Legend of the Embroiderer

Chapter 497 The Truth About the Creator God

The buoyancy of the chaotic energy ocean was like a mother's embrace, yet it carried a soul-tearing power. The guardian's tricolored wings fluttered slowly within the energy flow, each feather absorbing the surrounding chaotic energy. Gold, dark purple, and gray patterns flowed and intertwined, forming ever-changing star maps on the surface of the wings. He could clearly hear the roars of countless parallel universes being born; those sounds converged into an ancient ballad, the lyrics of which concealed the ultimate laws governing the universe.

As his consciousness merged with the ocean of energy, the memories that flooded his mind began to become clearer. He saw twelve colorful planets born from the ocean of energy, each corresponding to a fundamental power: the red planet radiated the scorching fire of creation, the blue planet flowed with the waters of chaos, the yellow planet was covered with the earth of balance... And at the center of these planets, the blurry figure was using a black longsword to cut through the energy streams, shaping them into the prototype of a galaxy.

"This sword..." The guardian's gaze froze on the black longsword. The patterns on the blade were exactly the same as those on the Void Lord's longsword, but the gem inlaid at the hilt emitted the golden light unique to the creator god. When the figure swung the longsword, the energy trajectory cut by the blade simultaneously contained the three powers of creation, chaos, and nothingness. These three powers, like woven ropes, together formed the basic structure of the universe.

Suddenly, the ocean of energy fluctuated violently. The Guardian sensed a familiar malevolence rapidly approaching—the aura of the Lord of Nothingness, even more intense than it had been in the Ruins of Origin. He turned to look and saw the black rift at the edge of the ocean of energy expanding wildly, from which countless black arms emerged, each wielding a black longsword, its blade pointing directly at the twelve colorful planets, as if to utterly sever the foundations of these universes.

"They came so quickly." The Guardian clenched his fist, and the three powers within his body began to circulate rapidly. He noticed that the wrists of those black arms were all wearing the same black bracelets as the Lord of Nothingness. The black gems on the bracelets were lighting up one by one, and with each one that lit up, a colorful planet trembled violently.

Just then, the blurry figure in the center of the energy ocean suddenly turned around. That face almost made the Guardian's consciousness collapse—it was a face that possessed both the majesty of a creator god and the indifference of a lord of nothingness. The left half of the face radiated golden light of creation, while the right half was shrouded in dark purple shadows of nothingness. Only the eyes flickered with the same balanced light as the Guardian's.

"I've finally waited for you, my successor." The figure spoke, his voice containing both the warmth of creation and the coldness of nothingness. "Or rather, I've finally found my complete self." The black longsword in his hand drew an arc in the air, and the three powers on the blade suddenly separated, turning into three streams of light that merged into the guardian's body.

The guardian felt the power within him surge instantly, and his tricolored wings burst forth with dazzling light. He suddenly realized that the figure before him was neither the Creator God nor the Lord of Nothingness, but rather the primordial form before the two separated—the sole consciousness at the beginning of chaos.

"Creation and nothingness are one." The figure's left hand stroked the red planet, and the flames on its surface grew even brighter. "Before the birth of the universe, I was the only existence, creating and devouring everything. Until one day, I grew tired of eternal solitude and split myself into creation and nothingness, wanting to experience the meaning of existence through opposition and fusion."

The black arm within the black rift had reached the nearest red planet, and the flames on its surface began to extinguish, revealing the gray void beneath. The guardian's wings flapped violently, transforming into a three-colored streak of light that blocked the red planet's path. In its hand, a black longsword identical to its form materialized, its blade swirling with three different powers.

"The Lord of Nothingness is a negative emotion you split off from?" The Guardian swung his longsword, severing all the attacking black arms. The severed arms turned into nothingness particles, only to reform in the ocean of energy. "Why does he want to destroy all parallel universes?"

A complex expression crossed the figure's face, the ethereal shadow on the right side of his face growing even darker: "He is my yearning for 'the end,' while the Creator God is my obsession with 'the beginning.' When you chose the third path in the Ruins of Origin, you broke the balance of opposites I had set, leading the Lord of Nothingness to believe that he could return to his initial state of solitude." He pointed to the constantly regenerating black arms, "He is not destroying the universe, but trying to restore everything to a chaotic ocean of energy, back to the state before I split."

