Chapter 92: The Sanctuary Endures
Zhao Tianhan threw the spear with every fragment of the Last Sanctuary’s Authority gathered around its point.
Pale light tore through the ruined street and passed between the remaining Monarch Threads. Cassian tried to turn, but Wuxia tightened the separation between his soul and the black substance fused into his body, preventing it from helping him escape or regenerate.
The spear pierced Cassian’s chest, passed through his heart and drove him into the shattered cathedral wall.
His roar spread across the fortress as the darkness beneath his skin twisted around the weapon. Cassian clawed at the shaft, but his fingers blackened upon touching it and broke apart beneath the pale fire.
Living axes formed across his arms, only to collapse before becoming complete.
Wuxia felt the power inside the spear rising and immediately withdrew every Monarch Thread. Varkhiel scattered from the street and reformed several buildings away as Zhao Tianhan slowly lowered his extended hand.
"Die with the sanctuary you tried to devour."
The spear erupted and pale light burst from Cassian’s chest, swallowing the cathedral wall behind him.
Wuxia drove the scythe into the ground against the shockwave, while the remaining blessing around Zhao Tianhan protected him from the force.
Cassian remained visible at the centre of the explosion. Cracks spread across his chest and shoulders as pale fire burned through the flesh holding him together, forcing the darkness around his heart to contract into a trembling mass.
The dead defenders behind Zhao Tianhan dissolved one after another and entered the spear. Its light intensified, tearing Cassian’s hands from the shaft before spreading through the rest of his body.
Blackened flesh peeled away beneath the fire, followed by fragments of bone that vanished before touching the ground.
Cassian’s remaining eye widened as the destruction reached his chest.
"You think this changes anything?" His voice broke as the lower half of his body disappeared. "The sanctuary was already abandoned."
Zhao Tianhan watched him without answering.
The pale fire consumed what remained of Cassian’s head and closed around the darkness clinging to the spear, it struggled once, then disappeared with the rest of him.
Cassian Varro was gone, leaving only the spear suspended among drifting ash and fading light.
Then something moved around him a single drop of black liquid slipped from the place where Cassian’s forehead had been. It floated through the smoke, contracting like a living heart before shooting away from the battlefield.
Wuxia noticed it through Death Perception and immediately released several threads. The drop folded into itself before they reached it and vanished without leaving any trace behind.
Wuxia searched the surrounding space, but his perception found nothing and before he could continue, the fortress began trembling.
The spear fell from the air and Zhao Tianhan caught it before it struck the street. The pale light covering his armour weakened, while the last figures of the dead defenders faded around him.
Beyond the walls, the beast army froze.
Creatures clinging to the battlements lost their colour and broke apart into pale particles, followed by the winged beasts hanging above them. The change travelled across the plains, erasing the remaining army in a spreading wave.
The surviving soldiers lowered their weapons and stared across the empty battlefield. Some leaned against the damaged walls, while others remained where they had fought, too exhausted to react.
Far beyond them, the ancient castle faded against the sky. Its towers disappeared first, followed by the surrounding forests, mountains and the ground beneath the fortress.
The connection of Dimensional Descent weakened around Wuxia.
He dismissed the remaining Soul Soldiers before the collapsing realm could interfere with their cores, causing the Demon Dragon and the remnants of his army to dissolve into dark mist and return to his Authority.
Varkhiel followed them, his armour breaking apart as Wuxia’s consciousness left the Soul Sentinel and returned to Xingluo.
White light covered the fortress and the streets and walls disappeared beneath their feet, leaving every surviving contestant suspended for a moment before solid ground returned.
When the light receded, they stood within a white expanse stretching beyond sight.
The injured lay where they had appeared or leaned against those beside them. Zhao Tianhan, the fortress soldiers and the surviving inhabitants of the sanctuary were gone, leaving only the challengers who had entered the legacy realm.
A notification rang through the silence.
[Ninefold Legacy Trial completed.]
Several contestants lowered their heads, too exhausted to react, as another panel appeared.
[Congratulations to the surviving challengers.]
[The Beast Commander has been defeated.]
[The destruction of the Last Sanctuary has been prevented.]
[An alternate historical conclusion has been created.]
[Alternate Ending achieved: The Last Sanctuary Endures.]
[Final trial evaluation is in progress.]
The panels disappeared and a timer formed above them.
[Time remaining until reward allocation: 05:00.]
One contestant released a long breath and dropped onto his back. Another began laughing, but the sound soon broke as he covered his face and started crying.
Others moved through the survivors, calling the names of companions who had entered beside them.
Xingluo ignored the timer and searched among the injured until she found Ruan Mei lying several metres away. She rushed over, dropped beside her and placed both hands around her shoulders.
"Ruan Mei, wake up."
She shook her carefully until Ruan Mei released a weak groan and opened her eyes.
"Xingluo?"
Xingluo pulled her upright and wrapped both arms around her. Ruan Mei winced from the movement, then felt Xingluo trembling against her shoulder.
"It is over," Xingluo said through uneven breaths. "We completed it. The trial is finally over."
Ruan Mei looked across the survivors.
Han Zhen stood nearby with blood covering his damaged armour, while Miao Tianhe sat upon the ground with his sword resting across his knees. Qiao Xueyi and the others were helping several injured contestants stand.
Her gaze moved between them before settling on the empty space beside Xingluo.
"Where is Su Lan?"
Xingluo’s grip tightened and for several seconds no words escaped her throat.
"Xingluo?"
"She was killed." Her voice broke. "Qin Haoran killed her inside the cathedral."
Ruan Mei stopped moving as her expression went still as she lowered her eyes and the tears came before she managed to say anything.
Xingluo buried her face against Ruan Mei’s shoulder and began crying, ruan Mei held her despite the pain in her body, one hand moving slowly across her back.
"I am here," she whispered, her own voice shaking. "I am still here."
Wuxia remained beside them, he opened his mouth once then closed it, nothing he could say would change what had happened inside the cathedral.
He turned toward the rest of the white expanse.
A young man moved through the survivors calling for his brother, while two girls held each other and repeated the name of a missing teammate. Others sat alone, staring at the spaces where their companions should have appeared.
Some groups had returned with only one survivor, others had not returned at all.
Five hundred challengers had entered the Ninefold Legacy Realm and barely eighty remained.
The timer continued descending above them as the white expanse filled with exhausted breathing, restrained sobs and the names of those who had been lost.