As if Han Ling's words had awakened a new power within her, Yu Yui's eyes gleamed with a multicolored divine light.
She felt more driven as a new wave of Qi surged through her veins. Unlike the power generated from burning her two bloodlines, this energy was more chaotic and destructive.
The avatar's body tensed slightly. That multicolored Qi—he felt a hint of danger from it. But then, he laughed.
"How impressive... It only makes me want your body even more."
The greed in the outer god's avatar's eyes intensified as some of its mouths began to drool.
Han Ling watched in silence, his amber eyes narrowed like blades ready to strike. Something about the Qi emerging from Yu Yui felt wrong. It was unstable… far too chaotic… as if it belonged to a being that should not exist.
"This isn't part of her bloodlines…" he muttered to himself, finally furrowing his brows.
The space around Yu Yui began to distort, as if reality itself were trying to reject that power. Rays of multicolored energy burst out in erratic patterns, distorting the senses and defying logic.
Multicolored runes formed across Yu Yui's skin, spreading over her entire body, as if trying to restrain that chaotic power.
The outer god's avatar paused briefly.
"…This isn't bloodline energy. This is… Divinity? No… It's filthier than that…"
The avatar finally understood. This wasn't just a legacy or a spiritual mutation. It was something far greater—a fragment of primordial chaos itself. Something a mortal should never have touched.
This time, there was no greed in the avatar's eyes—only disgust.
"You... So this is where that traitor has been hiding all this time."
Unmoved by the avatar's words, Yu Yui was in despair. The new power she had awakened was indeed useful, especially in this life-or-death situation. The only problem was that this growing power was starting to damage the soul pearl where Han Ling was.
At first it was imperceptible, but as the multicolored Qi grew stronger, cracks slowly began forming in the soul pearl.
"Yu Yui... Focus on fighting the avatar first, worry about me later. Remember—if the avatar absorbs that cocoon, it won't be just me who dies." Han Ling's voice echoed coldly in Yu Yui's mind, serving as a harsh but motivating reminder.
Yu Yui nodded. If it weren't for the multicolored Qi disintegrating her tears before they could form, she would likely be crying.
She raised her hand, gathering multicolored light in her palm, forming a multicolored sphere. Due to her poor control over the chaotic Qi, much of it was lost, but even so, the amount of energy gathered was terrifying.
With a wave of her hand toward the avatar, the sphere launched forward. To say it "moved" was an understatement—it was as if it ignored space altogether and simply appeared in front of the avatar.
Unlike the first attack, the avatar was genuinely desperate to defend against this one. However, it was impossible to defend against something that had already landed.
The explosion flared intensely, its multicolored light illuminating the entire dimension. Not even the avatar's body could withstand the attack's power, being completely vaporized—as if it had never existed in this world.
The impact was catastrophic. The entire dimension was destroyed by the multicolored Qi radiating from the explosion. The only things left intact were Yu Yui and the golden cocoon, which had been shielded by Mara's divinity.
Even though she had survived her own attack, Yu Yui was in a dire state. The blast had torn her skin, obliterated her clothes and artifacts, and left her naked, floating in the void.
The silence that followed was deafening. A vacuum without sound, without time, without form. Only Yu Yui's irregular breathing could be heard—or rather, felt. The swirling multicolored chaos around her hadn't vanished yet, though it was slowly beginning to retract, seemingly satisfied with the destruction it had wrought.
She floated in the void—nude, bloodied, and exhausted. The runes on her skin still pulsed faintly. Some were fading, but others… others were fusing with her flesh.
Her red eyes were now dimmer, dulled by pain and fear.
"Han… Ling…" she whispered, her voice trembling—not from weakness, but from guilt. "The pearl…"
Within the soul pearl, Han Ling's figure appeared one final time. His ethereal body was unstable, cracks spreading across his form like he was made of delicate porcelain about to shatter.
But before she could check his condition, a cold voice echoed through the void.
"Congratulations, insects. You've actually managed to piss me off."
Han Ling's figure was floating in the void, his red eyes locked onto Yu Yui. His body was covered in fine cracks, revealing his insides—black flesh writhing with countless eyes staring directly at her. His presence was heavy and suffocating. The void itself seemed to freeze at the arrival of that cosmic horror.
Yu Yui's eyes widened. That thing was definitely not Han Ling. Even if it used his body, the Qi, the scent, the existential presence—it was all different. An absolute chill ran down her spine as she realized:
"The Outer God is here…"
She tried to move, tried to react, but she was too weak. The remnants of the multicolored Qi still vibrated violently in her meridians, fighting her, trying to escape, destroying her from the inside. The runes on her body now burned like living embers, struggling to contain the energy.
The creature wearing Han Ling's body slowly extended a hand, grasping a liquid darkness full of eyes that squirmed within its palm.
Yu Yui's eyes widened even more. A new realization formed in her mind — the situation was only getting worse by the second.
"The avatar of the Outer God is still alive..."
The Outer God's hand crushed the avatar in its grip, sending pieces of black sludge flying through the void.
"Useless. You couldn't even handle those ants." The Outer God's words dripped with disgust. His red eyes — all of them — glowed with disdain at the avatar's failure.