The Guardian's longsword suddenly trembled violently, the gray patterns on its blade becoming unusually bright. He recalled the scene when the fused entity was attacked by the Lord of Nothingness, and the hand that the fused entity pushed towards him before the collapse of the Origin Ruins: "Where is the fused entity? Was she also a part of your split?"

“She is the embodiment of balance.” The figure’s gaze turned to the depths of the ocean of energy, where a golden crystal could be faintly seen shimmering in the void. It was the consciousness crystal of the fusion body. “When I split into Creation and Nothingness, the power of balance condensed into her as a safeguard to prevent the two from completely opposing each other. But now, her existence is being devoured by the Lord of Nothingness.”

As the figure spoke, the black rift in the ocean of energy suddenly widened, and the complete figure of the Lord of Nothingness emerged from it. He was even larger than when he was in the Ruins of Origin, his entire body covered in black armor inlaid with twelve black gems, each reflecting a collapsing parallel universe. The longsword in his hand pointed directly at the Guardian, the void power on the blade causing the surrounding energy flow to cease.

"Primal consciousness, you shouldn't interfere." The voice of the Lord of Nothingness was like the friction of countless metals. "Returning to chaos is an inevitable fate, just like your choice to split back then." His gaze swept over the twelve colorful planets, each of which trembled under his gaze. "This guardian has made his choice. The path of balance he chose will only cause the universe to struggle painfully in endless cycles."

"You are wrong." The Guardian raised his longsword, its tip pointing directly at the Void Lord's brow. "Balance is not a shackle of reincarnation, but the right of all beings to choose freely. Creation and nothingness can coexist, beginning and end can live in harmony." The three powers within him suddenly erupted, and the three-colored light on the longsword formed a pillar of light that shot straight into the sky.

The Lord of Nothingness let out a cold laugh and swung his sword at the pillar of light: "Then let me see if your so-called coexistence can withstand the devouring of nothingness!" The black blade collided with the three-colored pillar of light, and a monstrous wave rose in the ocean of energy. The twelve colorful planets were swept up by the wave and began to collide and merge, forming a huge colorful planet.

The guardian felt a tearing pain in his arm; the power of the Void Lord far exceeded his imagination. He saw his longsword being gradually eroded by the black blade, the gray patterns receding like the tide, revealing the gold and dark purple patterns beneath. The memories within the ocean of energy began to distort; those scenes of the universe's birth were covered by the power of the Void, turning into pure darkness.

"Give up." The Void Lord's armor suddenly cracked open, revealing a face identical to the Guardian's, only this face was filled with pain and despair. "You and I are one, and I know that deep down you also yearn to end this endless struggle." His longsword suddenly accelerated, and black void power spread along the Guardian's longsword, beginning to erode the Guardian's arm.

Countless images flashed through the Guardian's consciousness: the history of cosmic reincarnation recorded in the Library of Oblivion, the countless versions of himself seen in the City of Mirrors, the covenant between the Creator God and Nothingness in the Memory Crystal of the Ruins of Origin... These images spun in his mind and finally coalesced into the smile of the fused being.

"I am not fighting, but protecting!" The guardian roared, channeling all his power into his longsword. Suddenly, a fourth kind of light emanated from the blade—a pure white light containing the power of belief from all life forms in parallel universes. This light surged from the longsword, transforming into countless beams of light in the sea of ​​energy, temporarily sealing the black rift.

For the first time, the Lord of Nothingness showed a look of surprise on his face: "The belief in life? How could such an insignificant power..." His words were suddenly interrupted, because he saw countless faint rays of light seeping out from the sealed cracks. These were the consciousnesses of life in various parallel universes, their beliefs converging into a warm current that merged into the white light of the guardian.

"This is the true third path." The figure of the primordial consciousness appeared beside the Guardian, standing shoulder to shoulder with him. The black longsword in his hand clashed with the Guardian's longsword, forming a complete energy circuit. "It is not a balance between creation, chaos, and nothingness, but a balance created by all existence."

