The sphere of devouring darkness expanded at The Silent Eraser's fingertip, swirling like a compressed black star. The moment Xiao Wang opened his eyes, he found death already waiting for him.
Yun Xi's face drained of all color.
The silver-haired girl screamed, throwing herself in front of Xiao Wang—
But Xiao Wang "grabbed her wrist "and pulled her behind him in one swift motion."
"No," he said hoarsely. "Get back."
Her breath caught.
"B–But—!"
"Please," he whispered, voice almost breaking, "I just got back. Don't let me watch you die again."
"She froze." "Her trembling hands slowly lowered."
The Silent Eraser didn't blink, didn't acknowledge the emotion, didn't show even the faintest ripple of interest.
"You have awakened," he stated coldly. "Thus the sequence proceeds."
The sphere of annihilation surged, distorting the stone beneath them.
Xiao Wang forced himself onto his feet, legs shaking violently from both the trauma of the trial and the weight of truth.
He wasn't just fighting an enemy.
He was fighting the moment Heaven stole his life.
And they wanted to repeat it.
He tightened his grip on the Devouring Sword.
The System flared with a warning.
[SYSTEM ALERT!]
[Threat Level: OVERWHELMING]
[Hunter: Silent Eraser — 9th of 10]
[Status: Preparing 'Absolute Nullification']
[Probability of Survival: <0.0003%]
[Recommendation: Evade… if you can.]
Xiao Wang exhaled.
"…Thanks for the confidence."
His other personality screamed inside:
"BRO—THAT ATTACK CAN DELETE SOULS!! WE JUST FIXED OURS; WE CAN'T DIE AGAIN!"
The Devouring Sword spirit snarled:
"Stand firm. Retreat and you die. Move forward… You might live."
The Silent Eraser moved.
He didn't step.
He didn't teleport.
He simply appeared.
One moment, he was meters away—
Next, his fingertip pressed against Xiao Wang's chest.
Everything stopped.
Yun Xi gasped.
The silver-haired girl collapsed to her knees.
The Sanctuary itself trembled.
The darkness sphere hummed, vibrating through Xiao Wang's bones.
"This is the end," the Eraser said simply. "Heaven has no more use for you."
And he released it.
The sphere detonated point-blank.
Darkness burst outward—
Not like an explosion…
But like reality being erased from the center outward.
Stone dissolved.
Light vanished.
The world dimmed.
Xiao Wang felt everything inside him unravel—
Soul threads tearing
Memories collapsing
Breath freezing
Time thinning—
Then—
Boom.
A shockwave ripped outward.
Not from the Eraser.
From Xiao Wang.
A fiery symbol ignited on his chest—
Not a wound
Not a scar
A brand.
A glowing root-shaped sigil, pulsing with ancient might.
The Emperor's Root.
It activated on its own.
[SYSTEM — EMERGENCY PROTOCOL!]
[EMPEROR'S ROOT — TIER 1 DEFENSIVE INSTINCT AWAKENED]
[Converting soul energy to barrier…]
[Conversion insufficient.]
[Borrowing sealed authority… WARNING.]
[Borrowing FROZEN AUTHORITY — ???]
[Status: SURVIVAL OVERRIDE ACTIVE]
The world exploded with golden-black fire.
Yun Xi covered her eyes.
The silver-haired girl screamed Xiao Wang's name—
And the Silent Eraser… paused.
Not shocked.
Just acknowledging.
"Forbidden energy detected."
The darkness sphere collided with the Emperor's Root barrier—
And shattered.
A sound like breaking glass echoed across the Sanctuary.
The Silent Eraser slowly lowered his hand.
"Unexpected."
Xiao Wang collapsed to one knee, gasping, sweat drenching his forehead.
The Emperor's Root flickered violently on his chest, burning through his robes with its glow.
He felt as if his entire soul had been dipped into molten iron.
His hands shook uncontrollably.
"The silver-haired girl threw herself forward, catching him before he fell completely.
"XIAO WANG!!" she cried, tears spilling. "You idiot! You can't fight him—your soul is barely holding together!"
Yun Xi knelt beside them, gripping his shoulder.
"You shouldn't even be awake after that trial," she whispered. "Your mind is fractured. You can't fight—"
"I can," Xiao Wang said through gritted teeth.
He forced himself to stand.
Barely.
But he stood.
The Silent Eraser watched him like one would watch an insect learning to speak.
"You survived a direct strike," he said. "This is… inconvenient."
He raised his hand again.
The space around them cracked like thin ice.
Yun Xi stepped in front of Xiao Wang instantly, spreading her arms wide.
"You'll have to kill me first!!"
"The silver-haired girl mirrored her, standing beside her with shaking knees.
Her voice broke:
"I won't let you hurt him!"
The Silent Eraser blinked.
Once.
"…You are irrelevant."
But he did not attack.
He stared at the two girls, analyzing them as if they were questions on a divine tablet.
"Your interference is statistically insignificant," he said coldly. "And yet… You persist."
Yun Xi's eyes blazed.
"Because he's not just a target!! He's a person!"
The silver-haired girl nodded fiercely.
"He's Xiao Wang! He saved us! He—he matters!"
