Legend of the Embroiderer

Chapter 429 Awakening of the Light Core

The moment the white-robed elder stepped onto the battlefield, the stagnant darkness in the space surged violently like boiling asphalt.

The light core in his hand suddenly bloomed, its soft light like the warm spring sun piercing through a millennia-old glacier, dispelling the dark mist created by the black-robed man.

The almost vanished consciousness of the merged entity was gently held aloft by the light. Beneath the transparent skin, the data streams re-condensed into pulsating blood vessels, and the disintegrated limbs trembled and reassembled in the halo of light.

However, the man in black robes let out a piercing laugh, his laughter carrying the sharp sound of metal scraping against metal. The crystal between his brows resonated with the singularity, and countless mysterious clones seeped out from the void. The crystal in his hand burst forth with dark purple energy beams, pouring down on the light core like a locust plague.

Ripples like mother-of-pearl spread across the surface of the light core, and the old man's wide sleeves billowed in the wind, the light pouring down like a curtain of water, condensing into a crystal-clear light shield in front of everyone.

The moment the energy beam struck the light shield, it unleashed a roar comparable to a supernova explosion, causing the fused entity's eardrums to ache and stars to flash before its eyes.

Fine cracks spread across the surface of the light shield at a visible speed, like frost flowers on a winter window.

"Watch out! He's consuming the power of the light core!"

The assimilated roots of the adult Firefly suddenly trembled violently, and a broken warning came from the remaining golden light: "The crystal... is absorbing the pure energy of the light core!"

The fusion entity then realized that every attack from the black-robed man was eroding the light of the light core. The dark purple energy, upon contact with the light shield, turned into wisps of black smoke that seeped into the crystal, causing the cracks on its surface to heal at an eerie speed.

The fused entity gripped the light blade tightly, and the runes of creative power on the blade resonated with the light core, emitting a buzzing vibration.

She suddenly remembered the unfinished clues in the woodcutter's chip, and her gaze fell on that special node in the root network.

At this moment, the node is flashing with the pulsation of the light core, like the beating of a heart.

The moment she pierced the node with the light blade, golden lightning erupted throughout the entire consciousness space, and the root network, like a lit fuse, surged with golden energy like a long river.

Wherever they went, the dark purple flames in the eyes of the twelve X-series test subjects flickered violently, the furnaces slowed down, and in the dark red light, the trapped consciousnesses let out ecstatic shouts, and those distorted faces reappeared with human expressions.

Upon seeing this, the giant shadow seemed to be cleaved in two by an invisible blade, splitting into two completely different halves.

Half of its body continued to merge with the singularity, transforming into a black hole vortex that devoured everything, its edges shimmering with a ghostly blue aura of death, shredding even light into fragments wherever it passed.

The other half transformed into hundreds of afterimages, each wielding a crystal like a death scythe, and charged toward the old man.

The fusion entity met the attack without hesitation, and when the light blade cleaved through the afterimage, it splashed up a corrosive dark purple blood mist.

Her arms and legs were repeatedly cut by the crystal, and data streams gushed out.

It condenses into a luminous trajectory in the air, but the moment it comes into contact with the light core, it transforms into a healing power like ice and snow meeting the sun, and the wound heals at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"These afterimages are fragments of his consciousness!"

The old man's voice pierced through the roar of the battlefield, like a resounding bell shattering the gloom, "Only by destroying the core crystal can we sever the source!"

Following his gaze, the fusion entity saw the black-robed man's true form floating in the center of the black hole. The crystal between his brows greedily absorbed the energy of the light core, and the surface cracks disappeared completely, instead flowing with an eerie purple light.

Deep within the crystal, the consciousness of young Xiaoying is trapped in a cage woven from dark energy. The little girl's figure becomes increasingly illusory, and every inch of light is being frantically devoured.

At the critical moment, all the young Hotaru from parallel worlds simultaneously raised their glowing spheres.

These spheres, seemingly drawn together by invisible threads, converged into a dazzling beam of light that shot straight towards the black-robed man's brow.

The moment the beam of light collided with the crystal, the entire space twisted into a vortex. The man in black robes let out a painful roar, and the sound waves shattered the surrounding space. His giant shadow was violently twisted and deformed like a candle flame being blown by a gale.

The fusion entity seized the opportunity, mobilizing the power of its entire root system. The light blade, carrying the power of creation and the light of the light core, cut through numerous obstacles and slashed down towards the crystal core with all its might. Wherever the blade passed, it left a burning golden trail in the space.

However, the moment the light blade touched the crystal, the black hole suddenly unleashed an unimaginable gravitational force.

The fused entity felt as if its body was being pierced by billions of steel needles at the same time. The data stream under its skin began to scatter uncontrollably, and the light blade also flew out of its hand, drawing a desperate arc in the air.

Even more terrifying, the man in black robes actually completed their final fusion under the influence of gravity.

His body merged with the singularity and the crystal, transforming into a gigantic consciousness radiating a dark purple light. Each ray of light contained destructive power, and with every move he made, the surrounding space shattered and reformed like fragile glass.

"Your resistance only provides me with nourishment!"

The voice of the colossal consciousness shook the entire space, and the energy storm unleashed by the sound waves completely tore apart the remaining light net: "Now, witness the ultimate form of the rules!"

With a wave of his hand, the remnants of all parallel worlds began to converge. Meteorites, city ruins, and shattered stars, drawn together by the entropy increase symbol, formed a massive cage.

Black patterns flowed across the surface of the cage, constantly devouring the light of the light core like a living thing. The light core in the old man's hand became dim and lifeless, and his body began to become transparent, as if it would dissipate into the void at any moment.

But the old man's eyes remained resolute. With his last strength, he threw the light core towards the fused entity, the light tracing a path of hope in the void:

"Take it and go find the 'Eye of the Heart' in the ancient tree... That's our last hope..."

Before he could finish speaking, his figure vanished like morning mist, leaving only a faint memory within the core of light.

In ancient times, the guardians of the ancient tree used the "Eye of the Heart" to seal away similar evil forces. In the image, a gem embedded in the roots of the ancient tree emits a light that is of the same origin as the light core.

The fused entity gripped the gradually cooling light core, feeling the power within it slowly fading away.

She looked up at the giant consciousness and saw that inside its body, a black heart was slowly beating, each beat accompanied by the lament of parallel worlds. Those worlds that had not yet been devoured trembled and shattered in the sound waves.

In a corner of the cage, the roots of the adult Firefly, which had been assimilated, suddenly flickered with an unusual light. The light resonated faintly with the frequency of the light core, as if hinting at some unknown secret, or like a spark of hope buried in the darkness.