High above, the enormous wound in the heavens closed without a sound, and radiance spread in all directions.

With the projection of the Maelstrom gone, the weight of the world increased once more. Fissures appeared across the Great Abomination Incarnation.

“Now that things have reached this point, there is little left that can be done.” The phantom of an old monk appeared before Changsheng. He lifted the fish tank in his hands, and the fish inside lazily flicked its tail. “It asks why you insist on clinging to this.”

“I was the one who started this war and issued this challenge. How can I let it end like this?” The Great Abomination Incarnation smiled faintly. As he watched decades of diligent effort collapse before his eyes, he suddenly grew calm. “If I throw down my armor and flee with my tail between my legs now, wouldn’t Origin laugh at me? And if I were to die one day and meet Mr. Tao in the afterlife, how can I possibly face him?” 

The old monk sighed. “You refuse to repent even at the very end, Changsheng.” 

“Isn’t that exactly who I am?” Changsheng didn’t care in the slightest. He gazed beyond the night sky, toward the streaks of blazing light surging across the heavens...