The impressions with ultimate attacks are their one-time use. It could not be used again for the second time.
'I hope he falls for it.'
Countless deductions appeared in Shi Tian's mind. His [Encompassing Eyes] worked wonders to achieve short bursts of clairvoyance. He could, to a certain extent, predict Kevin's next move. Although, it is sometimes inaccurate due to Kevin's Finality.
'This went a lot easier than I thought. He's already in his final struggle.'
Originally, Kevin was supposed to be a formidable enemy. However, the lack of Judgement of Shamash gave him a weakness. He could not unleash Finality's power steadily due to a lack of power source. Coupled with the evolved Blade Mantra's ultimate attack, used with the enhanced Shamash, forced him to summon the STIGMA shield earlier than he planned.
He let go of Kiana and stared at Deliverance Kevin from the distance. A barrier protected him from their ultimate attack. It was the same STIGMA shield that seemed invulnerable in-game.
Shi Tian peered through space and time and saw the current situation within the Project STIGMA space.
'It's done!'
"Bronya!"
"Da."
She patted Seele's shoulder before disappearing. The latter glared at Kevin with obvious frustration.
'Don't. We need to buy more time.'
Shi Tian's voice rang inside her head.
'I can let her out now.'
'Go.'
Kevin, who saw everything transpire and attempted to recover behind the STIGMA barrier, was stunned to see a new arrival in this battlefield. Memories returned to him as his gaze turned cold. It is none other than the Herrscher of the End, the same being who nearly wiped out the Flamechasers.
Kevin noticed the Herrscher's apparent obedience and was surprised.
"Seeing you now means I won."
The Herrscher remarked as she stared at him.
"...You won." He replied. "But it will be different now."
"Indeed."
The Herrscher of the End's manifestation stemmed from Seele and Veliona. Their current strength only allows her one full-powered blow before their quantum entanglement gets forcefully ended.
She no longer spoke as she pointed her fingertips at him.
Bzzt-!
A ray of light went straight to Kevin. It went past the STIGMA barrier and struck him on the shoulder.
'..!'
He could feel his control over the honkai diminishing. The barrier he put up was forcibly broken down.
He felt all of his relevant Herrscher Authorities, save for Time and Void, become inactive. It interrupted Kevin's recovery, making it harder for him to regain his strength.
The Finality fragment he bore is a source of power, but it is also a hot potato that is swiftly killing him. He is not a Herrscher. He is forcefully taking control of it, which causes unimaginable damage to his body.
The cost of it was Seele's and Veliona's being knocked unconscious.
Shi Tian caught them in time and teleported them back to Earth. His raw capabilities as a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator allowed him to do so with ease.
Soon, he met Kevin's gaze.
"There are a lot of ways it could have gone down."
Shi Tian spoke as he gave him a knowing look. Kevin understood it. He could have been defeated right after the STIGMA barrier collapsed. Yet, Shi Tian took the time to talk with him.
He gazed further away and saw a huge battleship headed to their side. Kevin saw the Project STIGMA network they built get destroyed. Its remnants are housed by this battleship, the Moonlight Throne.
With Bronya at its helm, it can gather the will of humanity from parallel worlds, thereby breaking his STIGMA barrier down. This level of preparedness thoroughly crushed Kevin.
It was a complete, utter defeat.
"Did you prepare for something else?"
Kevin suddenly asked this question.
"Yes. Nihility. One of the Aeons outside this world. Their gaze is about to land on Earth."
Shi Tian spoke of the chilling matter calmly.
"The Cocoon of Finality held a tight grasp over the solar system. But, it can be overpowered by Nihility if they wanted it."
Good news: IX represents Nihility. Their inaction is their way of life.
Bad news: Nihility doesn't need any purpose to pull off random stunts every now and then.
"Can you deal with it?"
"Yes."
Shi Tian was pretty straightforward in this regard.
"As long as you trust us, we can."
"..."
Kevin's momentary silence turned into a sigh. His Deliverance Form was replaced by his normal look. A dazzling "light" floated on top of his hand. It held no fixed form as it turned into a variety of things.
Chickens, fish, clocks, cogs, flames, clouds…
The mere sight of it sent Shi Tian into a daze. An extremely familiar sensation struck him hard. Chills were sent down his spine as he came to a realization.
