155: Chapter 155 Star Core Trap

The darkness at the edge of the Star Abyss had long since surpassed the human concept of "nothingness."

This was no ordinary cosmic vacuum, but the domain of the Lord of the Void—a chaotic zone thoroughly eroded by the laws of entropy. Space-time was like crumpled paper, twisted into countless sharp folds; the dust remaining after galaxies were extinguished drifted slowly through the gray mist, yet even eternal stillness was unattainable, as it was being dismantled piece by piece into basic energy particles by the power of the void.

The fleet of the Remnant Light Alliance huddled behind this desperate belt of stars, like a pack of dying beasts hiding in the crevices of rocks.

The hull of the flagship, the "daybreak," was covered in cracks, its main cannon barrels were warped and deformed, and the outer energy shield was reduced to a faint film of light. Every roar of the engines carried a piercing static, as if it would completely disintegrate at any moment. Inside the ship, energy readings jumped frantically, and red warning lights flashed alternately, reflecting faces tightened to the absolute limit.

In the command room, the air was as thick as solidified iron.

Little Kate stood before the main console, her small figure appearing exceptionally frail in front of the massive light screen, yet her back was ramrod straight, like a young pine refusing to bend in a gale. Her fingertips pressed lightly against the light screen, turning slightly white from the force. In those clear eyes, there wasn't a hint of the panic or fear expected of a youth, only a near-hardened calm and a resolution hidden deep within that calm, almost overflowing.

Franklin's virtual projection hovered by her side. His usually smooth metallic light and shadow were now stuttering, as if the signal was under severe interference. His core program had been heavily damaged during the previous battle against the entropy-increasing tentacles, and some modules were still flashing fault codes. Yet he continued to hold on, maintaining his usual cavalier attitude, though the ease in his voice betrayed a forced exhaustion no matter how one heard it.

“Little one, are you sure you want to play it this way?” Franklin's projection flickered, the edges of the holographic image warping slightly. “We’ve modified the star core engine into a time bomb and intentionally created fluctuations of a ‘fault state.’ This is equivalent to throwing our defensive lines wide open. If that fellow, the Lord of the Void, is even slightly cautious, he could swallow our entire alliance in one bite without leaving even a bone.”

“Not gambling is the only path to certain death.”

Little Kate's voice was soft, yet it was like a dagger tempered in ice, piercing through the suffocating silence of the command room. She looked up toward the churning gray mist deep within the light screen, her gaze penetrating layers of fog as if she could see the entity hidden at the very core—the Lord of the Void.

It was an existence without a fixed form; it wasn't a physical entity but rather a concept, a law representing 'nothingness' and 'destruction.' The gray mist was its body. Within every wisp of churning fog were hidden the remnant souls of countless devoured civilizations; every surge of the gray mist was accompanied by the collapse of space-time. It had lurked in this part of the universe for too long, devouring too many star systems, civilizations, and even rules. Now, it was only one step away from completely controlling the entire universe—swallowing the Light Sphere Race's star core engine.

That was the primordial energy left over from the birth of the universe, a pure energy that touched the essence of cosmic rules. To the Lord of the Void, it wasn't 'food,' but the 'nourishment' that would allow it to complete entropy and return everything to nothingness.

“It devoured seven civilizations of the Orion Arm, swallowed dark matter streams, and consumed the laws of space-time. Now, what it craves most is the star core engine.” Little Kate's finger slid across the light screen, bringing up the energy fluctuation diagram of the star core engine. That pale gold wave was exceptionally dazzling on the screen, yet because it had been deliberately modified, it carried an illusion of 'imminent collapse.' “The Lord of the Void is suspicious and cautious, but it is even more greedy. Greed is its only weakness, and the most hidden shackle bestowed upon it by the will of the universe.”

Beside her, the envoy of the Light Sphere Race floated over slowly.

It was a massive light orb nearly ten meters in diameter, its surface flowing with soft primordial light. At this moment, however, that soft flow of light was slightly dimming, and the patterns on the light orb's surface were constantly twisting and flashing, clearly driven to a dead end by the current situation. The Light Sphere Race was one of the oldest civilizations in the universe, mastering the power of primordial light, yet they had retreated step by step under the Lord of the Void's entropy-increasing offensive. Now, the only trump card they could produce was the star core engine.