With the addition of primordial consciousness, the two black longswords erupted with unprecedented light. The four forces of creation, chaos, nothingness, and the belief in life intertwined, forming a massive vortex in the ocean of energy. At the center of the vortex, the enormous planet that had merged with twelve colorful planets began to rotate, and patterns identical to the observer's emblem appeared on its surface.

The figure of the Lord of Nothingness began to become transparent in the light, and he roared in defiance: "This is not over yet! Where there is a beginning, there must be an end!" His body transformed into countless black particles, merging into the ocean of energy. "I will await your return at the moment of the end of all existence!"

As the last black particle disappeared, the ocean of energy gradually calmed down. The black rift closed completely, and the swallowed parallel universes re-coalesced in the light. This time, however, the universes were no longer isolated entities, but were interconnected through energy flows, forming a vast cosmic network.

The guardian's longsword slowly dissipated, and he felt the four powers within him begin to coexist harmoniously. The figure of the primordial consciousness patted his shoulder, a relieved smile on its face: "You've accomplished what I've never been able to do. Balance isn't a static state, but a dynamic harmony." It pointed to the enormous, colorful planet, "That will be the new origin, where life from all parallel universes can travel freely, no longer separated by the barriers of spacetime."

The Guardian's gaze turned to the depths of the ocean of energy, where the fused entity's consciousness crystal was slowly drifting towards him. The ethereal chains on the crystal's surface had completely dissipated, replaced by a light interwoven with four powers. He reached out, and the crystal landed in his palm, transforming into the fused entity's form, her eyes shimmering with the same four lights as the Guardian's.

"We succeeded." The fused entity's voice was filled with the joy of relief. Her hand clasped tightly with the guardian's hand, and their observer badges lit up simultaneously, forming a complete rune in the air.

The figure of the primordial consciousness gradually became transparent, and his voice echoed in the ocean of energy: "I will return to chaos and become the cornerstone of the cosmic network. And you will become the new guardians, not to protect balance, but to protect the right of all beings to choose." His figure transformed into countless points of light, merging into a huge, colorful planet, and the patterns on the planet's surface became clearer. "When you need me, you only need to gather the power of the twelve planets to awaken me once more."

The Guardians and the Fusion stood in the center of the ocean of energy, watching as the enormous, colorful planet began to nurture new life. These life forms were no longer singular entities, but rather embodied characteristics of creation, chaos, and nothingness; their eyes shone with the light of freedom.

However, at that moment, the Observer's Badge on the Guardian's chest suddenly flashed a red alarm light. He looked down at the badge and saw a tiny black spot in the center of the runes. The spot emanated an aura of the same origin as the Lord of Nothingness, yet it was more concealed and more profound.

The fused entity's expression instantly turned solemn. She pointed to the edge of the ocean of energy, where subtle ripples were spreading across the space. Within these ripples, countless eyes could be vaguely seen. These eyes belonged neither to the Creator God nor the Lord of Nothingness, but rather to some unknown realm, silently watching this nascent cosmic network.

"What is this?" The Guardian gripped the fused body's hand, the four powers within him coalescing once more. He felt an unprecedented chill rise from the depths of his soul. "Wasn't the Lord of Nothingness already gone?"

The merged entity shook its head, its consciousness sinking into the cosmic network, searching for information about these eyes, but finding only a blank: "This is not the power of the Lord of Nothingness, nor the aura of primordial consciousness. It is a completely new power, a... power from outside the cosmic network."

They looked up at the sky above the ocean of energy, where chaotic energy was forming a vast net, its nodes shimmering with the same black spots as those on the emblem. At the very top of the net, a blurry silhouette was slowly coalescing, its hand holding a gray longsword that belonged neither to the Creator God nor the Lord of Nothingness.

The Guardian clenched his fist, and the three-colored wings on his back unfurled once more. This time, however, a white stripe adorned the wings, representing the power of life's will. He knew that the dissipation of the Lord of Nothingness was not the end, but the beginning of a far greater mystery. Those eyes from beyond the cosmic network were the true challenge awaiting them.

"It seems our mission has only just begun." The Guardian's voice was resolute. He and the merged entity exchanged a smile, their figures transforming into streaks of four-colored light as they flew towards that unknown realm. Behind them, on a vast, colorful planet, countless newborn lives raised their heads, their eyes gleaming with the same light as their own, as if saying: We are with you.