[Current Time: New Era of the Primordial World, Year 1]
[Location: Buzhou Mountain Peak (New)]
[Status: Stable Sky, Threat Level: Latent]
...The first dawn after mending the sky was breathtakingly beautiful.
The newly formed, multicolored sky was like a thin layer of glass, shielding it from the cold radiation of the higher-dimensional universe, allowing only gentle sunlight to penetrate. Aurora borealis swirled overhead, the data stream of A-Ling's avatar tirelessly patrolling.
Shen Qingqiu leaned against that warm, black-gold spine, holding a peach petal that had just drifted up on the morning breeze.
It had blown from Qingqiu.
Across countless mountains and rivers, across vast oceans and changing times, the peach groves there still bloomed, as stubbornly as this dream.
"Qingqiu." A deep, resonant voice came from deep within the spine.
The voice was no longer as weary as before, but carried a sense of settled peace.
"The sky's settled."
"Yes, settled." Shen Qingqiu looked down.
Below the clouds, wisps of smoke rose from the human settlements. She could see small figures running along the riverbank, hear them calling out "Sun!" in their childish voices.
They were no longer afraid of the black cube, no longer afraid of being deleted.
Because a bone had shielded them from everything.
But...
Shen Qingqiu's brow did not relax.
Her **[Golden Eyes]** pierced through the magnificent celestial canopy, seeing something deeper.
Beyond that colorful firewall, in that vast expanse of space.
Countless cold, invisible **"eyes"** (high-dimensional detectors) were staring intently at this place.
Staring at this "abnormal" bone, staring at her, this "abnormal" Weaver Girl.
[Warning: Target locked.]
[Deduction: If the virus source (Shen Qingqiu/Seventeen) continues to remain, the system will initiate "hard drive formatting" (destroying the entire planet).] "We...can't stay here any longer." Shen Qingqiu said softly, her voice trembling slightly.
As long as they were there, the attacks from the higher-dimensional civilization wouldn't stop. This newly stabilized primordial world could turn into a battlefield again at any moment because of them.
The black-gold spine remained silent for a moment.
Then, a soft purple light emanated from its black surface.
"I know." Seventeen's voice came.
"I am the marked 'Demon Lord,' and you are the wanted 'Weaver.'"
"We are the...allergens of this world." The wind suddenly became somewhat desolate.
Shen Qingqiu stood up, stroking the rough joints.
"Seventeen, we're leaving."
"To a place...they can't find us, or dare not go for the time being."
"Where to?" Shen Qingqiu looked up at the void above.
Her gaze seemed to pierce through the river of time, seeing the starting point of the ninety-nine cycles, seeing that era of neon lights, towering buildings, yet forbidden to the gods.
"Return to our origin."
"Return to that...place where you first gazed at me in the abyss."
...
[Separation Program · Activated]
Leaving was easier said than done.
Seventeen's current body was this pillar supporting the sky. If he turned and left, the sky would immediately collapse.
"Qingqiu, step back."
Seventeen's voice turned serious.
*Buzz—* The massive black-gold spine began to tremble violently.
This wasn't about to collapse, but rather a process of extremely painful **"peeling"**.
"I leave my bones here to suppress the primordial destiny."
"But I give you my soul..."
*Crack, crack.*
On the surface of that towering spine, cracks appeared.
Countless golden nanoparticles overflowed from the cracks, converging, swirling, and recombining in the air.
It was a process, like a cicada shedding its skin, or a phoenix rising from the ashes.
The immense pain caused the entire mountain to emit a low rumble, as if it were gritting its teeth and enduring the agony of having its bones removed.
Finally.
The golden light dissipated.
A slender, semi-transparent figure slowly landed before Shen Qingqiu.
He wore a black robe woven from starlight, the crimson lotus mark between his brows still vibrant.
Although this was merely a projection of his soul, it was the "Seventeen" possessing self-awareness.
And the solid, indestructible black-gold spine remained standing, becoming an eternal physical law of this world.
"Seventeen..." Shen Qingqiu reached out, her fingertips passing through his semi-transparent shoulder.
Now, he had no physical form, only a stream of pure, powerful data.
"Don't cry." Seventeen's illusory hand gently brushed her cheek. Though the touch was faint, the deep affection in his eyes was more intense than any physical form.
"This is better."
"Without this heavy shell, I can hide in your shadow and accompany you anywhere."
"And..." He glanced back at his enormous true form.
"That 'big guy' will stay here to guard the house. Anyone who dares to bully humans will be crushed to death." Shen Qingqiu smiled through her tears.
She knew this was the best arrangement.
And the most tragic sacrifice.
…
"Mother! Father!"
In the sky, the aurora converged.
A gigantic child's face, composed of countless data points, appeared on the celestial canvas.
It was A-Ling.
"Are you… leaving?"
A-Ling's voice, choked with sobs, echoed throughout the heavens.
Shen Qingqiu looked up at the child who had become one with the Heavenly Dao.
"A-Ling, we're going to attack that 'bad uncle' (the high-dimensional administrator's) lair."
"This… is your responsibility."
"No! I want to go with you!"
