Lan Ze pulled the holy sword out and drove it fiercely into that pitch-black swamp.
Golden light suddenly flared up, as though wanting to completely dispel that black mire.
However, the Sea of Life was not affected by Excalibur in the slightest. They even swallowed the Noble Phantasm of Excalibur, until finally, that golden light was completely swallowed within the Sea of Life.
Lan Ze refused to give up. He no longer relied on his own magical energy, but instead made his way forward slowly by relying on his own physical strength. Yet the further he walked, the more black mud covered his feet.
Until finally, that black mud had covered him from the soles of his feet all the way up to his trouser legs, and then it seemed as though it would swallow him together with his body.
He reached out toward Tiamat, who was already close at hand in the distance. At this moment, only by holding someone else's hand could he use that sliver of warmth to confirm that he still had consciousness... that he wasn't dead yet.
However, more and more black mud slowly crawled onto his body. Although the Sea of Life was unable to alter Lan Ze, it could stop him from moving forward, preventing him from getting close to Tiamat.
This thing seemed to possess consciousness, unwilling to let Lan Ze get close to Tiamat any longer.
When Lan Ze dragged this black mud and slowly approached Tiamat, until he could no longer move forward, he stopped in his tracks.
"Merlin, if you don't come out now, the two of us are going to kick the bucket together today!" Lan Ze emitted a difficult roar.
"My, my, ever since when did you find out I was secretly following you?" A very light and gentle, yet very punchable voice suddenly came from beside him.
Lan Ze slowly turned his head to look. The white-haired mage was standing beside him at some unknown time, possessing a rather handsome face with a spring-breeze-like smile on it.
No matter what happened, this man always maintained a dashing demeanor... Oh, occasionally there were also times that were rather jarring.
"You really are here..." Lan Ze stared silently at this man.
As early as before Gilgamesh perished, Merlin had already quietly followed him.
Yet he did not know how Merlin had actually managed it.
"Aren't you afraid of the Sea of Life?"
"To be honest, I'm still a little afraid," Merlin still maintained his dashing smile on his face, "but I am an incubus and have no emotions. I won't be affected by King Gilgamesh's passionate emotions, and likewise... I won't be affected by the negative emotions of the Sea of Life."
"The Sea of Life's impact on me isn't all that great."
As he spoke, he let out a soft sigh and scratched his head: "To be honest, I'm actually more inclined to send Mother back to the Imaginary Number World, you know."
"I did a certain thing in the past... No, actually it wasn't even me who did it. In the past, I watched from the sidelines as that young girl pulled out the Sword in the Stone, leading the citizens of Britain to a temporary prosperity."
"...And then in the end, the Age of Gods declined, the Knights of the Round Table fell apart, and finally the kingdom collapsed."
"Actually, I was thinking at the time, if I interfered, would the ending have been just a tiny bit better?"
Lan Ze stared at Merlin, not knowing what he wanted to say.
"My point is... things you regret, you only need to do them once." Merlin smiled. "Destiny is that kind of unshakable thing. No matter how you struggle, it will ultimately lead to that single ending. That is destiny."
"But I want to see," he paused and smiled, "I want to see if there is another possibility."
"Another possibility...?"
"Yes," Merlin suddenly stopped smiling, "another possibility—"
"Watch closely, this is older brother Merlin's strongest magic! Grand Caster is not an undeserved reputation, you know."
Merlin raised his staff. His gaze was so profound that locking eyes with him felt as though one were gazing into an abyss.
In an instant, Lan Ze caught the delicate fragrance of flower petals.
Countless pink flower petals swept past before his eyes.
This is...
A sea of flowers!
Merlin's sea of flowers!
The Sea of Life could certainly modify Heroic Spirits, but Merlin's sea of flowers could happen to contend with it!
Or rather, the energy within the Sea of Life would give birth to life, while this sea of flowers was able to absorb the energy of the Sea of Life.
Merlin had intercepted all the energy in the Sea of Life midway!
At the same time the sea of flowers descended, the pitch-black mire from just a moment ago was entirely replaced by a sea of pink flowers. Merlin abruptly raised his head, gazed fixedly at the young man rushing toward Tiamat, and said softly:
"Come on, let me see if you can really break destiny and lead to another possibility!"
When Lan Ze sprinted all the way across the sea of flowers and arrived before the woman's massive body, he gave a light bound, his entire body leaping high into the air. At the same time, Merlin's cries of pain suddenly came from behind.
He couldn't help turning his head to look at Merlin, only to see that the previously calm Sea of Life was now attacking Merlin like impotent rage.
"It's fine, it's fine. Don't look at me like this, older brother Merlin's skin is still very thick."
As if he had sensed Lan Ze's gaze, he smiled gently and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth: "Next, let's take a look at older brother Merlin's second magic."
"Artoria, dinner is ready—" He seemed to bite his tongue, covered his mouth, and suddenly let out a cry of pain.
However, at this time, the staff in his hand had already lit up with a pale white radiance.
The next moment, as Lan Ze lunged toward the unimaginably huge fruit on the woman's chest, along with Merlin's magic falling, Lan Ze only felt a wave of sleepiness wash over him.
He lay before Tiamat's soft chest, his vision gradually growing hazy, until finally, Lan Ze slowly, slowly fell asleep.
"I can only help you up to here." Merlin looked back at the Sea of Life slowly closing in on him from behind and sighed.
He had nowhere left to run.
"Even a Grand Caster... actually has things they cannot do."
He watched the overwhelming Sea of Life slowly approaching him, then suddenly sneered: "Did you really think I would be afraid of you?"
