The whole process happened without a sound, completed in the span of a heartbeat.
The Stellaron—still struggling a moment ago—instantly became obedient, no longer posing any threat.
The old navigator's tightly knit brow eased by the slightest margin, as if an immense burden had been lifted.
And then—
A blurred presence slipped into Wei Qing's senses.
Wei Qing snapped his head around, staring into a shadowed corner of the cavern where the light could not reach.
There, space seemed to be brushed over by an invisible hand, quietly smearing into a deeper, heavier nothing.
A moment later, a tall, slender figure stepped out from that absolute void.
She wore a haori. Violet hair fell like a waterfall down her back, a few strands veiling one eye. At her waist hung an ancient-looking long blade, its scabbard wreathed in an aura so desolate it made the soul shiver.
Her arrival had no warning—no ripple, no disturbance—she didn't even stir the Nihility saturating the cavern.
As though she had always been standing there.
As though she was part of that void.
No—more accurately, as though she was the core of it.
An Emanator of Nihility—
Acheron.
Wei Qing's pupils tightened.
So it really was her.
That enigmatic, ceiling-tier existence from the original timeline—she was here, on the eve of the Astral Express's coming silence.
Acheron's gaze drifted over Granholm first, who was still drawing in Nihility with all his might. In her calm eyes, something flickered—an almost imperceptible understanding, perhaps—too fast to catch.
Then her attention settled on Wei Qing.
Those dark-violet eyes looked like they could pierce straight through any disguise.
"You carry the scent of Destruction. And the Destruction you just used…""…You're Fengfeng?"
Wei Qing: "..."
What?
She'd mistaken him for Fengfeng?
Before Wei Qing could even respond, Acheron acted—decisively.
"You're finally here. I've been waiting for you for some time."
Her tone was flat, yet carried a certainty that allowed no argument, as if "Fengfeng" and her waiting here were a prewritten chain of cause and effect.
Her words fell—
And the world changed.
The violet at the ends of her hair began to drain away, bleaching into gray-white at a visible pace, as if all color and life were being extracted in an instant.
At the same time, her plain haori bloomed with deep crimson, spreading like spilled blood until the garment became a horrifying blood-red shroud.
A purity of nothingness—far cleaner, far deeper than the Nihility flooding the cavern—erupted from her body.
A clear, ringing blade-song sounded as if it came from the depths of the soul.
Acheron drew.
"…I'm sorry. I mistook you for someone else."
How long had passed?
In a gray-white world, Acheron lowered her head slightly, a few strands of hair falling to conceal part of her expression. But her apology was unmistakable.
"I misidentified you. You're not Fengfeng."
Wei Qing: "..."
For a moment he genuinely didn't know what to say.
Should he be grateful he hadn't been one-shot?
Or should he roast the "identification method" of this Emanator—cut first, verify later?
Just now, perhaps to avoid disturbing Granholm, Acheron had pulled them into this gray-white space the moment she moved.
Then, with no further preamble, they had fought.
Wei Qing rubbed his temples, feeling the lingering turbulence in his blood.
In that brief exchange, Acheron's blade hadn't even truly landed—yet the pure "meaning-erasing" intent of Nihility had still made him eat a small loss.
"Mistook me?" Wei Qing tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Your confirmation process is… remarkably efficient."
Acheron either didn't hear the sarcasm or didn't care.
"You bear a deep Destruction imprint. And there's also some Nihility clinging to you. That's why I confused you with him.""…I'm truly sorry."
Wei Qing's mind stirred.
So his "successor candidate" aura for Destruction was indeed highly recognizable to a true Emanator.
He just hadn't expected to be mistaken for the widely acknowledged strongest Lord Ravager, Fengfeng.
"So you're here waiting for Fengfeng?" Wei Qing tested, glancing around the gray-white deadscape. "For this planet?"
Acheron's gaze drifted outward, as if she could see through this space to the cavern where Granholm was still struggling.
"Nihility gathers here and becomes a tide. Combined with the Stellaron's descent, Fengfeng coming here is not impossible," she said evenly. "I came to wait for him—and to stop him."
"But your Destruction is different from his." Acheron tilted her head as if listening to the grain of his power."It's mixed with too many other things… The edge of Hunt, the vitality of Abundance, and even… the breath of Trailblaze."
"And you are stronger than Fengfeng. If we keep fighting, I will lose."
She admitted it plainly, without pride or shame.
Wei Qing felt a chill—and a fresh confusion.
From her words, she'd fought Fengfeng before.
Sister… if you've fought him, why can you still mistake people?
As if sensing his doubt, Acheron gave the answer.
"…Because of Nihility, my memory isn't very good.""Many things. Many people. I can't remember clearly.""Fengfeng's face included."
In truth, Acheron kept one small reservation to herself.
The instant she drew her blade, the memories she'd "lost" began to trickle back—Fengfeng's appearance among them.
But the Destruction aura on Wei Qing was undeniably similar. And given his ability to disguise himself, she couldn't rule out that he was merely wearing another face.
