"The Lord of Endless?!"
The Song of Ages, Orosa's eyes narrowed, and she said hesitantly, "But isn't the Lord of Endless currently fighting the God of War of the Astral Realm? He can't spare a hand at all."
"Then we'll help him free up his hands," said the Astral Spirit Kingdom Lord.
What do you want to do?
The Astral Spirit Kingdom Lord reached out and removed the crown from his head.
This is an open crown, without a solid base, consisting of three staggered layers formed by surrounding stardust belts.
A slowly rotating, deep purple sphere floats in front of the forehead, with nebula vortexes and starlight visible inside; three independently rotating transparent energy bands are covered with natural star patterns, their orbits intersecting but not colliding; seven "spires" made of solidified starlight extend from the star ring, with miniature celestial bodies, such as white dwarfs and gas giants, suspended at their tops.
It appears ethereal yet possesses a substantial texture, with its main colors being deep space blue and nebula purple. The surface flows with aurora-like colors, and it feels like cool, warm silk to the touch, yet it has a subtle pull.
"This is... Miracle Creation, the Star Crown?" Orosa exclaimed, staring at the crown in the hands of the Mind Kingdom Lord.
This Star Crown is the national treasure of the Astral Spirit Kingdom and also the personal treasure of the first Astral Spirit Kingdom Lord.
Controlling the Star Crown grants access to the Stars and resonates with the Astral Realm. The density of the crown's stardust belt represents the threshold of available power. When praying to the Void, the star ring projects a star map and a cluster of starlight, transforming into an energy infusion.
The Star Crown can also be used to nurture Star Core Life. There is a hidden groove on the back of the crown that can be inserted into an immature star core. The stardust belt extends "nutrient tendrils" to inject energy, and the cradle mode of the star ring provides a gentle force field and life spectrum vibrations.
The seven celestial bodies at the crown's apex align in a specific sequence, their energy resonating and tearing through space to form Void portal in front of the forehead, capable of traversing the galaxy. It can also gather free energy. In combat mode, the star rings rotate at high speed, their gravity greatly increased, allowing energy to be compressed into star crystals or gravitational singularity bombs. In peacetime, it can be used as Void furnace to purify energy.
In short, as a symbol of authority for the Astral Spirit Kingdom Lord and a rare and Miracle Creation of the Astral Realm, possessing the Star Crown allows one to sense the rhythm of the Astral Realm and command the Protoss races.
The crown has no physical weight; when worn, it feels like wearing a nebula. It is bound to the soul and adjusts its shape according to the user's state, becoming sharper in battle and softer in daily life. Only those with Astral Spirits bloodlines or those recognized by the Astral Realm Will can wear it; otherwise, it will be torn apart by the power of the Void.
Now, the Astral Spirit Kingdom Lord has taken this highly symbolic and powerful treasure from his own head, claiming he wants to help the Lord of Endless defeat the God of War of the Astral Realm, freeing him to deal with the Nightmare Hydra's invasion of the Fantasy Dimension. What is he planning? Orosa had some guesses in his mind and couldn't help but marvel at the Mind Kingdom Lord's magnanimity.
"Do you intend to lend this treasure to the Lord of Endless to help him become even more powerful?" Orosa asked directly.
The Astral Spirit Kingdom Lord nodded without hesitation.
"Yes, the Lord of Endless is from the Earth Guardian lineage, second only to the Mother of the Stars in strength. His current profession is the Star Watcher, as you know. One of the greatest powers of this profession is the ability to resonate with the power of the Void stars in the Astral Realm. With this Star Crown, the power he can draw upon will be even more immense. It can be said that this treasure can only be used to its fullest potential on the Lord of Endless."
"Is it because the Lord of Endless is currently only at the level of Supreme God?" Orosa said thoughtfully.
"That's right." The Astral Spirit Kingdom Lord nodded slightly.
"This is precisely the advantage of the Lord of Endless. If he were to advance to the Eternal, the eleven-star Star Crown wouldn't offer him much of a boost. But his current realm is just right, allowing him to receive the maximum boost. Combined with his existing Eternity Battle Power, he can even achieve a 1+1>2 effect."
"But aren't you afraid that the Lord of Endless will seize this national treasure and refuse to return it?" Orosa sighed.
