Even if Mikael being in danger made her heart bleed while destructive and extremely dark thoughts surfaced in her mind, if she was beside him, then they would both share the same fate; in this way, at least, if he died she would follow him into the grave…
And for her this was far, far, far more bearable compared to the previous situation…
But just then—
Hnnnnnnn…
Vrrrrrrm…
Krrr… krrr… krrr…
Cr-cr-cr-CRACK!
Reality decided to deliver them a slap as, in this fraction of a second, multiple events happened at the same time—first of all, the dark purple energy reached the absolute limit of the hollow ring structure, causing the entire construct to let out worrying cracking sounds which finally culminated in a loud CRACK!
The instant this sound resounded, the entire structure made of special and extremely durable metal, further reinforced by runes, 'exploded' outward—though calling it an explosion was misleading, because what truly happened was that the moment the void-like energy surpassed the limit of the hollow ring structure, the entirety of the ring simply disappeared.
Poof!
Just like that it was gone—one instant it existed and the next there was nothing, as the moment the void-like energy wrapped itself around the structure, it was entirely devoured without leaving even the slightest particle behind…
And in this situation, that was the sound that signaled a deadly trap closing in on the trio of cultivators.
WHOOOOOM…
A deep, suffocating vibration surged outward as the void-like energy swelled, expanding in all directions with a speed and intensity that defied the very idea of distance, its growth so abrupt and so overwhelming that it resembled not an explosion born from matter, but the sudden blooming of an all-devouring star made of darkness itself.
The dark purple radiance—if it could even be called radiance, as it emitted no light and instead consumed everything it touched—expanded with an unimaginable velocity, stretching outward as if an invisible hand had torn open a cosmic wound, unleashing a tidal wave of annihilation that erased air, space, matter and sound alike.
VOOOOOM—!
In the blink of an eye the devouring energy surged across hundreds of meters, then thousands, swallowing the battlefield in a wave so oppressive that even the unstable space of the Realm of Broken Skies recoiled, twisting violently as if struggling to escape its fate.
Wherever the energy passed, clouds evaporated into nothingness, fragments of shattered terrain vanished without resistance, and even lingering traces of Qi from their earlier clashes were extinguished as if they had never existed in the first place…
SHHHHHRRRRNNNN—!
Its extension was fast, unimaginably so, giving nothing the slightest chance to evade, and this was even more true for anything closer to the center of the 'blast zone,' things like the escaping Tharvonis—the Varnari having begun to flee instants after 'waking up' when he saw Mikael's actions and sensed the terrifying spatial fluctuations.
But unfortunately—
Whooosh.
He was too slow!
Like an unstoppable wave hungry to devour everything, the void-like energies quickly reached Tharvonis.
Just as it seemed he would be devoured without offering even the barest defense or struggle, the warrior violently roared, "Titanbone Combat Form Ultimate Art – Titanbone Aegis!"
An earthy brown hue appeared across Tharvonis's skin as he instantly began to 'glow,' and in the perpetual darkness of this mysterious energy he was like a ray of light piercing through the void, his luminance illuminating the darkened region.
With this display it truly looked like an epic confrontation between the seemingly invincible devouring properties of the dark purple energy and the Ultimate defensive art of the Varnari would happen, but—
Fwwmp!
In one instant an epic confrontation looked moments away, and in the next, Tharvonis was gone, engulfed completely by the expanding purple phenomenon, his 'Ultimate defensive art' that seemed so powerful making absolutely no difference from the air before him—both offering not the slightest resistance before being devoured!
Shivers.
Seeing this scene and, more importantly, feeling how Tharvonis's presence entirely disappeared as if he had never been there, Mikael felt a shiver course through his body, 'There's no defending, only escaping!'
BURN!
Without caring about anything, Mikael began to burn his foundation at will, knowing that if he didn't escape, he—and more importantly they—wouldn't live to see another day!
3 kilometers.
With Mikael gambling everything, his speed increased once more, and quickly enough he was now only 3 kilometers from Lian'er, a Lian'er who was also giving her all to reach her beloved as fast as possible—even burning her foundation too!
WHOOOOOM.
The expanding purple phenomenon closely followed behind the rapidly fleeing Mikael, and while his 'early start' allowed him to reach Lian'er before he was engulfed, even then… even then he and now Lian'er were instants away from being devoured by the dark purple energies.
'...'
At that moment it was as if everything around Mikael had slowed down while his mind grew unprecedentedly clear, his thoughts working faster and better than ever as he faced this calamitous threat that seemed unstoppable, unfaceable, and… inescapable!
Mikael could see perfectly well everything around him, whether it was the approaching dark purple tide or even the expression on Lian'er's visage, which was a mix of a small amount of fear blended with a large amount of relief at having reached his side before it was too late…
Everything was clear to his eyes and senses, and this was even more so for his Foresight of Heaven's Mandate sense that was 'screaming' louder than ever before, as he sensed something he never had before; he could feel himself standing at a crossroads, he could clearly sense that, at this moment, what he chose and decided to do would be determining!
'Lian'er…' his attention fixed itself onto Lian'er, who was meters away from him, '...sorry to have brought you into this.'
