The Sun

The moment the subterranean monsters appeared, everyone present showed signs of aging—their skin wrinkled, their hair turned white, and their bodies hunched over.

Seeing this, Mina quickly cast several curse-breaking spells, but they were useless. They couldn't even slow down the aging process.

This isn't a spell?!

Mina immediately looked at Isaiah anxiously, "Teacher..."

Isaiah, already an old man, became even older under the catalyst of aging. His entire body was like a skeleton barely holding onto flesh.

But even so, he still stood firm in place, his eyes showing no panic, only a profound calm.

"If I'm not mistaken, these are the Druid Scale Worms rumored to feed on life force?" Isaiah looked at the monsters circling in the night sky and said softly, "Ancient relics from the old times. I thought they were extinct, I didn't expect to see them here. This trip was truly worth it. But you're not simple either, to be able to control such ferocious beasts. Is this the power of a [Contract]?"

The Druid Scale Worms didn't speak, they just slowly approached Isaiah, accelerating his aging. But Isaiah remained as if unaffected, speaking to himself.

"I think I understand what the [Contract] rule means. It's indeed powerful, so powerful that the entire Contract Land revolves around it." Isaiah said slowly, "But great power often comes with great risk, especially power derived from Visas... Are you really willing to pay such a price?"

As soon as Isaiah finished speaking, the Druid Scale Worms in the sky let out another piercing shriek.

Invisible sound waves swept over like a storm. Anyone caught in the storm, even their corpses, would instantly petrify into white bones.

In an instant, there were no living people left on the field.

All the Star Relic Warlocks had turned into ancient skeletons. Isaiah was no exception. Although he was still standing in place, his body had already withered beyond recognition.

"Pfft."

From within the pile of bones, the only living person crawled out.

It was Luo Qi.

Luo Qi didn't know if Diana had deliberately spared him, or if the fallen Guardians had absorbed the damage for him. But at this moment, he couldn't care less. The scene before him had stunned him completely.

"Holy shit!" He couldn't help but curse.

What the hell? Isaiah, who was so arrogant just now, is gone?

And he was wiped out so easily?

Damn it, is Diana that powerful?

If you were that strong, why didn't you say so earlier? I wouldn't have cut off my finger.

"Buzz buzz buzz."

The circling Druid Scale Worms heard the commotion and all turned towards Luo Qi. Their fly-like compound eyes sent a shiver down Luo Qi's spine.

"Ahem, an accident, all an accident." Luo Qi chuckled sheepishly, "Nobody wanted this to happen."

As he spoke, he stealthily reattached his thumb.

The Druid Scale Worms continued to stare at him, their thoughts unknown.

Luo Qi cleared his throat, deciding to defend himself again.

But at that very moment, he saw a burst of scorching flame erupt from the dense mass of Druid Scale Worms.

The flame was like a burning star, rapidly expanding, carrying immense gravitational pull. By the time the Druid Scale Worms reacted, it was too late. They desperately tried to fly away but were held fast.

And under that ultimate, pure light and heat, these powerful ancient creatures were no different from moths drawn to a flame, igniting one after another and falling like fiery rain.

"Fuck!"

Luo Qi happened to be directly beneath this rain of fire. He had no choice but to curse as he erected a magical barrier. Then he watched as these burning Druid Scale Worms landed on the barrier, splashing countless ripples like raindrops on a lake.

In a very short time, two-thirds of these dangerous ancient creatures were lost.

At this moment, a strong energy fluctuation surged from the area of the Star Relic Warlocks, which had already turned into white bones.

Luo Qi could feel that the source of this energy was exactly the same as his reattached finger.

Could it be...

He turned his head with difficulty and saw that Isaiah's right eye, on his skeletal remains, was shining brilliantly.

Time seemed to rewind. Flesh and blood rapidly grew back onto the withered bones, and the dead Star Relic Warlocks slowly opened their eyes.

Everything returned to a few minutes ago.

Isaiah stood calmly in place, with the Star Relic Warlocks behind him, also unharmed.

And under the night sky, the Druid Scale Worms were almost completely wiped out.

This scene, akin to a miracle, made Luo Qi's jaw drop.

Is this... [Eternity]?

Under such a rule, can anyone truly defeat him?

Damn it, why is it that we're both rules, but my [Disturbance] is so much worse than these two's rules?!

After a moment of anger, Luo Qi gritted his teeth and chopped off his reattached thumb again.

