Chapter 352: The Monolith's Golden Sanctuary
Upon hearing Wise's explanation, the fragile sliver of hope that had just begun to bloom in Zhu Yuan's chest instantly withered. A jade pendant? Against the kind of catastrophic mental corrosion and violent aetheric power surge that could easily break even a seasoned Void Hunter? The idea sounded utterly absurd. It felt like she was trapped in one of those cheap, unrealistic late-night fantasy dramas where a single, flimsy prop magically resolved every world-ending crisis.
Despite her heavy doubts, Zhu Yuan's gaze instinctively dropped toward Miyabi's waist. The violent atmospheric turbulence whipped the hem of the Section 6 captain's coat into a frenzy. There, securely tied with a simple red silk cord, hung a white jade pendant. It possessed an ancient, understated elegance, completely out of place on a modern battlefield. It definitely hadn't been there before.
The very second Zhu Yuan locked eyes with the artifact, the impossible happened.
The seemingly ordinary piece of carved jade spontaneously ignited with a gentle, unwavering luminescence, rivaling the steady glow of the morning sun. It wasn't blindingly radiant, but it carried an indescribable, grounding weight—a deep tranquility that manifested as a faint golden halo, gently enveloping Miyabi's waist and abdomen.
Wherever this clear, purifying radiance touched, the violently thrashing crimson fox fires reacted as if they had struck an impenetrable wall. The chaotic flames, previously raging out of control, visibly recoiled and grew docile. Their searing height and destructive intensity plummeted.
While the golden light didn't completely extinguish the fox fire, it forcibly carved out a temporary, unassailable safe zone right in the dead center of the violent aetheric storm.
"That jade pendant..." Zhu Yuan breathed out, her eyes stretching wide in sheer disbelief. She blinked hard, almost convinced her vision was failing her.
"How... how is it doing that?" She trailed off, her brow furrowing. The aura radiating from the jade felt inexplicably familiar. A phantom memory tugged at the back of her mind, a lingering sensation she couldn't quite place.
Wise rubbed the back of his neck, a sheepish, awkward smile pulling at his lips. "Well... actually, the last time you and Qingyi pulled Belle and me over for driving without a license, you might have caught a glimpse of it. It was something pretty similar..."
He quickly waved his hands, his tone shifting into earnest sincerity. "I know our background—and the origins of the friends who lent us this power—might seem a little... mysterious right now. But I swear, they are genuinely good people."
"They've bailed Belle and me out of trouble more times than I can count, just like how you and Qingyi have always looked out for us in New Eridu. When the dust settles and we get a chance, I'll definitely introduce you to them."
Zhu Yuan stared at the jade pendant, watching it steadily project its clear, golden radiance against the howling tempest of corrupted energy. She then looked back at Wise, taking in his deeply apologetic yet earnest expression. The lingering doubts in her chest, along with the sharp flash of irritation she had felt over his previous secrecy, rapidly dissolved. The sheer relief of this timely, miraculous assistance washed away her frustration.
She gave a firm nod, choosing to drop the interrogation for now, and shifted her intense focus back to Miyabi. "...I understand. Thank you, Wise."
Meanwhile, buried deep within the fractured landscape of Miyabi's own consciousness, an entirely different battle raged.
This was no longer the physical ruins of the Hollow, nor was she facing standard Ethereals. She was trapped in a boundless, chaotic void, suffocated by oppressive crimson tones.
Countless disembodied whispers—twisted, dripping with ancient resentment, and hungering for mindless slaughter—crashed into her from all directions like a suffocating tide. They relentlessly battered against the core of her sanity.
Sever... Kill them all... Destruction is the only liberation... Only by severing everything can you attain true peace...
The voices dripped with venomous temptation. They actively amplified the searing, tearing agony caused by her loss of control over her own power. Worse still, they twisted the fleeting moments of relief she had felt while slaughtering Ethereals in the real world into a sick, psychological reward mechanism. Look, the whispers crooned, as long as you obey us, as long as you destroy everything in your path, the pain will fade.
Miyabi's consciousness drifted through this suffocating crimson chaos. She clung desperately to her final, fraying thread of clarity, gritting her teeth against the endless auditory assault.
