The sphere of devouring darkness expanded.
Silent. Absolute. Eternal.
A killing force so pure the Sanctuary itself recoiled. The air cracked like glass. Runes shattered. The ground beneath Xiao Wang splintered as if begging him to flee.
But he couldn't move yet.
His body trembled from the backlash of the Trial of Souls.
His soul ached from truth.
His heart—still broken, still raw—felt like it had been carved open and exposed to winter storms.
Yet the Silent Eraser didn't wait.
The sphere drifted toward his chest like a slow-moving moon, but every instinct screamed that if it touched him, he would cease to exist—not die, not perish—
Cease.
Erase.
Unmake.
The silver-haired girl in white lunged forward, her eyes red, tears still clinging to her lashes.
"STOP!!" she cried, raising her arms, foolishly—desperately—trying to shield him.
Yun Xi's pupils shrank in horror.
"DON'T TOUCH THAT!"
She grabbed the girl around the waist, dragging her back with brute force.
"It will erase you too!"
But the girl fought wildly. "LET ME GO—HE JUST WOKE UP—HE CAN'T—HE CAN'T—!!"
The Silent Eraser glanced at her without emotion.
"You interfere again. Why?"
His hand tilted slightly. The sphere shifted—
Toward both of them.
Yun Xi cursed under her breath, pulling the girl into her arms and rolling away across the stone floor.
"ARE YOU INSANE?! WANT TO DIE?!"
The girl sobbed. "I DON'T CARE! HE JUST CAME BACK—I CAN'T—!"
But the Hunter ignored her.
He ignored Yun Xi.
He ignored everything except Xiao Wang.
He lifted his hand.
The sphere stopped.
And compressed.
Tightened.
The Sanctuary dimmed as if the world braced for what came next.
"This attack," the Silent Eraser said calmly, "contains no wasted force."
He pointed his finger at Xiao Wang's heart.
"It will erase your soul, your lineage, your destiny, and every echo of your past life."
The sphere shot forward.
Fast.
Silent.
Inevitable.
Yun Xi screamed, "XIAO WANG!!"
The silver-haired girl reached toward him—
But Xiao Wang was already moving.
The system flared.
[SYSTEM ALERT!]
[Auto-Defense Disabled — Soul State Unstable]
[Warning: Host's body is 84% exhausted]
[Recommendation: FLEE IMMEDIATELY]
[Warning! Incoming attack: Erasure-Class Energy]
[Impact survival rate: 0%]
Xiao Wang ignored all of it.
The Devouring Sword pulsed in his hand.
He stood tall, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, wounds screaming—
—but his gaze was steady.
Cold.
Alive.
"I just woke up," he said quietly. "You should have waited."
The Silent Eraser paused mid-motion, as if confused.
"Explain."
Xiao Wang lifted his foot.
Step.
His body felt heavier than mountains.
But he stepped again.
Step.
The sphere hurtled closer—
Ripping through space.
Crushing the air.
Darkening the world.
Xiao Wang didn't dodge.
Didn't block.
He raised his sword calmly.
"You think my story ends here?"
He lowered his stance.
"Wrong."
The Devouring Sword ignited in black flame.
[EMPEROR'S ROOT — TIER 1 ACTIVATED]
[SWORD INTENT RESONANCE — ACTIVE]
[SPECIAL AUTHORITY: UNKNOWN PRESENCE — AWAKENING]
The system flickered violently.
[Warning: HOST IS OVERDRAWING POWER]
[Stop immediately or risk permanent soul damage!]
Too late.
The sphere collided—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Sound vanished.
Light collapsed.
Darkness swallowed everything.
For a moment—there was nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
And then—
A crack.
A faint, metallic ring.
The sound of a sword refusing to break.
The Devouring Sword trembled violently in Xiao Wang's hands—its blade half-devoured by the erasure sphere.
But not destroyed.
Not yet.
The Silent Eraser's head tilted.
"…Impossible."
Xiao Wang leaned into the impact, body shaking uncontrollably.
Veins bulged.
His bones creaked.
His skin split in several places.
But he did not fall.
He glared straight into the sphere, teeth bared.
"You think—"
He pushed harder.
"—that I'll die—"
His voice cracked with pain.
"—before I avenge—anything?"
The Silent Eraser blinked.
Something sparked behind him.
A golden silhouette.
A woman.
The woman from the trial.
The once-lover.
She appeared like a flicker of starlight—just long enough for the sphere to react.
Xiao Wang's eyes widened—
But she smiled softly.
"It's all right."
Her hand—made of memory, made of soul fragments—touched the Devouring Sword.
The blade glowed with a mourning radiance.
A warmth he remembered.
A warmth he had forgotten.
A warmth that hurt more than any blade.
The sphere cracked.
Just slightly.
But enough.
The Silent Eraser's calm voice finally wavered.
"...Anomalous interference."
He stepped back for the first time.
Xiao Wang exhaled explosively and swung.
A single, wild, desperate arc.
Not elegant.
Not perfect.
But alive.
SLASH!!!
The sphere ruptured—
Cracks splintering across its surface like shattering glass.
Then—
BOOM!!!
The sphere exploded in a burst of erased space.
