Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 538 From Despair to New Hope
A ray of morning light pierced through the split clouds.

A sliver of light was cast upon the gloomy Edmunds.

Even though this ray of dawn was dimmer and weaker than any dawn Li Xia had ever seen.

But for the perpetually dark Black Descendant Star, this light was dazzlingly bright, and they stared intently at the tiny ray of light.

It was as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.

The clouds slowly closed inwards, and the beam of light cast from the sky also narrowed.

Until the slit first narrowed, then slowly closed, until finally only a beam of light remained.

The spear nimbly circled in his hand and disappeared, Li Xia's entire attention drawn to the constantly refreshing notifications in front of him.

[Executioner, the main quest for this stage is complete.]

[Minimum mission requirements have been met; you may choose to leave this world.]

[Current Advancement Level: Perfect Advancement (Attribute Compression Coefficient 0.9)]

[Executioner, a special main quest has been unlocked!]

[Special Main Quest: Beyond Perfection!]

[Mission Objective: Slay the avatar of an ancient god!]

[Task time limit: 15 days]

[Task Rewards: Ultimate Advancement, Basic Talent Enhancement, Apostle Template Upgrade Permissions]

【Notice! Notice! Notice! 】

This mission is extremely dangerous, with an overall difficulty rating of SSS-SSS+. Executioner, please make a careful decision!

The continuous stream of notifications paused here for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, the message box of the Hall of Light started shaking as if there was a bad signal.

Li Xia's eyebrows also unconsciously rose a few points, something he had never seen before.

A few seconds later, the notification from the Hall of Light refreshed again.

The Executioner currently has an extremely high hidden rating.

[Title detected: One Man Forms an Army]

[Guaranteed minimum return mechanism activated!]

[Executioner, during the special advancement, your death will be prevented by the Hall, and you will return to the Hall of Light with a 'Perfect Advancement' quest completion rate.]

[After triggering the guaranteed drop, the title 'One Man' will be consumed, and the hidden rating will be downgraded to Normal.]

Li Xia glanced at the prompt in front of him, but didn't think too much about it. He simply floated forward and reached out to pick up the things that Simmons had dropped.

The Ascension Trial rarely drops items, and the quests rarely offer other rewards.

But against an enemy of Simmons' caliber, the Temple of Light will still show some restraint.

However, perhaps even the temple despises such stinking garbage as the Old Gods, so nothing of great value could be extracted from Simmons.

Li Xia received only a few items.

You have obtained 1 Different Colored Crystal, tainted hand bone, and shattered Sacred Heart.

After glancing at the item in his hand, Li Xia frowned.

If it weren't for the fact that the main purpose of the advancement battle wasn't for resources, he would definitely start cursing if an enemy of this level dropped so little stuff.

Even with Collins' help, the treasure chest was diluted by half, and what came out would definitely not be the few scraps we had.

Simmons is still a pseudo-Tier 4 no matter what, so it's not unreasonable for him to get an orange item!
Different colored crystals – energy crystals containing a certain amount of the power of the ancient gods, but most things that require energy cannot use this.

The contaminated hand bone—this hand bone looks very large, even larger than a palm-leaf fan. Li Xia recognized it at a glance as the hand bone of the hand that grew on Simmons' back.

The annotation says it's an unknown object, and we have no idea what it's used for.

The final Broken Sacred Heart is even more outrageous, directly labeled as a 'quest item' that can be submitted to the Burning Heart Church.

"Not even a treasure chest?"

Awoo landed on Li Xia's shoulder, peeked out for a moment, and then spat out a disgusted look:
"No wonder the apostles react like they've seen shit whenever they mention the old pantheon; it's hard to fight them and they don't get anything out of them."

"What a poor bastard!"

"Meow! (If they weren't poor, how could an Old God with such power be reduced to gnawing on a third-tier world?)"

Black Charcoal, riding on Howling Sky, also rushed over and immediately agreed.

"Hey! You know what, you really shouldn't tell me!"

The dragon's claws, roaring like it was having a stroke, pointed skyward, utterly unbelievable:

"How did the Old Gods end up like this, with their current strength?"

Li Xia didn't join the three little ones in their crazy rant about the old god, but instead glanced at Collins beside him.

