Chapter 842: Chapter 842

"This world is just like that,"

As he watched the staggering boy rise to his feet, unsteady even in his steps, the robed elder curled up his body, his voice becoming increasingly hoarse and weak, "you have to choose between a bad option and an even worse one, there’s never a perfect solution."

The boy seemed not to have heard him at all but instead turned around and with stumbling steps, walked towards a shattered boat lying in pieces beside him.

The elder’s life was fading rapidly. He looked at He Ao, opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

The vast will in the sky descended quickly, huge tentacles around it writhed with life, as the slumbering Eternal Divine Nation gradually awoke.

And with the awakening of the Divine Nation, the golden brooch embedded in the scarf began to squirm slowly.

Twisted will entered He Ao’s mind, it was both an ’admonition’ and a ’threat.’

The intention from the Great Vast Will allowed him to convert to the Eternal Light, to become a believer of the Eternal Light, and even to receive the favor of the Eternal Light, to become the master of the Eternal Divine Nation—as long as he was willing to tell the Great Eternal Light everything he knew about the War God.

He Ao slowly reached out, grasped the golden brooch, and carefully removed it from the red knitted scarf.

The writhing tentacles on the brooch danced excitedly, as if welcoming his ’surrender.’

Then, a red glow flashed through He Ao’s hand, directly crushing the golden brooch into pieces.

A brilliant radiance flashed across the sky, as if provoked by some extreme ’defiance,’ the dormant tentacles ’revived’ at a faster pace.

He Ao seemed oblivious to all this as he staggered into the half-destroyed cockpit, looking down at the wet cockpit floor.

Immediately, he raised his hand smeared with his own blood, then quickly began to draw on the ground.

In an extremely short time, a Septagram Magic Array drawn in blood appeared in the boy’s field of view.

Then the boy opened a small box beside him and rummaged out a somewhat cute but seemingly long-forgotten school bag, which contained a second-grade social studies textbook, a children’s workbook, a pen, and a box of ink that was no longer usable.

Besides that, there was a plastic bag, inside of which were human skull fragments and finger bones.

The boy picked up this school bag, then his body twisted, as though about to crumble into a mass of flesh and blood.

At that instant, paper butterflies, mostly white, landed on his shoulder, and potent healing power surged into his body.

The body of the Paper Butterfly was not entirely real and could hide, to a certain extent, in the crevices of an alternate world.

He Ao glanced at the Paper Butterfly; at its base, it still retained some traces of blood, the strength that He Ao had forcefully asked Alice to preserve.

Supported by the Paper Butterfly, He Ao took out the items from the school bag, one by one, and placed them at the corresponding positions of the Septagram Magic Array.

A faint grey-white glow lit up on the Array.

He Ao stepped forward, entering the heart of the Array.

In that instant, the entire Eternal Divine Nation trembled slightly, as if it sensed something, several tentacles closest to He Ao ’awoke’ at an extremely fast speed, sweeping towards He Ao.

He Ao raised his hand, a faint red glow gathering in his palms.

But at that moment, the movement of those tentacles froze in midair.

He Ao lifted his head to look at the tentacles.

Standing right in front of those tentacles, there was the ethereal Soul Spirit of an elderly man in simple robes.

His robes were clean and tidy, his sparse white hair hanging naturally.

He turned his head, standing before those towering mighty tentacles, looking at He Ao, "I hope what you seek can eventually be realized."

Then, the sea breeze blew through his body, turning it into scattered radiance.

The few frozen tentacles turned back, blocking the other awakening tentacles.

He Ao turned his head to glance at the elderly man collapsed on the ground nearby, covered in blood; his life had completely faded.

He Ao bowed his head, walked into the core of the Septagram Magic Array.

At the edge of the sky, an illusory, flickering radiance was forming from the endless void.

A vast and terrifying pressure spread out.

The youth stood at the very heart of the Septagram Magic Array, as the wind that accompanied the arrival of the Higher Being blew through his collar and scarf. He slowly opened his mouth,

Invisible brilliance burned on the Septagram Magic Array like blinding flames,

"Everything will eventually exhaust,"

A boundless aura traveled through endless space, bringing with it the gaze of the Great Being, that invisible and terrifying sense of oppression rapidly spread with the gale over the Storm Sea, and the brilliance in the sky seemed to hasten its coalescence.

"Only Truth is infinite!"

Those mad tentacles finally tore through the tentacles obstructing their path.

Accompanying this, a connection infused with infinite knowledge was established in his mind.

Without hesitation, He Ao exclaimed, "Hahaha, God of Knowledge, the great Eternal Radiance blesses me, y..."

