Do you think this world is serious?

"what……"

"So you really are the one and that child..."

Janna's voice was very soft, softer than the sound of a gentle breeze.

Before he could even utter a complete sentence, the illusory form had already merged into the shadow beneath Chen Xiuming's feet.

Since she can continue living, Janna will definitely choose to live no matter what the cost.

Moreover, the price of continuing to live by relying on Chen Xiuming is not unacceptable.

The moment Janna merged into the shadow, Chen Xiuming immediately learned the details.

From this point on, Janna will reside in his shadow, forming an unequal coexistence.

As long as Chen Xiuming lives, Gana will not die.

Conversely, if Chen Xiuming dies, Gana will also perish.

Unfortunately, Janna's original body is dead. Even if she continues to live by attaching herself to him, she cannot unleash the power of a Star-level Honkai Beast and needs to constantly devour Honkai Beasts to restore her strength.

Perhaps the activation of the golden patterns was too costly, because after merging with Chen Xiuming's shadow, Janna fell into a deep sleep, only sending him a location coordinate and a brief message, roughly stating that there was a special broken world bubble at that location, and a little guy was hiding inside, barely surviving.

If he's interested, he could consider going to that location after helping the Herrscher of the End achieve liberation.

"Jana shouldn't be lying to me. As long as I help the Herrscher of the End to be freed according to the method Jana gave me, I can escape this world bubble..."

"Cecilia, wait for me a little longer, I'll be able to come find you soon."

Chen Xiuming murmured softly, then looked into the distance.

After Janna activated the golden patterns, he could vaguely sense the direction and distance of the Herrscher of the End.

Immediately, new problems arose one after another—

How could he possibly travel such a long distance to find the Herrscher of the End?

Although the golden patterns are nominally the power of "End," they are actually only a tiny fraction of that power, not enough to grant Chen Xiuming the ability to traverse space.

Furthermore, the aura of "the end" will not last long.

Just as Chen Xiuming felt he was about to "die before achieving his goal," a white-haired girl with a numb face appeared at the end of his line of sight, following a sudden, vague sensation.

When Chen Xiuming could sense the location of the Herrscher of the End, the Herrscher of the End could also sense his location in the opposite direction.

43. The Liberation of the Lawbringer of the End

The white-haired girl landed in front of Chen Xiuming and quietly gazed at him.

Seeing that the white-haired girl made no move, Chen Xiuming did not dare to act rashly. He calmed his anxiety while carefully observing the girl.

The girl wore a blue and white dress armor, and her long white hair, which reached her knees, fluttered without wind. Her golden eyes, which should have been dazzling, were dull and lifeless, as if they had lost their luster.

A halo resembling that of an "angel" floats above her head, and behind her are golden symbols that resemble wings, as well as eyes that look like simple line drawings, making her appear as a holy and flawless "goddess".

Although she originated from humans, the girl is not a "god" of humanity, but rather a "demon" that destroys human civilization.

The girl stared at Chen Xiuming silently for a long time, and then, as if realizing that her body would not attack Chen Xiuming, or as if she had regained control of her body, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared in her numb and lifeless eyes.

"you……"

The girl seemed incredulous, and subconsciously took two or three steps, instantly covering a distance of more than ten meters and appearing in front of Chen Xiuming.

She seemed to want to touch Chen Xiuming, but was worried about hurting him. Her outstretched right hand hovered in mid-air as she stared blankly at Chen Xiuming.

Although the aura of "the end" concealed Chen Xiuming's human nature, the girl could still tell at a glance that Chen Xiuming was human.

Knowing the girl's tragic past, Chen Xiuming felt a huge weight lift from his heart when he saw that she didn't attack him immediately, and even the invisible pressure on his shoulders disappeared.

Then, he reached out and grabbed the girl's wrist, pulling her right hand close to his cheek.

The girl trembled suddenly, seemingly trying to withdraw her right hand in fear of accidentally hurting Chen Xiuming.

At this moment, she no longer seemed to be the invincible "Herrscher of the End," but had become a fragile and desperate young girl, unable to break free from Chen Xiuming's grasp.

When her right hand touched Chen Xiuming's cheek, feeling the warmth from his fingertips and palm, the girl's pupils trembled. She opened her lips as if in disbelief, but could not utter any words, only making meaningless sounds.

The girl gently stroked Chen Xiuming's face with her thumb, and tears unknowingly spilled from the corners of her eyes, flowing down her delicate yet numb cheeks.

"Yes, they are living humans..."

"That's great, that's really great..."

"Sorry……"

Perhaps due to excitement, the girl was somewhat incoherent.

Then, like a little girl who had done something wrong, she asked cautiously and nervously, "Excuse me... can I hug you?"

Despite being the invincible Lawbringer of the End, he looked at Chen Xiuming with expectant eyes, as if pleading or begging.

Chen Xiuming's expression softened, and he slowed his tone as much as possible: "Okay."

