During the three days he spent with Hainowei, Zhang Ye did everything he could to make her laugh.
And Hainowei was indeed very happy; a sweet, gentle smile graced her exquisite face from morning to night.
During this time, Gujiu finally woke up from its deep sleep. Hainowei took an immense liking to Gujiu, holding the adorable creature all day without letting go. Eventually, Gujiu grew anxious and struggled to return to Zhang Ye's embrace, forcing Hainowei to finally release it.
By the third day, as she watched Zhang Ye prepare to leave, Hainowei's little face fell once more.
She was still in her little girl form, making her look all the more pitiable and endearing.
Zhang Ye felt a pang of sympathy. He bent down and gently stroked her head.
Her hair felt as if it were made of water—incredibly smooth, cool, and wonderful to the touch.
“Don't worry, we'll see each other again very soon,” Zhang Ye said.
Hainowei nodded gently. She knew that this “meeting again” referred to the Hainowei in the original world, but since they were originally one, it made no difference to her. As long as she could see Zhang Ye again, she was content.
“Then you... must be quick,” Hainowei said.
Zhang Ye nodded with a smile. “Alright.”
With that, he stood up and took one last look at Hainowei.
She exuded a soft, gentle aura, and her pure eyes looked as if tears might spill from them at any moment.
This cemented Zhang Ye's resolve.
The Water Spirit, Hainowei.
One of the Ten Great Elemental Spirits.
This was a beauty that belonged to the world, a beauty that belonged to nature.
He would do everything in his power to protect this beauty.
“Goodbye.”
“Goodbye... See you soon.”
Zhang Ye departed. Hainowei watched his retreating figure, her eyes filled with loneliness.
She wanted so badly to keep playing with Zhang Ye like this forever.
For a brief moment, she even wished this could last for eternity.
To not think about how she was merely a clone, to not think about the Holy See's pursuit, to not think about anything in the outside world.
As long as she was with him, she was happy.
But she knew that was impossible.
Rejoining the group, Zhang Ye and the others spent a few more days exploring, reaping a bountiful harvest. On the final day, they went to the Eros Kingdom to collect their spoils. Finally, everyone gathered at the secret realm's exit, waiting to return home.
Before long, the Secret Realm Gate opened once more.
Following Leona, the group slowly stepped into the Secret Realm Gate. Once they left this time, they wouldn't be able to return for another thirty years—or perhaps, they would never return at all.
Zhang Ye brought up the rear of the group. Only after everyone else had entered the Secret Realm Gate did he take a step forward to enter.
However, he paused for a brief moment.
Ever since he arrived in this world, he had harbored a strange, inexplicable feeling.
He couldn't put it into words, but it made his heart throb with unease, unsure whether it portended good or ill.
Goodbye.
He murmured silently in his heart, unsure if he was bidding farewell to this world, or to the Hainowei of this world.
His figure vanished into the Secret Realm Gate, which closed behind him.
The passage leading back to their original world was shut. At that moment, the entire world seemed to turn dark...
No, it was not an illusion!
Once the connection between the two worlds was completely severed, the sky and earth truly went dark!
The sun's light gradually faded. The entire world transitioned from broad daylight to a gloomy, somber gray, and finally plunged into pitch blackness!
It was a darkness so absolute that one could not even see their own hand in front of their face!
Within the darkness, the earth roared and the mountains shook.
Another massive earthquake struck, but this time, it was not just a momentary tremor.
Mountains cracked and shattered. The Eros Kingdom, which was still in the middle of reconstruction, plunged into the abyss of a massive fissure in an instant, utterly destroyed!
Countless kingdoms, empires, and lives perished in this super-earthquake.
The entire continent fractured and split apart, leaving only two places completely unscathed.
First was the pyramid ruins where Gajeel had died.
Second was the Misty Forest where Hainowei resided.
It was as if it had been done intentionally.
Suddenly, the sky lit up.
But it was not the light of the sun.
Hanging high in the sky were two colossal, crimson moons. In the center of each moon was a vertical slit.
The slits were pitch black, yet they radiated a purple brilliance!
The purple moons cast down a blue-violet glow that merged with the dark purple light of the slits, painting the world in an eerie, unsettling hue.
In the next instant, the two blue-violet moons moved rapidly. Originally hanging high in the heavens, they instantly appeared directly above the Misty Forest.
As it turned out, these were no moons at all—they were a pair of colossal eyes!
Hainowei stood atop the pyramid, gazing up at the massive eyes.
Every movement of that gargantuan entity tore the surrounding space apart, revealing flashes of beautiful, multi-colored void storms. Through the light of these storms, she could make out the colossal silhouette of the eyes' owner.
Compared to that grand, magnificent figure, Hainowei's delicate body was as minuscule as a tiny ant looking up at a giant.
