On the permafrost wasteland, the stench of blood and the chill of the earth intertwine to form an invisible web, enveloping the soul of every survivor. Roman Chronos's words struck like a cold blade straight through the chests of the Nine Kings of the Alliance, turning their faces ashen in an instant.
Queen Sylvia Sunshine's silver-moon eyes flickered with a trace of hesitation, but it was quickly replaced by resolve. She swept her gaze across the other kings and said in a low voice, "Everyone, Roman's madness may well be the truth. We cannot sit idly by while this 'Zhou Weixi' destroys everything. For now… unite! Release Virginia and let her help drain its power! But remember—this is only a temporary measure! After the battle, the crimes of Doomsday Rebirth will still be settled!"
Nuti Ursa's tiger-like eyes blazed with fury as he roared, "Damn it! For the sake of my Fiery Claw brothers, I agree! But Roman, if you dare play any tricks, I'll be the first to tear you apart!"
Secret Forging Titan slammed his fist on the table: "The forge bears witness! We unite—for now! But don't think you'll escape judgment!"
Aldrich nodded: "Though the Alliance's honor cannot be tarnished. Right now… we have no choice."
Queen Yulena nodded: "The tides of the sea will remember this moment."
Erebus's soul flames flickered: "Though the traitors of the soul lineage are detestable, the enemy before us is greater."
Wyrselon's chains clanged: "The firmament bears witness—we unite, temporarily."
Maragoss snorted coldly: "The dark night dislikes the light, but for survival… agreed."
The Ancient Armor Elder spoke slowly: "The wisdom of the ancestors tells me this is the only path to life."
Virginia was released from her shackles. Beneath her hood, her face was pale and bloodless. A flash of fear and unwillingness passed through her eyes, but it soon turned into a cold sneer: "Hmph, I never thought I'd see this day. Looks like we've all become pawns in this game."
Roman nodded, a complicated look in his eyes: "No time for nonsense! Maris, Sister, Mandras, and all Doomsday Rebirth soldiers—follow my command! Zhou Weixi's weakness is that its consciousness has not yet perfectly fused with Fa's body! We use every ounce of power to wear it down! Force it to reveal an opening!"
The combined assault began immediately.
Maris commanded every still-functional mechanical unit to launch suicidal charges and precision detonations. Sister led the blood elf mages in chanting the most vicious blood-erosion curses, attempting to corrupt that pure energy form. Mandras forcibly activated the remnants of his three-color vine fortresses, extending countless massive tendrils infused with corrosive energy to bind and strangle. Virginia unleashed all her biochemical viruses and neurotoxins, even though she knew they might be useless.
Shoulder to shoulder with the Alliance soldiers, the hatred between them was temporarily suppressed in the face of absolute terror.
Nuti Ursa roared: "For survival! Everyone, charge with me!"
He led the remaining orc legions forward, their berserk thunderfire power erupting. Kayla, in her fifth-stage transformation, became a colossal beast spirit, her thunder-frost claws tearing through the air. Tisk's Earthshaker warhammer fused with Maris's metal torrent, unleashing a devastating mix of ice, fire, and energy blasts. Rex's nano-drone swarm merged with Doomsday Rebirth's mechanical insect cloud, forming a storm of blue and metallic hues. Arya's Storm Bow fired five-element tornadoes that intertwined with Sister's blood-magic halo, creating a blood-red vortex of destruction. Salsa summoned shadow demon dragons that joined the few remaining sealed Cthulhu undead remnants, spewing ice-dark breath. Yuyuer's dragon-bone gem staff summoned sea beasts that fused with Virginia's biochemical swarms, giving birth to venomous sea monsters. Zhamisi's venomous fang daggers wove with Mandras's three-color vines, releasing corrosive poison webs. Lin Ya's wood magic animated giant stone golems that stood side by side with war ancient trees, hurling reinforced boulders. Celestia's thunder-wind dance combined with mutant winged people diving, forming an aerial lightning net.
