noffsinger Chapter 434 Final Stage
Chapter 434 Final Stage
Zuo Xiuyan stepped inside, and the door closed automatically.
The area, made of white jade, was exceptionally spacious and empty of anything else; people stood in their respective camps.
Even the recently vanished Summoner E19 and her few surviving subordinates were here, and the atmosphere was as tense as before.
[All explorers have entered the walls; the blockade has begun.]
An electronic prompt sounded, and before anyone could think, everyone was forcibly pulled apart by a huge and irresistible force. White jade pillars rose from where each person was standing until all the pillars were at the same height, forming a huge circle with each pillar spaced at a fixed distance.
[You may not leave the top of the pillar before the game ends; otherwise, you will be considered to have forfeited.]
In the empty center, as if an invisible veil had been removed, something resembling a purple tree root appeared in mid-air, the root twisting and coiling like painful tentacles.
Zuo Xiuyan's sorrowful galaxy began to spin violently.
The origin! The key!
Everyone present was instantly invigorated, their fighting spirit and killing intent rising. Who hadn't come for the origin? What they most wanted was right before their eyes!
The moment the action was taken, a pale blue crystal wall suddenly rose from the ground and blocked everyone's view, resembling a semi-circular bowl that enveloped the source within.
The various attacks hit the thick wall and only produced a little mist before dissipating.
The crowd stopped making any rash moves. The power of the wall and the domain had merged together, and unless someone could overturn the domain by their own strength, they could not break the wall.
If someone can break through a domain directly, would they still stay inside it?
What a coincidence! The treasure everyone's been searching for suddenly appears right in front of you, only to be blocked from your way when you try to take it.
Do you want it? No.
Such a blatant act of deception.
The powerful Awakened Ones were like children outside bulletproof glass, helplessly watching their favorite sweets and toys inside.
"Crack!" The thick and crystal-clear blue crystal wall began to expand outward, and each person's pillar was pushed further and further away as they trembled.
"Boom!" A second blue wall rose from the center, then expanded, followed by a third, a fourth...
People were pushed further and further away, and their very essence was isolated layer by layer.
The surface of the purple tree roots gradually turned grayish-white, resembling some kind of human tissue intertwined and growing with the tree roots. It gradually thickened and multiplied until it completely formed a familiar shape.
A huge heart.
Large areas of gray and white are interspersed with exposed purple tree roots, and the spreading blood vessels and muscle tissues resemble spider webs and vines connecting the ceiling and the floor.
The heart was shrunken and dry, like an apple that had been left at room temperature for several months.
Its slow and faint pulsation was so slow, like the wind created by a snail's movement, that it made almost no sound.
Suddenly, swords gleaming with cold light appeared from the sky and pierced into the heart with ease.
The scene was so ravaged that it was unbearable to look at.
Zuo Xiuyan activated his emotional regulation, confirming that the galaxy's agitation was real, not an illusion imposed by the domain.
Neither my body nor my mind felt anything was wrong; the source before me was real.
All the previous scenes flashed through her mind.
Normally, the energy within the realm of the Opener is a collection of complex emotions, but this time, the various sub-realms encountered were mixed with the origin of sadness, with sadness-related energy as the dominant force.
This is sufficient proof that the person who opened the door is closely connected to the source, and may even have become one with it.
If we consider a domain as an onion, each small domain we pass through is like peeling off a layer of skin, bringing us closer to the person who opens the door. When we finally see the person who opens the door, it means we've reached the core of the domain.
Conversely, one could also say that the roots are the core of this field; seeing the core is equivalent to seeing...
Zuo Xiuyan stared at the strange, enormous object before him.
This heart—
The person who opened the door!
Or rather, it is the embodiment of the person who opens the door.
She sensed the heavy atmosphere.
So, this will be the last small area!
The final stage!
The electronic voice sounded again:
[Completion condition: Obtain the heart.]
[Completion Reward: A heart and everything that comes with it.]
All adventurers, please prepare yourselves.
Zuo Xiuyan thought to himself, "Destroying the blue wall and killing the BOSS who opened the gate will break the domain, which is equivalent to clearing the level. The reward is to obtain the origin that merges with the BOSS."
Is the classic achievement of an explorer overcoming numerous obstacles, finally defeating the boss in a great battle, and achieving victory?
She didn't really like this setting.
What she wanted was a hidden achievement that most people couldn't accomplish, and it was also the only achievement—completing the game without killing the BOSS.
To achieve this, you need to arrive before anyone else and be the first to arrive.
For others, it might be a competition between factions.
But for her, the opponents she has to compete against are not only enemies, not only temporary allies, but also friends and teammates.
It's getting dark, please close your eyes.
[Failure to close your eyes before the time runs out will be considered a forfeit.]
As the electronic music faded, the once bright space began to darken.
During this period, all explorers are unable to attack each other.
Zuo Xiuyan thought for two seconds, then closed his eyes as darkness deepened.
Several sub-areas are gamified, and this one is no exception. All the NPC-like entities haven't told any lies or set any false rules, so acting without violating the prompts is the safest course of action.
Although it was stated that it could not be attacked, everyone still took precautions just in case.
Zuo Xiuyan felt warm water seeping down from the top of his head, flowing over his skin, covering his nasal cavity, cutting off his air supply, and making his body feel heavy and powerless, as if he were being supported by an invisible force.
[Night...has fallen.] The electronic voice announced the start.
Zuo Xiuyan suddenly opened his eyes.
She was floating in the purple liquid. If she stayed any longer, she would suffocate sooner or later. Fortunately, there was a thin layer of light at the top, which allowed her to barely make out her direction. She swam toward the light source.
"Splash..." Zuo Xiuyan emerged from the water, breathing cautiously and slowly, observing his surroundings.
She was in a purple ocean, the surface of which stretched as far as the eye could see and was completely still. There were no islands or platforms for her to land on. The purple color seemed to grow darker and darker with each glance, as if it were about to swallow her up into the deep sea, which made her feel uneasy.
The sky was not visible overhead; a faint light, seemingly from nowhere, shone above the sea, like a lamp about to go out at any moment.
This world was thus divided into two parts: the upper part was bright and the lower part was dark.
It was too calm here. Zuo Xiuyan waited for more than ten seconds, but no monster appeared. Fortunately, the warm seawater did not make her feel cold. She decided to swim forward to see if there was anything different.
But this time, when his hands touched the sea surface, it felt like he had touched solid ground. Zuo Xiuyan was surprised for a moment, then used his hands to push himself up from the sea surface.
When she was fully standing on the sea, the water on her body quickly disappeared, and her clothes gradually dried.
She looked down at her feet; the sea hadn't changed, and her reflection was clearly visible on it.
It actually looks real.
The reflection swayed almost imperceptibly before returning to stillness, as if it were an illusion. Zuo Xiuyan keenly sensed that something was wrong.
Does the reflection change when it is observed?
When a person concentrates their attention, their mental energy focuses on the area they are focused on. So…
Thinking of this, Zuo Xiuyan actively channeled his mental energy into the shadow.
A humming sound arose on the sea surface, and the reflection was constantly being dispersed by the waves, gradually transforming into another shape through continuous distortion.
A girl wearing a school uniform.
[Target detected, connection established, Possession Card obtained: 1]