Time stopped.
Ye Chen watched the sword pierce his sister's chest.
He watched the bubble pop.
He watched her small, frail body fall from the sky.
"Why?" Ye Chen whispered. "I... I surrendered."
Mo Tian wiped the blood from his sword.
"I lied," Mo Tian said simply. "I'm the Villain. Remember?"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Ye Chen screamed.
It wasn't a scream of anger. It was a scream of a soul breaking into a billion pieces.
The Solar Tyrant in his ring went silent. Even the ancient devil was horrified by the sheer cruelty.
Ye Chen dove. He caught his sister's body before it hit the ground.
He held her. She was already gone.
"Qing'er... wake up..." Ye Chen cried. His magma tears burned holes in her dress. "Please... not you... anyone but you..."
Mo Tian floated down slowly.
"You hesitated," Mo Tian lectured. "You put your emotions above your goal. That is why you lose, Ye Chen. Always."
Ye Chen looked up.
His eyes were no longer red. They were hollow. There was no light. No darkness. Just nothing.
"I..." Ye Chen's voice was barely a whisper. "I will erase you."
"SOLAR DEVIL ART: FINAL FORM."
"SELF-IMMOLATION."
Ye Chen didn't attack Mo Tian. He attacked himself.
He ignited his own soul. He ignited the Solar Tyrant. He ignited the Asura Legacy.
His body began to shine with a light that blinded the entire world.
[System Warning] [Critical Alert: Enemy Self-Destruction.] [Energy Yield: Supernova.] [Survival Chance: 0%.]
"He's going to blow up the planet," Mo Tian realized. "Sore loser."
Mo Tian didn't flee. He couldn't. The lock-on was absolute.
"Ghost One! Yan Luo! Xue Yao!" Mo Tian shouted into the comms. "GET TO THE SHIPS! RAISE THE SHIELDS!"
He looked at the glowing star that was Ye Chen.
"System," Mo Tian said calmly. "What happens if I eat a Supernova?"
[Calculation: Body Destruction 100%.] [Soul Survival Chance: 0.001%.] [Unless...]
"Unless what?"
[Unless you evolve mid-consumption.] [Required: The Heavenly Dao of this World.]
Mo Tian looked up at the sky.
The Heavenly Dao Eye (the red eye) was watching, terrified of Ye Chen's explosion too. If the planet blew up, the Heavenly Dao died.
"Hey!" Mo Tian shouted at the Sky. "You want to live?"
The Eye blinked.
"Make me a God," Mo Tian spread his arms. "And I'll eat the bomb."
The Heavenly Dao hesitated. It hated Mo Tian. He was a cancer.
But Ye Chen was a bullet to the head.
RUMBLE.
The Red Eye closed.
A beam of Origin Law—the source code of the world—descended. It bypassed Ye Chen and struck Mo Tian.
It didn't attack him. It authorized him.
[System Update] [Access Granted: World Admin Privileges.] [Realm Limit Removed.]
Mo Tian grinned. His body turned into pure Chaos.
"COME HERE, HERO!"
Mo Tian flew into the exploding Ye Chen.
He hugged him.
"HEAVEN-DEVOURING ART: UNIVERSE SWALLOW."
FLASH.
White.
Absolute white.