Boom!
A colossal golden dragon claw slammed down from the sky. With a single strike, it nearly covered half the desert.
As the claw descended, the ground shook as if it were about to collapse entirely. Countless grains of sand were hurled into the air. Even Hu Tao, the Traveler, Xilonen, Nicole, and the others felt their bodies lifted violently off the ground.
In the next instant, the enormous golden dragon claw vanished.
Hu Tao, the Traveler, Nicole, Zhu Yuan, Caesar, and the rest suddenly felt the support beneath their feet disappear, and they all dropped from midair.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
One after another, they crashed back into the desert.
The storm quickly subsided. Sand poured down from the sky, nearly burying everyone alive.
Struggling out of the sand, Paimon hurriedly brushed herself off.
"Pfft, pfft, pfft! So much sand! Traveler, hurry up and get out—"
She grabbed onto the Traveler's leg and pulled with all her strength, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't drag them free.
Then, a familiar voice suddenly sounded behind her.
"Paimon, what are you doing?"
"I'm saving the Traveler! Don't just stand there, come help—huh? Wait… Traveler? Weren't you buried in the sand?"
Startled, Paimon spun around, only to see the Traveler standing right behind her.
Then she looked at the Traveler, then down at the shoes sticking out of the sand, and froze.
"You're the Traveler? Then who's that?"
"My shoes, obviously… You couldn't even pull my shoes out."
The Traveler tugged their shoes free from the sand and slipped them back on.
Paimon was speechless.
"..."
After that, Paimon hurriedly looked around. Nicole, Hu Tao, Zhu Yuan, Qingyi, Caesar, Billy, Xilonen—and countless warriors from various nations, from New Eridu, and from Sumeru itself—were all brushing sand off their bodies.
Everyone was still alive.
What a relief.
But suddenly, a shocked voice rang out nearby.
"Meow—what's going on? You guys, look ahead…"
"Nekomata, don't make a fuss. What kind of big scenes haven't you seen? Why are you still so jumpy—"
Nicole scolded her as she followed Nekomata's gaze toward the distance.
But the moment she saw what lay ahead, she froze completely.
What…?
Was that strike really this exaggerated?
Nearby, Hu Tao, Zhu Yuan, Qingyi, Billy, Xilonen, Caesar, and the others stepped forward as well, following Nicole and Nekomata's line of sight.
In the desert ahead, they saw an unimaginably vast abyss.
Because of Sam Li's earlier strike, the entire desert within the area of impact had sunk by at least a hundred meters.
A colossal chasm—so large its edges were barely visible—had appeared out of nowhere in the sand.
As for the Lord Ravager, it was nowhere to be seen.
Perhaps it had been flattened by that blow.
Or perhaps it had been completely shattered.
Either way… that strike had been utterly terrifying.
Thankfully, Sam Li had protected them. Without that protection, everyone present would have been reduced to ash by the shockwave alone.
The moment they took in the scene, the same thought surfaced in everyone's mind:
It's finally over.
Immediately after, everyone instinctively looked around, as if searching for something.
When they failed to find what they were looking for, unease spread.
"What's going on? Where's Sam Li?"
"He didn't use that attack and perish together with the Lord Ravager, did he?"
"Don't talk nonsense. Sam Li isn't that easy to kill. Have you ever actually seen him die?"
"I have…"
"That was fake death. Someone like Sam Li wouldn't die that easily. Hurry up and search—maybe he's buried in the sand."
"Sam Li! Sam Li! Stop hiding, we've already found you!"
"Still can't find him?"
…
It wasn't just Hu Tao, Nicole, Billy, Zhu Yuan, Caesar, and the others.
Even Ei, Venti, Mavuika, and the other archons were searching for Sam Li's whereabouts.
In the next moment, Venti seemed to sense something and quickly looked up.
"He's in the sky—"
Hearing this, everyone immediately raised their heads.
Sure enough, high above them was a colossal golden dragon silhouette, nearly covering the entire sky. The sight was utterly awe-inspiring.
Was Sam Li's true form really that enormous?
No—no, that wasn't right. They had seen Sam Li's true form before. It definitely wasn't like this.
Then, as if responding to their calls, the immense dragon-shaped shadow—almost as vast as the sky itself—suddenly vanished, transforming into a streak of golden light that descended to the ground.
Sam Li's figure appeared out of thin air.
"It's Sam Li…"
"Sam Li, let me check—are you hurt?"
"That's great, you're not injured."
"Was that attack just now yours? That was insane—you instantly killed a Lord Ravager. What level of strength is that?"
"Is there anything stronger than a Lord Ravager?"
"Of course. A Lord Ravager is merely an Emanator of the Destruction Aeon. The Aeon itself is far more powerful."
…
An Aeon.
When that word was spoken, March 7th, Dan Heng, Himeko, and the Trailblazer all froze.
When they looked at Sam Li again, their expressions had completely changed.
Instantly killing a Lord Ravager—if that wasn't the power of an Aeon, what else could it be?
Coupled with the dragon claw and the colossal dragon silhouette from before, March 7th suddenly gasped.
"Wait—could it be what I'm thinking? No way, no way… Sam Li, don't tell me you're actually the Aeon of Permanence, Long?!"
Himeko's expression grew solemn.
"..."
The Trailblazer also fell silent, clearly uncertain.
At that moment, Sam Li finally spoke.
"Of course I'm not the Aeon of Permanence. But the power I used just now does indeed belong to it."
Just moments ago, Sam Li had sensed something new within his body.
It felt like an ancient imprint—perhaps a seed, or something else entirely.
In any case, he had suddenly gained the ability to wield the power of the Aeon of Permanence.
Even if only for a short time.
Yet that power was overwhelmingly strong. In just a few seconds, it had effortlessly annihilated two Lord Ravagers, along with countless Abyss monsters and Antimatter Legion forces.
The conflict ended in an instant.