The " Core Anchor " brought back from the Sea of Forgetting was placed at the roots of the Tree of Chaos. The Primordial Script on the metal plate echoed the tree's annual rings, projecting a dynamic star map onto the ground—the ever-writhing darkness at the center of the star map was the real-time location of the Bottom of the Void, and the countless fine lines connecting the darkness to the edge of the star map were the " Anchor Chains " woven with the lives of the Recorders.
" The Anchor Chains are breaking at a visible rate." The Star Patrollers leader's blue light swept across the star map, his tone grave. "In the past month, seventeen thin lines have completely disappeared, and the area of Bottom of the Void has expanded by three percent."
Xiao Yan squatted beside the Core Anchor, his fingertips tracing the shimmering Primordial Script. A faint tremor emanated from the metal plate, as if the last vestige of the Recorders's consciousness was speaking, "They are pleading for help... At the end of the Anchor Chains lies their 'Method for Repairing the Chain,' but someone needs to endure the pain of ' Ten Thousand Memories Infusing Consciousness.'"
" Ten Thousand Memories Infusing Consciousness?" Xiao He asked, puzzled.
"It means simultaneously accepting all the memories recorded by the Recorders." Qing He's voice was deep. "From the birth of the universe to the rise and fall of civilizations, from the birth of laws to the arrival of disasters... that's enough information to burst any sea of consciousness. If you're not careful, you'll be completely lost in the torrent of memories, becoming an empty shell without a self."
Meng Ke gripped his giant axe tightly. "Let me go! The consciousness of the Destruction Clan is more resilient than that of ordinary people; perhaps they can withstand it."
"No." Xiao Yan shook his head, the Power of Chaos condensing into a light pattern in his palm. "These memories share the same origin as the Origin of Chaos; only I can accept them without being devoured by them." He looked at the end of the Anchor Chains closest to the Bottom of the Void on the star map. "That's the ' Lighthouse of the End the Recorders; the key to repairing the chain lies there."
Three days later, Xiao Yan and Qing He boarded the " Origin Tracer " starship and set off towards the Lighthouse of the End. As the starship passed through the ever-expanding edge of the Bottom of the Void, the surrounding starlight dimmed again, and even the Power of Chaos was suppressed. Blank spots that were "unrecorded" even began to appear on the hull of the starship—signs that the traces of existence had been forcibly erased.
"Hurry!" Qing He channeled the Light of Faith into the starship's core, barely managing to counteract the spread of the blank spots. " The Power of Forgetting here is a hundred times stronger than in the Co-Prosperity Zone. Any further delay, and the starship itself will be completely erased."
When the Lighthouse of the End came into view, both of them gasped. It wasn't a tower, but a white dwarf enveloped in countless fragments of memory. Its core had long since extinguished, leaving only the Primordial Script etched on its outer shell flickering. The Anchor Chains connecting the beacon to the Bottom of the Void was mostly broken, with only three thin lines struggling to hold it up. At the other end of these lines, countless tentacles were extending from the darkness, frantically gnawing at the remaining chains.
" The Recorders ' main city was indeed built on a star." Xiao Yan leaped out of the starship, the Power of Chaos forming a sturdy barrier around him. "They used the energy of the star to nourish the Anchor Chains, and now that the star has died down, the Anchor Chains naturally can't hold on."
He landed on the surface of the lighthouse, and the Primordial Script immediately lit up. Countless fragments of memory surged into his sea of consciousness like a tide—the terror of the Recorders discovering the Bottom of the Void for the first time, the perseverance of their millennia-long weaving of the Anchor Chains, and the resolute determination of the last group of Recorders to ignite their own souls to reinforce the lighthouse...
"Ah--"
Xiao Yan let out a muffled groan. It was as if a star had been thrown into his sea of consciousness, and countless images exploded and overlapped within it. He saw the blooming of the first flower in the universe, and he also saw the destruction of the first civilization; he saw the splendor of the birth of laws, and he also saw the deathly silence of nothingness devouring galaxies. These memories were too vast, too real, and his self-awareness shrank continuously within them, almost to the point of being submerged.
