The ritual took place in the deepest sub-level of the Sword Pavilion, a place where the laws of physics were already warped by the presence of the Zero-Point Blade. Yue Xiao stood at the cardinal points, her frost energy forming a containment field to prevent the spatial collapse from consuming the entire mountain.
Lin'er stood in the center, dressed in simple white robes. She looked small, fragile, and impossibly brave.
"When I begin," Lu Chen said, his hands trembling as he held the hilt, "there is no turning back. Your physical body will be scattered into the sub-atomic layers of the blade. You will be the 'Mind' that guides the 'Void'."
"I'm ready, Chen," she whispered. "Just... promise me that when you strike him, you won't hesitate. Don't let my silence be for nothing."
Lu Chen closed his eyes and unleashed the "Law of the Smallest Point" in its ultimate form. He didn't use it to strike; he used it to unravel. Starting from Lin'er's fingertips, her form began to dissolve into golden particles of Aether. She didn't scream; she looked at peace, as if she were finally becoming what she was meant to be.
The Zero-Point Blade didn't just absorb her; it evolved. The invisible distortion transformed into a faint, ethereal white glow. The hilt fused with the Aether particles, and a soft, rhythmic hum filled the room—the heartbeat of the sword.
As the last of Lin'er vanished, the blade let out a cry that echoed not in the ears, but in the souls of everyone in the Pavilion. Lu Chen gripped the now-complete weapon. It felt weightless, yet it carried the mass of a dying star.
[System Notification: Sovereign Weapon 'Aether-Zero' has been forged. Kill probability against Rank 9 entity 'Fang Yuan' increased to 15%. Warning: Host's soul is now permanently tethered to the weapon's sorrow.]
Lu Chen fell to his knees, clutching the sword. He had saved the blade, but he felt more like a monster than the man on the obsidian throne.