The dragon claw's momentum remained undiminished, slamming heavily into the Lord of No Void's chest.
"Click--"
The Lord of No Void's sternum shattered, and he flew backward like a cannonball, crashing into the boundary of the Land of the Heart and creating a huge crater. Seven-colored light surged from his wound, as his very essence was being drained away.
"Dominate!!!"
Dusk Star Elariel's voice came through the mind link, filled with terror and despair. Although she was not in the Land of the Heart, she could feel the attack that the Lord of No Void was suffering, feel His pain, and feel His essence rapidly draining away.
"Don't... come any closer..."
The Lord of No Void responded with difficulty, his voice tinged with the smell of blood, "Protect... your plane... don't... worry about me..."
"But--"
"That's an order!"
With his last ounce of strength, the Lord of No Void severed the spiritual link with all the Fantasy Travelers. He could not allow anyone to come to his rescue, for anyone who did would only be throwing their life away. The Lord of Time and the Nightmare Hydra, two beings of the Eternity realm, were not beings that any Supreme God could contend with.
He had to face it alone.
"Commendable courage."
The voice of the Lord of Time resounded overhead. The Lord of No Void raised his head and saw that the enormous golden dragon body had already enveloped the entire Land of the Heart, its clock-like eyes looking down upon Him.
"But it's meaningless."
The Lord of Time raised his dragon claw once more, this time wreathed in golden time power. This was no ordinary energy, but time itself—if struck by this power, the Lord of No Void would be erased from the timeline, with no possibility of reincarnation, rebirth, or resurrection.
"Etc."
A weak but malicious voice came from the side.
The Nightmare Hydra.
After the Lord of No Void was defeated by the Lord of Time, the Nightmare Hydra finally broke free from the suppression of the seven-colored light. Its body was broken and battered, three of its nine heads had drooped down, and dark purple blood flowed from countless wounds, corroding pits in the ground of the Land of the Heart.
But in His eyes burned an even more frenzied flame.
"Let me."
The Nightmare Hydra struggled to its feet, its broken body swaying precariously, but its voice was filled with the satisfaction of Revenge.
"He almost killed me. I will Termination him with my own hands."
The Lord of Time glanced at the Nightmare Hydra, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly retracted its dragon claws.
I'll give you three breaths.
The Nightmare Hydra grinned as it approached the Lord of No Void. With each step, its wounds bled, and with each drop of blood, its power waned, but it didn't care. It cared only about one thing now—to watch the Lord of No Void die in despair.
"Lord of No Void," the Nightmare Hydra's voice seemed to echo from the Nine Nether Regions Abyss, "You just said that hope can create everything. But have you ever considered—that despair can also Destruction everything?"
His nine heads simultaneously opened their massive mouths, and nine dark purple beams of light shot out, but they did not attack the Lord of No Void; instead, they condensed into a huge dark purple giant sword above His head.
That was the Nightmare Hydra's most powerful attack— the Sword of Despair.
This sword is formed from the despair of countless worlds, each despair stemming from a civilization devoured by it, each civilization offering its last strength in despair. The weight of the sword cannot be measured in any unit, for it contains not matter, but the Destruction of countless worlds.
The Sword of Despair slowly fell.
The Lord of No Void tried to dodge, but the Lord of Time's power of time had already locked down the space around Him. He couldn't move, not even to turn his eyes. He could only watch helplessly as the dark purple giant sword approached him inch by inch.
It's getting closer.
Closer now.
The tip of the sword touched the chest of the Lord of No Void.
The seven-colored light clashed violently with the dark purple light at the point of contact, but the Lord of No Void no longer had enough power to resist. The sword tip pierced His skin, His muscles, His ribs, and His heart.
"Ah--!!!"
The Lord of No Void let out a scream, a sound He had never uttered in His Eternity life. Seven-colored light surged wildly from His wounds like a flood bursting its banks, His very essence being devoured by the Sword of Despair.
"How does it feel?" Nightmare Hydra grinned maliciously. "The feeling of having your own hope slowly devoured? Isn't it wonderful?"
The Lord of No Void did not answer.
He was speechless.
The Sword of Despair pierced His body completely, its blade emerging from His back, pinning Him to the edge of the Land of the Heart. Dark purple light spread from the sword, wrapping around His limbs like vines, binding His will, and devouring His essence.
That's enough.
The voice of the Lord of Time rang out, tinged with impatience.
Three breaths have passed.
