Three months after the Crimson Rift closed, the Co-Prosperity Zone was immersed in the busy work of reconstruction. On the colony destroyed by the Star Devourers, new energy towers rose from the ground, with the vines of the Tree of Chaos entwining the towers and transmitting gentle energy to every corner. Xiao He led the monks to plant new Symbiosis Grass on the ruins, the tender green leaves swaying in the wind, symbolizing the vitality that had been lost and regained.
The incident occurred on a peaceful morning.
Star Patrollers responsible for guarding the Critical Star Domain suddenly sent an emergency signal, its voice filled with unprecedented panic. "The eastern defense line... is gone! Not destroyed, but... completely gone!"
When Qing He and Meng Ke arrived, they only saw an empty starry sky. The three defensive towers, five hundred Star Patrollers, and the energy barrier that had stood there were all as if they had never existed, and even the coordinates on the star map had become blurred.
"The detectors didn't record any signs of attack." The surviving Star Patrollers trembled as he pulled up the data; the screen was blank. "The last communication was in the middle of last night, everything was normal. But we lost contact with them again this morning, and by the time we got here, there was nothing left."
Meng Ke pressed his palm into the void, and dark red energy spread out, yet not a trace of residual Dou Qi could be detected. "It's like it was erased from the universe with an eraser, leaving not even a speck of dust."
Xiao He crouched down, the Power of Chaos at her fingertips seeping into this void. A moment later, her expression changed drastically. "There is the aura of 'forgotten' here, very faint, but completely different from the ancient laws of the Star Domain of Oblivion —this is a power that actively erases 'traces of existence,' more terrifying than the devouring of the Star Devourers."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than another shocking report came from the Co-Prosperity Zone: the western branch of the Tree of Chaos had suddenly withered, and the rings recording the history of the exchange between the Sound Civilization and the Silent Civilization had mysteriously disappeared, as if these two civilizations had never joined the alliance.
"It's spreading from the direction of the closing of the crimson rift!" The Dream Guardian transmitted images through the dream connection; his figure even appeared unstable in the dream. "I saw in my dream... a black shadow, shapeless, devouring all 'memories' wherever it passed."
Qing He immediately ordered the sealing off of all passages in and out of the Co-Prosperity Zone, while expanding the search area. Soon, more "disappearance incidents" were reported: some were small observation stations, some were groups of cultivators on patrol, and even some creatures had gaps in their memories—some forgot their names, and some couldn't remember what the Symbiosis Grass looked like.
"They are erasing our 'roots'." Qing He stood Tree of Chaos, watching the withering branches, a fierce glint in her eyes. "Defense towers, cultivators, memories... these are all proof of the existence of the Co-Prosperity Zone. Once all proof is erased, we will vanish completely from the universe, just like the Eastern Defense Line."
Meng Ke gathered all the elite Destruction Clan, their crimson armor illuminating half the starry sky. "We must find their source! Even if it's just a shadow, I will cleave it apart!"
Xiao He suddenly pointed to the fruit at the top of the Tree of Chaos: " The Tree Spirit is reacting! It's... resisting!"
Everyone looked up and saw countless tiny points of light appearing on the surface of the gray-black fruit. These points of light were the marks of the forgotten Star Patrollers and defensive towers. They flickered and struggled inside the fruit, as if trying to break free from some kind of restraint.
" The Tree Spirit is using the Primordial Law to preserve these 'marks'!" Xiao He exclaimed in surprise. "As long as the marks remain, there's a way to make them 'reappear'!"
Following the guidance of the fruit's light, the Star Patrollers finally discovered a black rift thinner than a hair at the edge of the Critical Star Domain. A faint black mist continuously seeped from the rift, and wherever the mist passed, the starlight in the sky dimmed, as if veiled by a thin gauze.
"This is it!" Qing He pointed her longsword directly at the crevice. "The ' Power of Oblivion ' in the mist is exactly the same as the aura of the vanished area!"
She was the first to rush into the mist, and the Power of Chaos formed a solid barrier around her. The Power of Oblivion in the mist frantically pounded against the barrier, trying to erase her existence. Qing He even felt her memories tremble slightly—she had almost forgotten what Xiao Yan looked like, and the origin of the Tree of Chaos.
