Visas Has Returned! (End of Volume)

It's over.

Finally... it's over.

In the darkness, Isaiah's body swayed precariously, and his vision grew increasingly blurry.

No, it's not over yet.

Isaiah forced himself to open his eyes.

One last step is needed...

He should have been exhausted, but somehow he mustered his last bit of strength and stood up shakily. His heavy, rapid breathing sounded like a machine that might break down at any moment.

Isaiah straightened up and looked ahead.

Einhejar is no more; his Demigod form has vanished in his eternity, leaving only ashes.

At this point, Isaiah had accomplished an unprecedented feat—the killing of a god.

No... nor is it unprecedented.

Isaiah raised his head, his gaze passing over the embers of Einhejar and looking toward his ultimate goal: the ever-standing Final Gate.

But even the Final Gate could no longer stand, for its power came from Einhejar, and Einhejar was dead. Thus, this ancient gate, thousands of years old, could only inevitably crumble like a sandcastle blown by the wind.

It's like Isaiah at this moment.

Isaiah stepped over the embers of Einhejar and arrived at the Final Gate, where he slowly raised his hand.

Most of his fingers had withered and he could no longer straighten them; only the three fingers that did not belong to him remained unchanged.

"I am not eternal, nor is God," Isaiah said softly, looking at the three fingers. "Are you the only one who is eternal?"

"In that case, please let me witness it with my own eyes."

He placed his hand on the Final Gate.

"Boom boom boom!"

Isaiah's hand was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, and the Final Gate began to collapse at an accelerated pace amidst a tremendous roar.

Just as Isaiah said, the creation of the Gods that had stood for thousands of years was ultimately not eternal. Countless cracks started from Isaiah's palm and spread throughout the entire door in an instant, eventually collapsing completely and turning to ashes along with Einhejar.

The last obstacle was thus annihilated.

Isaiah finally saw the broken body bound by heaven and earth.

"It's good to see you now," Isaiah said softly. "Mr. Visas."

The mutilated body did not respond; only the countless sealing ropes and incantation bands on His body swayed slightly in the still air, as if welcoming Isaiah's arrival.

Strange chewing sounds could be heard intermittently in the darkness, clearly indicating that something was watching Isaiah from the depths.

But Isaiah ignored him; his gaze remained fixed on the mangled body.

Now, only one question remains unanswered.

He lifted his foot and walked towards the mutilated body.

The realm, untouched for millennia, finally welcomed a new guest. Countless slumbering beings were awakened, and countless gazes were cast from the darkness, fixed intently on Isaiah.

But none of them showed themselves, because Isaiah carried the scent of Einhejar, and they all understood what this meant—a new Godslayer had appeared.

Isaiah did not have this awareness. His body had reached its limit. Logically speaking, he should have died after killing Einhejar. He was only holding on until now for that final answer.

Finally, he arrived in front of the mangled body.

There are only a few steps left.

He struggled to lift his foot and step onto the stairs.

Then, heavy footsteps and the sound of chains being dragged could be heard behind him.

"Isaiah..." a familiar voice rang out, "It really is you... it really is you..."

Isaiah sighed softly.

"I never expected to see you here." Isaiah slowly turned around. "Warden."

Yes, the visitor was none other than the Warden.

At this moment, the Warden was covered in blood and grime, half of his body was gone, and most of the sealing chains that protected his soul were broken, with only a few of the thickest ones still hanging on his body.

"It seems you've also encountered some trouble," Isaiah said.

The Warden opened his mouth, a hoarse, indistinct sound escaping his throat, "It really was you... I knew it... it really was you..."

He seemed to have lost the ability to think, and no matter what Isaiah said, he would only repeat the phrase "It really is you."

"Have you gone mad?" Isaiah said softly. "Although I don't know what you've been through, please wait a moment. I have one last thing to do."

With that, Isaiah turned around again and stepped onto another step.

Of course, he was also prepared for the Warden to come at him and fight to the death.

If the Warden were at his peak, Isaiah would certainly be no match for him, but the current Warden has clearly gone mad, so...

"You won't find what you're looking for there," the Warden's voice rang out again. "My child."

Isaiah's body stopped.

He looked at the mangled body that was almost within reach, but did not go any further; he simply sighed deeply.

"So all of this was your arrangement?" He turned around again to look at the Warden. "Lord... or rather, Star Remnant?"

