Dragon Sacrifice

That hug was so warm.

It was as if countless warm currents surrounded her, countless whispers echoing in her ears—a resonance of time, flashbacks from the past, of the brave and guardians who chose to stand up and proudly face death in the face of annihilation, of those infinitely unfamiliar people and events, just as she had said...

It became the story told by Kang De.

Kang De closed his eyes, feeling an unprecedented peace and tranquility.

In that instant, he understood the true meaning behind the names of the mysterious elements.

Paradox.

The voice of doomsday, the Veil falls, fate cannot be changed, all struggles are futile, all resistance seems destined for destruction, just as the river of time flows swiftly from ancient times to the future, the past cannot be changed, the future is already predetermined, it has always been so.

But in the story that Kang De wanted to tell in the future, there must be a perfect Paradox.

This mysterious element is neither an evil gift from the Sound of Doomsday, nor a necessary prerequisite for the Veil to fall; it is not even within the Veil's or the doomsday's predictions.

It's a Paradox.

Relying on the divine power of the Space-Time Dragon God, relying on this independent plane far removed from the mortal world, and relying on two people who met in the past, present, and future, they quietly converged outside the torrent of fate.

The matter that had not been penetrated by the Sound of Doomsday thus completed the closed loop of birth and transmission.

At this moment, Kang De was still bewildered, but he also seemed to understand everything.

More importantly, he was no longer afraid, no longer insane, no longer lost.

The unsettling signs of doom that weighed on his mind, the Sound of Destruction that could almost shatter his soul, all the coincidences, destinies, fates, and speculations of the past few days crumbled at this moment, because information from the past and the future revealed to him the most important intelligence.

Fate may seem hopeless, but it is not always predetermined.

It's like... this Paradox.

In that instant, all his obsessions vanished, and he embraced the body tightly in his arms—the most generous gift from the past: courage and hope.

He murmured, "Thank you."

At the same time, her voice rang out. "Thank you."

The voice whispered gently, full of tenderness, longing, and love.

"The road ahead will be even more difficult, Kang De."

She sighed softly.

Perhaps it was out of concern and lament for the more perilous future that Kang De faced.

The voice was filled with regret.

"It's a pity I can't be there for you the way you were with me... I really wish I could see you again..."

Kang De pursed his lips, then suddenly laughed and shook his head.

"Fool."

He murmured, "You've been by my side since I came into this world."

Unfortunately, such voices also cannot be transmitted to the past.

All they could do was embrace each other, hoping that this warmth could transcend time.

Every road eventually comes to an end.

"Well, that's it, the matter is settled, and the conversation is over."

She said this, but her trembling voice still betrayed her unease and confusion.

"We must part ways here. Even so, I don't know where to go. My world is destroyed, all my companions are gone, and I entrust my last legacy to you. What should I do next...? Alas, I assume you are grieving over this."

She slowly released Kang De, smiling broadly, but tears welled in her eyes.

"Don't be sad. I have given my all and accomplished everything I could. I have no regrets. I am just a messenger, delivering stories to you that you may not understand. To you, I may just be a complete stranger... but everything is real. You should believe it, and you will see me again in the foreseeable future."

"So, don't call me A Xing anymore... Ah, just call me whatever you want."

She tapped her head in slight annoyance. "I shouldn't have told you so much. I don't know if it has any impact. Forgive me, Kang De, I just... have so much to say to you."

As she spoke, she took a few steps back, stretched, and looked around with a relaxed expression. "Ah, finally free... I hereby declare the Light Bearer officially disbanded."

"Farewell, Kang De, we will meet again in the days to come."

"Call me whatever you want then... but at least remember my name first."

"Yasha."

Her smile was like the bright moon, a blend of regret at parting and shy joy, ultimately transforming into an eternal moment that transcends time. "This is a name only you know... When the future and the past meet again, just mention this name, and I will believe you."

Goodbye, Kang De, goodbye.

They recounted their stories with deep reluctance, yet at the moment of parting, they did not hesitate at all.

