CHAPTER 134 – Shen and Ling's Impossible Decision
Meanwhile, outside the void, in the Root Protagonist's collapsing headquarters—
Shen slammed his hands onto a shimmering control panel projected by the Root Protagonist.
"TRACK HIM! FIND GU'S SOUL PATH! WE NEED A ROUTE!"
Ling grabbed his arm, pulling him back from the volatile panel.
"Shen—stop—! We already tried! We can't open the void again without causing a critical breach!"
Shen's voice cracked with pure, desperate anguish.
"Then FORCE it open! I don't care about the consequences!"
The Root Protagonist shook his head sharply, his silver eyes filled with finality.
"If we open it now—Xiao Xi dies instantly. She is the seal."
Shen froze, the impossible logic trapping him.
Ling's breath hitched, realizing the depth of their loss.
"Then… what do we do? We lose one of them no matter what?"
The Root Protagonist stared at the collapsing rift signature on the monitor.
"There is only one theoretical solution to save both."
Shen wiped his eyes roughly, accepting the cost.
"Tell me. I'll pay anything."
The Root Protagonist hesitated, his posture showing genuine fear.
"…We must send someone else inside.
A fully conscious stabilization element."
Shen tensed, ready to go.
"Me. I'm the fastest."
Ling grabbed his wrist instantly, her hands like steel.
"No—NO—absolutely not! You're human! You'll be annihilated before you hit the void!"
Shen didn't look at her, focused only on the mission.
"Xiao Xi is our friend.
Gu is our friend.
They are my family.
That is enough reason."
Ling shook her head violently, tears streaming down her face.
"I won't lose you too, Shen! We've lost enough!"
Shen finally turned toward her, his voice soft, breaking her defenses.
"Ling… I couldn't save Xiao Xi.
I wasn't fast enough."
He touched her cheek gently.
"But I can save the one she chose.
I can save Gu for her."
Ling's tears fell silently, the argument lost.
"But if you go… what will I do, Shen? How will I wait alone?"
Shen replied gently, accepting their shared fate.
"You'll wait for me, Ling.
Like Gu is waiting for her.
And you'll keep the headquarters safe."
The Root Protagonist opened his hand, a tiny, dangerously unstable wormhole forming above his palm.
Shen stepped toward it—
when Ling suddenly grabbed him, pulling him back with superhuman strength.
"No, wait.
Stop."
Shen's eyes widened.
"Ling—"
She smiled softly, a determined, terrible beauty in her eyes.
"If anyone should go—it should be me.
I'm a protagonist.
You're human.
I have a better chance of surviving the void. And I have chaos-light."
Shen's voice cracked, recognizing the finality of her decision.
"Ling… please."
She placed her forehead against his, a profound, silent farewell.
"If you went in there, Shen… I'd follow anyway.
So let me take the lead."
The wormhole pulsed, dangerously unstable.
Time was running out.
Shen held her tight, a silent vow passing between them.
Then whispered:
"…Then we go together.
We stabilize the prison from the outside, and I stabilize you from the inside."
Ling nodded, her eyes blazing with resolve.
And they stepped into the terrifying, carving light of the wormhole.
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CHAPTER 135 – Gu Forces the Void to Obey
Inside the collapsing void—
Gu's body shattered again, fragments of his existence scattering like stardust, the void trying to annihilate him entirely.
Xiao Xi screamed, unable to reach him:
"Yanzhou—you're dissolving—!!"
But Gu didn't fall.
His soul refused to obey the laws of the void.
Instead, it ignited.
Pure white.
Burning.
Defiant.
The fire of a choice overriding fate itself.
The First Root recoiled, its chains vibrating with terror.
"WHAT—WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOU ARE COLLAPSING YOUR OWN VESSEL!"
Gu clenched his fists, stabilizing his form through sheer force of will, forcing the First Root's chains to tighten.
"Something I should have done long ago. Rejecting your destiny for her."
He reached toward Xiao Xi, his soul burning brighter than the surrounding darkness.
Not physically.
Not through severed bonds.
Not through fate or destiny.
Through choice.
Through the absolute, unquestionable, singular devotion of his will.
The void froze.
Cracked.
Then—
BOWED.
Xiao Xi gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.
The First Root roared in fury and absolute horror, its immense form shaking the prison to its limits.
"THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE—!!
THE VOID OBEYS ONLY ROOTS—IT OBEYS ONLY PURE CHAOS AND ORDER—!!"
Gu stared directly at him, his voice shaking the prison to its structural foundations.
"I am not your vessel.
I am not your creation."
"I am hers.
And where she is, I am."
And the entire conceptual void split open, answering the will of the man who chose to rewrite himself for love.
Sorry guys for the late update, I was extremely busy with something, and this Wednesday was my birthday, but don't worry there is more chapters to come as my birthday gift to you lovelies
😊😊😊