Xingtetsu: You are not included in Elio's script!

The root system of the Imaginary Tree slowly receded beneath the floating platform, but the gentle light could not penetrate the increasingly dense darkness ahead.

Lin Yu stood at the edge of the floating platform, warily scanning both sides of the passage.

Since setting off from the dome, they have been traversing the root system passage for 6 hours, getting closer and closer to the entrance to the abyss marked by Bodhidharma.

All seventeen destinies within him were subtly stirring.

"How much longer until we arrive?" Lin Yu's voice broke the silence, temporarily suppressing the energy disorder within his body.

Although the seventeen destinies have been mastered, a slight rejection reaction will still occur when encountering the special energy of the end.

Huang Quan leaned against the inside of the floating platform, slowly flowing into Lin Yu's wrist.

"It's almost there. That black crack ahead is the entrance. I can sense that there is a lot of end-of-life energy inside."

"Don't be careless. Master Boshi just sent word that there are remnants of the gang near the entrance. They are the same group of lunatics who followed Funeral Master Bin to attack the hub. They have been scattered and are hiding in the shadows waiting to ambush us. We must be careful."

Before the words were finished, the roots on both sides of the passage suddenly shook violently, and countless black echoes poured out from the gaps, condensing into more than a dozen black-robed figures in mid-air.

The leader was tall and held two short blades that gleamed with black light.

"We've finally waited for you! You've ruined the Lord's prophecy and now you want to seize the destiny of the end times? Today, you will all become sacrifices for the end times!"

"The target's chest is the source of the Echo's energy. Weakness: It is vulnerable to direct impacts from the void energy. The void can dissolve the essence of the Echo, and combined with the ability to break through defenses, it can break the deadlock in one strike!"

"Huang Quan, you take the lead in the attack. Use the void energy to shatter the remnants. Aha, you hold off the other remnants and don't let them get close. I'll hold up the protective net and also help you restrain the leader!"

"Received!" Huang Quan responded and leaped up, turning the katana in his palm. Dark purple void energy spread along the blade, and the edge gleamed with a cold light.

She strode through the air on the roots, dodging the flying blades shot by the remnants, her katana drawing a smooth arc.

"Void? Crack!"

Where the blade flashed, the flying blade was instantly dissipated, turning into black smoke and dissipating in the passage.

Aha didn't hesitate either; his joyful energy transformed into hundreds of light butterflies, swarming towards the remnants.

The light butterfly landed on the black robe, and pink energy spread along the fabric, binding their movements like vines.

"Want to help? Take care of your own legs first!" The light butterfly suddenly exploded, and the pink shockwave sent the remnants flying. Some crashed into the roots, black blood seeping from under their black robes, and they quickly went silent.

Seeing his subordinates being held back, the leader roared and crossed his twin blades, drawing black arcs of light. The echo condensed into a slashing wave in mid-air, carrying an aura of devouring everything as it crashed into the protective net.

"The End? Death!"

"clang!"

The ear-piercing sound of metal scraping echoed in the passage, and the light patterns on the protective netting flickered violently, revealing several fine cracks.

Lin Yu gritted his teeth and injected the Balanced Fate into the light shield. The energy filled the cracks and barely stabilized the defense.

"The Yellow Springs, now is the time!"

Huang Quan had already circled behind the leader. Seeing him attacking the protective net with all his might, he immediately pushed his Void Energy to its limit, raised his katana high, and the dark purple blade light struck down like a bolt of lightning.

"Nothingness? Anchor Broken!"

The blade struck the leader's chest anchor point precisely, producing a crisp cracking sound.

"No!" The leader let out a shrill scream, his twin blades slipped from his hands and fell to the ground, his body beginning to turn into black smoke.

"The end of an adult... will never be stopped!"

Before he finished speaking, his figure vanished completely, leaving only a lingering echo that was absorbed by the roots of the Imaginary Tree.

The remaining remnants scattered upon seeing their leader's demise. Some tried to escape into the darkness, but were caught by Aha's light butterflies. Pink energy entangled their black robes, and they eventually turned into black smoke.

The battle ended, but the air around the floating platform still retained a chilling, lingering aura. Lin Yu put away his light shield, his palms feeling slightly numb.

Having withstood the leader's slashing wave, I had consumed a lot of energy.

"Take a moment to recover before entering the abyss." Huang Quan walked over. "The final energy inside is even stronger. If you go in in your current state, you will easily be corrupted by the residual energy."

Lin Yu nodded, leaned against the edge of the floating platform, and mobilized his abundant energy.

