CHAPTER 117 – The First Root's Final Form
The air split open again, screaming with finality.
Darkness poured from the sky like liquid ink, thick and crushing.
The First Root rose from the rift—
larger, darker, more twisted than before.
It had consumed enough of the timeline to reach its true, final form.
No more shifting shape, no more attempts at a humanoid silhouette.
It was a world-devouring void given form.
A crushing, anti-reality presence.
A living apocalypse.
Its voice vibrated through the bones of the world, a sound of absolute, victorious entropy:
"ENOUGH SENTIMENT.
I WILL END THIS INTERFERENCE.
THE CORE IS MINE."
Shen shouted, pulling Ling back from the massive shockwave the entity emitted:
"It's transforming again—it's going to erase us all!"
Ling's crystalline feathers dimmed, losing hope.
"We're completely outmatched—we can't even slow it down now!"
The First Root lifted one massive arm—a limb made of swirling shadows, broken narrative threads, and crushed memories—and pointed it directly at Xiao Xi.
"YOU CANNOT PROTECT HIM.
YOU CANNOT SAVE YOURSELF.
YOU ARE BROKEN."
Xiao Xi held Gu tight against her chest, feeling the agonizing strain on her fractured Core.
Her chaos flickered dangerously—a dim, failing light—but her voice was steady, infused with a terrible resolve.
"I don't need to protect him."
Her eyes glowed gold through her tears, reflecting the strength of the soul she held.
"We protect each other.
We are one."
The First Root roared, a sound of utter disgust for her sentiment.
"THEN DIE TOGETHER,
FRAGILE CORE!"
It lunged, a world-ending mass of shadow and finality.