Lin Ye had understood one thing before him—
Weight had never been a burden.
Weight was proof.
Proof that you were still carrying them, still walking, still giving those on your back somewhere to go.
Primordial Origin was silent for a long time.
Then he dropped to one knee.
He was not kneeling to Lin Ye, but to that cloak.
To the 3.737 billion reborn beings beneath that cloak.
"Lord of Embers." His voice was low and solemn. "From this day forward, Primordial Origin is willing to become an Ember Guardian and walk beside you."
Lin Ye looked at him and remained silent for three seconds.
Then he stepped forward and personally helped Primordial Origin up.
"Get up."
He pointed to the areas on the cloak that were no longer blank.
"They don't need you to kneel. They need you to lead them and find the way home."
Primordial Origin rose and looked toward the sea of stars.
Upon the cloak, 3.737 billion stars slowly revolved along some mysterious trajectory. Those were all the civilizations being carried, making room in their own way for their newly arrived companions.
There were no blank spaces left beneath the cloak.
Primordial Origin softly asked, "Where do we go next?"
Lin Ye did not answer.
He merely turned and looked deeper into this void—farther than Primordial Fear's domain, deeper than the ruins of the Zero Era, older than all known dimensions.
There was nothing there.
But precisely because there was nothing there, it could become the Zero Era's true homeland.
"We pioneer it."
Lin Ye took a step forward.
Behind him, 3.737 billion stars lit up at once, illuminating the road ahead for him.
Primordial Origin followed close behind.
Two figures, one before the other, walked toward that absolute nothingness.
Toward the place that