The Warden remained in his previous position, but his previous madness and violence had vanished. He simply gazed calmly at Isaiah, though his crimson pupils had faded to the gray of the stars.

Behind him, the embers of Einhejar were rapidly transforming into a galaxy, continuously flowing into his body.

The shattered, blasphemous body was stretched open, and a more holy and pure spirit emerged from it as if reborn.

A pair of enormous wings of the Star Sea dispelled the darkness and illuminated the entire abyss, while He stood tall in the sky.

His name is Xingyi.

"You won't find what you're looking for there." The Star Relic God spoke slowly, his ethereal voice carrying power that made Isaiah's body involuntarily want to bow down.

But he held back. Beneath Visas's mangled body, Isaiah struggled to keep his strength up, not bowing to his former master, but instead trying to meet his gaze.

"What do you mean by not having what I want?" Isaiah asked.

Under the starry sky, the Star Relic God paid no attention to Isaiah's "great disrespect" towards him, but instead turned his gaze to Visas's remains. "No matter what you want to get, those remains can't help you."

"Why?"

"Because he possesses no power whatsoever," the Star Relic God said calmly, "He is merely an immortal remnant."

Isaiah's pupils narrowed slightly.

Possessing no power whatsoever? How is that possible?

Isaiah was even more shocked by the words of the Star Relic God than by the Star Relic God himself.

He managed to ask with difficulty, "Is this a scam?"

The Star Relic God did not answer, but this was clearly an admission.

Isaiah didn't believe the Star Relic God was deceiving him, because the Star Relic God made no attempt to conceal his power; the Magic Power surging from His wings of the Star Sea far surpassed that of the Demigod Einhejar. Even if Isaiah were unharmed, he wouldn't have the slightest chance of defeating this true god, let alone in his current state.

Therefore, at this time, the Star Relic God had absolutely no reason to deceive him.

"Why?" Isaiah asked softly. "If this remains have no power, then why did you go to all the trouble of creating the Contract Land?"

"To set a goal."

"What goal?"

"The goals I'm giving you."

"I do not understand."

The Star Relic God did not answer Isaiah immediately, but looked into his eyes and then slowly said, "Isaiah, I have been watching you."

"Always?"

"Yes, long ago, before you were so powerful," the Star Relic God said slowly, "When you looked up at the starry sky, I was also watching you."

"Why?" Isaiah's body was beginning to give way, but he still used the nearly broken scepter to support himself and prevent himself from collapsing. "Is it just me, or all your followers?"

"Of course it's not just you, but it can't be all believers either," said the Star Relic God. "Throughout the millennia, there have always been a few 'special individuals' like you."

"I don't understand what makes me special."

"No, you understand," said the Star Relic God. "Think back to when you first looked up at the starry sky and saw the stars for the first time. What were your thoughts?"

The first time I looked up at the starry sky...

Isaiah could answer easily without much effort in recalling, because that's what he still thinks to this day.

"The starry sky is so beautiful," he murmured. "Magnificent, dazzling, mysterious, and captivating."

When he uttered those words, Isaiah already knew what the answer was.

"You yearn for the Star Sea, not me," said the Star Relic God. "Or rather, in your eyes, the Star Sea has no place for me. But most of my followers, when they first look up at the starry sky, think that only the Great Lord can create such Star Sea, and you are too rebellious, and rebellion is an extremely dangerous element."

"Because the end of rebellion is Visas?"

"You are truly wise." The Star Relic God's expression remained unchanged, but Isaiah could sense that He was smiling. "Just like when you look up at the stars, you can always see and think of things that ordinary people cannot see or think of. And this is also an element of a rebel, and a necessary condition to become Visas."

"Who exactly is Visas?"

"A mortal who has evolved to the extreme," the Star Relic God replied. "Even today, we still cannot say for sure why he became Visas. All we have are a few vague points, one of which is rebellion. Rebels are difficult to be influenced by our thoughts and will always subconsciously pursue so-called truth, just like you, even though you have become my first believer, you still believe that the stars created me, not that I created the stars."

"But that's just how it is."

"That's right." The Star Relic God nodded slightly. "But you shouldn't have known this fact."

"Everyone says that Star Remnant is the most dedicated seeker of truth in the world because we look not at the earth beneath our feet, but at the stars above us," Isaiah said. "But now you're saying that we shouldn't do this."

"That's true, but what you should be pursuing is the starry sky I've painted for you," the Star Relic God said indifferently, "Not the real one."