“You have planted dark matter bombs and primordial light detonation devices inside the engine. Once detonated, the power will be enough to tear through the outer structure of the Lord of the Void and even pierce its void core.” The Light Sphere Race envoy's voice carried the unique vibration of primordial light, yet it also held a trace of unease. “But the price is too high. The energy shock generated by the explosion will directly affect all surrounding space-time regions. Our fleet, and the surviving civilizations nearby, cannot possibly survive this impact. This is a plan for mutual destruction.”

“I know.”

Little Kate's answer remained calm, but her fingertips tightened slightly on the light screen.

“We never had a way out to begin with.”

Her gaze swept over everyone in the command room, over the representatives of every faction—the Light Sphere Race envoy, the core terminal projection of the Mechanical Civilization, the commander of the human fleet, and those members of the Remnant Light Alliance who had followed her through battle after battle, now numbering only a few.

“The Lord of the Void's entropy offensive has lasted for three years. We have lost more than half of our allies, tens of thousands of habitable planets, and countless compatriots. If this continues, we will collapse entirely on our own without the Lord of the Void even lifting a finger.” Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable strength. “Either we gamble once here to wound its foundation and leave a glimmer of hope for the universe, or we wait for it to recover, at which point we won't even have the chance to detonate the engine. We would only be able to watch helplessly as it devours the entire universe, losing even the right to resist.”

“Hope is a luxury.” Little Kate paused, her gaze landing on the Light Sphere Race envoy, her tone suddenly becoming firm. “But we cannot give up hope. We have reclaimed the star core engine before, reclaimed the core technology of the Mechanical Civilization, and reclaimed the lives of countless people. This time, we will also reclaim this glimmer of hope.”

A long silence fell over the command room.

Everyone knew that what Little Kate said was the truth. They had reached a dead end; they would either sink completely or stake everything on one throw. There was no middle ground.

Franklin's projection was silent for a moment, then suddenly made a soft sound, laughing as if in self-mockery. “Fine, you're the leader, you have the final say. Anyway, I threw life and death to the back of my mind long ago. To be able to pull off something big with you, little one, it's worth it.”

The Mechanical Civilization's core terminal projection also lit up, its cold mechanical voice carrying a hint of resolution: “The Mechanical Civilization is willing to cooperate with the plan. All combat units, standing by.”

The commander of the human fleet stood up and gave a standard military salute: “The human fleet follows your command.”

The Light Sphere Race envoy looked at Little Kate, the light flow on the light orb's surface slowly stabilizing. It was silent for a long time before finally nodding slowly: “The Light Sphere Race is willing to take this gamble.”

The plan was finalized in silence.

The next moment, the internal communication channel of the Remnant Light Alliance suddenly exploded.

First, the communication signal of the Light Sphere Race suddenly became extremely chaotic, and a voice full of doubt spread throughout the alliance: “Little Kate is too young and lacks experience in commanding large-scale battles. The star core engine is the supreme treasure of our Light Sphere Race; it must never be left to the human fleet to lead!”

Immediately following, a large-scale "communication chaos" occurred among the Mechanical Civilization's combat units. Several mechanical warships collided with the human fleet's defensive lines, their muzzles aimed at their own allies. The originally seamless defensive circle instantly developed massive loopholes.

The human fleet commander took the opportunity to become "enraged," ordering the fleet to withdraw from their defensive positions. He even publicly accused the Mechanical Civilization and the Light Sphere Race of treachery, threatening to abandon the star core engine and retreat alone.

The chaos intensified. The entire Remnant Light Alliance fleet looked like an alliance in total collapse, with internal conflicts escalating and mutual suspicion reaching the point of open hostility.

Meanwhile, the hub ship where the star core engine was located also issued an emergency alarm.

“Energy disorder! Core meltdown! The star core engine has developed a serious fault. Energy fluctuations have exceeded the safety threshold. Sympathetic detonation is expected in ten minutes!”

The piercing alarm completely ignited the chaos of the battlefield.

All of this was within the perception of the Lord of the Void.

Its consciousness was like an infinite net covering the entire Star Abyss region. It could clearly perceive the internal conflicts of the Remnant Light Alliance, the "fault" fluctuations of the star core engine, and the panic and struggle of every faction.

Initially, it was wary.

As an entity that had devoured countless civilizations, it knew the taste of a "trap" all too well. The Lord of the Void's perception swept through every corner of the Remnant Light Alliance. It could sense that the traces of "infighting" were too deliberate, the "loopholes" too orderly, and the "faults" too much like man-made illusions.

All of it looked too much like a snare.

However, the energy fluctuations emitted by the star core engine were like an invisible hook, firmly snagging its core desire.