This joint assault represented the pinnacle of technology and magic coexisting. Dwarven rune cannons and Doomsday Rebirth's ion cannons fired in unison, unleashing blue-white energy floods. Elven magic arrow rains fused with blood elf curses, becoming blood-red beams of light. Sea clan tidal forces mixed with biochemical toxic fog, forming corrosive sea tides. Wing clan star chains intertwined with mechanical insect swarms, generating energy nets. Soul knights and undead legions stood together, releasing psychic shockwaves. Dark elf shadow domains fused with vines, creating devouring black mist. Lizardmen poison fog merged with mutant soldiers' frenzy, amplifying erosion. Orc thunderfire merged with hyena venom, erupting into toxic thunderstorms.
The attacks surged toward Zhou Weixi like a tidal wave. Energy cannons and magic floods hammered its shield, producing earth-shaking explosions. Poison webs and sea tides wrapped around it, attempting to corrode its existence. Psychic shockwaves and lightning nets assaulted its will, generating arcs and illusions.
Yet in Zhou Weixi's eyes, it was all nothing more than the futile dance of ants.
It barely moved. Only the silver-white halo around it gently flowed. All those city-destroying combined attacks, upon entering a certain range around it, slammed into an invisible, absolute barrier—twisting, deflecting, and annihilating. Explosions and magical shards bloomed like fireworks around it, unable to harm it in the slightest. Instead, they became mere backdrop to highlight its supreme might.
"Pointless struggle," Zhou Weixi's icy voice rang out again, now tinged with clear impatience. "Your use of power is laughably crude. Very well. It's time you witnessed what true 'Law Power' looks like."
It slowly raised its right hand, palm upward. In an instant, every stray energy on the battlefield—whether Doomsday Rebirth's mechanical sparks, blood magic residue, Alliance elemental fluctuations, soul power, or even the life essence drifting from the newly dead—was drawn irresistibly toward its palm.
Gold, wood, water, fire, earth, thunder, ice, wind, poison, light, dark, spirit, and that strange "blood" law—thirteen primal forces were forcibly fused, expanded, and compressed into a chaotic energy sphere of extreme internal conflict, constantly annihilating and rebirthing itself. The sphere engulfed the entire sky, devouring light and sound. Its mere existence warped space, radiating an ominous ashen hue.
"Disappear, all of you, you swarm of ants." Zhou Weixi pronounced its verdict indifferently, preparing to casually push the sphere of ultimate destruction downward toward the surviving allied forces below.
In the face of this power, soldiers of both the Alliance and Doomsday Rebirth fell into utter despair, losing all ability to act, able only to watch the end descend.
Roman cried out in despair: "Its power… is too overwhelming! We… have lost!"
At that moment—
"In the name of eternal night, souls return, protect these broken walls!" An ancient, supremely authoritative soul-voice resounded.
Immediately afterward, a vast, boundless barrier constructed purely of soul crystal appeared above the allied forces. Countless ancient soul runes flashed wildly across its surface, forcibly blocking the chaotic energy sphere!
BOOM!!!!!
A heaven-shaking explosion erupted. The soul-crystal barrier trembled violently, cracking with countless fissures, yet ultimately held and absorbed the full annihilating force of the blast.
The one who acted was none other than one of the five inheritors—Casa del! Riding his enormous bone dragon "Eternal Night," his ghostly green soul flames burned fiercely. Clearly, even for him, withstanding that strike was no easy task.
Almost simultaneously, the frozen wasteland cracked open. Endless azure seawater surged forth like a sigh from the abyss, forming layer upon layer of flowing, ever-renewing massive water shields. Within them flowed supreme flexibility and purifying power, further neutralizing the terrifying shockwave of the explosion.
Lantis's mountain-like figure emerged from the void, the ancient runes on his turtle shell blazing with dazzling light.
Erebus and Salsa cried out in joy: "Master!"
