Chapter 79: The Primordial Dark
The Eternal Blossom glowed with an almost agitated light, its petals trembling as if sensing an invisible storm. Lin Ye stood beneath it, his Reverse Scale Core humming with a low, warning buzz—the first time it had reacted so strongly since the Eclipse Sovereign's defeat. Beside him, Xiao Tao's Shadow Crow Bells jingled faintly, her gaze fixed on the horizon where the sky rippled like disturbed water.
"It's… coming," she said, her voice tight. "Not from the rifts. From everywhere."
Lin Ye followed her line of sight. The air itself seemed to darken, as if shadow had seeped into the world's pores. The Spirit Pattern Tree's leaves, usually vibrant gold and silver, now wilted to a sickly gray, and the Eternal Blossom's petals shed stardust like tears.
"Captain!" Sakura's voice cut through the silence, her tablet crackling with static. "The Guild's temporal monitors… they're showing everything. Past, present, future—all overlapping. And there's a… a void in the center. Like… nothing."
Before Lin Ye could respond, the ground shuddered. A crack split the plaza, not from the sky, but from the earth itself—black, jagged, and oozing a substance that reeked of decay. From the crack rose a figure: tall, featureless, with limbs like shadowy smoke. Its presence sucked the light from the air, and Lin Ye's Reverse Scale Core flared instinctively to counteract the chill.
"The Primordial Dark," Xiao Tao whispered, her Shadow Crow Bells suddenly blaring. "Yuehuan's oldest enemy. The one that existed before time itself."
The figure turned, and though it had no face, Lin Ye felt its gaze—a cold, hungering void that seemed to see into their souls. "Light," it rumbled, its voice a distortion of every fear, every loss, every moment of doubt. "You dare to shine in my domain?"
The Unraveling of Time
The Primordial Dark moved not with steps, but with a wave of its hand—a gesture that rippled through reality. Buildings crumbled, streets folded in on themselves, and the Spirit Pattern Arena's holographic scoreboard dissolved into static. The group staggered as the world around them became a patchwork of fragmented timelines: a samurai dueling a robot, a child laughing in a meadow, a version of Xiao Tao with crimson hair crying over a broken mirror.
"It's… showing us all the possible ends," Aiko said, her tablet displaying a fractal of overlapping realities. "Every choice, every battle… and none of them matter. Because it's going to erase them all."
The Primordial Dark laughed—a sound like shattering glass. "You fight for a 'now' that doesn't exist. Time is a lie. A wound. And I… am the cure."
Lin Ye's Reverse Scale Core pulsed hotter. He gripped Xiao Tao's hand, their twin patterns flaring in unison. "No. We're the cure. The light that refuses to fade."
Xiao Tao's eyes blazed. "Remember the Lighthouse. The Chronophage. The Eclipse Sovereign. We've beaten every shadow that thought it could end us. This one's just… older."
She raised her hand, and the Eternal Blossom's light surged, weaving a barrier around the group. The Primordial Dark's shadowy limbs lashed out, but the barrier held—barely.
"It's weakening," Lin Ye said, his voice steady. "The Blossom's light… it's angry."
Indeed, the Eternal Blossom's petals now glowed with a fierce, golden-red hue, its stardust falling like embers. Yumi's sapling, rooted at its base, stood tall, its leaves glowing with the same intensity.
"You're wrong about time," Xiao Tao called, her voice cutting through the chaos. "It's not a lie. It's a story. And we're the authors."
The Song of the Blossom
The Primordial Dark lunged, and the barrier cracked. Lin Ye reacted instantly, his Reverse Scale Core erupting in a golden aura that shielded Xiao Tao. The shadowy figure's claws grazed his shoulder, searing through his armor, but he held firm. "Xiao Tao—now!"
She joined him, their cores merging into a single, blazing aura. The light seared through the Primordial Dark's form, and for a moment, it recoiled, its void eyes flickering.
"Yuehuan's light," it hissed. "Still burning."
"Not just hers," Lin Ye said, grinning. "Ours."
He pressed his free hand to Xiao Tao's chest, where her Shadow Crow Bells hung. Her heart raced, but her spirit burned bright. "We've got each other. And we've got them." He nodded to Yumi, who stood beside Aiko, her small hands clasped around her seed. "And we've got the Blossom."
The Eternal Blossom's light surged again, and this time, it wasn't just gold and silver. It was rainbow—a spectrum of every color, every emotion, every moment of love and courage they'd ever known. The Primordial Dark shrieked, its form dissolving into stardust, but not before a final, desperate whisper reached their ears: "You… cannot… end… me…"
The Dawn of a New Story
The plaza fell silent. The crack in the earth sealed itself, and the Spirit Pattern Tree's leaves regained their vibrant hue. The Eternal Blossom bloomed with a new petal—one that shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow, a symbol of the light they'd forged together.
Yumi approached, her small frame trembling but proud. She held up her seed, now glowing with the same rainbow light. "It… it spoke to me," she said. "The Blossom. It said… 'Now is the first chapter of the rest of forever.'"
Lin Ye knelt, his hand brushing Yumi's hair. "That's because it's true. We're not just fighting for today. We're building tomorrow."
Xiao Tao joined them, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "And tomorrow? It's going to be bright."
Above them, the Spirit Pattern Arena's broadcast flickered back to life. The screen showed a new message, written in stardust: "The Era of Eternal Now continues. Today's story? A love that doesn't just outshine the stars—it writes them."
Epilogue: The First Chapter
That night, beneath the Eternal Blossom, Lin Ye and Xiao Tao sat with Yumi, Aiko, and the others. The group shared stories of their battles, their fears, and their triumphs—proof that even in the darkest times, light could be found in connection.
"You know," Xiao Tao said, her head on Lin Ye's shoulder, "I think Yuehuan's watching. And Mingyuan. And Yumi's mom. They're all… proud."
Lin Ye kissed her temple. "They're not the only ones. We're proud of us."
He looked at the Blossom, now glowing softly, and at Yumi, who was already fast asleep in Aiko's lap. "Whatever comes next… we'll face it. Together."
Somewhere, in a place beyond time, Yuehuan smiled.
Now, she thought, is the most radiant chapter of all.
(Wind carried the scent of osmanthus. In the distance, the Spirit Pattern Arena's broadcast played: "Tonight's featured story? A love that doesn't just outshine the stars—it becomes them.")