C2370 The Roaring Stars
Upon witnessing Yu Yuan's visage, the elder Space God was seized by madness.
Crack!
The gleaming, polished surface of the star, strikingly similar to the Eiwrone, was suddenly riddled with deep holes, transforming it into a vast honeycomb.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Around the Genesis Nebula, an immense torrent of space magic cascaded into the star through those openings.
The quivering star, as if guzzling a nutrient-rich elixir, greedily drew in the space magic from the cosmos.
Paxton alternated between heart-wrenching sobs and fits of maniacal laughter, his mind thrown into disarray.
"Have either of you seen him before?"
The God of Time, Heesters, scrutinized Yu Yuan with piercing intensity, troubled by his old friend's abrupt descent into lunacy.
Both Zhong Chichen and Taishi looked on with suspicion.
Despite being under the influence of the Forgotten Divine Power, Paxton, who had suddenly lost his memories, became unhinged at the sight of Yu Yuan.
The situation was exceedingly peculiar.
From Paxton's extreme reaction, they surmised that he either recognized Yu Yuan or had encountered someone with a similar appearance.
"I don't recall him," Yu Yuan stated, his brow furrowed yet his demeanor composed, his gaze never leaving Paxton.
"Of course, if you possess the means to restore the memories I've lost, perhaps then I could ascertain whether Paxton and I have ever crossed paths," he added.
Dense space magic converged from all quarters, streaming like a river into the perforated surface of the star.
This star, already brimming with profound space magic, left Zhong Chichen in awe. Amidst its violent tremors, the internal Void Rules intricately wove together, undergoing adjustment.
Zhong Chichen sensed something profound.
Whoosh!
The seven-colored divine rainbow he had refined slipped into one of the caverns. Inside, he glimpsed the crystalline mountain's rock walls, ablaze with the blinding lightning of the rule.
His Divine Sense honed in, discovering that the lightning etching the mountain bore the semblance of veins and sinews.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Suddenly, he noticed that Paxton, now in the throes of madness, had numerous holes spontaneously appearing in his desiccated body.
The venerable Space God appeared as if lacerated by countless blades of spatial light.
Yet, within his body, not a single drop of blood was shed.
Absent were the veins in his parched flesh; he had no heart, nor the bloodline chain that should reside within.
Zhong Chichen scrutinized Paxton, while Yu Yuan looked on with a peculiar expression. "His body is shrouded in an aura of death. He possesses a physical form, yet lacks the flesh and life force inherent to a living creature," he observed.
To Yu Yuan, the frenzied Paxton was nothing more than an inanimate object!
"He and the star beneath him have miraculously fused into one. His body may be devoid of space magic, but all the space magic within the star belongs to him."
After a moment of contemplation, Zhong Chichen coolly surmised, "Furthermore, his soul and body have been severed from one another."
The revelation startled everyone.
Yu Yuan noted the absence of flesh and blood in Paxton, while Zhong Chichen spoke of a division between his spirited body. Was he then alive or dead?
The God of Time, Heesters, paused briefly before gently tilting the hourglass, allowing his divine time power to cascade from his ivory-like bones.
This divine time power streamed into the caverns within the star, whistling as it weaved through them.
Heesters detected an unmistakable presence within the star—the familiar essence of Paxton!
"His physical form is merely a shell, a facade. If I'm not mistaken, his flesh, sinew, and bones have integrated with this star," Heesters realized, acknowledging the oddity. He nodded at Zhong Chichen and prompted, "Go on."
Zhong Chichen, who had attained an understanding of space magic, added, "His spiritual sense now resides outside the star, within the spatial folds."
No sooner had he spoken than Zhong Chichen, enlightened by the enigmatic star, departed from the Book of Time.
Transforming into a prismatic beam of divine light, Zhong Chichen wove through the star's surface, vanishing into the layered spatial folds, endeavoring to coalesce Paxton's spiritual sense.
Yet the openings on Paxton's form and the fissure on his forehead persisted in multiplying.
He appeared to be truly unified with the star, its surface cavities mirroring his own body.
"This is an instinct," Yu Yuan mused, his brow furrowed as he sensed a fleeting obsession. "He's trying to communicate something to us. There's an unresolved obsession deep within him."
"Obsession?" Heesters echoed, taken aback.
Yu Yuan nodded affirmatively. "Let's wait and see."
Everyone could sense that the elder Space God was frantically drawing space magic from the celestial body beneath him. Clearly, he had some grand scheme in mind.
Paxton, who had long ago fused his flesh, the crystal chains of his heart, and this celestial body into one, now regarded the star as his own body.
The skin and flesh he displayed were merely an empty vessel devoid of a soul.
