"It's time to end this..." Lumine murmured, her voice hoarse yet unwavering.
She raised her gaze once more, her eyes fixed on the still-stalemated pink-purple radiance in the high heavens. Then, she focused all her spirit and power inward, gathering it within herself.
She held the Unrelenting Will upright before her, her left hand stroking the blade.
The sword hummed softly, as if responding to her call.
All remaining golden light and pink streamers surged toward her at unprecedented speed, merging into Lumine's body.
Her eyes transformed: one blazed pure gold, like the Blazing Sun, while the other glowed pure pink, as if containing their shared forms and desires.
A terrifying aura, as if capable of splitting the heavens and earth, erupted from her petite frame. This aura was so overwhelming that it even suppressed the spatial collapse around her.
Sensing its impending doom, the Temporal Husk unleashed the most piercing and ear-splitting shriek it had emitted since the battle began.
No longer holding back, the creature's entire body ignited—not with flames, but with a far more potent and boundless Abyss Energy.
Together with the surrounding space, the Temporal Husk transformed into a colossal, ravenous core of violet-black destruction, surging toward Lumine with suicidal ferocity!
Facing what seemed to be the Temporal Husk's final onslaught, Lumine's expression remained unnaturally calm.
Her eyes icy, she thrust forward her longsword, now infused with all her power, in a swift, decisive strike.
This strike differed entirely from their previous clashes. There was no ear-splitting explosion, only a deeper, more primal tearing sound, as if the very fabric of the Laws themselves were wailing in agony.
This sound lay beyond the range of human hearing...
The concentrated beam of light Lumine unleashed was the embodiment of her will, her memories, her myriad wishes, and the Stellar Power itself. It was born from the Goddess's energy and the fury of Lumine's rage.
The beam collided head-on with the all-consuming core of purple-black Destruction!
In that instant, time and space lost all meaning.
At the epicenter of the collision, an infinitesimal black singularity erupted, rapidly expanding into a chaotic sphere that devoured all light.
Then, indescribable destructive energy surged outward at speeds beyond comprehension!
Wherever the energy passed, the remaining Fragments of the Dark Sea were utterly annihilated, even the chaotic currents of the Abyss smoothed into nothingness—or rather, utterly obliterated.
The aftershock of this cataclysmic surge roared toward the borders of Teyvat like a world-ending tsunami!
"It's coming!"
The moment the energy's shockwave reached the Dark Sea's boundary, the Three Gods, who had long been on high alert, acted simultaneously.
Ronova surged forward, her purple-black robes snapping in the raging energy storm.
A flicker of determination flashed in her eyes as she channeled her Authority to its limit—imbuing the surging tide of Destruction with the concept of Death itself.
At the vanguard of the rampaging aftershock, countless streams of chaotic energy were severed as if by an invisible scythe, instantly "dying" and dissolving into ethereal black dust.
Yet the aftershock's sheer magnitude far exceeded the power of Death's decree. It slowed, but could not be stopped.
At that very moment, Istaroth intervened.
Myriad starlight strands wove into the phantom image of an endless river in her hands. With a downward press of her palms, the onrushing energy torrent seemed to sink into an invisible mire.
She dispersed the force of the impact across an immeasurably vast timescale, gradually eroding its power over eternity.
It was precisely because she bore the brunt of the pressure that Ronova's Death Declaration could precisely extinguish the most dangerous spearheads of the onslaught.
Yet the residual energy remained staggering. Slowed but undiminished, it continued to advance inexorably.
Then, a vibrant, verdant light erupted.
Naberius, now fused with Rhinedottir, radiated a blinding light from the shattered crown above her head—symbolizing the Authority of Creation. Countless incorporeal vines, manifestations of pure life-sustaining power, surged forward, entwining the remaining energy.
The vines that touched the destructive energy withered and crumbled instantly. Yet, as they disintegrated, they transformed that force—capable of annihilating all existence—into droplets that scattered and dissolved into the void.
The aftershock was completely extinguished, but...
"Ugh...!"
The Three Gods groaned almost simultaneously.
Ronova's blood-red patterns flickered erratically. Istaroth's illusory River of Time rippled violently, while Naberius's vines withered en masse.
The Ruler of Death unleashed her final judgment, the Ruler of Time dispersed the impact, and the Ruler of Life transmuted the energy.
These three supreme Authorities worked together with unprecedented synergy, forming the ultimate defense against Teyvat's annihilation.
Crack... BOOM!
At the last moment, just as the cataclysmic wave threatened to engulf Teyvat's life-sustaining realm, the composite barrier—jointly constructed by the Three Gods, each anchoring it with their own Authority—shattered completely and dissipated into nothingness.
As the residual energy dissipated, the figures of the Three Gods grew faint and illusory, their vital energy drained to its absolute limit.
Already gravely wounded, they had exhausted every ounce of their strength to withstand the world-ending aftershock, leaving them unable to recover for the foreseeable future.
-
The Dark Sea, at the heart of the battlefield.
The chaotic sphere of destruction energy finally dissipated.
Temporal Husk, along with its suicidal madness, had vanished without a trace, leaving not even the faintest residue of energy behind—utterly erased from the river of Time and Existence.
Only one figure remained standing, stubbornly upright.
The glow around Lumine had completely faded, her heterochromatic golden and jade eyes reverting to their original colors, their depths now filled with an indescribable weariness.
Leaning heavily on her longsword, her body swayed slightly, on the verge of collapsing to her knees.
"Heh..."
A faint smile cracked the corner of Lumine's lips as she gave up her struggle and collapsed heavily onto the ground.
Her eyes blazed with triumph!
She had won!
She had defeated that damned Abyss Monster!
She hadn't betrayed their expectations, hadn't betrayed... the Goddess's expectations...
Lumine struggled to lift her head. She no longer had the strength to check on Teyvat, knowing her companions would hold the line there.
Her gaze pierced through the gradually calming chaotic space, beyond Teyvat's fragile sky, and soared directly into the boundless, fathomless cosmos.
There, in a dimension beyond mortal comprehension, pink and purplish-black radiance still clashed violently, their collision determining the ultimate fate of countless worlds.
The immediate threat on the ground had been eliminated, but the true source of the conflict still loomed above.
-
In the starry expanse, the Goddess and Abyss Goddess observed the battle below. After careful consideration, they decided to wait a few more days.
Clashes between supreme powers rarely yield quick resolutions. Besides, they weren't tiring themselves; it was all just special effects and lingering aftershocks.
Moreover, Teyvat was in utter chaos. Gods and Dragon Sovereigns alike lay gravely wounded, requiring time to recover.
The grand finale was approaching its climax, so there was no need to rush.
The Emotional Value had already surged to overwhelming levels, more than sufficient to initiate Jiang Mumu's Teyvat Reorganization Plan.
First bitterness, then sweetness, as the saying goes. Having endured the bitterness, it was time for some sweetness.
But before that, let her reap one last harvest of Emotional Value.