Collins, also a perfect aberration, is actually an enemy, but after anticipating that he couldn't hold on any longer, he took drastic measures against himself.

He forcibly stamped himself with the ideological seal of 'eliminating corruption'.

Collins seemed oblivious to Li Xia's gaze, silently hovering in mid-air.

Beneath his monstrous appearance, however, lay an inexplicable depth of complex emotions, a complexity that even pierced through the distortion that should have utterly twisted him, like a lonely soul weeping deep within his heart.

"Darkness still lingers."

He spoke in a low voice, his rough, hoarse voice sounding like sand being rubbed together, with a dry quality.

Collins looked at the dwindling light and then turned to look at Li Xia:

"I will destroy the darkness."

The words were rambling and disjointed, but the meaning was clear; even Xiaotian understood that it meant they wanted to continue their alliance.

"Ah."

Go now.

"Shall we go up and deliver it now?"

Li Xia glanced at him:
"Wait a minute, let's discuss it before we go."

Collins suddenly stopped, staring at Li Xia with his dark eyes for a long time, his thick tail swishing back and forth behind him, even producing a loud whooshing sound, looking extremely impatient.

But after watching for a while, he still replied in a low voice:
"Okay, okay."

When Li Xia landed on the ground, the Zhuo Xin trio were already overwhelmed with joy and excitement.

"We won! We won!"

Iris covered her face and sat by the dilapidated street. The monsters around her had long been cleared away by Victor, leaving only withered human skin and stinking corpses scattered on the ground.

Even seasoned veterans like Victor and Fafner were excitedly waving their fists and whispering things only they could hear, their aged faces streaked with tears.

Even Awoo couldn't bear to tell them that this was just an appetizer, and the main course, the incarnation of the Old God, was waiting. "Xia! We won! You saved the world!"

Victor excitedly put his arm around Li Xia's shoulder, and even started swearing:

"You are the greatest hero! I want to erect a 100-meter-tall statue of you!!!"

I want the whole world to know your deeds, and for your story to be written into scriptures and textbooks!

Iris nodded frantically beside her, almost as if she was ready to take action right then and there.

"The darkness is far from over."

Li Xia shook his head and pushed away Victor, whose face was getting closer and closer. The Old Gods and their incarnations were like heavy dark clouds, making it hard to breathe.

The world before him was destined for destruction. He had a very small chance of defeating the incarnation of the Old God, but he was definitely no match for the Old God.

This is a gap in the level of life, a chasm that he cannot cross at present.

He looked at Zhuo Xin, who was still celebrating in extreme joy, and Collins, who stood not far away with his head down in silence, and felt a great sense of contrast.

"Xia, don't look so serious. This should be a happy moment! A great moment!"

Victor seemed much calmer, and he walked over with a smile and said again:
“I know the darkness is still there, but without that damned watchdog Simmons, all we need to do is go into his lair, find the source of the darkness, and shut it down.”

This isn't difficult!

Awoo gave him a pitying look. It wasn't difficult.
This is not surprising, as the whole world initially held the same view.

They believe that darkness is a natural phenomenon, a form of pollution, with sources such as breaches, which may be connected to another world.

Simmons is the biggest villain corrupted by dark forces. As long as Simmons is eliminated and the entrance to the cave is blocked, everything will be fine.

They never imagined that Simmons, whom they considered invincible and possessing overwhelming power, and the Dark Church he led, were merely dogs kept arbitrarily by the Old Gods during their psychotic episodes.

Perhaps it was Li Xia and the three little ones' silence that made them sense something, because Victor's smile gradually faded, and he asked in a deep voice:

"Is there some secret we don't know about? Have you remembered something again?"

Li Xia opened his mouth, about to say something, but suddenly remembered the 'Shattered Sacred Heart' he had obtained. A thought struck him, and he nodded to Victor and the others, then looked at Collins:
"Let's go back to the safe house first, and then we'll talk about it in detail."

'Crackling'

Sparks danced in the campfire, and the orange glow of the fire warmed my face.

Iris placed the teapot on the fire stand, then sat down beside it, resting her chin on her hand, quietly watching the steam rise from the spout and turn into white vapor in the air.

