CHAPTER 115 – The Breaking Point
Xiao Xi screamed—a sound that cut through worlds, a sound of creation being torn apart.
Pain exploded through her chest, white-hot and agonizing.
Her chaos shattered like glass, the gold and violet light dissolving into meaningless sparks.
Her vision blurred into streaks of violet and black.
Gu roared her name, his voice thick with agony and terror:
"XIAO XI—!"
Her chaos threads unraveled.
The world went dim.
She felt herself falling—
falling—
falling into the familiar, cold embrace of oblivion.
Her system cried one final, desperate alert:
[HOST CORE DESTABILIZING]
[ROOT CONNECTION FAILING]
[HOST—YOU ARE DYING]
The First Root hovered above her, triumphant, its voice booming with raw victory.
"YOU ARE WEAK.
YOU ARE FLAWED.
YOU ARE UNFIT TO BE ROOT.
THE CORE IS MINE!"
Xiao Xi gasped, forcing breath into her collapsing lungs, fighting for one final word.
"Maybe I am…"
Her fingers trembled, reaching for a lost connection.
"…but I'm not alone."
Gu launched forward—breaking free of the Root Protagonist's surprised grasp, powered by pure, desperate love—his soul blazing bright gold.
"DON'T TOUCH HER!!
YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!"
He slammed into the First Root—
not with a weapon—
not with chaos—
but with his pure, condensed, golden soul, the essence of the anchor.
The impact split the sky with a massive, soundless shockwave.
The First Root shrieked, an unbearable sound of pain and surprise, its corrupting shadow recoiling.
Gu's soul cracked, dimming instantly, its golden light sputtering like a dying candle.
Xiao Xi caught him as he fell, his form almost entirely ethereal, reduced to a flickering golden image.
His voice was faint, a broken whisper of code and devotion.
"…Xiao Xi… I told you… I'll stay with you… wherever you go…"
Her tears fell onto his fading, shimmering form.
"Yanzhou… don't go… DON'T GO—I NEED YOU—"
He smiled, a perfect, gentle, heartbreaking expression of true love.
"…I love you."
And his soul—
flickered.