Energy flowed through his limbs and bones, and the fatigue gradually dissipated. The fluctuations of the seventeen destinies also became stable again.

Aha walked to the entrance of the passage, condensed energy into a ray of light, probed into the black crack, and quickly withdrew it.

"There's no movement inside. Master Boshi's deduction is correct. The remnant of the final core should be in the center of the abyss."

Half an hour later, the three of them finished resting and the floating platform slowly entered the black rift.

After passing through a layer of cold energy barrier, the scene before my eyes completely changed.

In the boundless, pitch-black space, countless remnants of civilizations float in mid-air.

Some are planets frozen into ice blocks, with traces of vines still remaining on their surfaces.

Others resemble dying fireflies.

Each piece of debris was enveloped in thick end-energy, radiating an aura of dissipation.

"This is the Abyss of Nothingness..." Lin Yu's expression was somewhat shocked. He reached out to touch a piece of planetary debris that had drifted by, but Huang Quan stopped him in time.

"Don't touch it!" Huang Quan's tone was wary.

"The wreckage here bears a mark. Once you touch it, it will slowly dissipate your life force energy. Even protection cannot stop it. In my memory, a hunter once strayed into this place, and in the end, even the arrow feathers turned into black smoke."

"Master Boshi said that the remnant of the End Core is on the End Altar in the center of the Abyss. Follow the memories of Huang Quan and don't stray from the direction. The space here is distorted. If you go the wrong way, you may fall into the End Rift and your consciousness will be directly annihilated."

The three of them followed the route from Huang Quan's memories, their feet treading on condensed echoing energy, each step carrying a cold touch.

Along the way, Lin Yu saw a familiar piece of wreckage, a microcosm of Blue Star, covered with a thick ice shell, with the outline of a city faintly visible, and even the neighborhood where he used to live could be identified.

He clenched his fists, channeling the energy of his destiny into his body to suppress the turmoil in his heart.

"I can't let Earth become like this."

Huang Quan gently patted his arm, "No, we'll help you gather the destiny and break the doomsday prophecy."

After walking for about 3 hours, a faint light finally appeared ahead.

A black altar floated in mid-air. The altar was made of dark purple crystals and its surface was engraved with complex symbols.

In the center of the altar, a fist-sized black crystal was slowly rotating, emitting a gentle yet profound sense of cyclical energy.

This is exactly the ultimate core they are looking for.

"That's it!" Huang Quan strode to the altar, and the moment her fingertips lightly touched the crystal, black energy lines extended from the crystal, intertwining with her ethereal energy.

Her eyes cleared, and more fragments of memories surfaced.

"Resonance is the final destination! You need to first enter the space of reverberation consciousness and accept its interpretation of the cosmic cycle."

"But remember, don't let the feeling of nothingness consume you. Once you accept that the end is nothingness, you will become a mindless echo, which will only hasten the end of the universe."

Lin Yu took a deep breath and walked to the center of the altar.

He looked at Huang Quan and Aha with a determined gaze.

"I'm ready." With that, he mobilized the energies of the three paths of destiny—expansion, preservation, and balance—and intertwined them with the void energy of the Yellow Springs' messenger level to form a four-colored light stream, which was slowly injected into the final core echo.

"Buzz!" The crystal emitted a deep hum, and black light instantly enveloped Lin Yu. His consciousness was forcibly pulled out and fell into a pure white space.

This is the consciousness realm of the final core echo.

Countless images suddenly appeared in the space, like fast-forwarded film reels.

The blue planet was covered by an ice shell, and the crowds in the streets ran in despair, eventually turning to ashes.

The roots of the Imaginary Tree gradually turned black, and the world bubbles burst one by one like soap bubbles, with the civilizations inside disappearing.

The light arrow of the storm lost its luster and stuck in the barren planet. The wisdom crystal of the Bo Shi Zun collapsed, and the data stream scattered in the dark space.

Ahha's energy gradually dissipated, and her figure leaning against the roots became increasingly transparent.

The echoes of the underworld were swallowed up, and the katana fell onto the altar.

Each image carries a strong sense of emptiness, and a cold voice echoes in the space.

"The end is the finality; all existence will eventually dissolve. There is no point in guarding it; it is better to return to nothingness and be free from pain forever."

Lin Yu's consciousness began to blur, and his body gradually became transparent, as if he was about to merge into this pure white space.

Countless moments of exhaustion flashed through his mind.

The severe injuries he sustained while fighting Nanook, the disarray he displayed while evading the Monitors, and the tension he felt while protecting the Nexus... these images made him consider giving up.

Perhaps, the end is inevitable, so it's better to end it like this.

...