461: Opportunity!

Just a split second before this destruction, a flicker of spiritual light—that half-grain of the Primordial Spirit Origin belonging to the Arbiter—which had been submerged in an abyss of boundless pain and darkness, suddenly erupted with an unprecedented brilliance!

It wasn't a dazzling flame, nor was it a fearless charge, but an absolute insight that transcended everything.

He understood.

The core of everything, the culmination of everything, and the… opportunity of everything!

Only that corrupted star-core! It had broken free of its restraints, it craved power, and it greedily sought to devour everything!

And Su Han's shattered body, once a symbol of judgment, though now incredibly weak, had, after all, once burned with the light that consumed decay! To the greedy star-core, this was still its ultimate, instinctive desire!

This was the only gamble!

Behind him, a terrifying suction dragged him, and in front, the destructive shadow of a python roared and lunged.

Just as the filth-condensed fangs of the colossal python from the World-Ending Deluge were about to touch the last flicker of golden light on his back—

The terrifying wound at his waist and abdomen was completely torn open by the spatial distortion, and golden energy, like burning blood, diffused and scattered, almost revealing the charred, solidified lava ground below.

Su Han suddenly “looked up,” and on his fragmented face, composed of faint light, a silent, resolute smile, like crumbling metal and stone, seemed to blossom.

He actually gave up resisting all the suction coming from the corrupted star-core!

No, not just non-resistance!

“Come—!!!”

A silent roar, existing only within the core of his will, tore through the stillness!

Within that illusory body, the last remaining half-grain of Primordial Spirit fire-seed burned frantically!

The light, which had already dimmed during the intense pulling, was forcefully amplified to its extreme—not for defense, not for attack, but to ignite himself into an irresistible “bait of light”!

This last struggling spark suddenly intensified!

The corrupted star-core’s crimson vertical pupil, as if stimulated, instantly contracted to its limit, then erupted with an even more terrifying, purer, and greedier suction force!

The surrounding space groaned under the unbearable strain, and floating fragments of massive star-skeletons were crushed by an invisible hand, turning into dust and being sucked into the abyss!

At the tips of the innumerable python-like tentacles of the World-Ending Deluge, which were lunging to bite, countless mouths filled with layers of sharp teeth split open!

Only to stop… but it was too late!

The moment that last bit of light was ignited, the relationship between predator and prey completely reversed.

The faint stream of light, burning everything, like a moth drawn to a flame, under the star-core’s suddenly intensified suction power, roared away from its original position, accelerating to collide with the writhing corrupted core!

Its speed surpassed all attacks, transforming into a resolute, suicidal golden lightning bolt!

Boom—!

There was no deafening explosion, only the hollow wail of space being completely swallowed.

That last remaining flicker of the deluge accurately crashed into the center of the corrupted star-core, instantly being submerged and enveloped by the writhing darkness!

Turbid active energy, like billions of frantic worms, gnawed and devoured this last light.

The World-Ending Deluge lost its target, its lunging motion frozen in the Void Realm, and billions of open, filthy mouths emitted confused hisses.

Deep within the crimson vertical pupil, that faint yet fiery golden speck was being rapidly pulled into the deepest part of the core, into endless oblivion.

The moment he was dragged into the abyss, Su Han’s remaining consciousness was exceptionally clear. Dark energy frantically strangled the golden residual flame; each energy annihilation brought a sense of disillusionment, as if his soul-fire was about to extinguish.

The World-Ending Deluge swirled wildly on the periphery, like a hungry pack of beasts that had lost their target.

Only that half-grain of fire-seed still stubbornly flickered, enduring the pervasive filth erosion, like a seed in a strong wind refusing to be extinguished.

This was not annihilation.

It was penetration.

Through the constantly tearing and devouring gaps, and by fusing the remnant light of this fire-seed with the energy pathways of the corrupted star-core itself, Su Han’s consciousness pierced inward like a fine needle.

Beyond that viscous, writhing, and isolating energy barrier at the core, at the true Origin of the core, sensory feedback returned. (End of chapter)