That was primordial energy, the purest energy in the universe. It had devoured so many things yet had always been unable to touch the essence of the cosmic rules. As long as it swallowed this star core engine, it could completely control the laws of entropy and bring the entire universe into its own nothingness.

Desire triumphed over caution.

The gray mist of the Lord of the Void began to churn violently.

Its core consciousness was constantly weighing, judging, and struggling.

It knew this might be a trap, an invitation to death, but that alluring primordial energy was like a lethal drug it could not resist.

Ultimately, greed gained the upper hand.

Deep within the void, an infinite hand of nothingness slowly took shape.

That hand had no concrete form; it was composed of countless churning gray mists. Its fingertips extended for tens of thousands of light-years; with a gentle squeeze, it could crush a star. It made no probes and showed no hesitation, carrying a certain arrogance of inevitable success as it lunged toward the hub ship where the star core engine was located.

This grasp carried the power to devour everything and the ambition to control all.

Gray mist churned, and space-time twisted.

Everywhere that void hand passed, even the folds of space-time were completely smoothed out. Countless energy particles were forcibly pulled and dismantled, eventually turning into pure void power.

In the command room, everyone held their breath.

Little Kate's finger was pressed hard against the detonation authorization button, her knuckles turning pale from the pressure. Her heart beat fast, almost bursting from her chest, yet there wasn't a hint of wavering on her face. She knew that once this step was taken, there would be no turning back.

Franklin's projection no longer stuttered. His light and shadow became clear, and his originally exhausted metallic voice now held an unprecedented excitement. He looked at the void hand shrouding the entire starry sky, his lips curling into a familiar smirk, as if chatting with an old friend or perhaps bolstering his own courage.

“Honestly, I’ve done plenty of crazy things in my life. I’ve hacked into the core system of the Interstellar Alliance, tampered with the Lord of the Void's sensory data, and even tried to rewrite the underlying programs of the Mechanical Civilization.” His voice rose slowly, tinged with mockery. “But today's stunt is definitely the craziest thing I've ever done in my life.”

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the command room as he spoke softly, the ease in his tone hiding the heaviest of resolutions.

“There are no respawn coins this time, everyone. Whether we live or die, we can only tough it out to the end.”

Little Kate heard his words and slowly turned her head toward Franklin's projection. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, revealing a very faint smile. That smile was light, yet it was like a beam of light piercing through the heavy darkness of the command room.

“It's worth it.”

Those three words were very soft, yet they clearly reached every combat unit of the Remnant Light Alliance and every corner of the Star Abyss.

This was Little Kate's answer, and it was the answer of all members of the Remnant Light Alliance.

It was worth staking everything for a glimmer of hope for the universe.

The Lord of the Void's hand of nothingness had completely enveloped the hub ship where the star core engine was located.

The palm of that giant hand emitted extreme cold and desolation. Every inch of its skin was composed of gray mist, frantically devouring the energy around the hub ship while also forcibly absorbing the primordial energy emitted by the star core engine.

The core consciousness of the Lord of the Void was filled with a sense of satisfaction.

It could clearly feel that primordial energy was continuously pouring into its core, repairing its damage and strengthening its power. It could feel that it was only one step away from controlling the entire universe.

It had even begun to envision how, after devouring the star core engine, it would dismantle the rules of the universe, turn all civilizations into nothingness, and establish a pure void empire belonging to it alone.

Greed caused it to relax its guard completely.

It did not notice that inside the star core engine, the dark matter bomb and the primordial light detonation device had entered their final countdown.

It did not notice that the seemingly chaotic infighting and the apparently collapsed defenses were all carefully arranged deceptions by the Remnant Light Alliance.

It especially did not notice that the seemingly "imminent collapse" energy fluctuation was actually a bait—a bait to lure it completely into greed and ultimately toward destruction.

Just at the moment the Lord of the Void thought victory was in its grasp and it was about to complete the final devouring—

“Buzz—!”

A roar that shook the entire universe suddenly rang out.

Inside the star core engine, the dark matter bomb detonated first.

This was no ordinary explosion, but a violent tearing at the level of rules. dark matter particles were magnified to the extreme in an instant. The originally invisible and intangible dark matter turned into countless black blades at this moment, frantically slicing through the void body of the Lord of the Void.

Immediately following, the primordial light detonation device activated.

Pale gold primordial energy, like a prairie fire, spread frantically inside the star core engine, colliding with the dark matter blades and instantly erupting into an unimaginable energy shock.