"Wait a little longer." The Nightmare Hydra greedily watched the Lord of No Void's dwindling essence, "His essence is too delicious, let me have a few more bites--"
I said, that's enough.
The Lord of Time's dragon claws shot out, seizing the hilt of the Sword of Despair and pulling it from the Lord of No Void. The Nightmare Hydra was startled by this sudden action and was about to erupt in anger when it saw the Lord of Time staring at it with his clock-like eyes.
There was no anger, no warning in those eyes, only a cold, unquestionable majesty.
The Nightmare Hydra's rage was extinguished instantly.
He swallowed hard, took a step back, and sheathed the Sword of Despair into his body.
"You're too greedy," the Lord of Time said calmly. "Our goal is the Fantasy Dimension, not the Lord of No Void. His essence is useless to us; it would only be a waste of our time and energy."
"You're right." Nightmare Hydra lowered its head, but a barely perceptible hint of resentment flashed in its eyes.
The Lord of Time turned to the Lord of No Void.
The once supreme ruler of the Fantasy Dimension now slumped on the edge of the Land of the Heart, covered in blood, with a fist-sized hole in his chest from which seven-colored essence slowly flowed. His face remained unchanged, frozen on a pale face filled with exhaustion and despair.
"Is there anything else you want to say?" the Lord of Time asked.
The Lord of No Void raised his head and looked at the Lord of Time Starry Sky his eyes, which had dimmed considerably. His lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he simply shook his head gently.
There was no anger, no cursing, no pleading.
There was only a deep, indescribable sorrow.
The Lord of Time was silent for a moment, then raised his dragon claw.
"Then, farewell."
The dragon's claw descended.
The Lord of No Void's body shattered completely under the bombardment of the dragon's claws, turning into countless seven-colored specks of light that slowly drifted away in the Land of the Heart. Within those specks of light were His memories, His emotions, and the beliefs and dreams He had protected for countless eras.
A point of light floated to the surface of the heart and merged into it.
Another one.
Another one.
More and more points of light merged into the heart, as if the Lord of No Void had chosen to merge with the Fantasy Dimension in his final moments, using His death to strengthen the heart's essence and to fight for the last glimmer of life for the Fantasy Dimension.
The Nightmare Hydra frowned as it watched this scene.
"He is—"
"Using himself as a sacrifice to strengthen the resistance of the Fantasy Dimension," the Lord of Time said calmly. "A very clever move. Even in death, He continues to protect this dimension."
"What should we do then?"
"What do we do?" The Lord of Time turned around, looking at Nightmare Hydra with an expression of utter disbelief. "Have you forgotten why you came here? To devour the Fantasy Origin. The Lord of No Void's sacrifice did strengthen the heart's resistance, but it only made it harder for the heart to be devoured, not impossible."
How long can He hold on?
"Given your current condition, you'll probably need --"
The Lord of Time's dragon claw swept across the Void, revealing a golden timeline. He gazed at that timeline, calculating various variables.
"--Three years."
"Three years?!" Nightmare Hydra's voice was filled with dissatisfaction. "I've waited for countless eons, and you're telling me it will take another three years?"
"If you hadn't coveted the Lord of No Void's essence and hadn't wasted so much power, this time could have been shortened to a year," the Lord of Time said with a hint of sarcasm. "But now, you can only take it slowly."
The nine heads of the Nightmare Hydra simultaneously let out a low growl, but ultimately did not unleash their power.
He knew that the Lord of Time was right.
It was He who was greedy.
"Alright." Nightmare Hydra took a deep breath, suppressing all its anger and resentment. "Three years it is. I'll wait for you."
"No, it's not about waiting for me," the Lord of Time shook his head. "It's about waiting for yourself. I won't help you devour the Fantasy Origin; that's your problem. My task is complete—I helped you eliminate the Lord of No Void. The rest, you must handle yourself."
"You--"
A hint of murderous intent flashed in the Nightmare Hydra's eyes, but it was quickly suppressed.
"Okay. I'll do it myself."
He slowly approached the heart, and all nine heads simultaneously opened their enormous mouths, releasing a surge of dark purple Nightmares mist that swirled around the heart's surface. This time, without the Lord of No Void's obstruction, the mist's erosion occurred several times faster.
My heart is trembling.
The entire Fantasy Dimension trembled.
At the same moment, beings across countless planes felt an indescribable sorrow, as if they had lost something of paramount importance. They didn't know what had happened, but they knew—something bad had occurred.
In the Land of the Heart, the Nightmare Hydra's devouring began.