The shockwave hurled Xiao Wang backward violently—he slammed into the ground, coughing blood.
[Soul Integrity: 63% → 41%]
[Warning! Body Integrity Critical!]
[Host is nearing collapse!]
But he survived.
He survived.
Yun Xi gasped. "HE… BLOCKED IT?!"
The silver-haired girl burst into tears, scrambling to him. "Xiao Wang—!! Xiao Wang—!!"
But the Silent Eraser wasn't done.
Not even close.
He flicked his wrist.
Reality folded behind him.
A second sphere began forming—denser, darker, more dangerous.
"This is your fate."
His voice was as cold as iron.
"You delay death, but cannot defy it."
He raised both hands.
Two spheres now.
Two points of absolute erasure.
Enough to destroy an entire realm.
Xiao Wang staggered to his feet.
Barely.
His legs trembled.
His breathing was ragged.
But his eyes held clarity.
A clarity he had not felt since awakening.
"One thing you forgot," Xiao Wang whispered.
The Silent Eraser paused.
"What?"
Xiao Wang lifted the Devouring Sword—
—and black flames spiraled upward like wings.
"You're not the only one who evolved."
The system violently activated.
[SYSTEM UPDATE COMPLETE]
[Trial Synchronization: 48%]
[Emperor's Root: Resonance Unlocked]
[New Authority Detected: SOUL ECHO — BOND]
[Power Source: ??? (Unstable)]
Xiao Wang's heart thumped.
He felt it.
Her presence.
Not an illusion.
Not a fake.
Not the past.
A part of her soul had followed him.
A soul echo bound through love so deep that even Heaven failed to erase it.
The once-lover's voice whispered behind him:
"I am with you."
Xiao Wang raised his sword.
The black flame turned gold.
Golden-black.
Emperor's wrath mixed with devotion.
The Silent Eraser froze.
"Unidentified power—!"
Too late.
Xiao Wang disappeared.
Vanished.
He reappeared directly in front of the Silent Eraser—
Sword descending.
The Ninth Hunter barely blocked, boots sliding backward across the Sanctuary floor.
"You've gained a soul bond," the Hunter murmured. "This violates heavenly order."
Xiao Wang smiled coldly.
"Good."
He slashed again.
And again.
And again.
Each strike heavier.
Each one infused with human emotion.
Each one defying the destiny Heaven carved.
The Eraser stumbled backward.
His armor cracked.
His calm expression finally twisted.
Not anger.
Not fear.
But something far more unsettling—
Surprise.
"You are… growing too quickly."
Xiao Wang pointed his sword at him.
"That's your problem."
Yun Xi gasped. "He's overwhelming the Ninth Hunter… with HALF a soul?!"
The silver-haired girl cried, "Go, Xiao Wang! Don't stop!"
The Silent Eraser slammed a hand to the ground.
A black pillar erupted beneath Xiao Wang's feet.
Xiao Wang jumped—landing behind the Hunter.
SLASH!!
His sword carved a line across the Hunter's armor—sparks showering the Sanctuary floor.
The Hunter staggered forward, silent.
Xiao Wang lowered his blade, panting.
"I'm not the Emperor you erased."
The Hunter stood still.
"I am not the Sword Ancestor."
His grip tightened.
"And I'm not the useless shadow you expected."
He lifted the Devouring Sword—
Flames swirling around him.
"I'm me."
The Silent Eraser turned slowly.
"And I," he whispered, "have new instructions."
Xiao Wang froze.
Instructions?
The Hunter lifted two fingers.
A new portal opened behind him.
Blue.
Glowing.
Ancient.
Yun Xi stepped back in horror.
"No… that portal… That's not Heaven's! That's—"
But she never finished.
The Silent Eraser stepped inside.
Before disappearing completely, he spoke:
"Your death has been postponed."
The portal swallowed him—
And vanished.
Silence echoed across the Sanctuary.
For a long moment, none of them moved.
No one breathed.
Then—
Xiao Wang exhaled, his legs buckling—
And collapsed.
The silver-haired girl screamed, catching him before he hit the floor.
"XIAO WANG!!!"
He coughed weakly, eyes half-open.
She hugged him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder.
He whispered, "I'm… alive."
She shook him, crying harder. "Don't say it like that!!"
Yun Xi knelt beside him, expression tight, conflicted.
"The Ninth Hunter retreated… not defeated," she murmured. "He received new orders. That means—"
Xiao Wang forced his eyes open.
"—something stronger is coming."
Yun Xi nodded.
"And your trial… is not finished."
Xiao Wang breathed out, exhausted.
The system flickered in front of him.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
[Trial of Souls — Stage 3 Pending]
[Warning: Host is at 12% physical capacity]
[Recommended Action: Rest or risk death]
He tried to sit up.
The silver-haired girl pushed him back down instantly.
"No," she said firmly. "You're not moving."
Xiao Wang smirked weakly.
"You're… scary."
She burst into fresh tears.
"Shut up!"
Yun Xi sighed heavily.
"Rest. Both of you. The next stage will be worse."
Xiao Wang closed his eyes.
He felt her warmth beside him.
He felt the trial's truth still burning inside him.
And he felt the Ninth Hunter's words echo through the Sanctuary—
Your death has been postponed.
For now.