It was not a simple release of energy, but a "precision strike" aimed at the core structure of the Lord of the Void.

dark matter tears its body, primordial light pierces its rules, and two diametrically opposed forces madly intertwine and explode inside its core.

"Roar—!"

The Lord of the Void let out a silent roar.

It wasn't a sonic roar, but a tremor on the conscious level. The gray mist across the entire Star Abyss region surged wildly in an instant, as countless entropy-increasing tentacles erupted from the mist, flailing madly in all directions in an attempt to withstand this terrifying impact.

But all of it was in vain.

The light of the explosion broke through layers of gray mist in an instant, like a suddenly ignited sun, illuminating the entire dark Star Abyss. That light was no ordinary light, but a blazing white flame produced by the collision of origin energy and dark matter, sufficient to tear through time and space.

A massive blade of light, spanning across the entire Star Abyss, slowly took shape.

Its width reached hundreds of thousands of light-years, and its length extended even to the end of the universe. Within the blazing white light lay the dual powers of destruction and rebirth; every inch of the light blade hacked ruthlessly toward the core of the Lord of the Void.

Under the strike of the light blade, the body of the Lord of the Void distorted and disintegrated violently.

Countless entropy-increasing tentacles evaporated and dissipated in the light, and those parts of its body composed of gray mist were torn and dismantled bit by bit. The power of nothingness that originally controlled the entire Star Abyss began to drain away rapidly at this moment.

For the first time, fear appeared within its core consciousness.

It had never imagined it would be so easily and heavily wounded.

It had never imagined that the seemingly vulnerable Remnant Light Alliance could actually deal it such a fatal blow.

"No—!"

Another silent roar.

The Lord of the Void exerted all its strength, trying to withstand this impact and regain control of the situation. It frantically devoured the surrounding energy, wanting to repair the damage to its core and condense even greater power. But the impact of the explosion was too violent, and irreparable cracks had already appeared in its core.

The light blade slowly descended, hacking ruthlessly into the core of the Lord of the Void.

"Crack—!"

A faint sound, like glass shattering, came from the core of the Lord of the Void.

That was its core shell, which had a massive crack hacked open by sheer force.

Within the crack, there was no longer surging gray mist or void energy, but a point of extremely faint yet incredibly brilliant light.

The light was very dim, so dim it was almost swallowed by the aftershocks of the explosion, yet it carried an aura that was cold, orderly, and like underlying code.

That was an aura that did not belong to the Lord of the Void, an aura representing "rules" and "order."

At the deepest part of that crack, a small, broken fragment shimmering with faint golden light floated quietly in the void.

It was small, only the size of a fist, its surface flowing with complex patterns that looked like star maps of the universe or strings of mysterious code. It had no energy fluctuations or aggressiveness, yet it sat there quietly like the core of the entire universe, witnessing this collision of destruction and rebirth.

No one knew what this fragment was.

No one knew where it came from, or why it appeared within the core crack of the Lord of the Void.

Only Lin Fan and Kate, who were far in the depths of the Star Abyss watching all this quietly in their energy forms, felt a faint yet terrifying premonition rise in their hearts the moment they saw that fragment.

Their energy forms had been restructured in the void dimension, composed of pure energy without physical form or restraint. They could clearly perceive the aura of that fragment and feel the power it contained, which represented the essence of the universe.

It was a power that made them feel awe, but also fear.

The Lord of the Void was never the ultimate existence of the universe.

It was just a tool, a manipulated tool.

And that small fragment was the "hand" that manipulated it.

The aftershocks of the explosion spread in all directions like a tsunami.

The time and space of the Star Abyss were completely torn apart, as countless space-time rifts spread through the universe. Galactic debris was thoroughly shredded in the aftershocks, and those remaining ruins of civilizations and the Entropy-increasing Army that was still resisting were instantly reduced to nothingness.

The fleet of the Remnant Light Alliance paid an extremely tragic price in this explosion.

Dozens of mechanical warships were directly vaporized. The flagship of the human fleet, the "daybreak," had its hull completely snapped, half of the warships exploded in a chain reaction, and countless soldiers turned into cosmic dust.

The messenger of the Light Sphere Race was severely damaged in the explosion. The light flow on the surface of the light orb almost completely dissipated, leaving only a faint ball of light barely maintaining its existence.

Under the impact of the explosion, Franklin's projection instantly became fragmented. His core program was over seventy percent damaged, and he was on the verge of total collapse.