The Lord of Time has departed.
After confirming that the Lord of No Void was completely dead, He withdrew His dragon claws, retreated into the rift, and disappeared into the depths of the timeline. He said He would not help the Nightmare Hydra devour the Fantasy Origin, and He indeed did not help—but He did not stop either.
The Nightmare Hydra faces its heart alone.
That great source, once brimming with seven-colored light and giving birth to new dreams every moment, is now enveloped layer upon layer by a dark purple Nightmares mist. With each layer of mist covering it, the light of the heart dims a little; with each penetration of the mist, the heartbeat weakens a little.
This is a slow and cruel process.
The Nightmare Hydra is not in a hurry.
He had three years.
First year.
The Nightmare Hydra focused its mist's corrosive influence on the surface of the heart. The "dream glands," which had once given birth to countless dreams, were corrupted one by one, transforming from sources of iridescent light into lesions secreting dark purple venom. With each corrupted dream gland, the heartbeat weakened, and the Nightmare Hydra's power increased.
In this process, He sensed resistance from countless planes of the Fantasy Dimension.
The beings in those planes, though unaware of what had transpired in the Land of the Heart, were instinctively told that something bad was happening. So they wove their dreams even more diligently, created their fantasies even more diligently, and fought even harder against the Nightmares Mist.
But without the Lord of No Void and the unified command of the Fantasy Hall, these resistances were scattered, powerless, and fought independently.
Some planes organized expeditions, attempting to reach the Land of the Heart through Space-Time rifts, but they were intercepted and wiped out by Nightmares Beast halfway there.
Some planes condensed all their power into a giant dream bomb, attempting to destroy the Nightmare Hydra's mist pipelines. However, the bomb was suppressed by the Nightmare Hydra's will the moment it detonated, instead destroying the plane from which it was launched.
Some planes chose to seal themselves off, freezing the entire plane's dream world to prevent the Nightmare Hydra from absorbing it. But this only delayed the time of being devoured; it did not change the final outcome.
One day in the second year, the heart's first main blood vessel became completely contaminated.
Dark purple venom flowed through the blood vessels, replacing the original seven-colored blood. At this moment, the heartbeat became disordered for the first time—no longer a regular, powerful beat, but chaotic and disordered, like the electrocardiogram of a dying person.
The Nightmare Hydra sensed this change.
He was excited.
"Soon, soon," He murmured to himself, his nine heads licking their lips simultaneously. "The origin of the Fantasy Dimension, the most delicious sustenance in the entire Astral Realm, will soon be mine."
He increased the output of the fog, and the erosion speed suddenly accelerated.
The second main blood vessel was contaminated.
The third one.
The fourth one.
When the seventh main blood vessel became contaminated, the heart almost stopped beating. Only a faint, almost imperceptible beat remained, proving that the heart was still alive—but merely alive, only one step away from death.
The third year.
The final year.
The Nightmare Hydra poured all its power into its final devouring. Its nine heads simultaneously bit into different parts of the heart, its massive jaws opening wide to directly suck the lifeblood from within.
The seven-colored light was drawn from the heart, passed through the throats of the nine heads, and flowed into the Nightmare Hydra's body. It was no ordinary energy, but the crystallization of countless dreams, fantasies, and Legend —all the wealth accumulated by the Fantasy Dimension over countless eras.
The Nightmare Hydra's body began to recover under the nourishment of the light.
The wounds inflicted by the Lord of No Void healed, the shattered scales grew back, and the drooping heads were raised again. His aura surged, his power was restored, and his existence was elevated.
In the countless planes of the Fantasy Dimension, living beings experienced unprecedented fear.
It's not because of the Nightmares Mist — the Mist is no longer important.
It's not because their dreams are disappearing, but because their dreams are vanishing.
It wasn't polluted, it wasn't distorted, it simply disappeared.
It's like someone suddenly losing the ability to dream; when they close their eyes, there's only Endless darkness—no images, no sounds, no feelings. That emptiness is more terrifying than any nightmare, because at least a nightmare is still a "dream," but they now don't even have nightmares anymore.
"The dream... has vanished..."
My dream... my dream is gone...
"Can anyone tell me where my dreams have gone?"
In countless planes, countless beings wept, wailed, and collapsed. Those creatures that fed on dreams began to die in large numbers, those Mage who drew power from illusion lost all their magic, and those civilizations that Legend legends crumbled overnight.
The Fantasy Dimension is dying.
And the Nightmare Hydra is devouring its corpse.