"Thank you, thank you so much..."

The girl immediately hugged Chen Xiuming tightly, greedily enjoying his embrace.

At this moment, the desperate girl seemed to have found a pillar of support, and the despair in her heart poured out, turning into an uncontrollable wail.

The girl cried out familiar names uncontrollably, her sobs filled with deep despair.

These names were all her former loved ones and friends, but she had already killed them with her own hands.

Their desperate faces and cries are still vivid in my mind, causing the girl endless torment and suffering.

Chen Xiuming remained silent, gently stroking the girl's back, letting her cry loudly in his arms.

The girl's cries, seemingly desperate yet cathartic, echoed across the desolate earth.

The shadow beneath Chen Xiuming's feet rippled almost imperceptibly, followed by a gentle breeze that seemed like an invisible caress, softly wiping away the girl's tears.

The girl cried loudly for a long time before her emotions gradually stabilized, and even her expression returned to that numb look.

"Thank you……"

Seeing Chen Xiuming's tender expression, the girl tugged at the corners of her mouth, as if she wanted to smile, but due to tens of thousands of years of numbness, she had long forgotten how to smile and could not show a smile.

"How can I help you?"

Chen Xiuming spoke softly, looking directly into the girl's numb and lifeless eyes.

The girl met his gaze directly, a hopeful glint in her eyes.

"As long as you live well, that is the greatest salvation for me—if you could, I would like to ask you to kill me with your own hands."

"..."

Chen Xiuming remained silent for a second or two, then nodded slightly, "I understand."

The Honkai energy was shaped into a revolver, but it was no longer pure purple; faint golden lines flowed around it.

Chen Xiuming didn't have time to slowly familiarize himself with the power of the golden patterns, so he could only use the ability he was most comfortable with to condense his strongest attack method at present.

The moment the revolver took shape, before Chen Xiuming could even raise it, the girl took the initiative to grasp the barrel and point it at her forehead.

"Thank you……"

"Could you...can you tell me your name?"

"My name is Chen Xiuming."

"Chen Xiuming, Chen Xiuming..."

The girl murmured Chen Xiuming's name repeatedly, as if she wanted to firmly remember it.

“My name is Kiana—Kiana Kaslana. Thank you for helping me get out of this predicament, Chen Xiuming.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Kiana covered Chen Xiuming's hand with her other hand, pressing his finger down to pull the trigger.

boom--!

The bullet, formed from Honkai energy, pierced through the forehead of Kiana, but instead of splattering blood, it shattered Kiana into countless golden specks of light, as if breaking a phantom, creating a beautiful and dreamlike scene.

The instant the bullet pierced her forehead, Kiana's eyes were no longer numb and lifeless, but filled with the liberation of escaping the cycle of despair.

Chen Xiuming stared blankly at this beautiful and dreamlike scene, lost in thought.

The next second, the golden light spots that Kiana had transformed into were attracted by something and all flowed into the golden patterns on Chen Xiuming's back.

The golden patterns became incredibly hot, as if a red-hot branding iron was pressed tightly against the skin on his back, causing Chen Xiuming to groan in pain.

When all the light points surged into the golden patterns, the heat of the golden patterns subsided like a receding tide.

Janna's plan succeeded, but her predictions were slightly off.

Kiana of the End did indeed rely on the golden markings on Chen Xiuming's back to prolong her life. Although she lost her physical body, the powers belonging to "End" were not lost in the slightest and were all incorporated into the golden markings.

Since Kiana of the End did not die, Chen Xiuming could not directly use the "End" power contained in the golden patterns, but he could borrow the power of the End that he could bear from Kiana of the End at any time.

The current Kiana of the End has become something like a "stand-in" or "backing spirit," but she can reshape her body at any time through the power of "End" if she so desires.

"Kiana, how do you feel now?"

Chen Xiuming spoke softly, asking about the End Kiana who resided within the golden patterns.

Kiana remained silent for a long time, and then she suddenly heard a long sigh of relief.

"I feel great. I haven't felt this relaxed feeling in a long time."

Kiana's whisper seemed to resonate directly in Chen Xiuming's mind, yet it also sounded like a gentle whisper in his ear.

At first, the "liberation" she hoped for might have been real death, but after Chen Xiuming became her spiritual pillar, that "liberation" quietly transformed into escaping the endless cycle of despair.

"...Thank you, Xiuming."

A faint murmur reached Chen Xiuming's ears, yet it sounded like a hallucination caused by a gentle breeze.

With the successive disappearances of Gana and Kiana, the already shattered World Bubble began its countdown to extinction.

Before leaving this world, Chen Xiuming had two things to take care of—

The first is the location coordinates mentioned by Janna when she was asleep, and the second is to enter Janna's corpse to see if we can find the "Stigmata Terminal" stored inside Janna's body.

44. Anila, the Herrscher of Death