"What exactly happened? Can you tell me?"
Heesters gazed intently into Paxton's eyes, desperate for an answer.
Yet Paxton's gaze remained steadfastly on Yu Yuan, muttering incomprehensible words.
Yu Yuan listened intently but could make no sense of it either.
Eventually, the star, resembling a wasp's nest, sprang into motion after engulfing a wave of space magic from the Genesis Nebula.
The substantial Book of Time clung to the star, remaining firmly integrated as the star stirred.
In time, the star, brimming with boundless space magic, began to roar within the Genesis Nebula.
Paxton, fixated on Yu Yuan, saw his already desiccated body begin to wither further at the star's howl.
The star was no different.
In the instant the massive Star of Wonder shot through the Genesis Nebula, the enigmatic material comprising the star was consumed along with the space magic.
It wasn't merely shrinking; it was being depleted.
Yu Yuan suddenly noticed that as they soared with the star through the Genesis Nebula, the scenery around them accelerated dramatically.
A crescent moon hung overhead, and the cold, distant figure of Canli quietly emerged into his view.
Canli's icy gaze briefly met his, her lips curving into an eerie smile that vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Because the star beneath them, propelled by the formidable space magic, had already moved past Canli's position.
Canli, who had departed before the Spirit of Chaos, could not match the velocity at which the star, steered by the venerable Space God Paxton, soared through the Genesis Nebula.
"I saw Canli!" Zhong Chichen's voice echoed from a spatial fold outside the star. "She's been overtaken by the Moonborn Spirit. We've just flown past her!"
"Try to see if you can connect with Paxton's dispersed consciousness!" Yu Yuan called out in response.
"I'm trying!"
Subsequently, the enigmatic star, instinctively navigated by Paxton, picked up speed as it hurtled through the Genesis Nebula, with the images beside Yu Yuan flashing by ever more swiftly.
He needed to concentrate intensely to discern a clear image from the fleeting scenes before him.
Soon, he beheld a realm ablaze with resplendent stars.
There, Ballo, who had ascended to the Supreme Realm through the power of stars, was devoutly kneeling before something.
At that moment, Ballo appeared to have assimilated numerous shattered star cores, and the starshards encircling him were the quintessence of stars.
Ballo had clearly been overtaken by the consciousness of the Domain of Origin's Star of Wonder, now using his body to act.
Ballo was intently worshipping something and failed to notice a Star of Wonder whisking past him in an instant.
Since Ballo had his back to Yu Yuan, Yu Yuan couldn't see the object of Ballo's veneration.
First Canli, then Ballo, followed by Loong Jie and Yuan Lianyao, all swept through Yu Yuan's vision in succession.
Loong Jie, in his golden dragon form, coiled around a majestic Holy Mountain forged from gold. His dragon body wrapped around the mountain, his lower jaw resting on the peak as if he was attentively listening to a sound.
Yuan Lianyao, meanwhile, was submerged in a towering inferno within the Genesis Nebula, seemingly purified by the celestial fires of creation.
Yu Yuan couldn't determine whether she was possessed by the blazing fire or by another spirit of flame.
The Supreme beings who had departed were now all hosts to the Primal Anima of the Domain of Origin. Yet, they were unharmed, each living well.
As the star passed by them, Yu Yuan's anxiety eased; there was no need to fear for their demise.
Yu Yuan quickly realized that the star, steered by Paxton, possessed an inconceivable speed, continually overtaking those who had left.
The star sped through the Genesis Nebula with Paxton and the star in seamless unity. Paxton no longer gazed at Yu Yuan, but rather bowed his head as though in contemplation.
He would occasionally whisper incomprehensible words, which everyone ignored.
Then, amidst his murmurs, a clear statement emerged: "The outer circle of the Genesis Nebula is an immense ring."
Following those words, the Star of Wonder beneath him vibrated with a sudden jolt.
The trajectory of the star abruptly altered its course. Instead of delving deeper into the Genesis Nebula, it began to orbit in a wide arc!
At that moment, Zhong Chichen let out a muffled groan, returning from a small space within the star's folds, his mouth smeared with blood.
All eyes turned to him.
Zhong Chichen, his face ashen, shook his head and addressed those gathered, "He's too powerful. And the one suppressing his memories and Divine Sense must be even mightier! In the outer layers of space, I catch glimpses of his spiritual sense forming shadows. Just as I attempt to seek his wisdom, the shadows disintegrate into dust."
"A dreadful force encircles the void around the stars, locking away his memories and spirit."
Wiping the blood from his mouth, Zhong Chichen settled onto the Book of Time and continued, "He exists within this star by separating his spirited body. Let's wait and see what he intends to do."