But no one paid attention to him.

Isaiah was still looking at the surviving Druid Scale Worms and said calmly, "It's useless. You should have seen my rule that night. No one can end [Eternity]. No matter how many times you kill me, I can return to the present. This is the meaning of [Eternity]. Give up. Give me the corpse pieces. This is your last chance."

At this moment, Diana, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke again through the remaining Druid Scale Worms.

"Eternity is unending, so what about you?" Diana's voice held a hint of madness. "You told me earlier that great power comes with great risk, doesn't that apply to you as well?"

The countless compound eyes of the Druid Scale Worms stared directly at Isaiah.

"I'm watching, I see it clearly," she shouted, as if shrieking. "That eye is devouring you too! This is the price of the Rule, I can't escape, and neither can you!"

Luo Qi immediately looked at Isaiah and saw that blood was indeed seeping from Isaiah's right eye, bit by bit.

Luo Qi had seen this scene before on Ke Li. Back then, he had mocked Ke Li, saying, "Your eye is starting to bite you."

And now, Isaiah was being gnawed at by his own eye.

"I almost forgot, you still have the 'Gaze' you won from the Hand Eye," Isaiah said softly. "No wonder you can look at me so directly."

"Yes, I'm watching you, I've always been watching you!" Diana said. "I know what you're thinking too. You're still holding back, still unwilling to go all out, precisely because your body can't take it! You need to reserve enough power to deal with the Hand Eye, and... the final gatekeeper, right?"

What? Isaiah hadn't even exerted himself yet?

Luo Qi was even more shocked. He then subtly moved the thumb he had just cut off a little further away, indicating he had no intention of reattaching it.

Isaiah's expression remained calm as he said, "I originally thought your brain had been affected by these creatures, but it seems it hasn't reached that point yet. You are indeed a very smart person, and you knew exactly how to deal with me from the very beginning."

Yes, Diana had found Isaiah's greatest weakness.

Or rather, this was a common weakness for all Corpse Piece holders, and Isaiah was no exception.

The Rule might be invincible, but they were not.

The Rule 'Eternity' possessed two abilities. One was a constant passive ability that could replicate and freeze a moment or an entity in one's eyes. Isaiah had frozen the most perfect and brilliant starry sky he had encountered in the Star Relic Academy over a decade ago, allowing him to endlessly draw power from the stars in his eyes, thereby bypassing the greatest weakness of a Star Relic Warlock and always remaining in his prime.

The other was a non-constant active ability that could briefly freeze a moment and then, without any rhyme or reason, return to that moment. This was the ability triggered when he was killed by Lai Er a few days ago, and by Diana just now.

He had died twice, but his right eye had returned him to the frozen eternal moment, thus resurrecting him.

However, neither of these abilities came without a price, especially the latter, which was genuinely consuming Isaiah's life and soul.

So, theoretically, as long as Isaiah was forced to repeatedly use 'Eternity,' he would soon be "eaten" by his right eye.

But this was only theoretical. In practice, almost no one could achieve it, because Isaiah himself was the foremost person beneath the Gods. Who could truly force him to that point repeatedly?

But the current Diana could, because at this moment, she was equivalent to the entire Abyss Prison.

"Do you know how many types of these sealed objects are beneath the ground?" Diana's voice echoed again from within the Druid Scale Worms. "The Druid Scale Worms are just the most common type. Further below are the remains of the Gods. They are all bound by my Contract. Isaiah, I know you are powerful, so powerful that I have to trade an entire species for your life. But I can afford the trade, can you?"

As if to verify Diana's words, the underground of the Abyss Prison began to shake again, as if even more terrifying things were climbing up.

"Trading an entire species for a life?" Isaiah sighed softly. "That is truly the highest courtesy. You think so highly of me, I can't underestimate you any longer. May I know your name, Miss Ring Finger?"

"Why do you need to know my name?"

"I should remember everyone who is worth my full effort," Isaiah said with a smile. "Since I obtained this eye, you are the first. I think the second will be the Hand Eye."

"Heh, you still want to kill me?" Diana said coldly. "You are eternal, but I am also immortal. As long as the 'Contract' exists, my servants can die for me. Even you can't do anything about it."

Despite saying this, a strong sense of unease welled up in Diana's heart. She had to further utilize the power of the 'Contract' and bring out more things from the depths of the ground.

Even if the backlash would be greater, she couldn't afford to care about that right now.

