"When I tried to cleanse it myself, I felt even more powerless. The Boundary Stele's purifying force requires me to continuously pour my own power into it to drive it, but the speed of purification falls far, far behind the speed at which the Black Fog corrodes and regenerates. It's a complete loss."
"Over these past several hundred years Beyond the World, nearly all my power has been spent maintaining the Boundary Stele's seal and attempting to purify it. Not only have I made no progress, I'm even weaker than when I first transcended. If I had any other option, I never would have issued a summons and troubled you lords to come risk yourselves..."
His words were filled with exhaustion and despondence. They sounded sincere and earnest, every sentence true.
Just then, Shen Yi, who had been silently observing from the side the entire time, suddenly spoke in a mild voice. It was not loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.
"You're pretty good at playing the good guy."
His tone was calm, yet carried a trace of undisguised mockery.
Beside him, an arc of lightning flickered lightly over Lilith's eyes, and she let out a low laugh of unclear meaning.
The starlight around Liushuo shuddered violently. He abruptly looked toward Shen Yi, his tone carrying anger long suppressed and a trace of panic.
"You... what do you mean by that?!"
Shen Yi did not look at him, as if what he had just said had been nothing more than an offhand comment.
His gaze turned toward Alvin.
"If we help him cleanse this place, what do we get out of it?"
The moment those words came out, the atmosphere of the surrounding dead starfield seemed to freeze solid in an instant.
Winnie and Xilos's gazes shifted slightly. They