She took a deep, blissful breath. Even though she couldn't smell anything, Iris felt that the steam was filled with a sweet scent, and she liked it.

The people in the room sat quietly, their gazes occasionally drifting towards Fafner.

After obtaining the Broken Sacred Heart, the old man entered a research state, focusing intently on tinkering with this heart-shaped gem full of cracks that looked like it could break at any moment.

"That's right, this is indeed the sacred artifact that Zhuo Xin lost for decades."

The gray light in Fafner's eyes gradually dimmed, and he let out a long breath:

"It is the sacred artifact that was carried by that lord back then, and which ultimately disappeared without a trace along with him in Edmons."

Victor's expression turned serious. He had never seen the Sacred Heart, and very few people in the entire Burning Heart had ever seen it, and they didn't even know what the Sacred Heart's specific function was.

Just like a religious sect always has some secrets that only a few people in each generation know.

"The Sacred Heart appeared in Simmons."

He muttered something but didn't continue, clearly indicating that the lord's fate was as everyone had guessed.

"It's a good thing to get the Sacred Heart back now. Even if it's broken, it can be placed on the church altar so that future generations can know the story of what happened."

Those who have died should not be forgotten.

Victor suddenly looked at the stunned Iris, then at Li Xia, and said earnestly:
"Iris, you must work hard and have more children with Xia. Whether our lives can continue in this world in the future depends on you and Xia Le!"

"Ah-ah?"

Iris stared blankly at Victor, a blush suddenly rising on her pretty face, half of which was covered by scars. She hurriedly stood up, then looked at Li Xia, her face turning even redder.

"No, Uncle Victor, what are you talking about?"

Li Xia and the three little ones shook their heads together. The Old God and his incarnation were still here, and even if they were dealt with...

To reproduce, at least 10 couples are needed, and that's already an extreme case.

No, why think about these things?

"I am afraid."

Li Xia was about to speak when he was interrupted by Fafner's desolate voice:

“Our world is truly going to be destroyed. There is a message left in the Holy Heart, which should have been left by that great man.”

Victor and Iris looked up in surprise, their faces still bearing the traces of their previous kind smiles and shy blushes.

In stark contrast, Li Xia and the three little ones remained silent.

Fafner gave Li Xia a deep look:
"Xia probably already knew. This message is thought-based, a special kind of information retention, and I cannot present what I see to you."

I can only explain it to you based on my understanding.

This is a story that is neither complicated nor epic; in fact, it is rather simple and somewhat uninteresting.

Carrying everyone's hopes, the bandits embarked on a journey to eliminate darkness. They overcame numerous obstacles and defeated countless enemies, ultimately defeating Simmons and confronting the darkness that had corrupted the entire world.

An unprecedented monster was born in the darkness, but the calamity wielded the power of the Holy Heart and seven companions to defeat it.

The darkness dissipated, and the exhausted Jiezi intended to die with his memories of his companions.

But in the end, he discovered in despair that the monster he had defeated was just an insignificant part of this darkness, like a shadow that had only been defeated.

So, in his final moments, he left behind information in the Sacred Heart, including knowledge of monsters and speculations about darkness, preserving a last glimmer of hope for the world.

Perhaps he was also hoping that one day in the future, someone would come here again, step over his body, and use his intelligence to accomplish that great task.

It was as if some invisible force was slowly sucking away the air in the room, and everyone was like a fish with its mouth open, having been deprived of water.

Struggling desperately to breathe, that intense, overwhelming despair spread once again, far deeper than before.

Victor's lips parted weakly as he looked at Fafner with pleading eyes, hoping the recorder would tell him it was just a clumsy joke.

But the pain and bitterness reflected in Fafner's gray eyes shattered all his illusions.

"Why."

He clutched his hair in anguish with his only remaining hand and buried his face in his arms.

But Li Xia's eyes gradually brightened, as if he had seen some kind of hope.

"Mr. Fafner, are you saying that the monster and the darkness are one, that they can clearly sense a connected, immense destiny?"

————————————————————

1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

The doctor said if I recover well, I can be discharged from the CCU tomorrow!
(End of this chapter)