Suddenly, the sky trembled as a majestic, enchanting voice echoed, carrying an anger and excitement that seemed suppressed to the absolute limit.
“Why didn't you tell him?” The voice drifted into Hainowei's ears. The terrifying soundwave alone instantly crushed the entire Misty Forest into fine powder, obliterating all life within it in a split second!
Only the pyramid, the lake, and Hainowei remained unscathed.
Hainowei looked at her, without a shred of fear in her eyes.
“Telling him would do him no good.”
“Besides, my memories are incomplete,” Hainowei said slowly.
“Is that so?” the icy voice retorted. “Are they incomplete, or did you seal them yourself?”
“To escape? To live on with a clear conscience?”
“Don't you think that is pathetic?”
Hainowei's brow furrowed slightly. “I don't know what you are talking about.”
“Hehe...” The voice let out a cold laugh.
“Indeed, you don't know.”
“How dare you not know?”
“How pathetic... how ridiculous... Do you know...”
“...just how much I want to kill you?!”
The world shook like a tolling bell, and space shattered once more. This world was already fractured beyond belief; if this continued, it would be completely destroyed!
The colossal figure radiated a terrifying pressure that made even the laws of the world tremble.
“But I won't do that.”
The world calmed down, and the tremors ceased.
Hainowei could see that the massive entity before her was smiling.
“Because... I want you to repent!”
“Even if you have lost your memories! Even if you have forgotten!”
“You have deceived him once again!”
“All of you will deceive him again!”
“What do you all think you are?!”
“What do the gods think they are?!”
“What difference is there between you and those death-fearing insects?!”
“Even insects know gratitude!!!”
“You are lower than insects!!!”
Her voice echoed throughout the entire world, filled with boundless rage, sorrow, and mockery!
“But... it doesn't matter anymore.”
“He is back.”
Her voice softened once more, and she cast her gaze into the distance, as if looking through the world barrier to rest upon his figure.
It was so tender.
Suddenly, a massive rift tore open in the sky, and a dazzling holy light burst forth, illuminating the shattered world.
Countless figures bathed in golden radiance emerged from the rift, descending upon the world.
They bore wings upon their backs—some two, some four, some six...
Their heads were crowned with halos of divine light, enveloped in the potent power of laws.
On the ground, the massive entity looked up at the army that had suddenly descended, her gaze like one looking at bugs.
These... are angels... are gods...
Yet they are but insects as well.
A twelve-winged angel wielding a giant golden sword slowly stepped forward. His every movement carried immense power, causing the fragile space of this world to shatter, unable to bear his presence.
“Jormungandr!” He pointed his giant sword at the colossal figure, his voice booming like a great bell.
“You have finally shown yourself. Prepare to face the judgment of the God King!”
Jormungandr looked at him and suddenly let out a soft chuckle, her laughter sharp with biting contempt.
“The God King?” Her voice reached the ears of all the gods. “If she wishes to pass judgment, why hasn't she come herself?”
“Or perhaps...”
“...she doesn't have the face to show herself?”
“Audacious!” All the gods flared with rage, and space shattered like a cracked mirror, yet the terror in their eyes could not be hidden.
“Hehehe... The pathetic God King, she deceived him as well.”
“She is the true culprit.”
“The one who should be judged is her!!!”
“If she is a true god, let her judge herself!!!”
“If she is not, then strip away that hideous facade!!!”
Jormungandr unleashed an earth-shattering roar. The terrifying pressure alone scattered the ranks of the gods.
Before her, a massive black hole expanded, annihilating space and laws alike within it. An aura of pure darkness gushed forth, striking terror into everyone present!
“Gods?” Jormungandr sneered, looking at Hainowei, whose eyes were wide with shock. She mocked, “Refusing to even extend a helping hand to a clone of a former Supreme God—is this your benevolent god?”
“Honestly, to have the world sing of us standing alongside you is the ultimate disgrace.”
With that, she slowly slid into the massive black hole.
The gods watched her depart in silence, not daring to obstruct her. They could only listen to her low, self-directed murmurs.
“He is back...”
“It is time for us to awaken as well...”
“When he awakens...”
“We must all return to his side...”
“This time...”
“...we won't disappoint him again...”
The black hole vanished, and the massive Jormungandr disappeared, leaving only a song composed of the power of laws echoing through the air.
“I want to go back... back to his side...”
“I want to coil around his neck... and gently rub against his cheek...”
“I want to use my tail to make a pinky promise with his pinky finger...”
“He said... he said... he would return...”
“He is back...”
“I want to go back...”
“I want to tell him...”
“...I still want to be your little snake...”
“I want to tell him...”
“...how much I love him...”
...
...
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