They floated above the crumbling ruins, silently watching the court that had once been built from their flesh and blood slowly fade away.
No one spoke.
Only 6,217 streams of light pulsed gently at their own frequencies, like 6,217 soundless sighs.
The Devourer Lord had already fled.
The moment it realized its power could not stop those "food" from devouring it in turn, it had run. It fled deeper into the dimensions, toward the place it believed no civilization would ever dare enter—the true core of the Archivist Network.
But it could not escape.
Lin Ye did not pursue it.
He merely watched the dark-red streak vanish into the depths of the dimensions and said softly, "Tell your masters—the Ember Guardians will come. But not yet."
He turned to the 6,217 streams of light. "Everyone."
All 6,217 streams trembled at once, like 6,217 voices answering, "Here."
Lin Ye smiled. "The Taotie Court is gone, and your vengeance against those who devoured you has been delivered. But do you know who your true enemy is?"
Silence.
After a long while, one stream of light slowly formed a line of text: "The Archivists. They created the Cleaners, allowed Taotie to grow, and acquiesced to the purging of all 'anomalies.' They are the source of every tragedy."
Lin Ye nodded. "That's right. So—the war has only just begun."
He raised a hand and pointed toward the cold Radiance of the Archivist Network, faintly visible in the depths of the dimensions. "There are more civilizations like yours that have been erased. More obsessions still slumbering. More beings who need to be remembered. I'm going. Will you come with me?"
All 6,217 streams of light blazed at once!
Their light was more blazing, more resolute, and more eager than ever before.
They had waited through