469: Chapter 469 Core Sharing

Chen Yi did not know why he said that.

Back then, when Luo Qinghe was at the Jiangcheng Beast Taming Academy, he had asked the same question.

Chen Yi's answer was almost identical to what he had said back then!

Elke remained silent for a long time.

Eventually, the apocalypse illusion began to dissipate.

"The second trial, passed!"

In an instant, the scene changed again!

This time there were no illusions, only a giant mirror appearing before the two of them.

What appeared in the mirror was not their reflections, but the deepest, truest fear within Hua Liuli's heart.

In the mirror, Hua Liuli sat alone on a throne.

As time passed, the people around her grew old one by one and faded away; even Emilia had passed on.

Only she remained unchanged.

New subordinates revered her and used her, but no one truly understood her.

Three hundred years, five hundred years, one thousand years—the mirror fast-forwarded to show the eternal loneliness she might face!

And the cruelest scene appeared!

Chen Yi also appeared in the mirror; he gradually aged and eventually turned to dust.

Hua Liuli held his tombstone, surrounded by a strange new world. Everyone she knew was gone, and she alone was abandoned by the world.

"This is the final fate of the array eye Host!"

"When the people you love are all gone, when the familiar world is unrecognizable, and when you become a living fossil—"

"Liuli, tell me, are you ready to endure all of this?"

Hua Liuli walked trembling toward the mirror and reached out to touch its surface.

The version of her in the mirror also reached out, and their fingertips touched through the glass.

"I—"

Hua Liuli murmured with a trembling voice, "I have always been afraid of this! That is why I dared not truly love anyone, dared not build deep bonds, because I knew that in the end, I would definitely lose them—"

"But after meeting Chen Yi, I discovered that what I feared even more was returning to that cold eternity after having experienced warmth!"

"Chen Yi, do you think I am very selfish?"

Chen Yi walked to her side, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and said, "Then do not return to the cold!"

"If Liuli is to be eternally lonely, then I will accompany her into eternity! If the power of the array eye makes her immortal, then I will find a way to make myself immortal too!"

"If the world is destined to become unrecognizable, then we will remember how it was together, and then create new memories in the new world!"

"Liuli, you are not a tool of the world, not a sacrifice that must be made. You are Hua Liuli, a woman of flesh and blood, who can cry and laugh, and is worthy of being loved and worthy of loving!"

"And I choose to love you, not because you are some array eye Host, not because of what power you have, but simply because you are you!"

As these words were spoken.

Cracks instantly appeared on the mirror, and then it shattered completely.

Elke's phantom figure condensed once more.

He looked at the two of them, his eyes full of gratification: "The third trial, passed! No, I should say—you have surpassed all the trials!"

The next second.

The purple crystal suddenly emitted an unprecedented ringing sound, and the cracks began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye!

And just as the crystal was about to be completely repaired, a sudden change occurred!

A jet-black energy erupted from deep within the crystal, condensing into a black shadow that constantly changed shape.

The shadow let out a shrill screech, filled with malice and madness.

"This is—world malice?"

Hua Liuli's expression changed drastically, "How could there be this in Teacher's crystal—"

Elke's phantom sighed, "Because this thing is the source of magic power. It is precisely because of its existence that you and I were able to be born and continue to exist—"

The black shadow let out a sinister laugh: "I told you, Elke, you cannot Seal me!"

Just as the words fell.

The shadow instantly transformed into countless black tentacles, lunging at Chen Yi and Hua Liuli!

Chen Yi instinctively blocked in front of Hua Liuli, his entire spiritual energy erupting.

But the black tentacles actually pierced directly through the spiritual energy barrier!

They were not attacking the body, but the Soul!

"Chen Yi!"

Hua Liuli cried out in shock.

At the critical moment, Hua Liuli made the boldest decision she had made in thousands of years.

She did not choose to activate the array eye to fight; instead, she completely opened up her Soul defenses!

Purple light surged from her body, but it was not an attack; instead, it gently enveloped Chen Yi.

Their Souls produced a wondrous resonance at this moment, and the light formed a double-layered protective shield around them.

The outer layer was Chen Yi's spiritual energy, the inner layer was Hua Liuli's array eye power, and in the middle was a brand-new energy created by the merging of their Souls.

The black tentacles struck the protective shield and were actually repelled!

"What... is this?"

The Evil Thought Entity shadow shrieked, "The power of the array eye can only defend against physical attacks, how could it possibly block Soul erosion—"

Hua Liuli said with a resolute expression: "For thousands of years, I have lived for duty! But today, I want to be willful for myself, for this person, just once!"

"Teacher, I am sorry, I cannot continue walking the path you planned for me!"

"I want to walk my own path, together with Chen Yi!"

Upon hearing this, Elke immediately laughed out loud.

"Little Liuli, you have finally grown up."

"This was my final wish all along."

"Watching you find your own happiness—now—I can depart in peace—"

"Farewell, my proudest student! The future belongs to you!"

"Teacher!"

Hua Liuli was streaming with tears.

The crystal was completely repaired at this moment, erupting with pure, creation-like radiance!

That radiance continuously washed over the sanctuary, and the black shadow let out a shrill scream in the light before being completely annihilated.

But Chen Yi and Hua Liuli could not care about that.

The array eye core took the initiative to establish a connection with Chen Yi, not a mandatory contract, but a resonance of equality.

Chen Yi could feel all the pain Hua Liuli had endured for thousands of years, and he could also feel her joy and relief at this moment.

Hua Liuli, in turn, felt Chen Yi's determination.

The memories of the two began to merge.

Chen Yi saw Hua Liuli's thousands of years of loneliness and persistence, while Hua Liuli saw the power belonging to the world will!

"So Chen Yi is the successor of the world will? No wonder his power... is so pure!"

When the light gradually receded, the sanctuary returned to calm.

The repaired crystal was no longer shattered purple, but had turned a pure, transparent color.

Hua Liuli's appearance underwent a subtle change.

A few strands of silver hair symbolizing new life appeared in her black hair, her eyes were clearer and deeper, and the heaviness of bearing a burden was gone, replaced by a relieved liveliness.

Most importantly, her entire aura had changed.

She was no longer a stern, unsmiling queen, but a woman who had finally shed all her disguises and could live authentically.

"The array eye core... has accepted you!"

Hua Liuli separated a wisp of seven-colored light and merged it into Chen Yi's chest. "Now, you possess partial array eye authority! This is not a contract, it is... Sharing!"

Chen Yi could feel that he had developed a subtle connection with this world.

He closed his eyes and was actually able to feel the existence of the Space-Time Rift!