The entire Septagram Magic Array flashed violently for a moment, then instantly shattered.

Was the ritual ruined?

And just at the moment He Ao pondered.

Countless dazzling thunders flashed through the sky in quick succession, the intense sound of blasts piercing through the youth’s eardrums like sonic booms.

The brilliance in the sky, seemingly from the Eternal Light, solidified in an instant. During this brief moment, the resplendent brilliance shone over the overcast sky, enveloping the entire Eternal Divine Nation.

This brilliance gathered a vast power and surged towards He Ao.

And at that moment, high above the firmament, between the thunder and the clouds, a huge and pitch-black crack suddenly appeared.

Countless grey-white thunders fell like a storm, striking the Eternal Divine Nation below.

The brilliance that hung in the sky quickly withdrew the power that had spread towards He Ao, resisting the grey-white thunders descending from heaven.

Then, the crack in the sky was suddenly torn open by some violent force, transforming into a grey eye.

This eye shifted its gaze, looking down upon the golden Eternal Divine Nation and the resplendent radiance covering it.

The next second, a grey pillar of light formed from the invisible void; it descended from heaven, carrying a force capable of destroying everything, and pierced towards the Eternal Divine Nation below.

Endless pitch-black spots spread along with the extend of the radiance, which were tiny singularities formed by twisted and torn spacetime.

The entire Eternal Divine Nation was almost perforated in this instant, yet it was still blocked by the flickering brilliance.

Subsequently, the Eternal Divine Nation began to emanate dazzling light, sending beams shining back onto the grey eye, seemingly preparing to expel the grey eye.

The grey eye trembled slightly as it widened.

The next moment, pitch-black cracks appeared in the sky, then abruptly opened wide, turning into countless layers upon layers of eyes that filled the sky, staring down at the Eternal Divine Nation below.

One by one, grey pillars of light gathered in the void in front of the eyes, then with the suddenness of the storm, they rained down, covering the sky.

The entire world seemed to dim in that instant; the thunders filling the sky lost all their splendor at this moment.

The dense storm and clouds were easily crushed to dust.

Tiny black spots spread across each inch of spacetime.

While the infinite and boundless radiance above the Eternal Divine Nation also suddenly trembled violently under the grey light rain.

The tentacles that had originally swept towards He Ao quickly retracted, transforming into towering pillars that supported the brilliance of the sky.

Tsk, good friends are indeed fierce.

Now, He Ao had an estimation of the strength of all parties involved in the battle.

The projection of the Eternal Radiance was probably barely at an angelic tier, yet it was only slightly stronger than his previous War God projection and Endir’s White Robe Phantom, which is why it hesitated to descend at first, fearing it might get gang-beaten by He Ao and Endir.

Although It could project itself more than once, the energy loss for each descent was probably not small, and It was not keen on wasting a projection for nothing.

The Eternal Divine Nation on the other hand, was truly a powerful angel that neither He Ao nor Endir combined could defeat.

But as for a good friend,

He Ao looked up at the sky.

A good friend could suppress both and still maintain an absolute advantage.

To send so much strength over, that must be quite the depletion.

What is called friendship!

However, the good friend seemed to be acting with caution, possibly harboring other plans.

He Ao, too, was someone who considered his friends, and couldn’t let the good friend strain so much.

He found a long cabinet in the corner of the cockpit and rummaged out a metallic nutrient pod cover from one of the cabinets.

On the front of the cover, the pattern of a ’K’ was faintly outlined with already blurred bloodstains.

He Ao gazed at the pattern, then turned the cover over.

A complex heart-shaped pattern, long since painted with fresh blood, appeared in the young man’s field of view.

The young man stood on the cover, removing the red knitted scarf from around his neck.

Even though he had always tried to protect it, the scarf was significantly frayed and pilled, and he gently pinched the scarf, looking up at the sky.

"I have obtained what I sought!"

The young boy’s naive and hoarse voice echoed under the brilliance and storm, "All things in the world are but vanity, and the eternal universe returns to joy."

The dim pattern on the cover began to twinkle with a dazzling purple radiance, and a beautiful, seductive waltz suddenly echoed in the boy’s ears.

Deep within the hazy sea of consciousness, a rippling wave emerged from the young man’s mind, followed by the emergence of a graceful and stunning figure from the water.

Her eyes were downcast as if listening to He Ao’s prayer, her perfect form tensely taut, sacred and enchanting.

"Witch of Desire, greetings, the Great Eternal Radiance has heard of your offspring’s feeble tale,

"Now, listen well and obediently, the Great Eternal Radiance feels pity for you, and just so happens our newly constructed Eternal Divine Nation requires strength for rejuvenation. Hurry and contribute some offspring or projections to serve as sacrifices, to please the Great Eternal Radiance. This is your chance for reward, no need to thank me."

