Snapping out of their shock, the others joined in, pushing back against the Doomsday Beast’s assault.
…
Seeing Phainon’s skin gradually turning red, March 7th quickly cast an ice shield over him.
Stelle and Dan Heng attacked the Doomsday Beast’s arms, while Himeko used her drones to slice at its core.
Even though the battle was heavily in their favor, none of them let their guard down.
They knew that the one taking the brunt of the pressure—Phainon—was the very reason they fought to protect each other.
Under their combined efforts, the Doomsday Beast collapsed once more.
Phainon dropped to one knee, exhausted, leaning on Dawnmaker just to keep himself upright.
March 7th rushed forward with concern, supporting his unsteady frame.
Her eyes were already glistening with tears.
“Phainon, are you okay? Should I take you to the space station’s medical bay?”
After taking a few deep breaths, the scorched red on Phainon’s face gradually returned to its normal color.
“I’m fine. Just a bit worn out.” He slowly rose with March 7th’s help.
Dan Heng, who had been keeping watch over the Doomsday Beast’s corpse, gave him a nod of acknowledgment.
Seeing him stand, Stelle threw herself into Phainon’s arms, smearing tears and snot all over his clothes.
“Brother, you can’t die! What would I do without you? If you died, I’d have to inherit that ridiculously cool sword of yours!”
“Seriously?” Phainon’s usually composed face finally cracked under Stelle’s antics, the veins on his forehead growing more pronounced.
“Get off. You’re getting my clothes all dirty.”
“Hehehe.” Hearing his tone, Stelle knew he was fine and pulled away.
“I was just worried about—agh!”
Suddenly, Stelle clutched her chest and collapsed to her knees in agony, cold sweat pouring down and soaking her collar in an instant.
“Stelle, what’s wrong?” Sensing something was off, Phainon quickly knelt down to check on her.
Hearing the commotion, the others gathered around.
“I… I don’t know…” Stelle stammered.
“My chest… it hurts so much… something’s coming!”
Hearing this, Phainon seemed to sense something.
His head snapped up, staring into the depths of the galaxy where the Doomsday Beast had descended.
There, a figure appeared.
White ribbons drifted around her body.
Her eyes were obscured by a dark, asteroid-belt-like object.
Her flowing white robes exuded an air of nobility, elegance, and divinity.
Her hand was already summoning her orbital cannon.
“Lord Ravager—Celenova!” Dan Heng stared in shock at the radiant figure in the sky.
“What? A Lord Ravager of Destruction?” March 7th covered her mouth in disbelief.
“Is our Trailblaze journey going to end here?”
Ignoring their gazes, Celenova extended her right hand.
A sphere radiating yellow light shot toward the Doomsday Beast’s corpse.
“It’s the Cancer of All Worlds,” Himeko said gravely, staring at the Stellaron.
To everyone’s confusion, after planting the Stellaron, Celenova made no further move.
She simply gave them one long, deep look—more precisely, at Phainon standing at the very front.
Then she vanished into the depths of the cosmos.
And the Doomsday Beast, now a corpse, rose once more, revived by the power of the Stellaron Celenova had given it.
Its hands, previously limited to swipes, now fired lasers simultaneously at March 7th and Dan Heng.
This laser was faster than before, leaving even less time to react.
But there are always those who use their own strength to stop disaster from striking.
The two strangers who had awakened on the space station moved in perfect unison.
Stelle threw herself in front of March 7th, shielding her from the laser’s erosion.
And Phainon pushed Dan Heng aside, letting the laser pierce through his own body.
Golden blood flowed from Phainon’s wound.
His consciousness slowly faded into nothingness.
…
Waking up in an unknown space, Phainon had no idea how much time had passed.
All around him were shattered planets, and the path beneath his feet was made of fragments.
“Where… is this?” Following the only path forward, Phainon’s confusion only grew.
“I feel like something’s waiting for me ahead.” After what had just happened, Phainon trusted his intuition completely.
“Either way, if I follow this road, I’ll eventually find my answers.”
After walking for what felt like an eternity, he found Stelle lying unconscious on the ground.
He shook her awake, and she was still half-asleep.
“Stelle, how did you get here?” He waved a hand in front of her face, asking in confusion.
“Same as you. Took a laser to the face from the Doomsday Beast.” She looked around like a curious child.
“Where are we?”
“No idea. But I think we’re close to the end.” With that, the two continued on together.
A brown-skinned deity, golden blood flowing through His body, came into view.
He cast an indifferent glance at Stelle.
A strange voice suddenly echoed in her mind.
“Reach the end. Reach the conclusion with your own will.”
As the voice faded, the Stellaron within Stelle’s body began to rage uncontrollably, and her form vanished from this space.
“Stelle!” Phainon shouted, but no one answered.
He could only push forward, desperate to see the deity before him in full.
The brown-skinned god had white hair.
His arms were spread wide as He looked at Phainon with cold indifference.
Golden blood, bright as lava, flowed through His body, its searing heat scorching everything around it.
Seeing Him in full, Phainon stood frozen.
“Nanook.” Somehow, he knew the name of this unfamiliar god.
And with that knowledge came an overwhelming surge of rage.
[Ding! Congratulations, host, on achieving the achievement ‘Audience with the Aeon of Destruction, Nanook.’ Reward: Perfect Vessel.]
Phainon paid no attention to what the system said.
A single crystalline tear rolled from his eye—the eye marked with the Worldbearing sigil.
But this time, the tear did not evaporate into steam.
It fell, real and tangible, into the void.
He did not know why he grieved.
He did not know why he raged.
Before he could speak, Phainon was transported away, leaving this space and returning to Herta Space Station.
He saw Stelle waking up.
He saw March and Dan Heng still locked in battle with the Doomsday Beast.
He saw a middle-aged man controlling the beast with black holes, though the man was staring at him with a strange expression.
Seeing his companions alive and well, and seeing the Doomsday Beast now far more powerful, an invisible force surged within Phainon.
He gritted his teeth.
Golden bone spurs erupted from his body.
His skin began to crack, golden blood seeping through.
A pair of massive wings sprouted from his back.
Even Dawnmaker transformed, becoming a fusion of gold and black.
“He Who Bears the World Must Burn!”