"If he doesn't want to return it, then so be it. As long as he can use this treasure to maintain the order and peace of the Astral Realm..." The Astral Spirit Lord's eyes became more and more determined. Her gaze shifted, and her expression softened as she looked around, as if she had taken in the entire Astral Realm. It was an expression of boundless love, as if she possessed the most essential inclusiveness of the stars for all things.
Seeing this look, Orosa said nothing more.
He and the Astral Spirit Kingdom Lord exchanged a glance, nodded simultaneously, and began their operation.
This is neither a single star nor a star field.
It is a corner of the vast and boundless Void between the multiverses, where countless universes float like bubbles, some as brilliant as diamonds, some as dull as ashes, some expanding, and some already collapsed to nothing. Between these universes, there is true "emptiness," without time, without space, without matter, and without anything that can be defined.
At this moment, this "empty space" is filled with two entities.
Lancelot stood in the Void, his form indistinguishable from a human's. His long black hair swayed slightly in the turbulent currents of laws, and countless divine runes flowed across his white robe. His left eye was a swirling galactic vortex, and his right eye was a flowing rune of laws. Deep within his pupils, each reflected a complete universe— the Endless Continent within his body, a real and tangible Inner Universe.
He appeared as calm as an ancient well, but within a radius of billions of miles around him, the spatial structure was already distorted and deformed by his presence. This was not an aura deliberately released, but merely the natural overflow of laws generated when a Peak Supreme God appeared in a lower-dimensional space.
To his left floated four divine swords, the Four Swords of Immortal Slaying.
The four swords are distinct in form: the Immortal-Execution Sword is entirely black, with blood-red patterns on its blade that undulate like veins, radiating a chilling aura capable of annihilating souls; the Immortal-Slaying Sword is dark red, its blade covered with fine serrations, each tremor causing the surrounding space to collapse; the Immortal-Trapping Sword is an eerie, ghostly blue, its blade seemingly composed of solidified light, distorting causality wherever its edge points; and the Immortal-Annihilating Sword is a translucent silver-white, its blade seemingly sealing a Void within, devouring all energy that approaches.
The four swords slowly rotated around Lancelot, their tips pointing outwards, like four gates that blocked all directions around him.
His right hand gripped a spear about three meters long.
The Spear of Destruction.
The gun's body was as black as eternal night, not metallic, but rather like solidified nothingness. The tip, however, was a pure dark gold, its light seemingly capable of devouring light itself. The gun was devoid of any superfluous decoration, except for two intertwined divine runes—one from Augustus, God of Destruction, a menacing dark gold; the other from Aiona, God of Creation, a soft silver-white. The two runes intertwined like a double helix, forming an eerie balance.
This spear was forged by him by fusing the essence of the God of Destruction with a portion of the Power of Creation, specifically designed to deal with enemies whose Divine Body were larger and whose power was more Berserk than his. Wherever the spear tip points, all things perish.
Opposite Lancelot, about three galaxies away, stood his opponent.
God of War of the Astral Realm.
His size was so immense it was almost despairing—just standing, his head seemed to disappear into a distant nebula, and his feet crushed the remnants of a dead star. He was covered in silver-white armor, which wasn't worn but grew from his skin like a thick shell. The armor was covered in battle scars, each scar a story, a Legend, an epitaph for a civilization he had personally Termination.
His face was hidden beneath his helmet, revealing only two slits of eyes burning with silvery-white flames. Those flames were not real fire, but rather the essence of stars compressed to their extreme; each wisp of flame represented the instant of a star's death.
But what is most awe-inspiring is the Void above his head.
A magnificent hall, composed of pure light and faith, floated above his head, radiating a warm and majestic golden Radiance. That was Hall of Heroes —the place where all the loyal subordinates who died in the God of War of the Astral Realm and all the heroic souls who followed him to their deaths would attain Eternity. The walls of the hall were densely covered with names, each name representing a once vibrant life, a warrior willing to die for the God of War of War.
At this moment, the gates of Hall of Heroes opened, and countless translucent warrior phantoms poured out. They were clad in armor from different eras and wielded various weapons, silently lining up behind the God of War of the Astral Realm to form a legion spanning several astronomical units. These spirits could not speak or breathe, but the fighting spirit burning in their eyes was more intense than that of any living warrior.
Further behind the God of War of the Astral Realm, a dazzling galaxy was slowly moving.
That is not a natural celestial body.