Little Kate was also affected. The powerful shockwave swept through the command room, twisting and bursting the thick alloy bulkheads like paper. The air was instantly sucked out, and the alarm was completely swallowed by the violent energy turbulence. She was thrown back hard, crashing into the shattered main console. A trace of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth, her left arm twisted at an unnatural angle, and intense pain instantly swept through her body.

But she didn't even look down at her injuries.

She simply propped herself up on the shattered console, struggling to stand straight, her gaze fixed on the light and gray mist exploding outside the window.

The wails of the Lord of the Void echoed on the conscious level, sweeping through the entire Star Abyss.

It was a pure pain originating from the very foundation of its existence.

Its massive body was torn apart, layers of void shells disintegrated and collapsed, and entropy-increasing power leaked out wildly. The gray mist, once as dense as iron, now became thin, chaotic, and turbulent, drifting aimlessly in the universe like dark clouds torn by a gale. It could no longer maintain that supreme, all-overlooking posture; its massive body constantly contracted, twisted, and retreated, trying to flee the center of the explosion.

But the power of the explosion had already taken root deep within its core, gnawing at the essence of its existence.

Lin Fan and Kate watched this scene quietly from within the void dimension.

They no longer had bodies of flesh and blood; their forms were flowing energy bodies of intertwined light and dark. Their consciousness floated between the rifts of time and space, able to clearly touch the vibration of every wisp of energy and the collapse of every rule. The explosion just now was not just destruction on a physical level, but also a heavy blow to the origin of the void, causing even the void interlayer where they resided to ripple violently.

Kate's energy body dimmed slightly. Having previously forced an intervention in reality to stabilize the space-time rift, she was already near the brink of disintegration. Now, being affected by this rule-level explosion, the edges of her body showed signs of dispersing, like a candle in the wind that could be extinguished at any moment.

Lin Fan reached out, wanting to hold her, but there was no physical contact between energy bodies, only a gentle merging of two waves.

His dark matter aura surged with corrosive black light, intertwining with her soft light energy to barely stabilize her dispersing outline.

"Hold on."

Lin Fan's voice was only a conscious fluctuation, yet it was exceptionally clear. "It's not over yet."

Kate trembled slightly, her energy halo flickering faintly:

"I'm fine... I just didn't expect them to actually dare to go this far."

"That little girl has always been more ruthless than we thought." Lin Fan looked toward the direction where the Remnant Light Alliance fleet had been wiped out, his voice deep. "She never intended to make it back alive from the start."

Within their field of vision, the residual power of the explosion swept in all directions.

The trap carefully laid by the Remnant Light Alliance had succeeded.

And it was tragic to the extreme.

The human fleet was nearly wiped out. The once massive fleet clusters were now reduced to a few scattered, broken hulls drifting in the space-time turbulence, their engines dead and life signals vanishing in large numbers. Numerous combat units of the Mechanical Civilization melted down, their core matrices overloaded and burst, and metal debris covered the starry sky. The Light Sphere Race suffered heavy losses, with several primordial light individuals dissipating directly in the shockwave, leaving only fine particles of light.

The Alliance had gambled almost all its combat power on this one strike.

And the Lord of the Void had finally, for the first time, revealed a true "weakness."

At its torn core wound, the gray mist could not heal, and void energy continued to leak out.

Inside that bottomless crack, there was no entropy increase, no darkness, and no silence unique to the void.

Instead, a trace of... extremely cold, extremely regular, almost mechanical light of order shone through.

A small fragment floated quietly.

It wasn't large, its faint light restrained, its surface flowing with patterns as fine as the veins of a galaxy. It wasn't ostentatious or violent, yet it carried a sense of weight that transcended the existing rules of the universe.

It was not a void creation.

It was not entropy-increasing power.

It was not the energy of any known civilization.

Lin Fan and Kate were both stunned at the same time.

As energy bodies, their sensitivity to the origin of the universe far exceeded that of any tangible being.

The aura coming from that fragment was vaguely familiar to them—

When they first fell into the void and their consciousness was restructured, when they could perceive the overall flow of the universe, they had faintly touched a layer of... "underlying rules" that transcended all civilizations and all powers.

Indifferent, absolute, without sorrow or joy.

As if the entire universe itself was a pre-written program.

"What is that..." Kate said softly, her energy fluctuation carrying a hint of unease. "It doesn't belong to the void, nor to any existence we know."

Lin Fan stared at the fragment, his dark matter halo fluctuating violently:

"The Lord of the Void has always been pushed forward by something. It's not out of control; it's... being assigned."

