376: The final move, sacrificing oneself to block the ko.

Myriad particles of light drifted and extinguished slowly amidst Zhao Linger's heart-rending cries.

That had once been a living, breathing person.

It was Lin Fan, the one who constantly danced on the edge of death yet always managed to create miracles.

Zhao Linger knelt on the ground, her hands frantically scooping through the Void Realm, her fingertips passing through those cold specks of light time and again, catching nothing.

At that moment, her world collapsed into silent black and white.

Inside the Command Hall, the obsidian sculpture known as the [Chess Player Puppet] stood silently.

Its mission was complete.

The white King piece, representing [Endgame], had fallen.

It slowly raised its hand, seemingly preparing to retrieve the piece and end this dimension-lowering erasure.

However, its movement stopped.

That mirror-smooth face turned toward the specks of light that were about to return completely to nothingness.

Incorrect.

The erasure was not complete.

Those specks of existence that should have been completely annihilated under the [Endgame] concept had not fully extinguished.

They seemed to be forcefully maintained by a more fundamental, more tyrannical rule, flickering stubbornly on the edge of nothingness, even showing a trend of re-aggregating.

[Warning: 'existence' concept is forcefully reorganizing!]

[Reorganization process suppressed by 'End' concept, reorganization failed!]

[Attempting to reorganize again...]

Deep within Lin Fan's Sea of Consciousness, the System's warning tone and the Chess Player Puppet's logical judgment sounded simultaneously across different dimensions.

A hint of human-like "confusion" seemed to appear on the Puppet's featureless face.

In its programming, there was no option for "failure".

[Endgame] is [Endgame].

If once is not enough, then do it again.

The Chess Player Puppet lowered the hand that had been retrieving the piece.

It raised its right hand again; this time, there was no piece.

It simply spread its five fingers, its palm aimed at the specks of light struggling to aggregate.

A [End] concept, purer and more concentrated than before, began to gather in its palm.

That was not energy, nor was it light, but an embodiment of "Nothingness".

An absolute will that sought to press that stubborn dust of light, along with the rules behind it, completely into nothingness.

"No!"

Zhao Linger sensed that fatal fluctuation and tried frantically to rush over, intending to block the dust of light with her own insignificant body.

But Fatty Zhang and Su Meier held her body tightly, preventing her from moving.

They were equally filled with despair, yet they knew that rushing over would only mean one more life erased.

Just then.

A cold, aloof figure moved.

Li Hanyue.

She did not cry or scream; she felt no despair.

She merely looked quietly at the struggling light, then glanced at the Puppet that was about to deliver the final verdict.

This proud daughter of heaven, this powerful Sword Cultivator, revealed a trace of tenderness for the first and last time in those eyes that were always as bright as cold stars.

She recalled Lin Fan's countless "deaths".

Every time, he seemed like a joke, yet he always used his own "death" to trade for hope of "life" for them.

"This time, let me do it."

Her conviction was, at this moment, unprecedentedly pure and firm.

"Zheng—!"

A clear, melodious sound of a sword hummed, not from the long sword in her hand, but from the depths of her Divine Soul.

She did not rush toward the Puppet.

She took a step, her figure instantly appearing before the dust of light. She spread her arms, using her slender back to firmly protect the light that represented Lin Fan's last hope.

She did not activate any defensive Cultivation Technique.

She simply ignited all of her cultivation, the supreme pride of being a top Sword Cultivator, and all of her spirit and Soul at this moment.

Her body radiated a dazzling Sword Intent light.

That light was no longer cold but carried a determined, life-burning heat.

"You have died for us many times."

"This time, I will do it for you."

She whispered softly, as if speaking to the dust of light, or perhaps to herself.

The next instant.

The Chess Player Puppet's palm, which had gathered the [End] concept, pressed down gently.

Without a sound.

That "Nothingness" capable of erasing everything descended.

It did not strike Lin Fan's specks of existence.

It precisely enveloped Li Hanyue, who was blocking the front.

There were no painful screams.

There was no scene of gore.

Li Hanyue's body, starting from her feet, became transparent at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The spiritual sword that had accompanied her all her life let out a mournful cry, shattered inch by inch, turned into light dust, and dissipated into the air.

The [End] concept was overwriting her "existence" from the root.

However, during this process of erasure, an unprecedented, razor-sharp Sword Intent erupted from Li Hanyue's dissipating body, soaring into the sky!

That was her Dao of the Sword, her pride!

In the final moment of her life, she unleashed a supreme sword strike that exceeded her own limits!

This sword strike was not to injure the enemy, but only to delay!

The brilliant Sword Intent transformed into a galaxy spanning heaven and earth, stubbornly resisting the erosion of the "End" concept, winning that once-in-a-lifetime glimmer of hope for the dust of light behind her.

It was precisely this moment of respite.

The specks of light, suppressed to the extreme, suddenly contracted inward!

[Detected external rule barrier!]

['End' concept blocked for 0.1 seconds!]

[Forced reorganization started!]

[existence value consumption: 10.000%!]

Boom!!!

All the dust of light, at this moment, condensed into a single point.

Then, that point exploded, reshaping into a complete human form.

Lin Fan's figure appeared once again in the Command Hall.

The moment he appeared, the first thing he saw was the back figure blocking in front of him, which was becoming transparent and about to dissipate completely.

He reached out and pulled her body, light as an illusion, into his embrace.

Meanwhile.

On the Chess Player Puppet's smooth face, the figure of Li Hanyue, wrapped in sword light and transparent radiance, was reflected.

In its logic.

Target [abnormal existence] [blocked] by another entity.

Execute [End] command on [blocking entity].

[Blocking entity] is being erased.

Mission, complete.

The pixelated gap that had torn through space appeared again.

The Chess Player Puppet looked at Lin Fan one last time; that look was meaningless.

It turned around, stepped into the gap, and disappeared.

The entire Command Hall returned to calm.

As if everything that had just happened was merely a nightmare.

"Li Hanyue!"

Lin Fan roared, clutching the woman who was dissipating in his arms tightly.

Her body was already semi-transparent; through her chest, one could even see the scene on the other side of the hall.

Strands of black, crack-like things were spreading across the Origin of her Divine Soul.

That was the irreversible brand left by the [End] concept.

Li Hanyue turned her head with difficulty, looking at Lin Fan, who was close at hand.

Her face, usually cold and aloof, now blossomed with a poignant, relieved smile.

"You... are okay... that is good..."

Her voice was as light as the wind, ready to dissipate at any moment.

"Don't speak!"

Lin Fan's eyes were blood-red; an unprecedented panic and rage gripped his heart.

For the first time, he hated his own powerlessness so much.

"System! Revive her! Use my existence value! Use everything I have! Revive her!"

He roared hysterically at the System.

[Warning: 'Infinite Resurrection' privilege only applies to the Host.]

[Detected that the target Soul unit is suffering from continuous erosion by the 'End' concept. Life signs will cease in ten, nine, eight...]

The cold countdown, like a funeral bell, struck at Lin Fan's heart.

He watched helplessly as the Li Hanyue in his arms became increasingly transparent, and the black cracks on her Divine Soul grew more numerous.

Her life was, before his eyes, moving second by second toward a true nothingness that even Resurrection could not reverse.