The Endless Abyss trembled.
Yin’s formless essence recoiled, his infinite darkness flickering like disturbed water. His will—scattered across the cosmos—had just been severed.
For the first time in eons, the Chasm of Uncreation felt something alien.
"Interesting..." His voice, usually dripping with amusement, carried a rare note of contemplation. "To think Yun Lintian’s daughter could invoke the Creator’s power..."
Nian Shi, standing amidst the crumbling ruins of the World Tree’s sanctuary, turned his silver eyes toward Yin.
A statement, not a question.
Yin chuckled, the sound echoing through the abyss like a dying star’s last breath.
"Failed? No. This was merely a test." he spoke. "That little girl has indeed inherited Yun Lintian’s potential to the fullest. But even she cannot sustain that power for long."
Nian Shi’s fingers twitched.
He had not witnessed the battle himself, but Yin’s words were enough.
Yue Yun, whom he had overlooked, had momentarily touched the threshold of the Creator.
A feat even he had not anticipated.
"So," Nian Shi murmured, his voice deceptively light, "you cannot remove them from the board."
Yin tilted its head, his mouth curled into a smile.
"Oh, I could. But why waste effort when you have yet to play your trump card?"
His silver eyes, usually gleaming with cold calculation, darkened.
Yin laughed—a sound that made the abyss itself shudder.
"Do I? Or are you simply afraid to admit that your grand design is unraveling?"
His consciousness stretched across time itself, peering into countless futures, searching for the threads where victory still lay within his grasp.
Possibility One: He intervenes now. Crushes Yue Yun before she recovers. But in doing so, he risks alerting Yun Lintian prematurely.
Possibility Two: He waits. Allows Yin to expend more of his power. But the longer he delays, the stronger Yun Lintian’s faction grows.
Possibility Three: He abandons this timeline entirely. Lets it collapse into chaos while he reshapes another.
Each path flickered before him, their outcomes shifting like sand.
Ning Yue stood watching.
Her jade-green eyes, filled with the wisdom of the World Tree, met his across the strands of fate.
"You will fail here," her voice whispered through time. "This is only the beginning."
Nian Shi’s lips thinned.
He severed the vision.
Ning Yue stood beneath the World Tree’s luminous branches, her small frame dwarfed by its ancient might. Yet her presence was anything but insignificant.
The roots of the Tree pulsed around her, their emerald glow intensifying as they siphoned energy from the cosmos itself.
Yin turned his hollow gaze toward her.
"Little sapling..." he mused. "You speak as if you have already seen our defeat."
Ning Yue did not flinch.
"I have seen enough."
Her voice carried the weight of epochs, the certainty of roots that had witnessed the birth and death of stars.
"Big Brother Yun will return. And when he does, your schemes will crumble."
Yin’s laughter echoed again, but this time, there was an edge to it.
"Will he? Or will he find only ashes where his loved ones once stood?... You should know that I can conjure my will again to finish them right now."
A small, knowing smile.
She raised a hand, and the World Tree’s leaves rustled in unison, their whispers carrying across dimensions.
"This was never just about survival."
"It was about awakening."
"Awakening?" Yin tilted his head slightly. "From all of these meaningless words you have been spouting, you seem to be so sure that Yun Lintian will fulfil his destiny and becomes the Creator."
He paused for a moment and asked. "I’m curious. Where did you find such a confidence from?"
Nian Shi stared at Ning Yue attentively. He was also curious about this. What kind of memories Ning Yue had absorbed from the World Tree to make her so confident about this?
Ning Yue’s smile deepened, her jade-green eyes glimmering with an ancient knowing.
"Time will tell," she said softly, her gaze lingering on Nian Shi.
A strange look—one that made the God of Time’s silver eyes narrow.
For the first time in his eternal existence, Nian Shi felt something foreign.
That gaze... it was as if Ning Yue could see something he couldn’t. As if he had already made a mistake—or was about to.
His mind raced, his divine consciousness splitting into countless threads as he scoured the past, present, and future.
Had he overlooked something?
Had Yun Tianming, the God of Fate, planted some hidden variable?
But no—no matter how deeply he searched, no flaw revealed itself.
Ning Yue’s emergence was unexpected, yes. But not enough to derail his grand design.
That look in her eyes...
Yin’s laughter snapped him out of his thoughts.
The embodiment of Uncreation crossed his arms, his hollow eyes gleaming with amusement.
"I have plenty of time here," he mused. "So I’ll wait and see."
Nian Shi’s expression darkened.
Those words were a betrayal.
They had agreed—Yin would help break the World Tree’s barrier.
Yin was content to wait.
To let Nian Shi bear the risks alone.
"Do you still wish to leave this place?" Nian Shi asked coldly.
Yin shrugged, his form flickering like dying embers.
"I’ve already said—it’s time for you to show your trump card."
The air between them grew heavy, the weight of their alliance straining.
Nian Shi exhaled, his silver hair swaying as if caught in an unfelt wind.
He had hoped to preserve his final move—the one card even Yin didn’t fully understand.
His gaze flicked to Ning Yue.
The girl hadn’t moved. She simply stood there, watching him with that same knowing look.
As if she already knew what he would do.
"It seems you won’t cry until you see a coffin." Nian Shi uttered coldly.
Ning Yue calmly looked at him and asked. "Which pawn you are going to move this time? Is it Tantai Xue? Or..."
She paused for a moment and said in a deep voice. "The Abyssal Ghost Knight?"
Nian Shi’s expression changed slightly the moment he heard this.
How could she know it?