The scattered sludge began to reform into a humanoid figure filled with mouths and eyes. Its eyes looked everywhere, except at the being before it.
"Please... forgive my incompetence... I didn't know about the primordial chaos..." Its voice sounded weak and powerless.
The Outer God stroked his own chin, his red eyes fixed on the avatar as if deciding what to do with such a worthless creation.
"I created you so I could refine my body in peace. But since you failed, I'm now forced to act myself to save you." The Outer God's gaze grew cold as he looked at the avatar, which now seemed smaller than an ant in his eyes. "You failed your only purpose. I believe your existence no longer has meaning."
Upon hearing those words, the avatar's body began to tremble. The black sludge making up its form seemed unable to hold shape, losing its humanoid form and becoming a trembling black mass.
"Vanish. Do not stain my sight with your pathetic existence."
The Outer God's words sounded like a final verdict. The avatar knew exactly what his master meant. Without wasting another moment, it took its own life.
Its body began to crumble, turning to ashes that were absorbed by the Outer God. His aura seemed to grow slightly after absorbing the avatar.
The Outer God slowly turned to Yu Yui. His rage had diminished, but it was still there. His black eyes stared at Yu Yui with renewed interest.
His aura filled the surrounding void. Reality itself screamed in silence, as if it were suffering in his presence. Yu Yui trembled, partly from fear, but also because her body could no longer contain the multicolored chaos surging within her. Once activated, that chaos seemed desperate to destroy her body and escape. The only thing keeping it sealed were the divine runes carved into her flesh.
"How intriguing. The primordial chaos is inside your body, but it seems determined to escape at any cost." His black, abyssal eyes stared deeply into Yu Yui's body, as if seeing all her secrets. Yu Yui felt small beneath his analytical gaze, as if her soul had been laid bare.
"It seems the primordial chaos was sealed within your body. The intention must've been to use your infinite luck to suppress it. After all, luck can be considered a kind of order." The Outer God's lips curved into a smile as he continued coldly, "But… your physique was incomplete. You couldn't control the chaos and allowed it to leak out. Still, don't worry — once I have your body, I'll make sure to put that traitor's power to good use."
The rage Yu Yui felt toward the being before her was intense but helpless. Her naked body, marked by runes, glowed faintly, her skin cracked, blood trickling from tiny fissures, her dim red eyes nearly closed. Yet even in the face of death, even before an Outer God in his true form... something inside her still refused to give in.
"N-No..." her voice came as a whisper. "My body... belongs to Han Ling... you will not... touch it..."
The Outer God laughed. It was a low, almost serene laugh, but so terribly dissonant that it seemed to break the very laws of sound. Even space itself seemed to tremble.
"You still think he's in there? Poor thing... If you weren't so entertaining, I'd destroy you right now." He stepped closer, his footsteps echoing into nothingness, as if the void itself created a floor for him to walk upon. "With such chaotic, destructive power… Do you really think Han Ling is still alive?"
Yu Yui's expression shifted instantly, but she ignored it, assuming it was just a lie from the Outer God meant to manipulate her.
The Outer God went on, his voice laced with quiet amusement:
"You don't believe me? Then why can't you hear Han Ling's voice in your mind?" His smile widened. "Do you want to know why? Because you killed him. You killed Han Ling."
Yu Yui's eyes widened.
Those words pierced her soul like sharp blades, tearing apart not only her mind but also the fragile layer of hope that had kept her conscious.
"Liar..." she whispered, even though her voice held no strength, even though she herself wasn't sure anymore.
"Liar! Liar! Liar!" She clutched her own arms, repeating it over and over, as if trying to convince herself it was false, a cruel joke played by her master.
The Outer God simply watched, savoring every second of Yu Yui's reaction. His cold, superior expression never changed, but the sadistic pleasure in his eyes made one thing clear: he enjoyed destroying others.
"Tell me, little freak," he said, eyes narrowing, "if he were alive, wouldn't he have protected you by now? Where is your precious master? Why isn't he speaking to you through the soul pearl? Why… do you feel nothing but emptiness?"
Yu Yui collapsed to her knees. Her hands trembled as they touched her own chest, where the runes pulsed faintly. The soul pearl lay shattered. She tried calling out to him again — with her soul, her will, with everything she had.
Nothing.
No response. No whisper of "your voice reaches me."
Only silence. Absolute silence.
"No… it can't be…" she muttered, her eyes welling up. "I wanted to protect him… I just wanted to help..."
The Outer God's voice was cold, yet amused:
"And you failed. Miserably."
His eyes narrowed slightly, and he spoke with a touch of disappointment:
"That's truly a shame. I wanted his Stealth Gift, but it seems I won't be getting it."
His eyes shifted to the golden cocoon, completely ignoring Yu Yui in front of him. She was nothing more than a broken doll now — no longer a threat.
Today had been full of surprises. The greatest of them was that divine cocoon. If whatever was inside it hatched, it could be dangerous. But for now, it was just nourishment.
As stared at the golden cocoon before him, the Outer God's mind began to drift.