novelraw Chapter 171: Second Collapse
Chapter 171: Second Collapse
Accompanied by a gentle sigh that seemed to span decades, the white "sun" constructed from the Swamp Tree Fiend's core exhausted its last light and heat.
The roots that formed it, after being purified, turned into something like the ashes of burnt paper, silently transforming into white spiritual particles that drifted through the air. These faintly shimmering particles slowly dissipated within this Negative Space that was about to end.
That UMA, which had coexisted with Lina's obsession and had entrenched itself in the forest for decades, met its final death.
Its death process was peaceful and serene.
However, death was not the end, but the beginning of a collapse.
The Root of Sorrow was the core maintaining the existence of the demiplane. With its demise, this "digestive space" it had torn from the real world also lost its foundational support.
It was like a castle in the air that had lost its foundation.
"Not good! This place is going to collapse!"
Julian was the first to snap out of the ritual-like purification scene.
Before his words had fully left his mouth, the underground cavity constructed from roots began to disintegrate and collapse, like the corpse of a giant beast with its skeleton pulled out.The massive roots that formed the walls and dome, having lost the support of spiritual power, were rapidly withering, decaying, and breaking apart.
Huge chunks of roots mixed with soil and bones rained down like a torrential storm from the dark sky that was sealing shut.
The soft ground beneath their feet, composed of massive fleshy walls, was also losing its support, sinking downward into the unknown void below.
"Wait, the bones!" Julian instinctively turned his head to look at the corner where the suit jacket wrapped around the young girl's skeleton lay.
He instinctively wanted to rush back, trying to retrieve it before it was consumed by the void below.
"Forget it! Go! Head toward the entrance!"
Lin Jie reacted swiftly, roaring at Julian.
Yet, in the face of this collapse sweeping across the entire demiplane, the running of the three of them seemed feeble.
They only managed to rush less than ten meters in the direction of the "entrance" that had been swallowed by darkness in their memory before the tremendous suction force generated by the spatial disintegration seized their bodies.
This force was like an invisible hand, dragging them toward the void-like abyss below.
"Grab me!!!"
At the final critical moment before being consumed, William once again displayed his resolute will and strength.
His battered body was infused with new power at this moment. With a roar, his uninjured right hand grabbed the back collar of Lin Jie's shirt.
Then, with all his might, he threw the Winchester, which had run out of bullets, toward the direction of the dark entrance that was sealing shut.
That old lever-action rifle, carrying William's heavy will to survive, shot upward like a black electric current against the flow, precisely wedging itself into the gap formed by the healing roots at the entrance.
"SCREECH——!!!"
A sharp, ear-piercing sound rang out—the sound of metal being forcibly bent.
William's old companion of decades was squeezed and twisted into a piece of bent scrap iron under the tearing force of the spatial disintegration.
But it ultimately held.
It was like a bone spur wedged into the throat of a giant beast, bringing a momentary pause to the "throat" that was about to close shut.
And it was during the precious window of less than three seconds bought by the rifle's sacrifice.
Julian swiftly slipped into the entrance, while a brilliant light erupted in William's eyes. He poured all his remaining stamina into his arms, where veins bulged and throbbed.
In that instant, he was like the hero from myth hurling a discus, using his own body as the axis to swing Lin Jie.
"Go!!"
Lin Jie felt his body enveloped by a tremendous force, the world before his eyes spinning violently.
The last thing he saw was William's face, smeared with blood and sweat, yet wearing a relieved smile.
And that Winchester being ground into powder by the spatial forces.
The next second, light engulfed him.
Lin Jie didn't know how long he was unconscious. When his consciousness struggled free from the chaotic, dizzying whirl, the first thing he felt was warmth.
A warmth that came from sunlight, carrying the breath of life.
He slowly opened his heavy eyelids. What greeted his eyes was a tranquil canopy of leaves swaying in the wind.
A few unknown small birds were standing on the branches, chirping merrily.
He was back.
He had returned to the real world.
He struggled to sit up from the soft ground mixed with withered grass and mud.
He found Julian lying beside him, gasping for breath heavily, but not in mortal danger.
But where was William? Lin Jie's heart tightened violently.
He frantically scanned his surroundings, and then he saw it.
At the edge of the circular collapse pit where they had previously fallen, which had now returned to calm.
A tall, burly figure was half-kneeling there, supporting himself with one hand on the ground as he coughed violently.
His tattered clothes were covered with torn wounds. The Winchester that had accompanied him for decades was gone from his hand.
But he was alive.
This Guardian, relying on his tenacious vitality, had crawled back from that annihilation-level collapse.
Lin Jie's hanging heart finally settled back into place. He felt a warmth in his eyes.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
But in the end, he only offered a sincere, heartfelt smile toward that resilient back, silently.
Just then, Julian's voice, full of surprise and disbelief, suddenly rang out beside him.
"Lin Jie! Look! Look at that marsh!"
Hearing this, Lin Jie immediately turned his gaze toward the Fairy Marsh that had once brought them fear and despair.
Immediately, a wondrous sight unfolded before his eyes.
That land of death, once shrouded in perennial, unyielding gray-white thick fog, now had its dense mist rapidly dissipating.
It was as if an invisible hand was lifting the curtain of curse that had blinded this land for decades.
As the mist scattered, countless strands of warm, golden sunlight pierced through the dense canopy, spilling onto the mudflats once ruled by darkness.
And that lifeless, black mudflat that emitted a foul, rotting stench was undergoing an incredible purification under the sunlight.
The rotting aquatic plants and creature carcasses floating on the water's surface were dissolving and decomposing, turning into harmless organic matter.
That turbid, viscous black sewage was also becoming clear at a visible rate.
The entire Fairy Marsh, this cursed land, was restoring its original appearance as an ordinary forest wetland after its "root" had been purified.
This was the return of order, a grand "world-correcting force."
Finally, when all the mist had dissipated, on that circular island at the very center of the marsh where the Root of Sorrow had once been imprisoned, where the water now rippled clear enough to see the bottom.
Lin Jie saw it. He saw that pure white skeleton, curled up and sleeping peacefully on the ground covered with fresh, tender green moss.
In her hands, she tightly clutched the long-rotted wooden bird.
Sunlight gently caressed her. The lake water softly encircled her.
A few colorful butterflies flew from the distant forest, joyfully dancing around her in circles.
All the sorrow had dissipated.
All the curses had ended.
This "Marsh Princess" who had slept for decades finally received her true rest today.
Lin Jie unhurriedly stood up. Then he stepped forward, passing through the soft, newly-revived soil, and walked onto the marsh island at the lake's center, bathed in sunlight.
He walked up to the peaceful skeleton, half-knelt down, and solemnly gathered up this brave little girl, along with her "guardian."