The Silent Eraser tilted his head again.
"You inject emotion into a mission that does not concern you."
Xiao Wang slowly straightened behind them, gripping his sword.
"Get away," he said softly. "Both of you."
"No!" they shouted in unison.
The Silent Eraser simply stepped closer.
Not threateningly.
Not cruelly.
Just… inevitably.
"You cannot win," he told Xiao Wang plainly. "Your soul is fractured. Your energy is depleted. Your system is unstable. My mission is absolute."
Xiao Wang raised his sword.
"I've heard that before," he muttered.
Images flashed through his mind—
The city of fallen stars
Her death in his arms
The second spear
The annihilation of millions
The whisper planted in his dying soul
And lastly—
His own shadow, fading into the gate.
"Survive."
The word echoed in his bones.
Xiao Wang clenched his jaw.
"I'm done dying on Heaven's schedule."
The Silent Eraser extended two fingers.
A blade of pure darkness formed—thin as a hair, sharper than logic.
The girls tensed in front of him.
"Move," Xiao Wang growled. "Please."
"They shook their heads."
The Eraser moved forward.
Then—
A tremor cut through the Sanctuary.
The runes along the walls flared violently.
Golden light surged upward, spiraling around the entire chamber.
The Silent Eraser stopped mid-step.
He turned.
"Not possible."
Yun Xi's eyes widened.
"What's happening?!"
The silver-haired girl clutched Xiao Wang's sleeve.
"Is the Sanctuary collapsing again?!"
"No," Yun Xi whispered.
"The next trial… is opening."
Xiao Wang froze.
"What? I just finished—!"
"No," Yun Xi corrected. "You finished one stage. The Sanctuary has judged your soul as… unstable. Fractured. On the brink."
The runes brightened further.
And the ground beneath Xiao Wang's feet began to glow.
The Silent Eraser's voice sharpened.
"He cannot be allowed to enter another trial. Heaven forbids it."
Black chains burst from the Eraser's arm, shooting toward Xiao Wang—fast, silent, lethal—
But the Sanctuary reacted.
A pillar of blinding azure light erupted from the floor, swallowing Xiao Wang whole.
The chains shattered instantly.
The Silent Eraser took a step back, expression tightening for the first time.
"…He is being extracted."
Yun Xi gasped.
"The Sanctuary is pulling him into the second trial stage automatically—he has no choice!"
The silver-haired girl lunged for Xiao Wang—
"NO! DON'T TAKE HIM AGAIN—!!"
But her hand passed through the light.
She fell into Yun Xi's arms, sobbing.
Xiao Wang looked at them through the glowing barrier.
He couldn't hear their screams.
He couldn't touch them.
But he mouthed two words:
"I'll return."
The Silent Eraser raised his hand one final time, darkness condensing at his fingertip.
"UNACCEPTABLE."
His attack flashed forward—
But the Sanctuary sealed the pillar of light.
Everything vanished.
Xiao Wang was gone.
Teleported.
Forced into Trial Stage 3—
The Trial of the Heart.
The Silent Eraser lowered his hand.
His voice was a whisper of pure malice.
"…Then I will wait again."
---
Inside the Light
Xiao Wang couldn't breathe.
The teleportation ripped through his senses like a tearing silk.
He fell forward—
—onto warm soil.
Grass brushed his fingers.
Wind kissed his cheek.
Birds chirped overhead.
He blinked up at a blue sky.
This wasn't the Sanctuary.
This wasn't Heaven.
It wasn't even one of his past memories.
It was a quiet field.
A peaceful field.
A human field.
And standing in front of him—
Were two figures.
One he expected.
One he trembled to see.
The girl in white—his present.
And the woman who died for him—his past.
But something was wrong.
Their eyes were empty.
Their expressions are hollow.
The System chimed coldly.
[Trial of Hearts — Stage 1 Initiated]
[Objective: Face your attachments.]
[Penalty for failure: Emotional collapse. Soul instability. Death.]
Xiao Wang pushed himself upright slowly.
Both women stepped toward him—
Expressionless.
Unblinking.
Soulless copies.
The woman from the past spoke first:
"Choose."
His heart lurched.
The girl in white spoke next:
"Choose."
They stepped closer.
In unison.
"Only one may stand at your side," they said together. "Choose."
Xiao Wang staggered back.
"…No."
Their voices echoed across the field.
"Choose."
Xiao Wang raised his sword with trembling fingers.
"I… won't choose between you."
The wind died.
The sky darkened.
Both women raised their hands—
Power swirling in each palm.
"If you do not choose," they whispered coldly, "you will lose both."
Xiao Wang exhaled, chest tightening.
"…This trial is cruel."
The System responded:
[System Analysis:]
[This stage measures emotional burden. Conflicted attachments weaken the heart.]
[Solution: Resolve your truth.]
[Warning: Indecision will accelerate collapse.]
Xiao Wang clenched his jaw.
"…Then I'll fight."
But his hands shook.
Terrified.
Haunted.
Still torn between love past
and a love present
and a future he didn't understand.
He whispered:
"…Please don't make me do this."
But the copies moved forward—
And the real trial began.