Dahlia slowly closed her eyes and let out a long, soft sigh.
Then she slowly opened her eyes and said with complete honesty:
"Then I have to admit my final lie."
"I never showed you anyone's memories, including my own."
"What you saw were scripts I happened to come across."
"They recorded everything that had truly happened. And, spurred on by them, you somehow stepped into those memories from your own perspective and remembered it all again."
Stelle furrowed her brow and asked, utterly confused, "What does that mean?"
Dahlia stared steadily at her and answered, each word distinct:
"It means you're different. You're one of a kind."
"You've done something no one has ever done before."
"Even after your memories were burned away, you were able to recall them again and treasure them in your heart once more."
"The Stellaron Hunters say you're the one who can turn the Time Wheel and give it meaning."
"You're also the one who can turn fate and make up for what was lost."
"Come. I want to show you something."
The scene abruptly shifted.
Their gaze fell upon a dimly lit room.
Only a few candles burned quietly in the room, casting a faint, yellow glow that stretched the shadows around them long.
Stelle immediately spotted Dahlia standing beside the sofa.
On the sofa, a black cat lay curled up, its eyes a brilliant gold.
Stelle's pupils contracted slightly. Without thinking, she blurted out:
"...Elio?"
Before the words had even left her mouth, she hurried over to the sofa.
The black cat on the sofa came into sharper focus.
It seemed to be shrouded in black smoke, exuding an indescribable sense of eeriness and mystery.
Its golden eyes bore a faint resemblance to Stelle's own.
Dahlia walked up behind Stelle and spoke in a low, solemn voice:
"This is the truth about 'Finality' that I promised to show you."
As she spoke, Dahlia raised a hand toward the black cat on the sofa and explained slowly:
"It isn't Elio. It's a fragment of the Black King's divine body."
Stelle froze slightly and seized on the key word. "A fragment?"
Dahlia placed a hand on her chest and closed her eyes, as though carefully recalling something.
After a moment, she slowly began to speak:
"I never witnessed it myself. The Stellaron Hunters told me what happened."
"When the Black King ascends to godhood once more, he will offer up his Thousand-Handed divine form and proclaim—"
"Now I have become Finality. I raise the Time Wheel and destroy the world."
"After that, the Black King will transform into a host of pitch-black cats, each containing all his divine power."
"They will set out from the edge of the world and travel backward through time, all the way to the instant the universe was born."
"The one you see is one of them."
"Elio is a far more special being. Only the Stellaron Hunters know his true identity."
Stelle was full of questions and couldn't help asking, "What connection do I have to him?"
Dahlia shook her head gently, her tone grave:
"When you remember the ending you've yet to recall, he'll tell you the truth."
"But you have to be ready."
At that, Dahlia's voice faltered. At last, she stopped holding anything back.
"The truth is, after Sunday fell, Firefly didn't see anyone again before leaving Penacony—not even you."
"She knew how tragic her third death would be. She could only watch you from afar, then hide away alone as she was about to disappear."
At that very moment, the images on the Sky Screen abruptly came to an end.
It ended so suddenly that everyone on the Douluo Continent who had been watching intently looked on in stunned silence.
But the next second, an indescribable heaviness welled up in their hearts.
Perhaps Firefly's third death had been because she was afraid of making Stelle sad.
She hadn't told Stelle. Instead, she had secretly hidden away and faced her death alone.
It felt as though a heavy hammer had struck everyone's heart, crushing the breath from their lungs.
What could be more moving?
What could leave a deeper mark?
What could tug more painfully at the heart?
Everyone was used to seeing tearful farewells at the moment of death.
But this quiet departure filled them with an even more suffocating sorrow and tenderness.
Firefly loved Stelle so deeply that she was willing to sacrifice herself for her again and again.
More importantly, she knew how deeply it would scar Stelle if she sacrificed herself right in front of her.
So, for the last time, Firefly died without telling Stelle.
She hid in a place no one knew about and died there quietly, all alone.
She wanted Stelle to enjoy happiness and joy in a beautiful dream.
