Archwizard K’s Journey In The Cultivation World

Case 89: Sunrise in the night.

'The strongest in the world.'

Many claimed this title, yet few had seized it for certain during their lifetime.

Even Kierra hadn't done it. 

It wasn't that she wasn't powerful enough. Someone of the same caliber existed, and she wasn't keen on having a serious battle with them.

Nevertheless, for now, she was only the 'Strongest wizard in the world.'

'Strongest' was never compromised, but Kierra herself knew—she was only the strongest 'living organism.'

No matter how powerful one becomes, one ought to be humbled by nature at some point.

If someone asked Kierra to directly confront a supernova explosion, she would hesitate to claim her victory. If someone asked Kierra to name one singular entity whose power was truly unfathomable, she would unhesitatingly say—

A black hole.

A region in the fabric of space-time where gravity was so strong that not even light, the fastest thing in the universe, could escape. It was, in every way, the very manifestation of a perfect, infinitely strong destruction force.

Rather than fear or jealousy, Kierra had always been an admirer.

She was fascinated by the existence of black holes, and she had tried multiple times to replicate their power. Nevertheless, she simply didn't have enough power to recreate the effect of a black hole.

Compressing an unimaginable amount of mass into a single point required an equally unimaginable amount of energy, and even if Kierra drained her colossal mana pool, it didn't seem feasible.

However, with the help of qi...

'I can do it.'

Again, Kierra's qi was nowhere enough to perform such a ludicrous task, but she could certainly utilize its inherent reaction with mana. In fact, she had been thinking about this ever since she discovered this fact.

And... where would be a more fitting stage for her to turn the idea into reality?

So, clutching her staff, Kierra began to chant.

''Calling upon the universe's silent reapers.''

''The guardians of time—the apex of things.''

Every time Kierra used a new spell, an unadulterated joy, like that of a child receiving her new toy, emerged. The joy of creation, the joy of unleashing one's potential...

With a smile on her face, the entirety of the archwizard's mana reserve was released, causing an explosion so bright it dwarfed the starlight for a few moments. Taking the root from her heart, the streams of mana quickly branched out, overtaking the space with unprecedented aggressiveness.

The sky was dyed in a brilliant blue color.

Feeling her clothes fluttering terribly from the intense wind, Kierra grabbed the rim of her hat and continued to chant.

''Past the rings of Saturn, across the Milky Way.''

A quote she got from a book of otherworldly origin. Giving it a sense of scale.

''Where it reigned by darkness, where we'll return someday.''

Giving it a sense of finality.

''Life is but a flickering fragment floating in the sea of void...''

''Destined to return to the darkness along with the stars,''

In the state of hyper-activation, Kierra's ten mana circles burned dazzlingly, gleaming strands of blue that escaped her chest. The archwizard's eyes were focused, vibrant, yet unstained by arrogance.

With an amount of mana that could put life itself to a halt, she pierced Yuwei's tsunami right in the middle. For a second, everything seemingly came to a stop.

Nevertheless, the archwizard, bearing a victory smirk on her face, uttered—

''So,''

''Become the darkness that devours life and descends before me.''

In the space where time wasn't moving, Kierra aimed her slender hand forward.

⌈Astral Oblivion—12★⌋

As she closed her fingers, the colossal cluster of mana, now situated squarely in the middle of Yuwei's water—her body—instantly began the process of materialization. Aided by the eruption of a meticulously arranged inner skeleton of qi inside, the unimaginable mass of the densest material Kierra knew expanded, and the sheer energy radiated was enough to engulf everything in a blinding white.

Sound couldn't be heard.

It was as though a supernova explosion occurred.

No, in Kierra's opinion, it had occurred.

Recklessly blowing so much mass in one place did risk devouring the whole planet into an explosion... however, wasn't there the perfect cover for that?

Yuwei's 'indestructible' and 'endless' waves easily became the 'walls' to contain the spell's outburst.

Kierra shot a glance at her enemy, who was riding her waves afar, and instantly noticed her expression distorting.

'Got her.'

The ominous tsunami, which was enveloping the realm with a shade of deep black, now swelled terribly, struggling to escape from the immense reaction within itself.

Soon enough, the substance containing corrupt divine power, which made up Yuwei's body, sharply exploded into countless droplets before being evaporated by the tremendous heat generated from the discharge. 

With that alone, a good portion of Yuwei's celestial body was gone.

However, the real show began shortly after that.

'''' ...! ''''

Within the span of a second, the blinding white glow was turned into a singular point—a concentration of infinite mass that seemed darker than everything else. 

Accompanied by a constant stream of eerie sounds, things were... sucked into the black hole. Like an unstoppable, insatiable beast, everything was hurling toward the singularity, destined to be crushed until nothing remained.

Yuwei's prided waves, her mighty summons, her absolute proof of divinity—her own body was being erased from existence.

Yet, the instinct as a Heavenly Venerate shone through even the darkest of situations. On her dying breaths, Yuwei spent her remaining energy and shot a desperate attack at the vulnerable Kierra.

''Kierra!''

Immediately, August and Cosmos came forward.

Even knowing that taking it might get them infected with this unknown virus, they shielded Kierra.

At the moment when breaths were held and minds were paralyzed, a seemingly insignificant rift opened under the starry sky. From it, a small, fluffy shade of pink fell out, followed by a yellow silhouette.

''Here I come, my love—!!''

''Argh...! Please shut up for a second! My head hurts!''

In the most critical moment, Kierra was suddenly stunned by the familiar voice. A strand of orange light flickered within her field of view, and when the archwizard gazed up—

''...Dia.''

Burning brighter than any star could hope to become, a magnificent phoenix descended from space, joining the cosmic family to become the only sun that shone on this exceptionally dark night.

The sight made for a spectacular view—light opposed darkness, yet within that conflict existed a certain harmony. The black hole collapsed everything into itself, creating a ring of light around its body, while Diamante's immense flame was surrounded by darkness.

The yin and yang symbol.

It was said that whoever was tenacious enough to witness that scene truly received divine enlightenment.

However, for the main actor herself, she only had one goal.

She was going to burn her life for Kierra.

So, she squarely landed on the ground before August and Cosmos, letting the dark bullet pierce her chest.

''Dia!''

Kierra desperately yelled, noticing dark streaks growing from the hole in Diamante's chest as she turned back into a human. Ignoring everything else, Kierra rushed toward her old lover.

''Dia—''