Legend of the Embroiderer

Chapter 503 Betrayal Behind the Bronze Gate (1)

The air in the Forgotten Library was filled with the acrid smell of burning paper.

Those ancient books that were floating were turning to ashes at a visible speed. Each page that disappeared was accompanied by a faint sigh, as if the knowledge they carried was dying in despair.

The guardian reached out and touched a fading star atlas. The moment his fingertips touched the cover, the pages shattered like withered leaves, and the coordinates of the seventh parallel universe recorded in the star atlas vanished completely into the air.

"They are afraid of the power of the god of the end."

The fused entity's voice trembled, and the ancient book she held in her arms suddenly burst forth with a blinding white light. The observer runes on the cover twisted as if they were alive, and finally turned into a wisp of green smoke and entered the crack of the bronze door.

The prohibition runes on the bronze door glowed red, and the black mist seeping from the cracks became even thicker, vaguely condensing into a blurry face that was giving them a strange smile.

The guardian's four-colored wings unfolded behind them, and golden light flowed along the patterns on the wings, weaving a protective light membrane around the two of them.

He noticed that when the protective film came into contact with the black fog, fine bubbles appeared on its surface, and each bubble reflected a different image:

In some bubbles, the observers kneel before the god of the end and swear allegiance;

In some of the bubbles, the Creator God himself threw the key to sealing the end into the Sea of ​​Nothingness.

In other bubbles, the space behind the bronze door was filled with the skeletons of observers, each clutching a broken badge.

What are these illusions suggesting?

The merged entity's gaze fell on the bronze door knocker, a disc woven from symbols of creation and nothingness, with a purple gem embedded in its center oozing black liquid. "Could it be that the Observer civilization has been connected to the God of the End from the very beginning?"

Before the words were finished, the bronze door suddenly emitted a muffled rumble. The prohibitive runes on the door flowed like melting wax, revealing hidden engravings beneath—a mural never before recorded in the annals of observers:

The first observer held a black stone tablet, standing between the God of the End and the God of Creation. The patterns on the surface of the tablet absorbed both powers at the same time, and beneath his feet were countless primordial universes collapsing.

"This is impossible!" The guardian's wings suddenly trembled, and the protective light membrane almost collapsed.

According to the Observer's Records, the first Observer was the most loyal follower of the Creator God, and it was he who, at the cost of his life, reinforced the seal of the God of the End.

However, the eyes of the first observer in the mural are filled with greed for both powers, showing no trace of loyalty.

Black mist billowed out from the cracks in the door, coalescing in the center of the library into a figure dressed in animal skins.

The Observer's Mark on his chest was still in its most primitive stone carving form, and he tightly gripped half a black stone tablet in his hand—the very same Observer the Guardian had seen in the memory crystal of the Ruins of Origin.

"We've finally waited for you, heirs."

The voice of the first observer was like the friction of weathered rock. He raised the half of the stone tablet in his hand, and the patterns on the surface of the tablet resonated with the emblem on the chest of the guardian. "The creator god deceived all observers with lies. The god of the end is the true master of the universe."

The fused entity suddenly pressed her temple, and an unfamiliar memory forcibly intruded into her consciousness:

When the first observers made sacrifices in front of the volcano, the stone slab absorbed not only the energy of the Earth's core, but also the final power seeping from the depths of the Earth's core.

The creation runes he drew with his blood were actually a summoning circle taught by the God of the End.

He even secretly altered the keywords of the observer civilization's oath, replacing "protecting the balance" with "awaiting awakening".

"You have been serving the God of the End!"

The consciousness of the fused entity collided with the images in its memory, spitting out a mouthful of golden blood. The blood fell to the ground and transformed into countless miniature runes, which were swallowed up by the black mist the moment they hit the ground.

"The Observer's Badge is not proof of the contract at all, but a listening device planted by the God of the End within each Observer!"

The first observer let out a low laugh, and the half of the stone tablet in his hand suddenly flew out, resonating violently with the badge on the guardian's chest.

The Guardian felt as if his heart was being squeezed by an invisible hand, and the flower pattern on the badge withered away rapidly. With each petal that fell, a memory was peeled away from his mind.

He couldn't remember why he became a guardian, the promise he made with the merged entity in the Mirror City, or even the truths about creation in the Ruins of Origin.

"This is the curse of the observer's bloodline."

The figure of the first observer gradually became transparent, turning into countless black dots of light that merged into the bronze gate.

“The guardians of each era are sacrifices offered when the god of the end awakens. What you think of as your mission is nothing more than a pilgrimage to the altar.”

The bronze door suddenly swung open, and the sight behind it made the guardian and the fused entity gasp in shock:

It was a space composed of countless black chains, each chain ending in the soul of an observer whose face was strikingly similar to that of the guardian, except that their eyes were filled with despair.

At the end of the chain, a complete black stone slab floated, the patterns on its surface rotating to form an ever-expanding black vortex, within which the shadows of twelve black stars could be faintly seen.

"That is the origin of all observers in parallel universes!" The fusion entity suddenly recalled a record from an ancient book.

"The first Observers infused the stone tablet with their soul energy, serving as the key to unlocking the God of the End! The badges on our chests are actually the medium connecting to the stone tablet!"

The Guardian's badge suddenly detached from his chest and transformed into a streak of light that rushed toward the black stone slab.

The instant the two made contact, all the observers' souls simultaneously let out a shrill wail, and the black chains began to contract, continuously injecting soul energy into the vortex.

The shadows of the twelve black stars became clearer, and one could even see the black tendrils wriggling on their surfaces, slowly extending toward the library along the direction of the chains.

"Give up, Guardian." The voice of the God of the End resounded directly in his consciousness, clearer than before. "From the day you became an observer, you were destined to be a part of me. Look at the wings on your back—"

The guardian turned around abruptly and discovered that the white patterns on the four-colored wings were disappearing, being replaced by black, tentacle-like patterns.

These patterns spread along the wings, and wherever they passed, the golden and dark purple light became as murky as polluted river water. Only the gray chaotic power resonated strangely with the black patterns, as if welcoming the addition of new power.

The fusion body suddenly lunged forward and placed its palm on his back.

The white power of life force surged into his body like a fountain. The black lines writhed painfully in the white light, but did not disappear. Instead, they split into more tiny branches and burrowed into the guardian's blood vessels.

"They are absorbing life force!"

The merged entity was horrified to discover that its palm was stuck to the back of the guardian's heart, and her life force was being forcibly drained, turning into nourishment for the black markings. "This is a trap! The God of the End wants to use me to corrupt your last line of defense!"

The Guardian felt the four powers within him crumbling. The golden power of creation became frenzied, constantly assaulting the barriers of his consciousness.

The dark purple void power and the black patterns attracted each other, forming a dangerous energy flow in the blood vessels.