"You're unwilling to tell me your name? Then I'll just call you Miss Ring Finger," Isaiah said softly, raising his scepter. "I will remember you forever, Miss Ring Finger."

Seeing Isaiah's stance, Mina guessed what he was about to do, and her face instantly turned pale. "Teacher, are you going to..."

"This is the only way. I don't have much time to waste here," Isaiah said calmly. "I will do my best to bring you all back, but... it definitely won't be everyone."

Hearing Isaiah say this, the remaining Star Relic Warlocks understood what Isaiah intended to do, but none of them stopped him. Because the moment they resolved to step over the God Tablet, they had already prepared themselves mentally.

So, they all placed a hand over their chests and said to Isaiah:

"Please forge ahead."

"May you reach the sea of stars."

Isaiah nodded slightly. "We shall witness it together."

This scene, when viewed by Luo Qi and Diana, elicited completely different reactions.

Luo Qi still didn't know what Isaiah was planning, but Diana, who had witnessed Isaiah's battle with Lai Er firsthand, understood.

It was the spell with which he had killed Lai Er, the spell he had used to turn the entire Black Merchant headquarters into nothingness.

Could it be?!

Diana, having guessed Isaiah's intention, began to frantically mobilize the remaining Druid Scale Worms to charge at Isaiah. The tremors from underground also intensified at this moment, clearly indicating that the creatures within were accelerating their movements.

Luo Qi still didn't know what was happening, but a Druid Scale Worm flew up to him and roared at him with a sharp voice.

"Aren't you going to stop him?! He's going to destroy the entire Abyss Prison with the spell he used to kill that Black Merchant! And then use 'Eternity' to restart himself!"

These words jolted Luo Qi, and intense fear surged into his heart.

He hadn't seen the battle between Isaiah and the Black Merchant, but he had seen the aftermath.

It was nothingness, not ruins.

No wreckage, no life, just emptiness, like a barren space that had inexplicably appeared due to some cosmic anomaly, or like the eternal silence after the universe's destruction.

And now Isaiah was going to use that spell?!

"Damn it!" Luo Qi, who had been retreating again and again, only wanting to survive, realized he was still going to die. Intense rage replaced his fear, and with a "swish," he reattached his thumb. "I'll fight you to the death!"

Then he suddenly charged towards Isaiah.

Isaiah, however, kept his eyes closed, not reacting.

The spell he was about to use was called "Darkness," and just as the name suggested, it would return everything to endless darkness.

This was Isaiah's most powerful spell.

Last time, he had cast this spell instantly, turning the entire headquarters of the Black Merchants into nothingness.

And this time, what he intended to destroy was the Abyss Prison, which occupied an area hundreds or thousands of times larger than the Black Merchants' headquarters.

Therefore, even he needed some time to prepare.

Diana and Luo Qi took this opportunity to launch a frenzied assault on him. But his students, one after another, blocked his path, not retreating an inch despite the shrieking Druid Scale Worms and Luo Qi's slashing attacks.

"Are you fucking crazy?!" Luo Qi roared. "This old lunatic is going to kill you all! Is it worth it to do this for him!?"

The Star Relic Warlocks didn't speak, because they couldn't. Under the shrieking of the Druid Scale Worms, they had aged to the point of being on the verge of death within a few breaths. The only thing they could do was block Luo Qi with their bodies, only to be cut in half by him.

In the blink of an eye, blood flowed like a river.

"Get lost, damn it!"

The tremors intensified, and more monsters tore through the ground, surging from the Abyss, and then charging towards Isaiah like a tide.

But Isaiah remained unmoved, though the Constellation Scepter in his hand grew brighter and brighter.

Finally, after cutting down Mina with one strike, Luo Qi reached Isaiah.

Luo Qi could feel that Isaiah was still short of the final bit of energy, meaning he couldn't resist him with magic at this moment.

"This is the end!" Luo Qi roared, "Great Rhine!"

The massive Rhine Holy Sword swung down towards Isaiah's head. In less than a second, it would have split Isaiah's body in two.

Luo Qi could already see the dawn of success.

And at that very moment, he heard a crisp "snap."

A finger snap.

The holy sword in Luo Qi's hand vanished instantly.

He was stunned.

And at this time, Isaiah finally opened his eyes.

So, Luo Qi's hoped-for dawn was gone, but soon he saw the true light.

Isaiah had transformed into the sun.