258: Chapter 258 The Finale

It seemed to take Lin Tian several seconds to piece his shattered consciousness back together from that endless darkness and excruciating pain, to recognize where he was and who the person before him was.

He saw the undried tear stains on Lin Yin's face, the bloodshot veins in her eyes, her face so haggard it was almost unrecognizable, and her trembling hand gripping his tightly.

Heartache instantly enveloped him.

He tried to move his dry, cracked lips, wanting to give her a comforting smile, but found his throat too parched to make a sound.

He cleared his throat, and his voice was as raspy as an old bellows, yet it carried a tenderness that felt like a long-lost sigh of relief:

"I'm... back, Lin Yin."

Just five short words.

Lin Yin's entire body jerked violently, as if those words had struck her right in the heart.

She stared at him blankly, seeing the familiar warmth and light in his eyes that even weakness couldn't hide, watching him struggle to smile for her.

In the next second, a silly smile suddenly bloomed on that tear-stained, haggard face.

There was none of her usual coldness, none of the Moon Goddess's ethereal detachment; it was just the purest, most instinctive silly smile, mixed with tears, that leaked out because the person she loved had returned.

"Mm!"

She nodded vigorously as tears welled up again, her voice thick with the nasal tone of someone who had been crying, yet filled to the brim with an overflowing joy and sense of peace.

"It's good you're back... Brother Tian, we're... going home."

"Going home."

Lin Tian repeated those two words, feeling a warm current surge through his cold heart.

He grasped her cold hand in return; he wanted to squeeze it but lacked the strength for now, so he could only lightly scratch her palm with his fingertips.

He looked at her red-rimmed eyes, his heart aching terribly, and his voice grew even softer, carrying a deep apology:

"I'm sorry... I made you worry again. This time... I was a bastard, leaving you alone again."

Lin Yin simply shook her head, her tears falling even harder, unable to speak as she gripped his hand tightly as if afraid he would disappear again.

Lin Tian looked at her—the woman who had gone from ignorant to powerful, from cold to showing her soft side only to him, accompanying him through life and death.

His heart was filled with an indescribable, swelling emotion.

He took a breath and, using all the strength he could muster, looked into her eyes and clearly, solemnly added the words he hadn't finished before their parting—the words she likely wanted to hear most:

"And... Lin Yin, I..."

He paused, and a slightly embarrassed yet incredibly serious expression appeared on his face, looking very much like the shy youth on Blue Star confessing to his first crush.

"I love you too. I've loved you for a long, long time."

It wasn't just liking; it was love.

These words were like a key, instantly opening the final dam in Lin Yin's heart.

She let out a loud sob, unable to hold back any longer, and like a child who had suffered and finally found comfort, she threw herself onto him and wailed.

But in that crying, there was no despair—only release, joy, and boundless happiness.

She cried and laughed at the same time, completely losing the appearance of a cold Fairy, leaving only the truest Lin Yin who cried and laughed for him.

Lin Tian weakly raised his other hand and gently patted her back, letting her cry, while his lips involuntarily curled upward into a satisfied, weary smile of a survivor who had achieved his wish.

Outside the window, the daylight was fully bright. It was a brand new day, and the sunlight was just right.

The news of Lin Tian's return spread through the entire territory as if it had grown wings.

First, it was the soldiers on duty near the Lords Mansion who heard the faint sounds of Lady Lin Yin's crying and... laughter, so different from her usual self.

Then, Lin Feng, Lin Yan, and the others rushed over. Hearing the muffled conversation and sobs from inside, those iron-willed men couldn't help but tear up, punching each other's shoulders and grinning in silent laughter.

The news spread rapidly through the barracks, the markets, the fields... The entire Lintian City was deathly silent at first, and then it erupted into a tsunami of cheers!

"The Lord is back!!"

"The Lord is okay!!"

"The heavens have eyes! Long live the Lord! Long live Lady Lin Yin!!"

Immense joy and relief washed away the gloom that had shrouded the territory for days.

Everyone knew that their backbone, their sky, had returned!

Over the next few days, Lin Tian remained in quiet recovery.

His body, reshaped by the seven-colored light, was incredibly powerful, but the depletion of his Soul and the sense of emptiness from his talent being stripped away needed time to heal.