Not to suffer even the slightest added sorrow or pain because she was gone.
[Top Genius Showdown: Top 1 Stelle vs. Top 3 Tang San]
[The first match: Firefly's three deaths vs. Xiao Wu's sacrifice. Sky Screen reveal complete.]
[All sentient beings on the Douluo Continent may vote.]
[Your votes will decide the winner of the first PK.]
[The winner receives a reward; the loser faces a punishment. The PK begins now.]
As the cold text appeared, a bar materialized beside each of the figures of Firefly and Xiao Wu on the Sky Screen.
And before every human and sentient Soul Beast on the Douluo Continent, two options appeared out of thin air.
The glowing green button meant voting for Firefly.
The red button meant voting for Xiao Wu.
The same two buttons appeared in front of Stelle.
She barely hesitated before raising her hand and pressing the glowing green button.
In an instant, countless beings across the Douluo Continent pressed their buttons almost instinctively.
High in the sky, the two tally bars beside Firefly and Xiao Wu began climbing at a furious pace!
Stelle's eyes widened as she stared eagerly at the Sky Screen.
On the other side, Tang San shot up from the sofa and rushed to the window, staring fixedly at the voting bars on the Sky Screen.
But in the blink of an eye, his face had turned as pale as paper.
He clenched his fist and slammed it into the window in front of him!
The glass shattered with a crash, its sharp shards cutting into his palm. Bright red blood instantly stained his fingertips.
Tang San's eyes were filled with disbelief and resentment.
For in the blink of an eye, the glowing green tally bar had shot upward like a rocket.
Its total was more than ten times Xiao Wu's red tally!
That meant the vast majority of Spirit Masters and Soul Beasts across the continent had voted for Firefly, not Xiao Wu.
Tang San had lost utterly and completely.
He simply couldn't imagine it.
He had done everything in his power to protect Xiao Wu, and the people of Spirit Hall had beaten him to the brink of death.
He had even broken his own leg bones, resorting to self-mutilation to unleash the potential of his Spirit Bone, just to give Xiao Wu a chance to escape.
And Xiao Wu had been willing to sacrifice her soul to save him. Even if it meant never being reborn for all eternity, she had still chosen to become his Spirit Ring and help him survive that deadly battle.
Wasn't such devotion and sacrifice enough?
Xiao Wu stared at the enormous gap on the Sky Screen, her fists clenched too. Her eyes reddened, and she was full of indignation.
For a Soul Beast, sacrifice was the greatest, most resolute act of selflessness!
Beside her, Tang Hao was shaking with rage. He slammed the teacup in his hand onto the floor.
Porcelain shards flew everywhere, and tea splashed across the floor.
He glared toward the hotel entrance, his gaze venomous, his teeth clenched in hatred.
His son, Tang San, was destined to become a god!
Now he had lost to Stelle and would soon face the Sky Screen's punishment.
If that punishment cut off his son's path to godhood forever—
If Tang San couldn't become a god, there would be no hope of reviving his wife, Ah Yin!
At that moment, overwhelming fury completely swept away Tang Hao's reason.
He had already suspected that Stelle's terrifying powers were nothing but illusions, things that could only happen in dreams.
Now, old and new grudges had piled up, and he could no longer contain his rage.
And to help Tang San escape his punishment, Tang Hao suddenly roared and burst through the roof, soaring into the sky!
Without a moment's hesitation, he summoned his Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer.
In an instant, brilliant golden light and crimson Spirit Rings bathed the entire sky in red.
Tang Hao raised the Clear Sky Hammer high. Wrapped in an aura that could destroy heaven and earth, he swung it savagely toward Stelle!
He would kill this little girl right here and now!
In his eyes, as long as Stelle died, the PK on the Sky Screen would fall apart on its own.
And naturally, Tang San would escape the punishment.
Tang Hao's furious roar rang through the sky like thunder: "Little girl! Don't blame this old man for being ruthless!"
"If anyone's to blame, it's you for being born into this world!"
"Die!"
Before you continue