Countdown: 99 Days
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:✦ FINAL PHASE INITIATED✦ Battle of the Eclipse begins in 99 days✦ Objective: Prepare, unite, and confront the Heralds✦ Success = Salvation. Failure = Oblivion.
The moment the system's voice faded, the Architect's Core pulsed once… and then began to disintegrate.
Pillars of light folded in on themselves, the chamber collapsing in silence, leaving nothing but a soft wind—and seven figures standing where a god once spoke.
Li Wei stood tall, his arm wrapped gently around Yue's waist, the others close around him in a ring of silent understanding.
The choice had been made.
There was no turning back.
Return from the Core
They emerged from the Architect's Core atop a new floating island—one they hadn't seen before. Lush forests bloomed unnaturally fast, rivers shimmered like flowing crystal, and the sky above swirled with gold and violet. It felt like a realm between realms.
"Where are we?" Lana asked, touching a floating flower.
SYSTEM: Welcome to the Wielder's Sanctum.Safe zone for recovery and system synthesis.Time dilation: 1 day = 1 hour in outer world. Use wisely.
"Time works differently here," Shen Ruo murmured.
"That means we can train. Strategize. Grow stronger," Meiyu said, her eyes gleaming.
"But not forever," Scarlet added, her voice calm. "The countdown is ticking."
Li Wei nodded. "Let's not waste a second."
New Powers Awaken
That evening, the group stood in the Sanctum's training grounds—an open space surrounded by floating rings of elemental energy.
Li Wei raised his hand. His entire body glowed with a quiet blue light—stable, powerful, divine.
NEW SYSTEM FORM:✦ Heavenbreaker Mode – Lv. 1✦ Passive: Complete soul-link with bonded allies✦ Active: Split Reality — Delay fatal attacks by 5 seconds✦ Bond Trait (Yue): Frost Pulse✦ Bond Trait (Lana): Infernal Surge✦ Bond Trait (Lotus): Lifeflow Bloom✦ Bond Trait (Meiyu): Mirror Bloom✦ Bond Trait (Shen Ruo): Seal Glyph Overdrive✦ Bond Trait (Scarlet): Bone Phoenix Armor
He looked around. Each girl's aura had matured, becoming something wholly unique.
Yue's ice could now slow time in a small radius.
Lana's fire didn't just burn—it ignited soul signatures.
Lotus could grow healing fields that regenerated not just flesh, but spirit.
Meiyu's illusions could now copy skills in real-time.
Shen Ruo's seals bent physical laws.
Scarlet… simply stood unburned in the center of a cursed flame, smiling for the first time.
Li Wei laughed. "I feel like we could take on the world."
The sky trembled.
And something whispered back:
"Then come."
The Herald Descends
Lightning cracked across the Sanctum's false sky.
A rift tore open in midair—crimson and black—and from it descended a figure wreathed in entropy.
The first Herald of the Eclipse.
It was tall, cloaked in a shifting robe made of eyes and mouths. Where its face should've been was a burning eclipse—a sun consumed by shadow.
SYSTEM WARNING: Herald DetectedPower Level: Unknown. Potential exceeds current party level.Objective: SURVIVE
"Back!" Li Wei shouted.
The group formed up instantly—Yue to the front, Shen Ruo laying protective glyphs, Lotus blooming defense petals, Lana flaring to max heat.
The Herald raised a single finger.
With it, he erased a mountain in the distance.
Not blasted. Erased.
Meiyu paled. "That wasn't power. That was… reality denial."
Round One: Resistance
Li Wei struck first, activating Split Reality—dodging a fatal beam and countering with a triple-element palm strike.
It connected—barely—and the Herald recoiled.
Yue followed with a Frozen Heartstorm blast, slowing the Herald's time field.
Lana spun mid-air, launching Phoenix Spiral—flames cloaked in dimensional fire.
Scarlet's Bone Phoenix circled them like a shield of death.
The Herald staggered.
And then smiled.
Its mouth opened, releasing thousands of echoing voices:
"We were not meant to die. We are what was broken. We are what will consume."
Dozens of afterimages erupted from it, each moving faster than light.
Li Wei's system pinged wildly.
Passive Triggered: Split RealityFatal blow delayed 5 seconds. Counter now.
He poured energy into Yue's frost and Meiyu's mirrors—duplicating and redirecting the Herald's own power back at him.
There was a blast—
A shockwave of inverted light.
When it cleared, the Herald stood charred—but intact.
"You dare reflect me," it said, voice calm.
And struck.
The Breaking Point
The Herald reached Shen Ruo first—tearing her barrier in half. Lotus dove to intercept, using her entire bloom field to redirect the attack.
It scorched her across the chest.
Scarlet grabbed her and pulled her back into the air.
"Li Wei!" Meiyu called, throwing him a reflective glyph.
He caught it—merged it with Lana's flame—and screamed, "NOW!"
All six girls poured power into him.
SYSTEM ULTIMATE UNLOCKED: Sixfold Heavenbreaker – Variant DriveTime Limit: 17 seconds
Li Wei soared upward, cloak shredding, hair flying in a golden blaze.
He slammed down on the Herald with a strike so bright, it cracked the floating islands below.
Time stopped.
The Herald's form shattered.
Fell.
Vanished.
Aftermath
The group collapsed.
Lotus was unconscious. Shen Ruo barely breathing. Lana burned. Scarlet trembling. Meiyu bleeding from the eyes. Yue frozen still.
Li Wei coughed blood.
But they were alive.
SYSTEM REPORT:Herald defeated. Regeneration pending. Core essence absorbed.New Trait unlocked: "Eclipse Resistance."Countdown: 98 Days Remain
Secrets in the Light
Later, as the group recovered inside the Sanctum's healing chamber, Li Wei walked alone to the lake at the edge of the floating forest.
He saw his reflection.
And something behind it.
A silhouette.
A man in a hoodie, sitting on a bench.
Li Wei turned.
But there was no one.
The reflection lingered.
SYSTEM CORE MESSAGE UNLOCKED:Origin Seed Detected: Earth SignaturePossibility: Another from your world survived
Final Scene
That night, as the group lay together—recovering, curled close under the veil of the reconstructed stars—Li Wei whispered:
"We're going to win."
Yue held his hand.
Lana kissed his temple.
Lotus snuggled against his chest.
Meiyu brushed his hair gently.
Scarlet curled beside his feet, warm.
Shen Ruo exhaled against his neck.
No one spoke.
The stars overhead flickered.
And far, far away…
Another Herald awoke.
Smiling.