Her mental avatar swayed under the crushing weight of the madness. Driven by the desperate pursuit of that false liberation, she swung her blade again and again... until, in the depths of the illusion, she finally severed the monstrous form of Nineveh.
The maddening whispers paused for a single, breathless instant, as if mockingly celebrating her hollow victory.
Immediately after, the chaotic crimson space convulsed violently. The nightmarish scene before her shattered and reformed in the blink of an eye.
A colossal blade, forged entirely from jagged, unyielding ice, now dominated her mindscape! Exuding an aura of endless, biting cold and terrifying sharpness, it was the absolute manifestation of "Tailless" upon the plane of consciousness.
It towered over her, radiating an ancient, unmelting frost. Scarlet energy veins pulsed across the icy surface like engorged blood vessels, throbbing with a violent, rhythmic heartbeat.
The blade actively transmuted countless fragments of resentful will into tangible, auditory whispers. The tide of slaughter crashed against Miyabi's mind without pause.
Sever it... Sever everything... Only absolute destruction can bring rebirth... Embrace this power, and you will possess the strength to protect it all...
The voices dug their claws into the deepest, most vulnerable fears and desires buried within Miyabi's heart. They promised a twisted salvation: if she simply surrendered, if she opened her mind and fully embraced this pure, destructive power, she would never be helpless against any threat ever again.
Yet, standing in direct opposition to this eerie, blood-veined ice blade was something entirely alien. It was the mysterious Stone Stele—an artifact of unknown origin that radiated an aura as impossibly heavy as a mountain and as majestic as a heaven-piercing peak.
It stood there in absolute silence. It held no aggression, no killing intent. It didn't even shift a fraction of an inch. It simply existed, continuously projecting a gentle, unwavering golden light.
This light wove itself into an invisible, unbreakable barrier. It firmly and absolutely isolated Miyabi from the corrosive negative emotions and the seductive, maddening whispers attempting to devour her reason.
Bathing in the glow of this golden halo, Miyabi felt a long-lost, almost luxurious sense of peace wash over her battered soul.
The agonizing phantom pain of the fox fire—which had been relentlessly incinerating her spirit and grinding down her willpower—was dramatically smothered within this sanctuary.
An incredibly bizarre standoff took shape within her mind. On one side raged the restless, intensely seductive, and chaotic power of absolute destruction. On the other stood the calm, immovable, and purely protective barrier of absolute peace.
Safely sheltered within the Stele's domain, Miyabi finally managed to catch a desperate breath.
She dropped to one knee, her chest heaving as she fought to regulate her ragged breathing. The sheer, crushing exhaustion born from the intense physical battle and the brutal clash of wills crashed over her like a tidal wave.
Slowly, she lifted her head. Her crimson eyes locked onto the glowing Stone Stele, swirling with deep confusion and intense scrutiny.
This power... I've never encountered anything like it. Her mind raced. Where did it come from? Why would it manifest here, inside my own consciousness?
She scoured her memories for any logical explanation but drew a complete blank. This energy signature was fundamentally alien. It operated on a system completely divorced from any known aether energy or advanced New Eridu technology. It carried an ancient, majestic texture that felt older than the Hollows themselves.
But regardless of its mysterious origins, one thing was certain: this strange, mountainous power was currently on her side. It was a miraculous lifeline thrown into the depths of her despair.
However, as her breathing steadied and she observed the standoff, Miyabi's sharp instincts caught a critical detail.
This Stone Stele seemed... entirely content with merely protecting.
It acted as the ultimate, impenetrable fortress, shielding her core and effortlessly repelling the external corruption. Yet, it showed absolutely zero inclination to go on the offensive. It wouldn't attack, weaken, or purify the towering ice blade or the chaotic will it represented.
It's waiting, Miyabi realized, a spark of clarity igniting in her chest. It's waiting for me to make my own choice. It's waiting for me to face this nightmare myself—to conquer it with my own two hands.
This stalemate could only be broken by her.
The dark fate looming over her family, and her deep, tangled history with "Tailless," were not burdens she could simply pass off to an external protector.
If she wanted to truly control her own destiny, she had to stand up and personally subdue this blade. Otherwise, she would inevitably become just another hollow puppet, swallowed whole by the very power she sought to wield.
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