Yuyuer shouted excitedly: "Master! You came!"
Lantis rumbled in a deep voice: "Yuyuer… your master has arrived."
Casa del said: "Salsa, Erebus… you've done well. Leave the rest to us."
Seeing the two inheritors, Zhou Weixi felt a twinge of unease, like the wariness of encountering old enemies. It sneered coldly: "Casa del… Lantis… you two old fossils are here to interfere again? Last time you sealed me. This time… do you really think you can succeed?"
Casa del roared: "Zhou Weixi! You plague! Back then you tried to devour the stellar origin and destroy the world! Now you attempt the same madness! We will not let you succeed!"
Lantis said gravely: "Stealing a junior's body, trampling the order of life—this time, I will show no mercy."
Then Casa del shouted: "Saladin, Villanette, Rhea Medusa! Are you just going to watch? Come help!"
As his words fell, space quietly parted like a curtain. Saladin, Villanette, and Rhea Medusa appeared silently, forming a triangular encirclement around Zhou Weixi.
Saladin struck his staff into the ground. The earth laws around him instantly became utterly solid, cutting off Zhou Weixi's ability to draw on ley lines. His deep voice carried unquestionable authority: "Zhou Weixi, your existence has gravely disrupted the world's balance."
Villanette's twelve wings fluttered lightly. Pure wind and light laws swirled around her, purifying the negative energy leaking from Zhou Weixi. Her ethereal voice rang out: "Honestly, I only came to watch the show. But these two old men are so protective of their disciples that I had no choice but to act."
Rhea Medusa licked her lips excitedly, the dark-gold greatsword on her back humming. Gold, fire, and thunder energies converged wildly around her: "Hahaha! I knew this trip wouldn't be a waste! Fighting the infamous 'Star-Eye Devourer Zhou Weixi'—far more interesting than that clown Roman's exaggerated boasts! Zhou Weixi, your head—I claim it!"
Zhou Weixi's expression instantly grew grave. Its silver eyes flickered rapidly, calculating the odds of victory against five inheritors at once. It had not yet fully fused with Fa's body; its power was far from its peak…
"Hmph. Five so-called 'inheritors'… you think you can defeat me?" Zhou Weixi's words remained defiant, but its aura had lost its previous absolute dominance.
Without further words, the five inheritors attacked simultaneously! In an instant, law powers collided, annihilated, and were reborn across the wasteland.
Saladin summoned sand-rock giant hands the size of mountains to smash down from the sky. Villanette unleashed purifying holy light storms. Rhea Medusa's greatsword cleaved out space-tearing golden-red thunderfire. Casa del's soul-crystal magic struck directly at the soul origin. Lantis drew forth endless abyssal sea power to suppress and bind.
Though Zhou Weixi was powerful, facing the full-force assault of five equals—each blow capable of annihilating multiple cities—it was instantly forced into a bitter struggle. It frantically circulated the power it had devoured, folding and slicing space, accelerating and decelerating time flow, pushing its twelve primal forces and special blood magic to the limit, barely holding against the ferocious attacks from all directions. The shockwaves of battle tore bottomless chasms in the earth; the sky's clouds were completely dispelled, as though the apocalypse had arrived.
The Nine Kings, Roman, and the other high-ranking figures and soldiers were utterly stunned by a battle far beyond their comprehension. Only now did they truly realize how laughable and insignificant the power and authority they once pursued truly were in the face of such beings.
Just as Zhou Weixi was steadily forced back by the five inheritors, its silver light flickering unstably, clearly exhausted and on the verge of being completely suppressed or erased—
"Stop! Please wait!"
Arya's voice, filled with sobs yet resolute, rang out. Ignoring everything, she rushed to the edge of the battlefield and screamed desperately toward the five god-like figures in the sky:
"Inheritors! I beg you! Please don't kill Fa! She's still in there! We want to awaken her!"
