Myth Beyond Heaven-Chapter 2952: The Last Embrace (2)
Nian Shi withdrew his finger, examining the result.
"Interesting... Truly interesting." he murmured. ๐ฏ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ต.๐ฌ๐ธ๐
No anger. No irritation. Just quiet observation.
He turned his gaze to Yun Qianxue and the others.
"You must understand," he said, his voice calm, "this changes nothing. Even if I cannot break this barrier immediately, it will fall. Everything does, given enough time."
His silver eyes gleamed with the certainty of eons.
"And time... is all I have."
The survivors didnโt respond.
They didnโt need to.
Their silence was answer enough.
Nian Shiโs smile deepened as he raised his right hand.
Buzzโ
The space above his palm twisted violently, temporal energy condensing into visible golden threads that wove together with terrifying precision.
A blinding flash erupted, forcing even Yun Qianxue to raise her arm against the glare.
When the light faded, a sword hovered in his grasp.
It was neither long nor short, its blade shimmering like liquid time itselfโshifting between silver, gold, and an impossible void-black. Runes older than creation pulsed along its length, each symbol representing a different era in the cosmos. The hilt was forged from crystallized time, its guard shaped like an hourglass with sands that flowed upward.
"This," Nian Shi said, his voice carrying the weight of epochs, "is the Blade of Eternity."
He tilted the sword slightly, and the very air around it distorted. Where the edge passed, brief visions flickeredโscenes of civilizations rising and falling, stars being born and dying, all compressed into mere instants.
"You should consider yourselves fortunate," he continued, casually testing the bladeโs balance. "This is only the second time Iโve drawn it."
His silver eyes swept over the silent group.
"Donโt you want to know who I used it on the first time?"
No one answered. The pocket dimension was utterly still, the only sound being the faint hum of Yun Lingโs barrier.
Nian Shi clicked his tongue in mock disappointment. "How boring. Not even curious?" He sighed dramatically. "Very well. Iโll tell you anyway."
The Blade of Eternity gleamed as he raised it before him, its edge splitting the light into fractured timelines.
"The first being this blade tasted was... the Creator."
A collective gasp tore through the survivors.
Lin Xinyaoโs silver eyes widened. Han Binglingโs frost aura flickered violently. Even Yun Qianxueโs iron composure cracked for a split second.
Nian Shi watched their reactions with quiet amusement.
"Yes," he confirmed, his voice smooth as flowing time. "That Creator. The one who birthed the thirteen Primordial Gods. The one whose โmysterious disappearanceโ has puzzled the cosmos for eons." A cold smile touched his lips. "Now you know the truth."
The implications crashed over them like a tidal wave. The Creator hadnโt faded from distributing her powerโsheโd been murdered. By Nian Shi. With that very blade.
"Youโre lying," Hei Yue spat, her abyssal eyes burning. "The Creator was omnipotent. No one couldโ"
"Omnipotent?" Nian Shi interrupted, chuckling. "Is that what the legends say?" He shook his head. "Let me educate you."
With a casual flick of his wrist, the Blade of Eternity traced a lazy arc through the air, leaving behind a shimmering afterimage of unraveling time.
"The Creator divided her essence into fourteen parts. Thirteen became the Primordial Gods." His smile turned icy. "The fourteenth? The World Tree."
He took a step forward, the sword humming with restrained power.
"Then she made her first mistakeโshe shackled us." His voice dropped, carrying an edge that made the very fabric of the pocket dimension tremble. "Rules. Restrictions. Chains disguised as โdivine mandatesโ." The Bladeโs glow intensified, the runes flaring crimson. "She dared to leash Time itself."
For the first time, genuine emotion flickered across Nian Shiโs faceโnot anger, but the cold, implacable disdain of an eternal being forced to kneel.
"So I showed her the flaw in her design." He raised the Blade of Eternity, its tip pointing toward the barrier. "Even omnipotence has an expiration date."
The survivors stood frozen, processing the blasphemous truth. The Creator hadnโt just disappearedโsheโd been assassinated by her own creation.
Nian Shi studied their horrified expressions with quiet satisfaction. Then, without warning, he struck.
The Blade of Eternity came down in a deceptively simple slash.
No flashy technique. No grand proclamation. Just a perfect, inevitable cutโthe same cut that had once slain divinity itself.
CRACK!
The sound was unlike anything theyโd ever heardโnot the shattering of glass or the snapping of bones, but the noise of time fracturing. The barrierโs white light darkened where the blade touched, aging millennia in an instant. The corrosion spread rapidly, entire epochs of decay compressed into seconds.
Yun Qianxueโs sword hand trembled. This was different from his earlier probing attacksโthis was Nian Shi truly exerting himself.
Yet...
The barrier held. Barely.
Nian Shiโs eyebrows rose fractionally. "Still standing?" His lips curved. "Impressive. But letโs see how it handles this."
He reversed his grip on the Blade of Eternity and stabbed forward.
Where the point touched the barrier, reality itself began unravelingโnot just decaying, but being erased from chronological existence. The white light flickered desperately, patches of it vanishing as if theyโd never been.
Lin Xinyao instinctively reached for her sword, but Yun Qianxue stopped her with a sharp glance. There was nothing they could do. This was beyond their power to influence.
Nian Shi watched the barrierโs death throes with clinical interest. "Remarkable devotion, to resist even this." His silver eyes flicked to them. "But tell meโwhat will you do when it falls?"
No one answered.
They didnโt need to.
Their drawn weapons and blazing auras spoke volumes.
Nian Shi chuckled. "I look forward to finding out."
And with that, he twisted the Blade of Eternityโ
BOOOOM!
A sound like the universe screaming tore through the pocket dimension as the barrier finally fractured. Cracks spiderwebbed across its surface, golden decay seeping through like poison.
It wouldnโt last much longer.
Nian Shi withdrew his blade, examining it thoughtfully. "Perhaps Iโll use this to greet Yun Lintian when he returns." His smile turned chilling. "For old timeโs sake."
The survivors braced themselves as the barrierโs light flickered weakly.
The Blade of Eternity pulsed in Nian Shiโs grasp as he prepared to deliver the final strike. The fractured barrier flickered weakly, its white light dimming like a dying star. Just as he raised the swordโ
"It seems your plan isnโt going well."
A clear, youthful voice cut through the tension.
Nian Shiโs blade froze mid-swing. His silver eyes flicked toward the source of the voice, his expression registering genuine surprise for the first time in eons...