In an instant, a dense purple light shone brightly from her body, shooting into the sky like a rainbow and surging into the Paradox Engine.

The plane formed by gears and springs began to rumble and vibrate.

The surging Purple River of light, like Flame, shone brightly at the core of the Paradox Engine. After the blazing light entered the hollow sphere, it was as if it was being violently compressed by an invisible force, infinitely concentrated, and solidified into an imperceptible point, constantly swirling inward, layer upon layer, accumulating infinitely.

Then, the shimmering mist of light exploded from that infinite origin.

It was as if a dormant star was slowly illuminating itself with brilliance.

The Spark, passed from the future to the past and then returned from the past to the present, is burning anew.

The will from the past has vanished, the Space-Time Flashback has ended, like a dream. Kang De turned around in a daze and saw the body in front of him fall limply. He rushed forward and hugged her.

The great spirits who raised the banner from the very beginning of the extinction and fought until the Veil have departed.

Her story is over, her battle is over.

It was someone I had only known for a short time.

It felt as if I had said goodbye to a very, very good friend.

Suddenly, the body in his arms trembled slightly. Then, she relaxed from her drowsy state, instinctively grabbing Kang De's arm and shifting her body, trying to find a more comfortable position.

Then she opened her eyes.

His golden, ringed eyes were filled with confusion, as if he were having a very, very long dream.

Kang De.

I instinctively called out the name I had already called out many times.

The familiar tone, the familiar voice, the familiar emotions.

She is no longer Yasha.

Tears blurred his vision, but Kang De smiled and hugged her, "Yes, it's me."

That's good too, isn't it?

Having completed her final mission, Yasha disappeared without a trace. The Space-Time Flashback was severed, and he could no longer see the past. Yasha said she wanted to do her own thing, and he had no idea what happened after that. But just as fate had already been decided, so too had the past.

So, at the beginning of his journey to this other world, during those days of fear and loneliness on the Holy Seal Archipelago, in a time when countless years had passed since the end of the previous era, he saw that white shadow.

It was as if she had been waiting there all along.

"I..."

A Xing was in a daze, trying hard to recall what had happened before. She seemed to only remember that when she was fighting above the River of Origin, she drew in mysterious elements and saw many bizarre and wonderful sights. After exchanging blows with Cuixisi, she was pushed into the river by a powerful force... and then she remembered nothing more.

This confusion and bewilderment lasted only a moment before being replaced by greater worry and anger.

Because Kang De was crying.

"What happened? What's wrong? Who bullied you?" she said angrily. "Let's go beat him up!"

Kang De simply hugged her, laughing and crying at the same time.

"It's you, and it's me."

He said, "It was the two of us who made me cry."

"... Huh?" A Xing couldn't understand this complicated topic at all. After thinking for two seconds, she decided to stop and offered a very constructive suggestion.

"How about..." she tentatively suggested, "You hit me twice, then hit yourself twice?"

Kang De released the embrace and looked at A Xing, who was grinning foolishly, showing none of the heroic, decisive, and menacing demeanor of a commander from before... He was a complete idiot.

He reached out, pinched A Xing's cheeks, and stretched them out to both sides.

That silly face became even funnier, its eyes still crinkling into crescent moons with laughter.

Kang De then laughed as well.

But the next moment, a chilling glint flashed in their eyes simultaneously.

Suddenly, A Xing reached out and wrapped his arms around Kang De's waist, pulling him to the side in a swift movement. Dozens of sharp whip blades came flying through the air, striking wildly. Behind the massive base of the Paradox Engine, Cuixisi's enormous, distorted body burst forth. The dragon roared and howled, its tentacles and compound eyes trembling rapidly.

"This can't be! It's all fake! Fake!"

Hysterical rage.

An incredulous wail.

Despair that leads to loss of reason.

It launched a desperate offensive against Kang De, and the situation was completely reversed. Now he was the most insane one, because everything was crumbling, and the end of obsession was false deception.

