Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening explosions shattered the silence of space as three beams of darkness struck a radiant barrier encasing a dark grey planet. The barrier rippled and flickered, struggling to withstand the relentless onslaught.
The beams came from a colossal ark at the fleet's core. Around it stretched an endless armada, hundreds of thousands of kilometers from the planet. The central ark was dwarfed by the world before it, yet carried enough power to destroy it. Without the shimmering barrier, the planet would have crumbled under the first strike.
"Seniors, please hurry! We can't hold on much longer!"
The plea came from a young man, his voice cutting through the chaos. His azure eyes blazed with urgency and resolve, and his long, obsidian hair whipped in the battle's turbulent winds. Despite his youthful appearance, his gaze held the weight of centuries of hardship. Clad in gleaming blood-red armor, Feng Luotian stood steadfast at the entrance of an ancient temple—humanity's last hope.
The planet had long been abandoned. No cities, no people. The last group still resisting the calamity had fled here for one purpose: a final gamble to escape annihilation.
With his divine eyes, Feng Luotian gazed beyond the atmosphere, his vision stretching across the stars. Worlds once vibrant were now engulfed in flame—entire planets swallowed by war, their skies torn apart by enemy weapons. Civilizations crumbled in silence, too distant to hear, but not too far to see.
Feng Luotian's heart clenched at the sight, but his resolve hardened.
"This is what they've done," he thought, gaze sharp as it swept across the burning stars. "So many lives extinguished… I won't let their end be meaningless."
By his side loomed a towering figure, even more formidable in presence. He, too, wore blood-red armor, but over it billowed an obsidian robe. Etched in bold crimson strokes down the fabric was a fearsome title: [Demon God Emperor].
Feng Luotian turned to him. "Father," he said, his voice strained but steady. "We have to keep the barrier up until they finish. If it breaks before then… everything we've fought for will be lost."
Demon God Emperor turned to his son. His crimson eyes met Feng Luotian's with calm authority. Age lined his face, but his confidence never wavered. He spoke with quiet strength:
"We should be able to hold them for some time."
As his words faded, Demon God Emperor stepped forward. A resounding boom shook the entire planet as his eyes turned pitch-black, even the sclera, and his power surged to unprecedented heights. He then pressed his palm onto the ancient array platform beneath his feet.
A scarlet current erupted from his form, flowing invisibly through the engraved channels and merging with the planetary barrier. In response, the shield shimmered, its light flaring brighter wherever his immense power touched it.
The barrier was no ordinary array—it was a living conduit. Its strength grew with the power channeled into it, allowing it to withstand attacks far stronger than the channeler himself. At this moment, it was Demon God Emperor's will alone that kept the sky from collapsing.
Still uneasy, Feng Luotian glanced between his father and the temple behind him.
Inside the temple, twelve elders sat in a circle, draped in tattered ceremonial robes that shimmered faintly with threads of starlight. Their faces were pale and gaunt, eyes sunken from exertion, yet burning with unwavering focus. Though their bodies trembled, their hands moved with perfect precision, weaving intricate seals into the air.
At the center of their formation lay a vast ritual array carved directly into the stone floor, its ancient sigils glowing in layered patterns of light. Concentric rings pulsed outward in rhythm, reacting to the elders' synchronized channeling. The entire temple vibrated with a low hum, as if resonating with a force older than time.
The air inside was thick with sacred energy, almost suffocating. Yet even with all twelve elders channeling into the array, the power was still insufficient to complete the ritual.
"We're running out of time," Feng Luotian muttered, sensing the ritual's progress.
His mind drifted to the faces of those he had lost—his brothers-in-arms, the ruined cities, and, above all, her. The echo of her laughter still resonated in his heart, a cruel counterpoint to the desolate silence she had left behind. They had sacrificed everything, yet it still might not be enough.
"Luotian!" Demon God Emperor's voice snapped him back to attention. "The Zodiac Immortals are doing all they can. Quit daydreaming and focus on the task at hand!"
Feng Luotian offered a wry smile at the rebuke.
"I know, Father. But those damned armies are already attacking. Can we really hold them off until the ritual is complete? It's only a matter of time before their kings—or even their emperor—arrive. When that happens…"
"We will hold," his father interrupted, resolute. "We have no choice."
