Kaguya's projection slowly coalesced in the void, a female silhouette hundreds of meters tall, formed from purple-black energy. Her features were indistinct, save for a pair of eyes like blood-red stars fallen into an abyss, radiating a cold, indifferent light as she looked down upon all living things.
The pressure emanating from that projection alone made the Whisperer's hull groan under the strain. Metal plates began to buckle, circuits spat blinding sparks, and the entire ship seemed on the verge of being crushed to dust by that invisible force.
Inside the cockpit, the air was as heavy as lead.
Lin Ye struggled to raise his head, his vision already blurred by blood. He looked at Kaguya's sky-blotting projection, then at the nearly dark fragment of the Purification Prism in his hand. A profound helplessness welled up within him.
Not enough...
Nowhere near enough...
The chance Sasuke had bought with his life had only given them a few more minutes to cling to survival.
Against Kaguya in her complete form, against this corrupted Ark, everything they had done was like ants trying to move a mountain.
"Lin Ye..." Naruto's voice was hoarse and weak. He struggled up from the floor and staggered over to Lin Ye, pressing his one working hand onto Lin Ye's shoulder. "Tell me... is there still a way?"
Lin Ye fell silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "I don't know..."
"Then think!" A flame suddenly blazed in Naruto's eyes-the inextinguishable flame that belonged to Naruto Uzumaki. "That bastard Sasuke... he entrusted his life to you! You can't say you don't know!"
A shudder ran through Lin Ye.
That's right...
Sasuke entrusted his life to me.
Sakura, Karin, Ayami, Elder Mochen, Priest Lingxi... everyone placed their hopes in me.
*How can I say, "I don't