" Xiao Yan!" Qing He's voice pierced through the torrent of memories, carrying the warmth of Light of Faith, "Think of the Co-Prosperity Zone! Think of everything we must protect!"
These words struck like a thunderbolt, splitting a crack in the torrent of memories. Xiao Yan clenched his fist tightly, and the Power of Chaos erupted with unprecedented light, "archiving" those fragments of memory one by one—not rejecting them, but accepting and storing them in an orderly manner, just like organizing a bookshelf in a messy study.
When the last piece of memory is collected, the Primordial Script on the lighthouse's outer shell lights up, forming a complete "chain diagram" on the ground: it requires the "ultimate existence" and the "origin of forgetting" to intertwine and weave a new Anchor Chains. The former is the Light of Faith for all living beings in the Co-Prosperity Zone; the latter is the Power of Forgetting leaked from the Bottom of the Void.
"I see..." Xiao Yan opened his eyes, the Power of Chaos within them now tinged with a deep black. " The Recorders discovered long ago that mere existence cannot seal nothingness; the two must coexist in balance, like light and shadow."
He immediately instructed Qing He to contact the Co-Prosperity Zone and guide all the Light of Faith to converge towards the Lighthouse of the End. At the same time, he activated the Power of Chaos and actively drew upon the Power of Forgetting at the Bottom of the Void —the black tentacles were indeed attracted and surged toward him, but as they approached the lighthouse, they were bound by the light of the Primordial Script and transformed into gentle black threads.
"Weaving together chaos as the axis, faith as the warp, and forgetting as the weft!"
Xiao Yan formed hand seals, and golden Light of Faith and black Power of Forgetting intertwined before him, like the most intricate loom. A new Anchor Chains quickly took shape; it was no longer simply golden, but a spiral shape of gold and black, carrying both the warmth of existence and the profound depth of nothingness. The moment it touched the broken Anchor Chains, it actively wrapped around and repaired itself as if it were alive.
As the last new Anchor Chains connected to the lighthouse, the entire Lighthouse of the End burst forth with a dazzling light. The core of the white dwarf, which had been extinguished, lit up again, emitting a soft, grayish-white light—the color of balance between existence and nothingness. The tentacles of the Bottom of the Void retreated as if they had encountered their nemesis, and the expansion of darkness ceased completely.
"Success!" Qing He cheered on the starship. The Anchor Chains on the star map was no longer broken; instead, it became stronger than before due to the addition of the new chain.
Standing atop the lighthouse, Xiao Yan gazed at the newly stabilized Bottom of the Void, a flash of understanding crossing his eyes. The last wish of the Recorders was never to "eliminate" the void, but to "understand" it—the void and existence are two sides of the universe, just as breathing requires both inhalation and exhalation, neither of which can be dispensed with.
"They did it," Xiao Yan said softly, as if speaking to the vanished Recorders. "We will inherit your Way of Balance, allowing this starry sky to continue forever in the symbiosis of existence and nothingness."
As the starship returned, the greyish-white light of the Lighthouse of the End shimmered in the sea of stars, like an eternal monument of balance. On the star map projected by the Core Anchor, the darkness of the Bottom of the Void still existed, but it was no longer menacing. It formed a subtle harmony with the surrounding starlight, like perfectly placed blank spaces in a traditional Chinese ink painting.
The Tree of Chaos in the Co-Prosperity Zone is now sprouting new branches, the leaves on which are half golden and half black, swaying gently in the wind, telling the story of the true meaning of balance.
Xiao Yan knew this was not the end. The threat from the Bottom of the Void had been temporarily eliminated, but the balance of the universe would always need someone to protect it. And he, along with Qing He, Xiao He, Meng Ke, and all the beings of the Co-Prosperity Zone, would continue on this path until the end of time.