Her cry caused the ferocious battle to freeze for an instant.
Rhea Medusa raised an intrigued eyebrow: "Oh? Awakening the host's consciousness? Now that's something new. Interesting."
Villanette glanced indifferently downward: "Sentimentality. Zhou Weixi's consciousness is already deeply rooted. The chance of awakening the host is less than 1%."
Saladin frowned, voice stern: "Arya, we understand your feelings. But Zhou Weixi's threat is too great. We cannot take the risk. It must be completely destroyed here."
"No! There has to be a way!" Kayla stepped forward and shouted: "Fa is so strong! She must still be fighting inside!"
Tisk, Rex, Yuyuer, Zhamisi, Lin Ya, Celestia, and Salsa all stepped forward, gazes resolute as they looked toward the inheritors.
Lantis looked at his disciple Yuyuer's pleading eyes, then at Casa del. Casa del's soul flames wavered slightly before he spoke gravely: "Saladin, Villanette… perhaps we can try. Forcibly erasing Zhou Weixi would also cause this Star-Eye body to collapse completely, and the damage to the world's origin would be unpredictable. If we can do it from the inside out…"
Saladin was silent for a moment, then looked at the determined crowd below and finally sighed: "Since you all agree… I will give you one chance. But time is limited. If it drags on too long, Zhou Weixi's resistance will become extremely fierce."
Rhea Medusa laughed heartily: "Great! This drama just keeps getting better! I agree—let the little ones try!"
Villanette finally gave a slight nod, no longer objecting.
"One hour," Saladin declared. "We will do everything in our power to suppress and weaken Zhou Weixi's consciousness. You must enter the depths of her mind, find Fa, and help her reclaim control. If you fail after one hour… we will erase it without hesitation."
Casa del's soul flames suddenly blazed: "Soul Body Reception – Spirit Wandering!"
A deep blue light enveloped Arya, Kayla, Tisk, Rex, Yuyuer, Zhamisi, Lin Ya, and Celestia (Salsa, already a soul entity, could enter directly). Their bodies slumped softly to the ground as their souls were forcibly extracted, turning into nine streams of light. Guided by Casa del, they broke through Zhou Weixi's outer energy defenses and charged straight into Fa (Zhou Weixi)'s consciousness space!
It was a bizarre, fragmented world. Here, up and down had no meaning. Memory shards, twisted law threads, and violent energy turbulence floated everywhere. Illusions of stars collided with cold data streams, forming a chaotic and perilous domain.
The group struggled to stabilize their soul forms, relying on their soul links to advance with difficulty. They saw Fa's childhood memories, the adventures they shared, and also the cold, massive shadow of Zhou Weixi's consciousness looming like dark clouds over the deepest part of the space.
They dodged the silver scanning beams of Zhou Weixi's consciousness (within the mind space, its power was greatly restricted and could not fully utilize laws), following the faint, unique soul fluctuation that belonged to Fa herself. Finally, in the very core, they found a soul orb sealed by countless layers of silver chains, its light extremely dim—that was Fa's suppressed and imprisoned true self!
"Fa!" Arya cried out, tears blurring her soul vision.
As if hearing the call, the dim orb flickered faintly.
"Act now! Break those chains!" Kayla roared. Even in soul form, she remained fearless, condensing soul power to smash the silver chains.
The others joined immediately. Tisk simulated a hammer with soul force and struck hard. Rex analyzed the chains' energy structure for weak points. Yuyuer and Zhamisi combined water and poison to erode them. Lin Ya summoned soul vines to wrap and pull. Celestia attacked the same spot at extreme speed. Arya combined light's purification with darkness's devouring to dissolve the chains completely.
Their actions thoroughly enraged Zhou Weixi's consciousness. A massive, icy, malice-filled silver wave coalesced in the mind space, forming Zhou Weixi's blurry, ferocious face. It launched frenzied psychic assaults and law suppressions at them.