Feng Luotian exhaled slowly, clenching his fists in frustration. In the silence that followed, he thought of the sacred promise he had made to her—to protect their world, no matter the cost.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ark unleashed another three beams, hammering the barrier once more. Tremors rippled across the land. As the strikes faded, Feng Luotian instinctively looked skyward—his divine sight cutting through the chaos.
Eleven figures had appeared. No warning. No sound. Only presence—absolute and suffocating.
At the forefront floated a woman of divine majesty. Her light-blue gown shimmered like woven starlight, flowing weightlessly across the void. Her porcelain skin glowed with an ethereal radiance. Her large, sky-blue eyes—a shade strikingly akin to Feng Luotian's own—held a serene, almost hypnotic allure.
Her aura seemed to cradle existence itself. Even the word "goddess" felt inadequate.
She observed the barrier in silence for a long moment… then raised her hand.
A tiny wisp of light bloomed in her palm—gentle, unhurried.
Then she released it.
The wisp surged forward at light speed, and the instant it touched the barrier—
Rumble!!
The earth quaked violently. The barrier, once unyielding even to world-destroying attacks, cracked beneath her spell. Fractures laced its surface like shattered glass. The planet's final defense was beginning to collapse.
"Father… she's here," Feng Luotian murmured. "Along with her kings and queens. The seniors need at least an hour more… but if they all attack together—"
"Luotian," Demon God Emperor said darkly, "take over the array. We'll have to use our last resort to speed up the ritual."
"What—me?!" Feng Luotian snapped to attention. "I can't even hold off one king! How am I supposed to channel enough power to hold the shield against her—Father!"
But his father was already gone.
Teeth clenched, Feng Luotian stepped onto the array platform, extending his hand over the central core. As Demon God Emperor's energy receded, the entire structure shuddered, its glow faltering. A surge of failing power flooded him, demanding more than he could offer.
Without hesitation, he activated the same ability his father had used, and his eyes turned black. He then burned his bloodline essence, pushing his cultivation beyond its limits—despite knowing the inevitable backlash would cripple him. In this moment, there was no later.
Though pain flared through every vein, he steadied his breath and whispered, "I have to do this. For her… for everyone."
* * *
Inside the temple…
Demon God Emperor materialized beside the circle of elders. "Seniors, the situation has changed. We may not make it. Please… use this as tribute."
He raised his hand. Floating above it was a sphere the size of an egg, glowing with the essence of the Seven Luminaries. Its surface shimmered with layered hues—crimson, azure, gold, silver, amethyst, emerald, and obsidian—the colors flowing endlessly into one another.
Ancient runes encircled it, shifting endlessly. The sphere pulsed with cosmic light, like a living heartbeat.
Eternal Dao Lotus Seed.
Gasps rippled through the chamber.
"Are you truly willing to part with the Supreme Treasure?" one elder asked in disbelief.
"If the ritual succeeds, it might be lost forever…" another whispered.
"Seniors," Demon God Emperor said calmly, "no treasure outweighs a single life—let alone all life. Use it. Without delay."
The lead elder nodded gravely. Drawing a deep breath, he summoned a gentle force and guided the seed from Demon God Emperor's palm. It drifted toward the array's center until it hovered above the ritual core.
As it aligned with the ancient formation, the runes etched in the floor flared to life, resonating with the seed's pulse. A harmonic vibration filled the chamber.
The ritual resumed—faster now, brighter. The array thrummed with the power of the Lotus Seed.
Hope flickered again.
Five minutes later, Feng Luotian burst into the temple, his face pale with exhaustion.
"Father, what now?! The barrier's broken! She'll be here in less than a minute—wait, you're sacrificing the Eternal Dao Lotus Seed?!"
He froze at the sight of the Seed above the array, his report forgotten. He knew how much his father had paid in blood and loss to claim that treasure.
"Enough," Demon God Emperor said firmly, not turning to face him. "I've already decided."
"But once you use it, it's gone forever!"
"We already know that!" the elders and Demon God Emperor answered in unison, their voices sharp with finality.
Before Feng Luotian could respond, the Seed's radiant hues dulled. Its glow dimmed to ashen grey.
Then—silently—it dropped into the ritual array and vanished.
A divine hymn rang out, neither sung nor spoken. The array ignited with celestial brilliance, flooding the chamber with immortal light.
Outside, the abandoned planet stirred. A new radiance spread across the barren lands, chasing back the shadows creeping from above.