Isaiah's hands clenched tighter and tighter as he coldly looked at his former master, whose faith had shattered completely at this moment.

After a long silence, he finally asked, "Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because you now possess the qualifications to speak with me," said the Star Relic God. "You can consider this my reward to you."

"Even if I, the traitor, have destroyed your most precious Abyss Prison?"

"You mean this?" The Star Relic God lowered his head, looked at the desolation beneath him, and shook his head. "I've already told you, the remains behind you are meaningless, so the entire prison is meaningless as well."

"I still don't understand," Isaiah said. "If you knew from the beginning that I was a traitor, why didn't you just kill me?"

"Because there are too many," said the Star Relic God. "There are simply too many people in this world who could become rebels, and even we cannot monitor everyone. Only those as exceptionally outstanding as you would come into my view."

"Then why don't you just kill all of humanity?"

"Because we tried it once a thousand years ago," the Star Relic God said calmly. "Then Visas appeared. If it weren't for the fear of another Visas appearing, your race would not exist after the war of the gods ended."

Isaiah instinctively raised his head, looked at the mutilated body above him, and fell silent.

After a long pause, Isaiah withdrew his gaze and spoke again, "So, the purpose of the Gods, and even the Eight Great Churches, is to prevent the world from having another Visas?"

"Yes," said the Star Relic God. "The Eight Great Churches, and even the Contract Land, exist for this reason. Now we can return to the question we were asking earlier. This is the target we specifically set for you rebels."

I still don't understand.

"Do you remember what I just said about the prerequisites for becoming Visas?"

"No faith?"

"That's a general statement. To be precise, it means not being disturbed by our thoughts and not relying on our power. In other words, if you want to surpass us in strength, you must first surpass us in mindset," said the Star Relic God. "And this also applies to Visas."

Isaiah's pupils widened little by little. "You mean..."

"The moment you become dependent on Visas's power, you can no longer be Visas."

Isaiah froze, instinctively touching his right eye, the eye that had been with him for decades.

"It seems you've already figured it out," the Star Relic God smiled. "That eye was given to you by me. From the moment you began to rely on the power of that eye, you will never be able to possess power surpassing ours again. The deeper you use it, the less likely it is to happen."

Isaiah's body began to tremble.

He had been holding on until he collapsed before the Star Relic God, but now he could no longer hold on.

With a "click".

His scepter broke in response, causing him to fall heavily onto the steps.

Isaiah struggled to get up, but no matter how hard he struggled, it was to no avail. Instead, he looked disheveled, as if his last breath had vanished with the words of the Star Relic God.

The Star Relic God watched all this with a smile.

God did not love mankind; He never did from the beginning.

If there was no love a thousand years ago, there will naturally be no love a thousand years from now.

"We have different ways of dealing with different kinds of humans," the Star Relic God said with amusement. "For the most ordinary and foolish people, we mold them into a distorted belief, making them believe that we are the truth. But for intelligent people like you, rebels, we can't control you forever, nor can we push you to the extreme. So we set up a target for you— Visas. If you don't come to us, then come to Visas, but the outcome will be the same. No matter which side you choose, you will lose the possibility of surpassing us."

"That's why we haven't collected all of Visas's body parts for thousands of years. We need them to be scattered among the people, for you rebels to find them, to fight each other, to consume yourselves. In this way, you will never harbor any resentment towards us until you die."

"All of you have been caught in the giant web we have woven for you from the moment you were born. The only difference is that some people are unaware of their situation and wait to die peacefully, while others, like you, think they have everything under control, only to die after a futile struggle."

"To be more precise, we are castrating the minds and cognition of all humans, making you incapable of becoming Visas. And you rebels will refuse our castration, so we will guide you to choose Visas, and the moment you choose Visas, you have already castrated yourself."

"This is the truth of this world."

Isaiah's trembling stopped.

He collapsed to the ground in despair, his most cherished eye filled with a deathly gray.

This scene pleased the Star Relic God even more.

"I truly hate humans," He said with a light laugh. "You're like insects, swarming everywhere and disgusting. If I try to exterminate you, then monsters like Visas will appear... Yes, monsters like that."

The Star Relic God spoke with undisguised disgust, but He quickly relaxed again.

"Today is the happiest day of my life in a thousand years. Because no rebel has ever reached your level before, and the target we set has finally been hit today. Do you know how happy I was when I sensed Einhejar's death? It was truly... so interesting." The Star Relic God said with a smile, "As a reward, I will make you the next Einhejar. As the pinnacle of rebels, you will help me slay the next rebel, allowing this cycle to continue... There is nothing more interesting than this, isn't there?"