He let out a long and deep inward sigh as complex emotions hit him, whether it was regret, guilt, sorrow, a mix of the three, or even something else…
He couldn't be sure but—
'I won't let you die because of my errors and weakness, that I'll make sure of… even if it means burning my very soul!'
Smile.
An unprecedentedly gentle smile made its way onto Mikael's visage, his expression growing surprisingly peaceful for the deadly situation he was in, as he gently smiled at Lian'er while extending his right arm toward her.
Extend, grab.
With a movement that seemed slow but was actually fast beyond belief, he extended his right arm and grabbed hold of her thin waist.
"???"
"What are you doing?"
Mikael seemed to hear Lian'er ask that, even though she didn't speak, as he saw her beautiful features twist with hints of confusion when she felt his only arm left wrap itself around her waist, her confusion only amplifying the next moment as he pulled her into his chest…?
'This is how we go? This isn't that bad…' was the thought that flashed through Lian'er mind as he pulled her in for what she believed to be a last hug, but then—
Things drastically changed as he didn't end the movement when she thought he would!
After pulling her against his chest he continued the motion, twisting his hips and torso, making Lian'er 'turn' with him before—
He concentrated a colossal amount of power throughout his body and especially into his right arm, which instantly had blood vessels pop beneath the tremendous strain and then…
He used his full strength and the velocity gathered from his previous movements to hurl Lian'er away at an extreme speed!
"MikaEEEELLLLLLL!!!!!" A surprised scream escaped Lian'er at his actions, but it didn't last long; the moment she realized she was being flung away from Mikael, the scream twisted into a horrified one.
Her expression morphed into unspeakable horror and terror as she saw herself being thrown out of the dark purple energy's 'blast zone' while Mikael wouldn't have the time to escape!
'No no no no no no, this isn't possible! Everything except that! I can't endure being separated! It's either we both live or we both die, I won't accept anything else!!!' these thoughts flashed through her horrified mind as a terrifying madness gripped her spirit, but—
No matter Lian'er wishes, they didn't change reality, and in the next fraction of a second the void-like energy progressed further, now only centimeters away from touching Mikael's skin!
'Sorry…' silently mouthed Mikael to his beloved Senior Sister.
Lian'er could only instinctively extend a hand toward her beloved, as if she wanted to pull him into her arms and drag him to safety, but—
Whoosh.
Reality was cruel.
In the next instant, and under Lian'er's horrified hazel eyes, the dark purple energies finally reached Mikael and in a heartbeat entirely wrapped the handsome cultivator into its 'embrace'.
'...'
Lian'er's mind went blank when she saw Mikael disappear into this void-like energy and… more importantly, felt how his presence suddenly disappeared!
At that moment it was as if her mind had frozen, as if everything around her stopped mattering; she ignored everything, whether it was how she was still moving away from the dark purple energies because of the momentum of Mikael's throw, or how the dark purple energy was closing in on her.
None of that mattered to her, it wasn't even background noise, it simply didn't exist in her perception; her entire focus remained fixed on Mikael's last location, the point she stared at blankly, and while her mind sat empty and in shock, her body reacted on instinct, something that showed in her eyes where tears were already gathering and streaming down her cheeks.
Even if her mind wasn't fully—nor even partially—there, her heart and body already knew what had happened and were reacting…
Whoosh.
A couple of seconds later Lian'er's flight finally came to a stop—the momentum of Mikael's throw having dissipated—at the same time as the dark purple energies halted only dozens of meters away from the horrified beauty.
They had stopped just before reaching her, leaving her safe and making Mikael's…sacrifice meaningful, as at least one of them was still there…
Of course, with Lian'er's current state of mind, she didn't care about that and didn't even blink, her frozen thoughts still locked onto Mikael's last location, mindlessly staring in that direction and uncaring of everything else.
…
A couple more seconds passed without Lian'er coming out of her stupor, and it looked like it would stay that way for a long long while, until—
Rip, tear, whoosh.
Under the continuous presence of this void-like energy, space kept being torn, ripped, and devoured, until it reached a critical point where the already damaged reality simply couldn't support the pressure anymore.
At that instant this dark purple energy—starting from the hollow ring structure, as this was where space had suffered the most damage from longer exposure—began to seep into the hole in reality, making it rapidly disappear, but where this energy was going?
That was a mystery…
And one that didn't really matter to Lian'er's current situation, what DID matter was that the void-like energy gradually disappeared, in a way that in a couple of seconds Mikael's last location would once more become visible!
"Haaaa.. Hhhaaaa"
Lian'er began to suck in sharp, uneven breaths as a terrible premonition gripped her, causing her previously 'empty' mind to awaken, only to be instantly seized by a horrifying terror at what she would see at Mikael's last location…
Author Note:
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…
Things really took a turn for the worse, aren't they?
In the previous chapter(s), things gradually took a turn for the worse, ultimately culminating in this chapter…with Mikael dying!
To that I can only say: "End of the book, thanks for having read it."
For those that aren't fully awake, it's was joke, obviously the novel won't end there, and will continue in the next chapter, with Lian'er following reaction(let's see how the now yandere Senior Sister will react…)
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You're part of this story's ascent. Thanks for being here.
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