.
He, the learner, would discard his body and transform into the stellar ring, confining the realm of the Cocoon's confrontation with the Sea to the lunar surface. Naturally, this would cause some energy leakage.
"The overflowing Honkai and Quantum energy, after long-term collision, might produce strange monsters. Hmm, but the intensity of this overflow should be very low. It won't exceed the Herrscher level at its maximum. The remaining Fire Moth-Chaser can handle it."
As his body became transparent, Ryan suddenly thought of a problem, then quickly shook his head.
"Never mind. That's Mei's concern. The long waiting period... they need something to do. They can clean up my mess for me."
Ryan was now nearly imperceptible. He paused, turning around on the spot.
The dark cosmos, the bright stellar ring, and the azure star in the distance. His lips moved. He didn't know what to say, so he simply waved his hand.
"Well then, see you in fifty thousand years."