"We can't let it interfere!" Qing He gritted her teeth, her longsword bursting with dazzling light. " Meng Ke, use the Power of Destruction to tear open the rift! Xiao He, guide the Tree Spirit's mark to protect our memories!"
The crimson energy, like a giant axe, slammed into the black fissure. The fissure emitted a piercing shriek as it was torn open, revealing countless pairs of eyes gleaming with an eerie light—beings composed of pure "will to forget," without physical form, possessing only the instinct to constantly devour memories.
" Shadows of Oblivion..." Xiao He's voice was chilling. She channeled the light from the Tree of Chaos into everyone's consciousness, forming a "memory barrier." " The Tree Spirit said they come from the ' Bottom of the Void,' beings even older than the Void Mother Nest, feeding on 'traces of existence.'"
Shadows of Oblivion surged forth from the rift, not devouring energy like the Star Devourers, but directly attacking the consciousness of living beings. A Destruction Clan cultivator, unable to dodge in time, was entangled by a shadow, his eyes instantly becoming vacant as he murmured, "Who am I... what am I supposed to do..."
"Destroy their 'core will'!" Qing He saw the key; although these shadows were scattered, they were connected by an invisible will. " Xiao He, use the mark to locate the core!"
Xiao He gathered all the light points into a beam of light, piercing into the deepest part of the rift. There, a condensed black sphere was slowly pulsating, the core of the Shadows of Oblivion. The moment the beam of light touched the sphere, countless fragments of swallowed memories surged out from it— Star Patrollers on the eastern defense line were on patrol, monks at the observation station were recording data, and even the earliest songs of the Sound Civilization be heard.
"Now!"
Qing He and Meng Ke attacked simultaneously. Gray-gold Power of Chaos and dark red Power of Destruction intertwined to form a spiraling blade of light, slashing fiercely at the black core along the trajectory of the beam of light. The core emitted a shrill cry unlike any living being could make, and the black surface rapidly faded, revealing a glass-like crystal inside, which sealed countless "forgotten memories" of the universe.
"It's afraid of being 'remembered'!" Xiao He suddenly realized. "Memory is their food, but also their weakness!"
She guided all the fragments of memory to form a " Wall of Memory " around the core—each fragment being proof of existence, whether it be a glorious civilization or a tiny creature, all leaving their mark on this wall.
Enveloped by the Wall of Memory, the black core melted rapidly, like ice and snow exposed to sunlight. The Shadows of Oblivion, having lost its core will, also transformed into specks of starlight and dissipated into the starry sky.
As the black rift closed, the swallowed fragments of memory rained down on the Co-Prosperity Zone like a meteor shower. The defensive towers of the Eastern Front reappeared in the starry sky, and the Star Patrollers looked around blankly before regaining consciousness under the effect of the memory barrier; new buds sprouted from the withered branches of the Tree of Chaos, and the missing rings of the tree reappeared, clearer than ever before.
In the plaza of the Co-Prosperity Zone, the Destruction Clan cultivator who had forgotten his name regained his clarity the moment he saw Meng Ke: "Chief! I... I think I just had a very long dream."
Qing He gazed at the brightly lit starry sky, but felt no relief. She knew that the Shadows of Oblivion were merely the vanguard of the " Bottom of the Void," and their appearance meant that a threat older and more fundamental than the Entropic Universe had already set its sights on this place.
"If we can preserve our memories, we can preserve our existence." Qing He planted her longsword beneath the Tree of Chaos, its blade imprinted with the memories of all living beings. "From this day forward, everyone must leave a 'mark of existence' with the Tree Spirit. Even if temporarily forgotten, they can rediscover themselves under the nourishment of the Power of Chaos."
The fruit of the Tree of Chaos trembled gently, taking in all the marks and radiating a warm yet resolute light.
In the Bottom of the Void, the light seemed to be felt, and an even deeper darkness was brewing. But the creatures of the Co-Prosperity Zone did not retreat. They embraced each other in the square, solidifying each other's memories with laughter and words, using the traces of their existence to resist the Power of Oblivion sought to erase everything.
The meaning of protection is never just about fighting enemies, but also about remembering "who we are".
And this war about "existence and oblivion" has only just begun.