"Impossible! Something must be wrong! Why didn't Akatum respond to me! Why didn't the ascension ceremony happen! Why were you chosen?! There must be some mistake!"

He fell to this place at the same time as Kang De, and he and the Fire Thief got up almost simultaneously.

At the same time, we also saw this enormous, magnificent creation, as if it were a gift from God.

He sensed an unprecedented intimacy and impulse from the Paradox Engine; it must be the Chamber of Ascension revealed by the Dragon God, waiting, yearning, and hoping for the fulfillment of the prophecy and guidance.

But after praying fervently, nothing happened.

It tried to see, it searched carefully, it believed that this was because Kang De was still here, and it wanted to kill the blasphemers who trespassed on the Chamber of Ascension, so that the will of the dragon god would descend.

But after discovering Kang De's trail, it also overheard the conversation.

The Aberrant Dragon wasn't stupid, it was just persistent.

While Kang De was astonished by the messages from the past and the future, Cuixisi was even more shocked and incredulous, drawing terrifying conclusions from these eavesdropped voices of time and space.

Kang De was the one destined to arrive here.

This leads to another question.

Who am I?

The mysterious elements surging from Yasha or A Xing ignited the Paradox Engine. This ritualistic scene almost completely shattered Cuixisi's defenses, leading to self-doubt, self-hypnosis, self-justification, immense chaos, unspeakable fear, and an unwillingness to accept the truth.

Believing himself chosen by the Dragon God, believing he bore a great mission, he ventured deep into it, slaughtered his own kin, turned against his companions, and abandoned the glory of the dragons... and then what?

Then what!

"You must be putting on an act! Don't even think about shaking my faith in the Dragon God!"

It roared, attacked, and charged forward relentlessly. "Kill you! Kill you! Kill you! As long as I kill you! The final test will be passed! I gave up everything to get here! This must all have meaning! Meaning! Everything I see is real! Everything I hear is real! You're acting! You're conspiring to deceive me! What past conversations, what future gifts, what Paradox Engine —it's all fake! Fabricated! Fake!"

With A Xing shielding Kang De behind him, the Aberrant Dragon shook its wings and charged down violently.

At this moment, the Paradox Engine has begun to slowly rotate, and the shimmering point at the center spews out purple mist, flowing like a nebula, just like a miniature universe.

Kang De suddenly grasped the A Xing's other hand.

A Xing frowned slightly, trying to gently break free. Normally, she would hold Kang De's hand all day long, but not now; one hand couldn't defeat this monster.

But the next moment, she suddenly felt a mysterious connection flowing between herself and Kang De.

She turned her head in surprise and saw the starlight in Kang De's eyes.

Then they reached out their hands at the same time, and the multiple rings of the Paradox Engine suddenly stopped spinning, as if time and space were frozen. Invisible ripples spread out, and the entire world of gears and clockwork was brought to a standstill. Also bound by the invisible force was Cuixisi, who was in mid-air.

An unprecedentedly powerful force bound the Aberrant Dragon.

Or rather, something binding him.

A gift obtained through ruthless cruelty and the sacrifice of six of their own kind.

The price had already been set.

"What have you done to me? Let me go! Let me go! Akatum! Save your people! Grant me strength! Defeat the evil enemy! Akatum! Dragon God!"

Cuixisi shouted loudly, her voice growing louder and more urgent.

I'm getting more and more... panicked.

Kang De said calmly, "Cuixisi, aren't you curious about the purpose of your coming here?"

The Aberrant Dragon roared and howled, "Shut up! I don't want to hear you! Don't try to confuse me!"

"I don't know who gave you this inspiration. Maybe it's my future self, maybe it's Brother Tu, or maybe it's someone else, but it's none of my business. What my future self does has nothing to do with my present self. How can you accuse me of things that didn't happen?"

Kang De shrugged.

"But whoever it is, I think he at least said one thing right."

He slowly raised his arm, his five fingers spread, and the dragon in his palm was enveloped in the void.

"Indeed, the dragon as a sacrifice..."

There are seven in total.

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PS1: You're something else, Epic.