The night sky was like an overturned inkstone, the thick darkness dotted with scarlet flecks, resembling blood-red flowers in full bloom, drifting in the air. They were shredded feathers, echoing the wails of countless restless souls, mournful and filled with despair.
Li Tuosen, like a bird with broken wings, knelt on one knee on the ground covered in shattered feather dust. His shoulders were torn as if by the claws of demons, two dark, ominous feathers driven deeply into his body. His blood, as if a venomous snake breaking free from its chains, greedily soaked his tattered clothes, dyeing him in a shocking crimson. Yet his eyes, like stars forged in the coldest ice, remained steadfast, unwavering. He fixed his gaze upon the towering figure of the Feather King, who stood on a high platform as if a god ruling over the world.
The black feathers crawling on the Feather King's cheek twitched like a living curse, sinister and terrifying. He looked down at Li Tuosen, who seemed as insignificant as an ant beneath him. His voice, cold and commanding, echoed with the authority of a divine judge:
"Everything you love, everything you believe in, everything you've fought to protect, is nothing more than an illusion, a lie built on deception—fragile and easily shattered. Since you dare to oppose me, you will pay the price that cannot be avoided."
Like a ruler who commands life and death, the Feather King raised his deathly aura-filled staff high. In an instant, the Feather People surged from all directions, their movements like puppets bound by invisible strings. They raised their withered heads, releasing a chilling, mournful cry. A black soul judgment formation, like a massive spider's web, twisted upward from the cold earth, enveloping the entire dead city in a vortex of terror, full of death and distorted memories.
Nightling stood as a beacon in the midst of the raging storm, gritting her teeth. Her frail body was sustained by an invisible force, slowly and painfully rising from the ground. The feather mark branded on her chest flickered with a faint yet determined glow, as if feeling her master's unyielding will.
Like a farewell, she slowly turned and looked at Li Tuosen, whose body was stained with blood. Her eyes, filled with unshed tears, were red, her voice trembling and hoarse, but filled with heartbreaking determination:
"You’ve protected me from countless deadly attacks, just like a lethal poison... Now, it’s my turn to protect you, even if it costs my life."
Li Tuosen's heart, frozen like ice, jolted at her words. He struggled to lift his head and looked at Nightling—Chu Yao, the girl he had once thought of as fragile and needing protection. Now she was no longer the helpless girl in his memory, but a thorny flower that had grown alone in the shadows of darkness, her heart burdened with the weight of vengeance and pain that mirrored the destruction of her people.
"I once swore in the face of endless darkness, that no matter the cost, I would sever the cursed bloodline between you and this 'father' of mine, this demon-like being!"
Chu Yao, like a phoenix breaking its chains, spread her deathly black wings wide. With arms outstretched, a massive, cold moon-shaped feather wheel rose from her fragile back. Each black feather within it, like icy mirrors, reflected the souls of the Feather People devoured by the Feather King, their screams echoing like those from an endless abyss.
"Today, I carry out this overdue judgment of blood feathers in my true name!" she declared. "For the countless souls of the Feather People you’ve harmed, I shall sever your evil life!"
"Feather Blade · Severing Kin — Feather Soul Judgment Slash!"
Boom—!!!
The strike, charged with endless hatred and determination, pierced through the black feather soul formation that enveloped the city. The Feather King’s body, like an incarnation of darkness, was hit with an invisible force, causing him to stagger back in defeat. His black cloak, symbolizing his power, was torn apart like fragile fabric by the wind, and his staff, exuding an aura of evil, shattered with a crack. His body convulsed violently, as if in the throes of a distorted nightmare. At the same time, the Feather People’s legion, as if bound by invisible chains, screamed in unison before collapsing like a crumbling sandcastle.
The Feather King, like a demon falling into hell, let out one final roar filled with despair and resentment: "You... will never escape, Chu Yao... We... we are all Feather People... the descendants of lies..."
His body, like black feather dust scattered by a fierce wind, slowly vanished into the void, merging with the endless darkness, leaving no trace behind.
The city, finally, returned to its deathly silence.
Li Tuosen, like a survivor of a great catastrophe, lay weakly on the cold ground covered in shattered feather dust. He breathed laboriously, as if drowning, his tired eyes still gently gazing at Chu Yao, who stood like a bloodied phoenix amidst the swirling black feathers. Her fragile form seemed so lonely yet resilient in the dim light. Crystal tears, like pearls on a broken string, silently slid down her pale cheeks, but in the depths of her star-like eyes, a faint, determined smile, like the first light of dawn, flickered.
"You once said... we would live through this together, right... Li Tuosen?" Chu Yao whispered, her voice soft and hoarse, yet filled with hope for the future.
Li Tuosen, like a redeemed sinner, managed a bittersweet smile. He struggled to reach out, tightly grasping her cold, trembling hand, as if holding onto the last warmth in his life.
"Yes... we... will always be together..."
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