"Still so arrogant?" Yan Bai formed a blade of light in his hand, then shouted to the others, "Follow me and close in on him!"
The enormous shield of light had yet to break apart, blocking a few incoming chips from time to time. The two sides drew closer and closer. During a gap in Aventurine's suppressive fire, Yan Bai and Caelus leaped out together, while March 7th's rain of arrows provided a timely distraction. Aventurine used one hand to throw Caelus's approaching flaming lance aside, but couldn't free a hand to defend against Yan Bai's attack. A flash of the blade swept across Aventurine's chest, leaving a sizable wound. It forced him to take two steps back.
"Hmph, everyone's like this... Why-can't you live a little more freely?" As Aventurine spoke, a massive laser descended from the sky. Himeko watched the dust billow up, seemingly checking the effect of the strike.
"Playing a strong hand slowly, putting on an act..." Aventurine flicked his hand to disperse the needless dust, then slowly pointed at Acheron, who had yet to make a move. "You're making me a little impatient."
"Hahaha-" With that, Aventurine covered his mask with one hand and slowly rose into the sky. "To make the most of this, everyone-I'll wager all my chips." As he spoke, he tossed a chip into the sky with one hand, and a golden domain slowly unfolded. "Only by casting aside reason can one truly gamble..."
"This... What is it?" Hanxing looked up at the sky covered by the enormous canopy. Several stacks of chips slowly descended from above, and for some reason, they reminded him of that dagger's ability.
"'Emanator'-you'll call my bet, won't you?" Aventurine smiled. The chips suddenly began to fall faster, streaking across the sky like meteors and plunging straight toward the buildings and people below.
"Firefly, watch out!" As Hanxing spoke, he sent out two arcs of red sword energy, slicing apart a chip hurtling toward Firefly. He then flashed to her side and raised an enormous shield of light. "Thank you." Firefly warily watched her surroundings. "We shouldn't stay here. Let's find somewhere to hide!"
At the same time, Yan Bai also raised a shield of light, but it soon showed signs of breaking. Welt's cane lit up as he prepared to provide a second barrier for everyone. But just then, Acheron made her move:
She slowly took a step forward. With the spot beneath her foot as its center, the world turned black and white, and the chips and raindrops froze in midair. Acheron's hand changed from black to red, and her purple hair turned gray-white. She held her tachi before her and slowly drew it. A bloody tear seeped from her eye, which had turned from purple to red:
"May we weep for the departed, tears falling like rain to fill the river of crossing... surging in like the tide to guide you home." As Acheron's words ended, she drew the tachi completely, and it shone with a brilliant red light. The entire world turned utterly black and white.
The blade brushed lightly across a pool of water that had appeared from nowhere, and an enormous arc of red sword energy rushed toward Aventurine. Time began to flow again, but the world remained gray and white. Every chip in the sword energy's path was cut in two. Seeing the ferocity of the attack, Aventurine instinctively raised his hand to block, but it was no use. Within the dream, he seemed to have been cut to dust.
"This is bad. If that slash gets through, all of Penacony will be affected!" The instant time began flowing, Hanxing knew what had happened. He didn't dare gamble on the power of the attack, but for the tourists outside, he could only do his utmost to suppress it. With that thought, Hanxing slapped the Stellaron he had brought from Fansha Star into the Blade of Ending without hesitation.
In an instant, just after the blade's light passed through Aventurine, Hanxing appeared behind him, saber in his right hand. Red and yellow light mingled along the brocade saber, with a faint purple glow coiling around its blade. The instant the blade's light collided with the brocade saber, a tremendous burst of red and purple light erupted. The forces collided, tore at each other, and annihilated one another.
The unmatched power of the Path of Nihility nearly overwhelmed Hanxing's power completely. Just as the blade's light was about to break through his defense, a warm gaze fell upon him.
"Am I... dead?" Hanxing looked around. This place was already somewhat familiar to him. The last time he had seen it seemed to have been on Fansha Star-the Pathstrider's Chasm.
"Nothing for it. Even if the god of death comes for me, I still have to walk this path..." Hanxing muttered to himself. A ray of light led into the distance, just as it had before. His steps were heavy as he walked through the seemingly endless expanse of space.
"Child of man-" The call sounded somewhat familiar. Hanxing looked up at the boundless sky, and an enormous goddess came into view. "Xi... Xipe?" The goddess nodded. "That's right. It's me."
"And thank you for helping me whenever I'm in danger." Hanxing scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "Why thank me? You will decide the fate of the entire universe. Everything in the whole world is merely a force pushing you forward." Xipe's answer was somewhat cold. She then turned her gaze to Hanxing:
"Ena's divine power? That one is still causing trouble at a time like this?" For some reason, the female voice shifted from impatient to warm. "This next one is a gift I left for you." With a flick of her slender hand, Hanxing's body suddenly felt much lighter. A surge of divine power that could not be contained rushed into his body. The star-shaped mark in his right eye vanished completely, and the eye turned golden, with markings and hands appearing in it. Hanxing felt that, besides regaining his original ability, a strange new power was stirring in his chest.
"Things are getting interesting now..." Hanxing's eyes opened in the real world, and the brilliant red blade's light was reflected in his new eye.
A clock-shaped disc appeared before Hanxing, showing the current time. He reached out and stopped its hands, and time stopped throughout the world. The ferocious blade's light advanced no farther. Wings formed from light energy grew from his back, and he flew high into the air and sent an arc of sword energy slashing down.
The instant the two arcs of sword energy collided, an enormous shockwave swept across Penacony. To keep its effects from being too great, Hanxing had also mixed the sound of Tuning into the shockwave. The two arcs clashed fiercely before finally being annihilated into ash.
"Ugh-" Taking an Emanator's attack head-on had indeed been too much for him. Hanxing's golden wings vanished in an instant, and the Blade of Ending flew from his hand. He used the last of his strength to put the blade away in his storage space. Then his body plunged straight toward the ground. As Hanxing fell, time resumed, and Acheron sheathed her blade at the same moment. The world fell silent.
"This... Where is this?" In an enormous spatial corridor, Hanxing looked around. He was about to raise his hand when a burst of searing pain came from his right arm. He looked at it and saw several streaks of red lightning coiling around his hand, steadily consuming the mangled arm whose bones had long been exposed.
"That attack did so much damage..." Hanxing sighed softly. The hands in his eye then turned backward, and his arm returned to normal. Even the lightning vanished without a trace:
"It seems that was the work of that Emanator of Nihility... Which means Firefly and the others are here too."