'No wonder it's called Finality!'
Far beyond Earth lay the gods known as "Aeons". They preside over a certain path (i.e. concept) and govern all related phenomena to it. Their gaze is as vast as the Imaginary Tree's range.
At first, the Cocoon of Finality was dismissed as something lower than Aeons. It was unrelated to the Aeon of Finality. That was the way things went when Shi Tian died.
However, the abnormality of this world began to cause doubts. It started with the temporal dimension's abnormality. The Past and Future are covered in fog, yet deductions about the Present remain the same.
'It was the Imaginary Tree. Its ability as a 'server' shrouded the real Past and Future of this world. The reason behind it… I have a feeling it lies here.'
He looked down and saw the growing connection between him and the Stigma Space he threw back in the Imaginary Space. The Cocoon of Finality's fragment and Nihility's traces resonated in an extremely bizarre way.
'The final trailer I saw was the four paths to Finality.'
It was said that four Aeons will lead the world to Finality. They, willingly or not, act right under the influence of Finality.
The Aeon of Destruction, Nanook.
The Aeon of Nihility, IX.
The Aeon of Harmony, Xipe.
The Aeon of Remembrance, Fuli.
Then, there was the seemingly unrelated Cocoon of Finality. Turns out, it was actually related to them!
At least, the resonance between Nihility and the Cocoon is there.
Shi Tian suppressed the growing unease in his heart.
"Take over as the Herrscher of Finality first. I need to do something."
His sudden declaration stunned Kiana. This was not within their plans.
"Finality… its direct presence caused some trouble on my side. I want to bring the bomb somewhere else just to be safe."
She understood what he meant. He never bothered to hide his troubles regarding Nihility. It is a ticking time bomb that will bring trouble to Earth at any given time.
"Are you going there?"
"Yes." Shi Tian replied. "I will leave the Theater as a gateway. If things get worse… I'll cut it off."
"Wait for me. I will finish this quickly!"
"Of course…"
For a while, he had to stabilize Kiana. The old tricks worked as usual. Kevin was fed with copious amounts of dog food as a result. His mind inevitably flashed back to the memories of his younger self.
Fate robbed him of the ability to normally spend time with MEI. Nevertheless, their love remained strong.
'In another life, could we...'
Just like that, humanity's greatest hero met his end.
The two stopped on what they were doing and looked at the place where Kevin once stood, especially Kiana who looked very complex.
"Think of it as resting for a while. We will bring them back later."
Shi Tian's words broke the solemn atmosphere. Kiana's did not feel as sad as before. They already had the plan to reverse time and bring back the Previous Era. There is also Kiana's mother, Cecilia. Adding Kevin into the mix is not a huge burden to the said plan.
Nonetheless, the emotions brought by Kevin's departure remained. He, who had truly believed of meeting his end, showed a sincere expression when remembering his beloved.
"We need to become stronger to fulfill it."
"Mn..."
Soon, Shi Tian bade farewell. He turned into a streak of light as he entered the imaginary space instantly.
Its infinite distance and unimaginable space made it hard to find something without a proper anchor.
Fortunately, Kiana is the Herrscher of the Void. It is not a problem to stabilize the Theater of Domination for a while.
Soon, he found the specific space and stepped onto it.
"No specific time…"
Every time Shi Tian used his divination and formed an approximation, he could not see when IX would gaze at him. Even when he burned his lifespan and elevated his aspect of Causality into a Divine Realm, nothing changed.
If he forced his way through, all that leads to it is true death. Such is the result of gazing a God with bare eyes.
Sighing, he exited the divination state. He was brought back to the large Theater.
Only, an extra visitor appeared in Shi Tian's sight. His pupils narrowed as he looked at the man in disbelief.
'I didn't sense him!'
The vast spiritual consciousness of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator was meaningless. He tried to do it again with Origin and Blade Mantra thrown into the mix, but they also failed.
The vague man in front of him is invisible to the world!
".tfig suoicerp tsom sti ;uoy ot detnarg ytimilac delbeefne eht dnecsnart tsum uoY"
His murmurs, albeit pure gibberish, did not disappear from his mind.
'Wait…'