Merlin slowly raised his staff, then dropped it to the ground, and slowly raised both hands.
"I surrender."
Lan Ze slowly opened his eyes. Under the effect of Merlin's magic, he easily entered Tiamat's dreamscape.
It was pure white here, with nothing at all.
This was not the Imaginary Number World, but Tiamat's dreamscape.
Yet unlike last time, this time Lan Ze could not see the ocean here, nor could he see the beach, only a boundless, pure white space.
"Mother?"
Lan Ze tried calling out, but there was no response whatsoever.
"Mo—ther—!"
"Ma—?!"
Lan Ze's voice continuously traveled into the distance with him as the center, and he could even hear his own echo in his ears.
Yet still there was no response.
However, Lan Ze refused to give up. Tiamat's physical body in reality was in a state of slumber, but she in the dreamscape shouldn't have started sleeping yet. After all, with such a huge commotion outside, how could she possibly be in the mood to sleep?
Lan Ze took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
He opened his mouth once more: "—Aaaaaa—!!!"
At the exact same time that echo traveled into the distance, he faintly heard someone responding to him.
That voice was similarly the most primitive language, and she said:
"—Aaaaa—"
Lan Ze: "Aaa?"
"AaaRaaaa."
Joy welled up in Lan Ze's heart: "Aaaa?"
"Aaaaa!"
Lan Ze's eyes instantly lit up, and he walked a few steps in the direction of the distance that had emitted the gentle voice.
As he walked, he emitted the sound "Aaa".
And that end likewise replied with the sound "Aaa".
Not knowing how long he had walked, in that pure white environment where almost nothing else could be seen, Lan Ze finally saw the woman he wanted to meet.
Her appearance had not changed a bit compared to before: the same long, smooth cyan hair, the same plump and massive breasts, and... the same gentle expression.
"Aaa?" Tiamat tilted her head and gazed at Lan Ze. She seemed unable to understand why this child had appeared here.
"I've come to take you back," Lan Ze said.
Tiamat blinked. She seemed to want to say something, but Lan Ze had already stepped forward and grabbed the woman's hand.
"Say no more, just come with me."
"Regarding the Spirit Core... I will resolve it. As long as you are willing, I can help you shrink the Spirit Core to the level of a Crowned Spirit Core."
"Host, I cannot do that." The system's cold voice rang out in Lan Ze's mind.
"Didn't you say that as long as she's willing, her Spirit Core can be sealed? Isn't Mother right here now?"
"But preparation time takes three days, and only two days have passed now," the system replied.
"What do you need to prepare?"
"System regulations."
"Regulations your ass, I'll name a number... Right now! Seal Mother's Spirit Core right now."
"Cursing people is wrong, Host." The system responded with zero emotion.
"Then can you do it or not?"
"...Barely."
Before Lan Ze could continue questioning what the system meant by "barely," Tiamat's gentle voice reached his ears: "What happened?"
"Nothing, just talking to a trash system," Lan Ze said.
When Tiamat went berserk, the system issued a quest telling him to deal with Mother of All, and now upon meeting her, it could seal the Spirit Core again.
This system entirely issued quests based on the current situation.
If he had really done what the system-issued quest told him to do at the time, he probably would have regretted it for the rest of his life.
The only one who could replenish his magical energy and treat him gently was right here, and he probably wouldn't see such a gentle woman ever again in the future.
"Aaa?" Tiamat suddenly let out a soft call.
Lan Ze gazed intently at the woman and said softly: "Let's go back. It's a complete mess outside right now, you know."
In order to send Lan Ze into the Sea of Life, the Uruk side could practically be said to have exhausted everything. And to still have to deal with hundreds of millions of Lahmu under those circumstances, one could imagine just how much pressure Gilgamesh had endured when he agreed to support Lan Ze.
Tiamat did not move. That pair of gentle eyes harbored a sense of unease, and she quietly observed Lan Ze's expression, terrified of seeing an impatient look on his face.
Because of her, such a huge commotion had broken out, and even Lan Ze, who had appeared before her, had his clothes torn with several large holes, looking thoroughly disheveled.
She quietly gazed into Lan Ze's eyes, then slowly walked forward, yet Lan Ze did not show the slightest bit of impatience. He likewise gazed at Tiamat, watching her walk up to him before pressing both hands against her shoulders.
He lowered his head slightly, took the woman's soft and moist lips into his mouth, and then tightly embraced her.
Tiamat widened her eyes slightly, but very quickly, this origin mother who had created everything slowly closed her eyes.
The surrounding environment was quietly fading away; this was the sign of leaving the dreamscape.
The system's seal was indeed working, because the present Tiamat possessed self-awareness, and only with her willingness could the system shrink her Spirit Core to the level of a Heroic Spirit.
Yet it was not an ordinary Spirit Core. Tiamat's Spirit Core was so massive that no matter how much it shrank, it would at least be above the crown level.
When Lan Ze slowly opened his eyes, what came into view was no longer the pure white dreamscape from just before.
He was situated within the pitch-black mire, and Tiamat was right in front of him.
However—
When he saw Tiamat's appearance, he couldn't help freezing in place.
Tiamat's body had indeed shrunk; concurrently with the sealing of the Spirit Core, her body had also shrunk to the size of a normal human... Yet the scales on her body had not disappeared, and those scales blanketing her body looked exceptionally ferocious.
"System, what's going on?"
"I answered the Host just now, it's merely a forced seal. To completely shrink the Spirit Core, it will take at least until tomorrow," the system's cold voice replied.
Almost the exact instant the system's voice fell, Tiamat abruptly opened her eyes.
Before you continue