He paused, enunciating every word with a chill:

"We were wrong before."

"The Lord of the Void isn't the ultimate."

"It's just an executor."

Kate's heart sank.

If even the Lord of the Void was just a tool, then what kind of terrifying existence was hidden behind the scenes of this universe?

On the battlefield, the chaos continued.

The pain and rage of the Lord of the Void reached their peak.

It no longer deliberately maintained its calm and indifference. Countless broken void tentacles lashed out madly at the surroundings. Wherever they passed, space-time collapsed and stars shattered. The universe, which had just caught its breath after the explosion, was once again shrouded in death. It was heavily wounded and its power had plummeted, but in its frenzy, its lethality became even more terrifying.

It was destroying indiscriminately.

Little Kate stood in the fragmented command room, her body covered in wounds. Her vision was already somewhat blurred, and her ears were filled with ringing. The air pressure in the cabin was on the verge of collapse, and the emergency lights flickered weakly, reflecting the mess all around.

Beside her, Franklin's projection was already in tatters, the light and shadow intermittent. A large number of module errors were scrolling across the screen, and his core computing power had plummeted, making it almost impossible to maintain his conscious existence.

He barely managed to condense half a face, his voice stuttering and raspy, yet still carrying a hint of his usual ease:

"Look... looks like... we... gambled right..."

Little Kate panted slightly, leaning on the console and struggling to stand firm:

"It's wounded."

"But not yet dead."

Franklin was silent for a moment, his damaged projection trembling slightly:

"Little one, from the very beginning... you never thought you'd survive, did you?"

Little Kate did not deny it.

She looked at the crack spanning the starry sky outside the window, at the madly rampaging figure of the Lord of the Void, and at the wreckage of the destroyed Alliance fleet. Her voice was light and calm:

"From the day I took this position, I had no way back."

"For some to live, someone has to bear the burden."

"It's worth it."

These two words, she had said them once before the detonation.

Saying them again now, she was still calm, but there was an added layer of weight from having walked through life and death.

Franklin chuckled softly, his voice carrying electrical noise:

"Your personality... is really like hers."

Little Kate didn't look back, only saying softly:

"Notify the remaining forces to retreat immediately. Do not linger in battle."

"The Lord of the Void has gone mad; next, it will destroy everything at any cost. Our mission is complete. The rest... leave it to those behind us."

Everyone knew that "those behind us" referred to the two beings who had already become energy forms deep in the Star Abyss.

Lin Fan and Kate.

At this moment, the wound of the Lord of the Void was still leaking an unusual faint light. That fragment was faintly visible in the depths of the crack, like an open eye coldly watching the entire war, all civilizations, and every sacrifice and struggle.

It did not intervene, interfere, or judge.

It just watched quietly.

As if this catastrophe sweeping the universe was merely a routine cleanup.

Lin Fan stared at the fragment and suddenly spoke, his voice deep, audible only to Kate:

"It's watching us."

"Who?"

"The thing behind that fragment," Lin Fan said. "The Lord of the Void is the knife, we are the target, and it is the one holding the knife."

Kate's energy body shook slightly:

"The will of... the universe itself?"

Lin Fan did not answer.

The answer was already too obvious.

Within the Star Abyss, the aftershocks of the explosion gradually dissipated, the blazing white light slowly dimmed, and the gray mist began to gather again. However, the aura of the Lord of the Void was now incredibly weak, no longer possessing that crushing, overwhelming terror from before.

The Remnant Light Alliance paid a tragic price in exchange for a single heavy wound.

But the crisis of the universe, far from being over, had instead sunk into a deeper and more fundamental level.

The Lord of the Void curled up in the depths of the shattered Star Abyss, the crack in its core difficult to heal. That fragment glowed slightly within its body, like a brand, a control, a... higher-level command.

It was not free.

It was programmed.

And the one who programmed it was hidden within that fragment, coldly looking down on everything.

Little Kate leaned against the shattered main console and slowly closed her eyes.

She knew that this battle was only the beginning.

The true ultimate enemy had not yet truly shown its face.

In the depths of the void, Lin Fan and Kate stood facing each other, their light and dark energies gently intertwining.

They looked at the wound of the Lord of the Void, at the mysterious fragment, and at the devastated universe, as a realization so clear it was piercing rose in their hearts simultaneously:

On the day the Lord of the Void falls, the true nightmare will only just begin.

The star core trap has succeeded, and the Lord of the Void is wounded.

The fragment of the universe's will has appeared, and the prelude to the finale has officially begun.