Almost the moment He Ao’s words ended, the connection deep within his consciousness was abruptly severed.

Everything around seemed to fall silent at that moment, even the sounds of the storm seemed to diminish.

Only the Array beneath the boy’s feet continued to flicker with a faint glow, signaling that the ritual was still maintaining a connection.

Thunderous roars suddenly pealed across the sky, and a purple bolt of lightning struck the Eternal Divine Nation bathed in light.

The immense brilliance trembled once but was not torn asunder.

The purple lightning did not vanish. After withstanding one strike from the luminescence, what was originally the thickness of a person exploded like a nuclear blast, expanding into a purple lightning column hundreds of meters in diameter.

This majestic lightning, surging through the storm beneath the clouds, through the grey light rain, struck fiercely upon that brilliant radiance.

The light, already at its limit under the gray light rain, shattered in that instant.

The terrifying force of impact created a black spot that in a moment clustered into a twisted, pitch-black sphere, frantically devouring all matter and light around it.

In this exceedingly brief moment, the black sphere was torn asunder by the resplendent lightning, returning to the pulsating spots of creation and destruction.

The light rain and the lightning tore through the Eternal Radiance like ripping paper, tearing apart the light within its projection, and also tearing through the age-old, thick clouds that shrouded the Storm Sea.

This was the first time He Ao had seen the sky above the Storm Sea.

The sky was dim and quiet, with only a few scattered stars floating in the darkness.

[Evaluating mission...]

[Will return to the original world in 90 seconds]

[Return Immediately (90)]

The projection of Eternal Light was gone.

A thought flashed through He Ao’s mind.

Clear the darkness beneath the Eternal Radiance.

The system liked to place the answer right on the surface of the riddle.

The Eternal Radiance was itself a part of this darkness.

[Returning to the original world...]

Purple thunder and gray rain of light struck the flipping city of gold at the same time.

Thick tentacles were effortlessly wiped out like foam, and the sturdy golden ground was easily torn apart along with them.

A red knitted scarf was gently lifted by the sea breeze, then torn to shreds by the terrifying thunder.

Thunder and rain of light plowed through every corner of the city, eradicating every inch of land and flesh of this magnificent golden Kingdom of God, forming an un-dissipating thick fog that spread along the sea from the evaporating water.

The purple thunder and gray brilliance intertwined, accompanied by the birth and death of black spots, rolling through the fog, filling the sea for dozens of kilometers in diameter, blocking the sky and lightning, obstructing the howling wind.

Not until everything was completely wiped out did the gray eyes in the sky slowly vanish, leaving behind only the original eye that first arrived.

This eye looked downward, gazing at the undulating sea surface.

In the place where Its gaze rested, the thick fog began to transform back into seawater, with even the surging waves starting to slowly recede.

As if time were flowing backward, some red material condensed out of the void and then swiftly gathered together, reverting into a red knitted scarf dotted with tiny holes.

Immediately after, the remnants of blood and flesh appeared in the void, gradually ’restoring’ themselves, reassembling and outlining the figure of a young boy.

At that instant, the roaring purple thunder struck right at the gray giant eye.

This mighty force directly interrupted the giant eye’s manipulation; the body reassembling on the waves shattered quickly, returning once more to nothingness.

The giant eye shifted its gaze, its gray eyes seeming somewhat surprised.

Its power was completely exhausted, and Its body was fading and disappearing bit by bit.

Meanwhile, at the end of the giant eye’s gaze, the purple thunder converged into an angry lightning-encircled graceful figure that also faded away, dissipating in the storm of the Storm Sea.

The red scarf fell into the undulating waves, tossing and turning with the surf.

It was gradually soaked by the sea, slowly sinking.

At that moment, it seemed to touch something, started to float up bit by bit, and finally flew up slowly.

The storm brushed through the scarf, gently lifting the corner, revealing the crippled Paper Butterfly underneath struggling to fly and support the scarf.

Standing on the rooftop of United Industries headquarters, Lena lifted her head to look toward the end of the now dim Storm Sea.

Vili bowed her head and placed her hand on her chest, "It’s over."

Behind her, cracks opened up in the clouds covering the firmament, revealing scattered stars, and flakes of snow mingled with rain floated onto the faces of the pedestrians below.

The flowing wind swept through the entire city, past the pedestrians’ strands of hair, past the fallen snow and rain, also dispersing the curtain that weighed on everyone’s heart, fluttering noisily.