Legend of the Embroiderer

Chapter 485 The Standoff Across the Spacetime Rift

The young fusion floated in the center of the shattered nebula, her hair dancing wildly in the chaotic air currents, her fingertips toying with the shimmering Key of Destiny, the light of which flickered in her palm as if it might be extinguished at any moment.

Her chaotic aura spread like ink through the nebula, swallowing up the light of the nebula wherever she went. Every breath she exuded carried a bone-chilling cold, covering the surrounding meteorite fragments with a thin layer of white frost.

The guardian gripped the sword hilt tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force. The silver vortex on the blade spun violently due to the resonance of his bloodline, emitting a buzzing sound.

He could clearly feel the tearing apart of two forces within the other person's body—the pure bloodline belonging to the fusion body was frantically fighting against the power of chaos, like a candle flame struggling in despair in a rainstorm, each flicker possibly being the last glimmer of light.

Give me back the key.

The guardian's voice was hoarse with anger, as if it had been sanded.

The meteorite fragments in the shattered nebula trembled slightly as he spoke, as if resonating with his anger.

The young fusion suddenly burst into laughter, the sound sharp and piercing like glass scraping, sending chills down one's spine:

"Give it back to you? Do you know what this key can do? It can save 'me' in all timelines from being sacrificed!"

She suddenly raised her hand, and the Key of Destiny burst forth with a blinding light that pierced through the nebula and dispelled the surrounding darkness.

Countless scenes from parallel universes emerged within the nebula—some fused entities were torn apart by the Chaos Infant, their blood staining the altar.

Some spontaneously combusted on the altar and turned to ashes, leaving only a wisp of smoke.

Some wander alone in endless time and space, their eyes vacant.

Each image caused the guardian's heart to clench with pain, as if that pain had befallen them as well.

A deep, muffled heartbeat echoed from the depths of the nebula, “thump, thump, thump,” as if a giant beast was awakening, each beat causing the entire nebula to tremble.

The Guardian suddenly noticed that the young fusion body had half a crystal hanging around its neck. The crystal was crystal clear and contained a wisp of golden light. The light was warm and pure, and it was the aura of the first Observer's sister.

"This is……"

His pupils contracted sharply, and fragments of memory suddenly exploded in his mind—in the image, the First Observer's sister looked haggard, yet her eyes were resolute. She poured the last wisp of purifying power into the crystal, carefully placing it into the young fusion's hand, her voice gentle yet powerful:

"Remember, never give up hope..."

"You're looking at this?"

The young fusion followed his gaze to the crystal, her eyes instantly turning cold. She suddenly crushed the crystal, and the golden light that had just spilled out was swallowed up by the chaotic aura and disappeared without a trace.

"It's no use! All goodwill will only be crushed by chaos!"

She brandished the Key of Destiny, and a meteorite in the nebula suddenly transformed into a dark purple spear, covered in spikes and gleaming with an eerie light, piercing towards the guardian with a whooshing sound.

The guardian dodged to the side, moving with the agility of a cheetah. The spear grazed his armor, blasting a huge hole in the nebula wall. A dark purple energy shockwave, like a surging tide, sent him flying several meters. He crashed heavily into a massive meteorite, a sweet taste rising in his throat. He spat out a mouthful of blood, which turned into a red mist that dissipated in the starry sky.

As he struggled to his feet and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, he noticed a flash of pain in the eyes of the young fusion. The pain was fleeting, like a shooting star, but he had keenly caught it.

"She is still resisting the encroachment of chaos."

Hope ignited in the guardian's heart, as if he had seen a glimmer of light in the darkness.

He suddenly remembered the words of the goddess of fate, and infused the sword with the power of chaos and purification. The blade burst forth with a silver-gold interwoven light, which contained a powerful force.

"A fusion, look at this!"

Within the light, an image emerged of the adult fusion being guarding the stone slab on the altar. Her gaze was as firm as iron; despite being covered in wounds, she showed no sign of retreat, and uttered:

"Even if I am swallowed by chaos, I will hold on to the last hope."

The young fusion's body trembled violently, as if struck by the power in the scene. The Key of Destiny slipped from her hand and spun in the air.

