Lord of Prayer

World suddenly coughed up a huge mouthful of blood, his face turning as pale as paper as he plummeted from the sky. The time reversal Skill had a terrifying cost, especially with a massive source of interference like the Power Furnace nearby.

He had traded his last two time stops for a single time reversal, and now, his Essence was completely depleted. This was the absolute worst-case scenario.

The look in World’s eyes turned grim. The phony smile vanished from his face, replaced by sheer ferocity and madness, like a cornered beast making its final stand.

CRACK.

A crack appeared on World’s face. Soon, more and more fissures spread and split open across his body. A burning, blood-red light flared from within, bursting out in all directions.

He was burning his own Soul!

Zhou Chen’s expression flickered as he charged desperately toward the Matrix Core.

The Black-robed Man tried to activate the Wish Box, attempting to snuff out World’s last-ditch effort before it could begin. But unexpectedly, at this most critical moment, the Wish Box failed to respond!

And so, the final time stop spread.

This time, even the Black-robed Man was trapped in frozen time, with no immunity.

But World no longer had the strength to kill his enemies. His body was shattering like porcelain; fragments continuously flaked off him and turned to dust. As his Soul burned, it weakened rapidly, and glowing motes of its fragments shot up and danced like sparks.

He staggered toward the Matrix Core, then collapsed with a thud. He struggled to his feet, only to fall again. Using his hands and feet, he crawled forward, finally reaching the Matrix Core after a tremendous effort.

World pulled a dropper filled with the Abyssal Calamity Crystal from his Storage Artifact. He squeezed all of the viscous, malevolent, black liquid into the core. At a visible rate, the sphere of light was coated in a layer of Darkness, and it began to emit a profane, demonic aura. He then grabbed the sphere and slammed it downward, reinstalling the Matrix Core.

"In the end, I won."

A maniacal smile spread across World’s face as the disintegration of his body suddenly accelerated. In an instant, only his head was left.

He gathered the last of his power, infusing it into the apparatus that housed the Matrix Core. After doing all this, his remaining head crumbled to dust. His physical body and Soul had been burned to nothing.

「Time resumed.」

The Matrix Core, which had been right in front of Zhou Chen a moment ago, had vanished. World was also gone. Zhou Chen’s heart skipped a beat as a sense of foreboding washed over him.

In that instant, viscous tendrils of Darkness streamed out from the control hub, spreading and seeping everywhere. The corruption from the Abyss expanded, twisting the surviving scholars, who degenerated into hideous monsters. Within the flowing Darkness, countless crimson eyes opened, brimming with malice and venom.

"Dammit..."

Zhou Chen’s expression grew grave. The Matrix Core had been corrupted.

This would cause the Matrix covering all of North Carolina to become a source that spreads the Abyssal Calamity!

·

On the feed from the satellite’s Investigation Mirror, the vast Matrix covering all of North Carolina was rapidly being corroded, turning jet-black.

The Matrix had become a source for spreading the Abyssal Calamity. In that moment, countless terrified screams erupted throughout the city as people were corrupted and twisted beyond number.

·

「Mirror World.」

Enoch, who was ascending the Ascension Ladder while fending off his enemies, suddenly roared in pain. Tendrils of dark aura began to emanate from his body as the Abyssal Calamity coalesced into a tangible form. Emitting endless malice, it dragged him swiftly down toward a corrupted Hell.

·

BANG!

Just as Zhou Chen rushed forward to reactivate the control hub, he slammed headfirst into an invisible wall. He reached out, groping at the air for a moment, then frowned and threw a vicious punch.

THUD. It was like punching solid metal. The invisible wall didn’t move an inch, but the bones in Zhou Chen’s hand fractured from the impact.

"He froze the time around the apparatus, creating a protective shield."

The Black-robed Man, who had easily subdued the Painter, limped over and sighed heavily. "This barrier is made of frozen time. We can’t break it.

Perhaps this is the calamity North Carolina was destined to suffer."

With the Overthrowing Matrix transformed into a source spreading the Abyssal Calamity, one could only imagine how many would die. It would be a catastrophic disaster of hellish proportions.

The source of the problem was right before their eyes, yet they were completely powerless...

"Not necessarily."

Zhou Chen turned his head, his gaze fixed on the burning Eternal Burning Star Core.

"There is another way."