Having said that, the Star Relic God raised his hand, and the chains that had been torn from the Warden crawled toward Isaiah like worms.

Isaiah did not react at all.

He collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at the mangled body above him.

It's all a scam, a complete scam.

Just as the Star Relic God said, he was a worm in a spider web from the very beginning, and no matter how much he struggled, he could not escape the web.

Humans, indeed, are powerless against the Gods.

He gently closed his eyes.

Since that's the case, let's end it here.

Isaiah's consciousness gradually faded.

But at that moment, an image suddenly appeared in his mind of a decaying tree that had sprouted new buds.

He suddenly opened his eyes.

He almost forgot, he almost forgot!

Isaiah struggled to sit up and looked at the Star Relic Lord again. "You... are you Hand Eye?"

While asking the question, Isaiah stared intently at the other person, as if afraid of hearing an answer he didn't want to hear.

The Star Relic Lord replied as follows.

"Hand Eye, who is that?"

That slightly doubtful tone acted like a shot of adrenaline, giving Isaiah, who should have been decaying, the last bit of strength.

He scrambled to his feet and began climbing the last step.

This scene caught the eye of the Star Relic God, leaving Him somewhat puzzled.

But He did nothing to stop it, because He knew that the remains were of no use.

Visas is dead, and no one except the Lord of the Netherworld believes he can return.

Therefore, the Star Relic God was more pleased to see Isaiah's final, futile struggle, because that's how mortals are supposed to be.

"Swish swish swish".

Although the Star Relic God did not stop Isaiah again, the chains He had previously controlled had already climbed onto Isaiah's legs and were rapidly spreading upwards.

"Click-clack".

The bones in the areas affected by the chains snapped.

It was so close.

It was so close.

Isaiah climbed the last step and reached out to the mangled body so close to him. At the same time, chains had already climbed up his upper body and were cruelly strangling his chest.

Just... the very last bit.

"Click".

Isaiah's heart was shattered by chains, which wrapped his entire body, leaving only his eyes exposed.

Just like the previous Warden.

But at the very last moment, Isaiah's hand finally clasped together with the hand of the mutilated body.

It was like a silent relay race. One side was the dying, and the other was the already dead.

This relay was destined to be useless, at least in the eyes of the Star Relic God.

He slowly descended, landing beside Isaiah, watching as the most powerful rebel of the past millennium finally died completely.

"You're really making quite a fuss," He said with a light laugh. "I wonder how long it will take for a gatekeeper like you to be defeated by the next rebel... Hopefully not too long, after all, waiting all the time is quite boring."

After saying this, He stretched out His hand to Isaiah.

Crackling sound.

The chains came off with a snap, revealing Isaiah's face, which was almost mangled.

The Star Relic God reached his hand toward Isaiah's eye socket.

He was going to take that eye out and give it to the next "Isaiah".

However, when He opened Isaiah's eye sockets, He found that... there were no eyes inside.

The Star Relic God was stunned.

Before He could react, His wrist was grabbed by another hand with a "snap".

"The dead shall enjoy peace." A deep voice slowly echoed in the ears of the Star Relic God. "He is weary, isn't he?"

The Star Relic God slowly raised his head and finally met those nightmarish eyes.

"Next it's your and my turn," Bai Wei said with a light laugh.

Star Relic Sect.

Pope Carlos of the Star Remnants sat quietly beneath the statue of the Star Relic God, his brows furrowed, looking uneasy.

He had already received a text message from the Contract Land and learned what Isaiah had done.

But how could that be? How could Isaiah have kept Three Corpse Pieces for himself?

Carlos felt this was a baseless accusation, but he didn't know how to clear Isaiah's name.

So he came to the statue of the Lord, hoping to receive divine guidance from Him.

But for some reason, he had been experiencing a strong sense of palpitations since just now, even more so than when he first received the news about the Contract Land.

Let's ask the Lord.

Carlos took a deep breath, preparing to pray to the Lord, when he suddenly noticed something was wrong with the statue of the Lord.

It's like... coming back to life.

Then he saw the statue open its mouth and shout in the most extreme panic.

"Visas is back!"

"Visas is back!"

"Visas is back!"

After he shouted, there was a "smack".

The statue was torn to pieces.