Just as the guardian reached out to take it, the spacetime rift suddenly contracted violently, the surrounding space twisted and deformed, and the dark purple vortex that the black-robed man had transformed into chased after it. The chaotic tentacles at the edge of the vortex pointed at the Key of Destiny, with an aura of greed: "No one can take it!"

The guardian instinctively shielded the young fusion body behind him, as if protecting the last hope.

The moment the blade collided with the tentacles, a "sizzling" sound was heard, sparks flew everywhere, the entire nebula began to collapse, and countless fragments of spacetime surged in like a tide, crashing into the guardian and causing him unbearable pain.

In the chaos, the Key of Destiny suddenly split into twelve feathers of light, each radiating a different light, like twelve agile birds flying to different points in time and space, disappearing into the vast universe.

The chaotic aura of the young fusion suddenly surged, her eyes became even darker, and she gripped the guardian's wrist tightly, her nails almost digging into his flesh, leaving several deep bloody marks:

"Want to know the truth? The source of chaos is actually..."

Before she could finish speaking, her pupils suddenly turned pitch black, as if swallowed by endless darkness. Her body, like a puppet with broken strings, fell into the depths of the nebula, swallowed by the surging spatial-temporal turbulence. The spatial-temporal turbulence was like a violent vortex, engulfing everything within it.

The guardian leaped after him at great speed, but was blocked by an invisible force. That force was like an impenetrable wall, and no matter how he tried to break through, it remained unmoved.

He watched helplessly as the young fusion body disappeared into the dark purple mist, his heart filled with a sense of powerlessness.

Her final cries echoed in my ears: "Don't believe in the goddess of fate—"

Before he could finish speaking, the nebula collapsed into a singularity, which emitted a tremendous gravitational pull. The guardian was thrown into an unknown spacetime by the immense gravity. He felt as if his body was about to be torn apart, and his consciousness began to blur.

When he regained his footing, he found himself standing on a familiar altar—the very same altar covered in runes from the space-time rift. But now, the sword in the center of the altar had disappeared, replaced by the figure of the adult fusion body.

She stood with her back to the guardian, her posture upright, holding a complete stone tablet in her hand. The "Eye of Fate" rune on the tablet was rotating in reverse, emitting a mysterious light.

"You finally came."

The fused entity slowly turned around. Her left eye shimmered with a chaotic dark purple, like the deepest night; her right eye, however, flowed with golden purifying light, like the most dazzling star.

"The fragments of the Key of Destiny are scattered across twelve key timelines, each corresponding to a crucial decision for the Observer race. And you must retrieve them before the Source of Chaos fully awakens." Her voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable power.

Just as the guardian was about to ask a question, the altar suddenly trembled violently, and huge cracks appeared in the ground. Countless chaotic tentacles emerged from the cracks, covered with suction cups and shimmering with dark purple light, as they attacked the two of them.

The amalgamation entity tossed the stone slab to him decisively.

"Take this; it will guide you to the key fragments."

She leaped into the swarm of tentacles, and a golden barrier erupted behind her from the stone slab, keeping the tentacles at bay.

"I'll hold off the awakening of the Source of Chaos here. Let's go!"

The voice of the fused entity came from the tentacles, carrying a hint of determination. The guardian watched her retreating figure being swallowed by the tentacles, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He gripped the stone slab tightly, the warmth of the slab seeping through his palm as if carrying the power of the fused entity.

Turning and rushing towards the new spacetime rift, he didn't notice the eerie smile on the fused body's lips, the same one he had when he was young. The smile looked particularly sinister against the backdrop of the golden barrier.

The moment he stepped into the crevice, he heard the anxious voice of the goddess of fate, a hint of barely perceptible panic in her voice:

"Guardian, the Source of Chaos has already devoured three star systems! You must first go to the 'Forgotten Dimension,' where the first fragment of the key lies!"

But what the guardian didn't know was that in the shadows behind him, the dark purple mist that the black-robed man had transformed into was silently clinging to the back of the stone slab, like a lurking venomous snake, waiting for its chance.

At the other end of the spacetime rift, in the ruins of the forgotten spacetime, twelve observer statues stood solemnly. Their eyes, which were originally empty, were now slowly opening. In the pupils of the statues, the same dark purple light as the source of chaos flickered, as if something terrible was about to awaken.