Silence... After the ten solar systems were erased... the universe fell into a terrifying, profound silence... leaving only a void where civilizations had once flourished...
The brilliant golden form of Xu Yianzi levitated in the midst of that darkness... He was still in his "True GOD" form... but now... invisible fractures... had begun to appear all over his body... That level of power... was burning away his very "essence" from within.
He cast his golden eyes... out towards the remainder of his galaxy... at the millions of stars that were still safe... but filled with people who were now terrified... and at the same time... filled with "greed" for the power they had just witnessed...
His voice... echoed across the entire universe... not just in the mind, but as a vibration of reality itself... "Since this power... gives birth to greed... this universe... may not be ready for a new primary power..."
He raised his golden hand, which was beginning to disintegrate... not quickly... not slowly... "...I shall erase it all... let it vanish along with me."
At his decree... a "pure" golden wave of light... radiated from his body... It was not a wave of destruction... but a "wave of erasure." It spread out... enveloping the entire universe... Every book that recorded the "Art of Runes"... turned to blank pages... The characters on swords... on armor... on city walls... slowly faded away... as if they had never been carved... And the knowledge... the understanding of the "Art of Runes"... was "pulled" from the minds of every living being... leaving behind only emptiness... and confusion...
When his final task was complete... the golden form could no longer maintain its shape... The golden light dimmed... the cracks spread across his entire body... He began to fall... slowly... like a dying star... back to the beginning of everything... the shattered mountain peak of the "Celestial Script Sect."
His body fell, impacting the broken stone...
At the spot that was once the highest peak... only the figure of one young man still stood... Zen...
He clenched his fists... so tight his nails pierced his palms... fresh red blood trickled down his hands... dripping onto the empty stone... but he felt none of the physical pain... for it was nothing... compared to the agony that was crushing his heart into dust.
His tears... flowed as lines of blood... staining both his cheeks... The world before him was a blur... but the images in his memory were clearer than they had ever been.
He looked down... at the body lying motionless on the ground... The body that had been as golden as a god... that light had now faded... returned to its original state... a man in tattered black robes... his face pale, but now strangely at peace... ...a familiar face... a face he had watched since he was just a weak young boy in a dream... until he became a great grandmaster who shook the universe... a face that was his friend... his master... and his first disciple.
And then... as if sensing his presence... Xu Yianzi's eyelids... slowly fluttered... and opened... The eyes that had once shone so brightly... were now dim... but in that darkness... they reflected the image of Zen... and only Zen...
The most sincere smile... appeared on his blood-stained face... followed by a hoarse, faint laugh... "Ha... haha... at least... I get to see you... in my final moments..."
His breath hitched... but he forced himself to speak... every word... was the offering of the last fragment of his life... to the person before him. "...Master... how have you been... Did you see my power... no... 'our' power... that we discovered together... the power you taught me... It was magnificent... wasn't it."
Zen said nothing... He clenched his jaw so tightly it almost broke... a choking tightness in his chest... his heart shattered into a million pieces... There were so many words he wanted to say... wanted to scream... but no sound escaped his throat... All he could do was nod slowly... through his tears of blood...
Seeing this... Xu Yianzi's smile widened... a smile full of pride... and sorrow. "...But I... I have erased it all," he whispered... his breath growing shallow... "...This universe... will have no more runic power... Let it... vanish along with me..."
"Why..." Finally... Zen managed to choke out a sound... a voice, hoarse and cracked... "Why did you have to go this far...?"
Xu Yianzi coughed up blood... but his eyes looked clearer than they had ever been. "Because... this power... it is too great... Master... It is a gift... and it is a curse... I have seen... what happens when mortals touch the power of a god... they become monsters... I don't want anyone... to have to walk a path of pain... like I did... ever again..."
His body... began to grow translucent... slowly dissolving into motes of golden light... "Master..." he looked deep into Zen's eyes... one last time... "...Thank you... for everything... My life... it may have ended in tragedy... but meeting you... was the best thing... that ever happened to me..."
"No... DON'T GO!!!" Zen fell to his knees... trying to reach out... but he clutched only at emptiness...
"Farewell..." With his final whisper... Xu Yianzi's body dissolved into a million motes of golden light... And his final legacy... the entire "Essence of his Spirit Power"... along with the "Memories" of his final moments... slammed into Zen's spiritual form with violent force!
Zen received all the memories... and all the pain... compressed into a single, devastating instant... His mind... which had been stretched taut... finally shattered completely.
"A GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!"
It was not a human scream... it was the scream of a "soul"... it was a "wave of uncontrolled power"... it was a final "will" that had been crushed... "NO!! I DON'T WANT TO BE IN THIS PLACE ANYMORE!!!"
That scream... vibrated across the entire "dream world"... The sky that had been empty... now... "tore open"... A "rift" in the warped dimension appeared... not a gate... but a "wound"... that connected to the real world!
That dimensional "wound"... responded to his command... it began to "pull" at Zen's spiritual form... But with his Resonance power running wild... it began to "pull everything with a soul" on that planet... along with him!
The surviving disciples... who now only remembered "spirit power"... The terrified common people... The remaining spirit beasts... Every life that had a soul... was dragged into that vortex of cataclysm...
The final image of this universe... was the sight of a warped dimensional "rift"... "sucking" in a torrent of souls... led by Zen's form... and followed by a "wave of refugees" numbering in the hundreds and thousands... vanishing into the darkness...