77: Chapter 77, Seventh Singularity, successfully repaired!

"S-stupid... don't make that face."

Ereshkigal looked at the anxious A-Dai and tried her best to force out her signature arrogant smile, but the tears in the corners of her eyes could not be hidden.

"I am the noble Goddess of the Underworld. Being able to see such a spectacular show on my own turf is already worth it. It's just a pity... from now on, I might not be able to listen to you tell those stories about flowers anymore."

"Don't cry, human."

Ereshkigal smiled amidst the light, waving at A-Dai and the thousands of players behind the screens who had spoken words of love to her. "Thank you for letting me feel the warmth of the sun here in the cold depths of the earth. Goodbye..."

The light faded.

The Underworld remained the same cold and gloomy place, but the blonde girl with twin tails who would blush at a single compliment had vanished forever.

"Wife——!!!"

"Old Thief Gu, I'm going to kill you! Give Ereshkigal back to me!"

"I tolerated Tiamat dying, but why did you have to sacrifice Ereshkigal too! What kind of victory is this!"

Players around the world were sobbing uncontrollably in their VR pods, and the forums were flooded with threats to send razor blades.

Accompanied by the wailing in the comments, a gold-red figure descended from the sky, landing where Ereshkigal had vanished.

Ishtar bit her lip hard, looking at the empty throne, a flash of unconcealable sadness passing through her eyes.

But she quickly lifted her chin, rubbed her eyes hard, and shouted at the teary-eyed players:

"W-what are you looking at! I'm not crying! It's just the sand of the Underworld getting in my eyes! That idiot... she could have just stayed underground and wouldn't have died, but she had to go and be brave..."

"Double the tsundere, double the pain..." PD, in the livestream, was rubbing his eyes hard while pounding the table.

"Oh my, what a perfect curtain call." Accompanied by falling pink petals, the white-robed mage Merlin walked over, leaning on his staff.

He winked playfully at the players: "Well then, my task as a big brother ends here. Being able to witness such dazzling light from you humans at the very end makes this trip worth it. We'll meet again if fate allows, Master of Chaldea."

The sea of pink flowers dissipated, and the entire Underworld returned to silence.

Mash put away her heavy shield; although covered in wounds, she still revealed a gentle and firm smile.

"Senpai, we won. Although we lost a lot, everyone gave their all to protect the future. Look..."

Mash pointed to the sky.

Above the broken dome of the Underworld, a long-lost ray of dawn shone through.

Gilgamesh stood quietly with his arms crossed on a broken rock.

This King, who had experienced death and descended again as a Servant, now had his golden armor in tatters.

He did not look at the others, but faced the morning light shining through the abyss. His ruby-like eyes reflected the land of Uruk, which, though broken, was welcoming the dawn.

"Don't cry like a stray dog, mongrel."

The King laughed heartily, his voice filled with the pride of one who had seen through the rise and fall of the world.

"This is the inevitable conclusion. The Age of Gods has ended. The era to come needs no gods, nor does it need us, the kings of old."

"Go, Master of Chaldea! Take your resolve and overcome the final trial!"

Before the Rayshift ended completely, he left behind that peerless line that countless players would never forget for the rest of their lives:

"Witness it—even if the city is destroyed, even if the people perish!"

"My Uruk... still exists here!!!"

Accompanied by the Hero King's final hearty laughter, the entire Seventh Singularity—Absolute Demonic Beast Front: Babylonia—came to a complete end amidst the dazzling white light.

[System Prompt: Seventh Singularity, successfully restored (CLEAR).]

...

When this prompt sounded, and the holographic image before their eyes froze completely on the land of Uruk—broken yet welcoming the morning sun—countless players in VR pods around the world were unable to come back to their senses for a long time.

"Beep——"

The hatch popped open, and PD collapsed onto his leather gaming chair like a puddle of mud.

He was soaked in cold sweat, his hands still trembling uncontrollably, gasping for air, his eyes bloodshot.

As the top-tier 'whale' player on the entire internet, he had always thought that as long as he spent enough money and pulled the strongest lineup, there was nothing he couldn't do in the game, and no map he couldn't steamroll.

But in this game, in the Seventh Singularity, his 'pay-to-win' team was like dust before Tiamat, while those low-star Servant cards and NPCs that he hadn't even spared a glance before had built a Great Wall of flesh and blood for him with their lives.

"Leonidas, Ushiwakamaru, Quetzalcoatl, Ana, Ereshkigal... and those Uruk civilians who didn't take a single step back even unto death..."

PD lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. The arrogant and domineering aura he usually had during his livestreams was gone, replaced by a sense of powerlessness and shock after being baptized by an epic.

"Old Thief Gu, you bastard, you really made a... great game that I will never forget for the rest of my life..."

Meanwhile, the always emotional A-Dai was sobbing loudly in the livestream, hugging a pillow.

"My sister Siduri turned into a Lahmu... My little sister Ereshkigal vanished... Wuwuwu... Old Thief Gu, give me back my wife! What kind of victory is this! Everyone in Uruk is dead!"

The friends in the comments couldn't even say a word of comfort, because their own tears had long since soaked their clothes.

Within just a few short hours, the official forums of 'FGO', major gaming communities, and even the trending lists on Weibo were completely submerged by this emotional storm called 'Babylonia'!

In a university dormitory, a boy who had just finished Chapter 7 walked onto the balcony with red eyes and shouted at the night sky: "I shall cut through all the evils of this world! Grandpa King Hassan is awesome!" This immediately drew resonance and echoing cheers from the entire building.

The top review media in the gaming sector worked through the night to churn out 10,000-word long articles, with the titles surprisingly consistent: "A Hymn to Humanity Shining Like the Stars! This is not just a game, this is a great interactive epic!"

Chu He even posted a long image directly on his personal page. It listed the names of all the Servants and key NPCs who died in Chapter 7, and below it was only a short but heavy comment:

"We carry the curses and sacrifices of the gods, walking here by stepping on the bones of heroes. Dry your tears, because the expedition belonging to humanity has only just begun!"

Unprecedented popularity, unprecedented word-of-mouth explosion!