"Ants! You dare invade my domain! Disturb my peace! You will all become nourishment for my revival!"
In this consciousness space, battle was even more treacherous and bizarre. Every clash was a soul-level confrontation; every wound could cause permanent damage to the soul origin. Gritting their metaphorical teeth, the group relied on their deep bond with Fa and unyielding conviction to hold on—resisting Zhou Weixi's mad attacks while relentlessly destroying the chains imprisoning Fa's true self.
Time ticked by. Outside, the inheritors' suppression grew fiercer, visibly weakening Zhou Weixi's consciousness. Finally, with a crisp shattering sound, the last silver chain was severed by Arya and the others working together!
The imprisoned soul orb erupted with intense light. Fa's phantom slowly opened her eyes within it—exhausted, yet shining with indomitable will.
"Everyone… thank you… I'm back… Now, let's drive this uninvited 'guest'… out together!"
Fa's soul instantly linked with her companions' soul powers, forming an incomparably pure and resilient torrent of will that slammed fiercely into the already greatly weakened Zhou Weixi consciousness!
"No—!!!" Zhou Weixi let out a final roar of shock and fury. Its silver consciousness shattered completely under the impact of this united force of bonds and belief, disintegrating and being fully expelled from the mind space!
In the real world, the floating body of "Fa" shuddered violently. The silver-white light in her eyes receded like a tide. The suffocating, terrifying pressure vanished instantly. Her body went limp and fell from the sky, caught hurriedly by Arya, Lin Ya, and the others.
She opened her eyes. The original color had returned—though extremely weak, they were clear and warm.
"Is it… over?" she asked faintly.
"It's over, Fa. Welcome back." Arya held her tightly, tears finally streaming down.
Watching this scene, the five inheritors slowly withdrew their power. Saladin looked at the weakened Fa with a complicated expression. Villanette remained expressionless. Rhea Medusa seemed somewhat unsatisfied. Casa del and Lantis both breathed sighs of relief.
Seeing the situation hopeless, Roman, Maris, Sister, Mandras, Virginia, and the other Doomsday Rebirth leaders lost all will to resist and were easily captured by the Alliance forces.
The cataclysm that had swept across the entire Muret continent finally came to an end in a way no one had foreseen.
After the war, the toll was devastating. Of the Alliance's 1.18 million troops, only 110,000 survived. Doomsday Rebirth's forces were reduced to fewer than 30,000 prisoners. Across the Everfrost Wasteland, corpses piled like mountains, testifying to war's brutality.
After a brief recovery, Fa anxiously asked the five inheritors: "Zhou Weixi… will it come back? Or… will other beings like it appear?"
Saladin spoke slowly: "The Star-Eye power is both a blessing and a curse. Its consciousness was not completely annihilated—only severely wounded and expelled. In the future, it may return, or other dormant ancient consciousnesses may be drawn by the Star-Eye power. The hidden dangers always exist."
"Is there… a way to solve it completely?" Fa asked, trembling. She never wanted to experience such a crisis again, nor become a source of disaster once more.
The five inheritors fell silent for a moment. Finally, Saladin said gravely: "There is one way. Completely separate the Stellar Heart, shatter it back into fragments, and let them scatter across the world. But this means… you will permanently lose the Star-Eye power, and your eyes will become completely blind. You will return to an ordinary life."
"No way!" Rhea Medusa immediately objected. "Such an interesting power—destroying it would be a waste! I still want to fight a few more rounds!"
Villanette said coolly: "Master the power, rather than be mastered by it. Destruction is not the only option."
Saladin sternly cut them off: "Enough! This is no game! It concerns the safety of the entire world! Fa, the decision is yours."
Fa did not hesitate. She looked at her wounded companions, at the bloodstained land, and finally at Arya's worried yet supportive gaze.
"I'm willing," she said calmly and firmly. "This power has already brought enough pain and disaster. I would rather live as an ordinary blind person than remain a sword hanging over the world's head."
