CHAPTER 120 – The Moment That Changes Everything
The First Root descended like a cataclysm, sensing the moment of final choice.
Xiao Xi's body shook violently as she pushed her chaos to its catastrophic limit, preparing her final gambit.
A golden sphere formed—the ultimate seal, her final, world-saving attempt—glowing intensely around her and Gu.
Her system shrieked in outright mutiny:
[HOST CORE OVERLOAD IMMINENT]
[THIS WILL KILL YOU]
[STOP—STOP—STOP—IMMINENT DESTRUCTION]
She didn't stop.
Gu fought with every fiber of his being to push away from her, to save her from the bond he knew would kill them both.
"XIAO XI—
DON'T DO THIS—!!
I'D RATHER DIE THAN LET YOU SACRIFICE YOURSELF FOR THIS WORLD—"
She looked at him one last time, her expression one of gentle, tragic love.
Her tears glowed gold as they fell.
"You won't die, my love."
Gu froze, the terror briefly replaced by confusion.
"…What are you doing?"
She smiled softly, a terrible, final farewell.
"Because I won't let you follow me."
With a trembling, agonizing effort—she pressed her palm against his soul, focusing her remaining, shattering Core-power on the bond itself.
The chaos bond snapped.
Gu screamed in agony and betrayal, the separation an instantaneous, tearing pain.
"XIAO XI—
WHAT ARE YOU DOING—
?! NO—!"
Her voice broke with the effort and the emotional cost.
"I'm cutting the bond.
I'm giving you back your choice."
"No—NO—
DON'T—!!
PLEASE—I WANT TO BE WITH YOU—"
Tears streamed down her face as her chaos blade, focused to a laser point, severed the connection between their souls, separating the anchor from the ship.
Gu's soul shot backward, ripped from her Core and forced out of the fatal sphere—
Shen caught him before he hit the ground, clutching the soul-essence of his friend.
Xiao Xi whispered, her body dissolving into pure light.
"Live."
The seal around her blazed with unbearable, overwhelming light.
The First Root roared, furious at the betrayal of the anchor.
"NO—
YOU CANNOT CONTAIN ME ALONE—
YOU WILL FAIL—"
Xiao Xi whispered her final word, her voice serene and strong as the light consumed her.
"Watch me."
She unleashed everything.
Her chaos exploded into a supernova, a blinding, final star.
The world turned absolute white.
And then—
Xiao Xi vanished.
The First Root vanished with her, sealed in a pocket dimension of pure, contained light.
The world went silent, stabilized in a terrible, perfect stillness.
And Gu Yanzhou—
unanchored, broken, but alive—collapsed to the ground, screaming her name.