Only after trading blows did she realize the awkward fact:
This man wasn't just Destruction and Nihility—his Paths were too many, and none of them were weak.
She'd truly mistaken him.
And she couldn't beat him.
Wei Qing listened, expression complicated.
A crude old meme flashed through his mind.
"Annihilation Gang? Oh, them."
"So you confirmed I'm not him by… fighting first?" Wei Qing sounded tired. "And if I really were Fengfeng?"
"If you were, we would keep fighting," Acheron replied matter-of-factly. "Until the outcome is decided—he retreats, or… one side falls."
Wei Qing: "..."
Right.
That was extremely Acheron.
He took a breath and decided not to argue further. Her logic clearly didn't align with normal people's.
"Now that you've confirmed my identity, can we stop?" He gestured at the gray-white space. "The old man outside is still holding on for dear life. Us killing each other here isn't exactly appropriate."
Acheron nodded slightly. With a shift of intent, the gray-white world receded like a tide.
They returned to the cavern.
"Huangquan," she said, meeting his eyes, introducing herself at last. "That is the name I go by now.""As you can see, I am a Self-Annihilator."
"Huangquan…" Wei Qing repeated, nodding. "I'm Yi Qing—just passing through. Ahem. Specifically, I'm here to retrieve our missing navigator. I'm a Nameless."
"Nameless…" Acheron's gaze moved to Granholm and then back to Wei Qing. "The Astral Express… I see. That is the source of your Trailblaze."
"More or less." Wei Qing brought it back to the point. "You're waiting for Fengfeng to stop him from destroying this planet? From what I know, he's been silent for years."
"Silent is not dead," Huangquan said. "Nihility's tide gathers here. The Stellaron has mutated. That will draw him.""He seeks to burn everything to ash before it dissolves into true nothing."
She paused, as if searching through fogged recollection.
"I fought him once… in another world nearing silence. He failed. I failed to keep him.""My memory is blurred, but that Destruction heat—his obsession with Nihility—I will not mistake completely."
Wei Qing understood.
So she did have a history with Fengfeng. Based on his patterns, she'd come here to wait and intercept.
She simply hadn't expected to run into Wei Qing, a walking cocktail of multiple Paths.
"Now that you've confirmed I'm not him, what's your plan?" Wei Qing asked. "Keep waiting? Or leave?"
Huangquan fell silent, eyes turning back to Granholm.
"His method is decisive," she said at last—referring to the old navigator using himself as a vessel for the planet's Nihility. "But it is too slow. And… it cannot uproot the root."
"The Stellaron's mutation has been suppressed by you for now, but Nihility's source has not been shaken.""Even if he succeeds, he will become a new silence himself—drifting through the stars. One day, he will lose control."
Wei Qing arched a brow. "You have a better method?"
Huangquan didn't answer directly. Instead she asked, "You are an Emanator of Destruction. Why help a Nameless of Trailblaze? What is your purpose?"
Wei Qing smiled—casual, almost shameless. "Interest. Isn't that enough? And I'm a Nameless now. Helping an elder of the Express—does that work for you?"
He wasn't going to mention any "system tasks," of course. And the excuse wasn't entirely false.
He genuinely respected what Granholm was doing.
Huangquan watched him for several seconds, as if weighing the truth in his words. Then she looked away.
"Not enough. But irrelevant.""My purpose is to stop Fengfeng. Your purpose—so long as it does not conflict—will not be interfered with."
She paused and continued.
"You said you are a Nameless.""The Astral Express… I think I remember it. But the name Yi Qing is unfamiliar."
Wei Qing spread his hands, trying his best to look harmless. "The universe is huge. Nameless aren't just one generation. It's normal you haven't heard of me."
"As you can see, I'm here mainly to find our navigator, Granholm, and bring him back."
Huangquan's eyes returned to Granholm, watching the planet's Nihility pouring into him like rivers into the sea.
"This is drinking poison to quench thirst," she stated. "He has made himself an anchor—an attractor, a temporary container for this world's 'nothing.'"
"But that power is too vast. If he fails, Nihility compressed to the extreme will erupt in a more terrifying way.""This planet will become a nest of Nihility."
"And it will draw worse things."
"Like Fengfeng?" Wei Qing supplied.
Huangquan gave a faint "Mm." "Pure 'nothing' will attract him. I wait here to stop him—and if necessary…"
Her gaze rested on Granholm. The unspoken meaning was clear.
If necessary, she would personally end this "purification" before it turned into a greater catastrophe.
"Then I'll have to stop you," Wei Qing said evenly.
"I'm Astral Express now, too. I'm not letting our navigator die."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 155)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter200)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter110)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter230)
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Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 200
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 180
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 230
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 220
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 120
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 135
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 110
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 100
My Harem Is Indescribable 90
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 95
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 80
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 70
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 75
Checking In in Demon Slayer 80
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 85
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 70
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 65
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 70
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 70
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 65
Why did they assign me to Uma 65
MYGO Beauties 65
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 55
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 65
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 45
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 45
The Uma Musume Who Became 40
I'm Definitely Not the King of 45
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
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