The decision made, the five inheritors said no more. They formed a pentagram around Fa and began chanting ancient, obscure incantations. Vast law power converged and poured into her body.
Excruciating pain surged through her. Fa clenched her teeth and did not let out a single groan. She could feel the Stellar Heart—already deeply fused with her soul—being forcibly stripped away and decomposed by supreme force.
Finally, a radiance so dazzling it outshone everything burst from within her, then split into twelve streams of differently colored light that soared skyward like reverse meteors, streaking across the horizon and vanishing into every corner of the Muret continent, awaiting a reunion that might never come.
When the starlight faded, Fa collapsed weakly into Arya's arms. Her eyes had lost all luster, becoming dull and sightless.
The world, in that moment, seemed to regain long-lost peace.
Seven days after the war ended.
In the central square of Murest City, the grandest and most solemn joint memorial ceremony in Muret continent's history was held, mourning the 1.07 million warriors of all races and millions of innocent civilians lost in the cataclysm. Grief blanketed the continent, yet within it also germinated the seeds of new hope.
Afterward, the companions each set off on new journeys.
Lin Ya used her druid powers beside the World Tree ruins to nurture a towering giant tree—a new landmark symbolizing life and peace. Arya chose to stay with the now-blind, recovering Fa, living quietly beneath this vibrant tree, far from turmoil, silently accompanying her.
Tisk and Rex decided to travel together, using dwarven craftsmanship and lost technological knowledge to visit war-torn cities across the continent, helping rebuild homes and heal the scars of war.
Kayla, accompanied by her father Kyle—finally reunited after so much hardship—set off on the journey back to Golden Claw Fortress. There, her mother, younger brother Kate, and sister awaited them eagerly, longing for a complete family reunion.
Salsa returned to the Isle of Souls with her senior brother Erebus and Soul King Erebus. She needed to cultivate in that tranquil homeland of the soul lineage, stabilize her overexerted soul body, and pass down the ancient wisdom of her people.
Yuyuer and Zhamisi—the lovers who had endured life-and-death trials—held a grand wedding under the joint blessings of the sea clan and lizardmen. Their union symbolized a brand-new beginning for the two races; together they would build a harmonious sea-and-land home.
Celestia married the long-waiting Aelios beneath the Lightfeather Dome. They vowed to heal the wing clan's war wounds together, welcome a new generation, and let the firmament once again be filled with wings of hope.
Every early spring, when Lin Ya's giant tree sprouts new buds, it becomes the appointed day for the companions to reunite.
On that day, beneath the great tree, the atmosphere is especially lively.
Tisk and Rex always bring back novel gadgets and engineering blueprints from across the continent; Rex's mechanical arm can even "describe" sights to Fa that she can no longer see. Kayla would bring the finest roast meat and ale from the Claw Empire, recount amusing tales of the land, and her hearty laughter would carry far. Her younger brother, Kate, was now a robust young man, and her sister has grown into a graceful young woman. Salsa brings soul-soothing fragrances from the Isle of Souls and amusing soul stories. Yuyuer and Zhamisi bring deep-sea delicacies and swamp brews, sharing amusing tales of governing their territory. Celestia and Aelios come with their young child; the little one flaps its tender wings, toddling and learning to fly among the branches, drawing bursts of laughter and exclamations from everyone.
They gather around Fa and Arya, light a bonfire, and share the events of the past year. Though Fa can no longer see her companions' smiles, the stars, or the green tree, she can clearly feel the warmth of Arya's ever-present hand, hear each familiar voice, and sense the vigorous life force radiating from Lin Ya's giant tree.
"This… is good," Fa always says with a gentle smile, resting her head lightly on Arya's shoulder.
Having lost the Star-Eye power, returned to ordinariness, and even plunged into darkness, she has instead gained the most precious peace and companionship.
On this land that was once ravaged by war and is now slowly healing.
(The End)