He soon discovered that with the disappearance of the Divine Power of the Creation Origin and the Fusion Evolution talent, the mysterious rule-based connection to his identity as a 'Lord' had also been completely severed.

The Lord's panel had vanished, and the privileges, missions, and even the 'shackles' belonging to a Lord had all gone up in smoke.

"Ha, well this is great. I've become a total 'unregistered citizen'."

Lin Tian tried to sense his status; instead of being depressed, he scratched his head and grinned at Lin Yin, who hadn't left his bedside, with a bit of self-deprecation but mostly relief.

"It's fine, it's a weight off my shoulders. Besides,"

He clenched his fist, feeling the surging, boundless Divine Power within him—far purer and grander than before, as if faintly resonating with the Origin of heaven and earth—and his nearly immortal body reshaped by the seven-colored light. His smile grew even brighter.

"I'm a bona fide True God now, the immortal kind! This trade wasn't a loss!"

Lin Yin just watched him quietly, seeing how he forced himself to joke despite being weak, her eyes overflowing with tenderness.

She didn't care about being a Lord or not; she only wanted her Brother Tian to be well and alive before her, and that was enough.

After their brush with death and separation, their feelings no longer needed many words.

A single look, a single firm grasp, was worth a thousand words.

Months later, when Lin Tian had fully recovered and reappeared before everyone in high spirits, a piece of news made the entire territory boil with excitement again.

Their Lord, Lin Tian, was to wed the Moon Goddess, Lin Yin!

There was no complicated agenda or political consideration; it was simply a long-overdue grand ceremony dedicated to each other and to everyone who cared about them.

On the wedding day, almost every prominent figure on the Eternal Continent arrived.

Xuan Yi, the ruler of the Xuanhuang Empire, came in person, bringing congratulatory gifts worthy of a national tribute.

Lintian City was decorated with lanterns and streamers, and festive red silk was laid from the city gates all the way to the Lords Mansion.

Perhaps it should be called the 'Divine Palace' now, as the air was filled with never-fading, brilliant petals conjured by magic.

Lin Tian didn't wear an overly extravagant robe, just a well-tailored black outfit that made his figure look tall and straight. His smile was bright and sunny, still looking a bit casual but making people feel incredibly at ease.

As for Lin Yin, she wore a wedding dress woven from moonlight. It wasn't the traditional phoenix crown and robes, but a design that combined simplicity with holiness, with a trailing skirt like flowing moonlight and a light veil.

Her stunning face was faintly visible behind the thin veil; she was as cold as ever, yet her eyes were filled with the warmth of spring, making her breathtakingly beautiful.

Without the long-winded chants of a master of ceremonies, witnessed by the citizens of the entire city and guests from all sides, Lin Tian held Lin Yin's hand in the center of the vast plaza, facing the sky and each other.

"I, Lin Tian."

"I, Lin Yin."

Their voices weren't loud, but they reached everyone's ears clearly.

"Today, with heaven and earth as witness, and all living beings as testimony."

"In this life, we shall not part; in this world, we shall not abandon."

"To stay together in life and death, this is the vow I make to you."

"To hold your hand and grow old together."

The simple vows carried the weight of a thousand catties. The two looked at each other and smiled, with only each other in their eyes.

The ceremony was complete.

The moonlight in the sky and the golden glow of the morning sun shone brilliantly at the same time, weaving into a magnificent waterfall of light that enveloped the newlyweds.

Ethereal music drifted, and golden lotuses sprang from the earth. Various heavenly phenomena appeared, as if the entire world was sending blessings for this union.

The banquet lasted for three days and three nights, and the celebration swept across the entire continent.

And their story was only just beginning.

Without the ambition to unite the continent, without the imminent crisis of life and death, there was only holding hands, seeing the mountains, rivers, and stars, and guarding a peaceful corner of the world.

They settled in Lintian City, which would always be their home.

Lin Yin was still cold, but the unmelting ice between her brows was gone, replaced by a tenderness soaked in love.

Lin Tian was still that optimistic, occasionally eccentric, but more reliable than anyone else pillar of support.

The years are long, and the God Realm is eternal.

Their happiness, like the intertwined light of the sun and moon at their wedding, was eternal and perfect.

(The End)