The aurora on the celestial canvas began to erratically, like a child throwing a tantrum.
"A-Ling, be good." Seventeen's illusory figure raised his head, his tone stern yet filled with love.
"This canopy was woven by your mother; only you can protect it."
"You are the sky of this primordial world."
"The sky cannot cry." A-Ling sobbed, stopping her tears (data rain).
"Then...then will you come back?"
Shen Qingqiu looked at him, his eyes full of tenderness.
"Yes."
"When we've completely finished that 'game' in the future..."
"We'll come back for you."
"Pinky promise!" A thin bolt of lightning descended from the sky, gently hooking Shen Qingqiu's little finger.
"Pinky promise."
...Mount Buzhou, the Vortex of Time and Space.
He said goodbye to his child, goodbye to the land he had saved with his own hands.
Shen Qingqiu took out the **[Bronze Fragment]** (Eastern Emperor Bell Tongue).
After absorbing the merit of mending the sky and the demonic energy of Seventeen, this fragment had undergone a qualitative change.
It was no longer a piece of scrap metal.
It had become a key to time travel.
"Ready?" Shen Qingqiu grasped the fragment, looking at Seventeen beside her.
"Ready anytime." Seventeen transformed into a stream of light and entered the fragment.
A red lotus pattern appeared on the fragment's surface, and the originally cold bronze instantly warmed.
It was as if he was still holding her hand.
"Open!" Shen Qingqiu slashed fiercely at the void.
*Sizzle—* The space didn't crack, but shattered like a mirror.
Revealing the bottomless, rotating time tunnel behind it.
There was neither light nor darkness there.
Only countless flickering fragments were rapidly receding:
She saw Hou Yi shooting down the suns at Yaoshan;
She saw Nuwa molding clay by the river;
She saw Seventeen fighting in a sea of blood;
She saw…even more distant scenes, her struggle for survival in the Main God Space.
It was a reverse flow.
A journey from the mythical era to modern civilization.
Shen Qingqiu took a deep breath.
She took one last look at this primordial land.
She glanced at the towering black bone, then at the innocent face in the sky.
"Farewell, my myth."
She leaped.
Her red dress, like a sunset glow, vanished into the swirling vortex of time and space.
Buzz— The vortex closed.
Mount Buzhou returned to tranquility.
Only the black spine remained, its eternal rumble echoing in the ancient winds.
As if waiting, as if watching over.
...
[Time-space jump in progress...]
[Coordinates: Ninth Dimension · Blue Star]
[Time Node: 2035 · Zero Point]
Darkness.
Endless darkness.
Weightlessness enveloped Shen Qingqiu's consciousness.
How much time had passed?
Sounds reached her ears.
No longer the sounds of the primordial winds, the roars of beasts, or the thunder.
Instead…
Beep—beep—beep—
That was the sound of a cardiac monitor.
Buzz—
That was the sound of cars speeding by on the overpass.
"This station has an emergency news interruption: Unidentified magnetic field fluctuations have appeared over Tianhai City…"
That was… the sound of a news broadcast.
Shen Qingqiu suddenly opened her eyes.
What she saw was no longer the colorful mound of stones used to mend the sky, no longer the desolate Buzhou Mountain.
But a stark white…ceiling.
The scent of grass and trees was no longer filling her nostrils, but the pungent smell of disinfectant.
She was lying on a hospital bed.
Outside the window, neon-lit skyscrapers gleamed.
A huge holographic billboard was playing a virtual idol concert.
Raindrops pelted the glass, refracting into a dazzling array of colors.
This was…the modern era.
An era where gods were forbidden and technology ruled everything.
Shen Qingqiu sat up.
Her red dress was gone, replaced by a blue and white striped hospital gown.
Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders, an IV drip in her wrist.
"I'm back..." Shen Qingqiu murmured, a dizzying, surreal feeling washing over her.
She instinctively reached for her chest.
There, hung a bronze pendant.
Engraved on the pendant was a lifelike red lotus.
"Qingqiu." A familiar voice echoed directly in her mind.
It was the signal of her heart's stirring, clear, steady, with a long-lost electronic quality.
"I'm here."
"Welcome back to... the beginning of the instance." Shen Qingqiu gripped the pendant tightly.
Looking out the window at the steel forest, at the gloomy sky that seemed to hide countless prying eyes.
Her golden eyes glowed faintly in the darkness.
A cold, alluring smile curved her lips.
In the primordial world, she was the patcher of the heavens.
Here, she was... the god-slayer.
"The ninety-ninth time, plus one more!" Shen Qingqiu declared war softly to the empty air.
"Reboot."
(Volume 8: Higher Dimensions Descend - Dimensional Warfare Chapter - End)
[Next Volume Preview: Volume 9 - Zeroing and Rebooting - The Final Era]
"You think this is reality?"
"No, this is merely the last 'cage' meticulously designed by a higher-dimensional civilization."
When ancient myths revived in the cyber city.
When those folded dimensions began to overlap.
Shen Qingqiu, holding a peach wood sword, stood under the neon lights of Times Square.
"This time, with love as poison, I will tempt the gods to fall!"