That was the manifestation of the Power of Civilization of the Northern Spirit Empire —countless warships, fortresses, war platforms, and energy collection arrays, forming a mobile, living war world. The size of the warships was calculated on the scale of the world itself, and the energy released when the main guns fired in unison was enough to vaporize a cosmic sphere. But these cold steel behemoths were now radiating a warm, pulse-like light, which was the will, faith, and obsession of countless citizens of the entire empire, converging into a torrent and pouring into the body of the God of War of the Astral Realm.
Technology and divine authority merged perfectly at this moment.
The God of War of the Astral Realm, empowered by the Power of Civilization, has surpassed the realm of the Supreme God in combat strength and has firmly entered the level of the Eternal.
Battle is imminent.
The God of War of the Astral Realm made the first move.
He didn't use any fancy divine magic, nor did he invoke the laws to test him. Instead, he simply raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and made a loose fist towards Lancelot.
With just this one movement, the spatial structure of the surrounding Void collapsed instantly.
Countless torrents of silvery-white energy surged from his palms, each as thick as a galaxy, carrying terrifying power capable of crushing a small universe, pressing towards Lancelot from all directions. This was not an attack, but a "capture"—the God of War of the Astral Realm was attempting to use the most direct method to seize this insignificant being who dared to challenge him.
Lancelot did not dodge.
He raised his right hand, holding the Spear of Destruction horizontally in front of him, its tip pointing in the direction of the God of War of the Astral Realm.
The runes of Destruction on the gun suddenly lit up.
A dark golden light shot out from the tip of the spear, as thin as a hair, but the moment it touched the torrent of silvery-white energy, it was annihilated in a breathtaking manner. There was no explosion, no shockwave, only silent and absolute disappearance. The "Termination" power of the Spear of Destruction erased the torrent of energy from the God of War of the Astral Realm's existence, as if it had never existed.
The God of War of the Astral Realm's expression shifted slightly.
His grip, though not at full strength, was enough to shatter a large plane. Yet the Lord of Endless completely neutralized it with a single shot.
"As expected of you." The God of War of the Astral Realm spoke, his voice deep and resonant like the movement of the earth's crust, carrying a metallic quality. "Lord of Endless, you are still as powerful as ever. But this time, I will not lose again, and the Empire will not stumble at your hands again."
Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly clenched his right hand.
The torrents of energy that had been wiped out by the Spear of Destruction were actually re-condensed in the Void —not drawn from elsewhere, but forcibly revived from their "wiped-out" state. This is the terrifying aspect of the Eternal; their power has transcended the binary opposition of "existence" and "non-existence." Even if they are completely annihilated, they can bring everything back to life through their Absolute Control over the laws.
This time, the energy torrent was no longer a simple compression, but transformed into countless silver-white chains that pierced Lancelot from all directions. The chains were wrapped with complex runes, each rune representing the highest crystallization of the laws of a civilization conquered by the God of War of the Astral Realm. Wherever the chains passed, the Void trembled, as if even space itself was in fear.
Lancelot's eyes narrowed.
With a flick of his left hand, the Four Swords of Immortal Slaying were simultaneously drawn.
The four divine swords transformed into four streams of light, forming a sword array around him. The Immortal-Execution Sword unleashed Endless black sword energy, each strike precisely hitting a node of a chain, temporarily forcing it back. The Destruction Immortal-Slaying Sword swept across with dark red sword light, shattering chains attempting to attack from the side. The Immortal-Trapping Sword bound with confinement, its azure light forming layers of spatial folds, twisting, folding, and lengthening the chains' path. The Immortal-Annihilating Sword Annihilation Sword severed with silver-white sword light, severing the chains that had already approached him from a causal perspective, rendering them meaningless as "attacks."
The four swords moved in perfect coordination.
The God of War of the Astral Realm's chain attack was completely blocked a thousand miles away from Lancelot.
"Not bad sword formation," the God of War of the Astral Realm's voice remained calm, "But how long can you hold out?"
The Hall of Heroes above his head suddenly burst forth with dazzling golden light.
Countless phantoms of Spirit Ruins surged forth like a torrent, no longer arrayed, but transforming directly into a golden beam of light that crashed down upon Lancelot from above. This was not an energy attack, but a manifestation of faith, a torrent of will, and a strike born from the combined resentment of countless fallen heroes. To be struck by this beam of light meant not only the Destruction of the physical body, but also the assimilation of the soul—you would become a part of Hall of Heroes, another battle God of War of the Astral Realm.
Lancelot felt the terror of that attack.