Feelings of loneliness and sorrow spread through her heart.
When Lumine completely immersed her mind and body in the Power of Nihility, it felt as if she were the only one left in the world. A torrential rain fell from the sky, and only the quiet sound of rain could be heard in her ears.
The rain was black.
Lumine looked around; the place she stood upon was a void.
Here, both time and direction had lost their meaning.
Lumine looked up and once again saw the massive Black Sun ahead, constantly siphoning everything like a black hole. All things were crushed by its terrifying power, turned into the purest form of energy, and scattered outward, forming a brilliant white trail.
Lumine had seen this scene before. She had thought the Power of Nihility was just like the Abyss, greedily devouring everything.
But after hearing Persephone's words, she suddenly realized that the Power of Nihility did possess its own emotions, yet what it conveyed to her was loneliness and sorrow.
She had also felt the Abyss Power before; it was as if someone were constantly whispering in your ear, tempting you to fall into that endless abyss, even to dedicate everything you are to it.
Lumine suddenly realized, if the true nature of the Power of Nihility were indeed to devour, then wouldn't the Dendro Elemental Power she used to suppress it have long since become the sweetest food for the Power of Nihility and been devoured by it?
Why was it that only Dendro Elemental Power was the most effective in suppressing the Power of Nihility?
Was it because of wisdom? Or perhaps life?!
Lumine seemed to have grasped something; the Power of Nihility seemed to be more like assimilation.
Assimilating all things that had lost order into a part of itself, waiting together for the end of all things.
This was a path destined to be lonely, and also a path destined to lead to destruction. It knew its own ending clearly, which was why it was lonely and sad.
And assimilating things that had lost order, for those of them living within order, was actually a silent protection.
Precisely because of this, even though it was a power of a higher level than Dendro Elemental Power, it was still restricted by it.
It wasn't that the Power of Nihility couldn't break free from the suppression of Dendro Elemental Power, but rather that it refused to.
Suddenly, Lumine remembered that the Power of Nihility within her had clearly gone out of control several times, even causing her to lose consciousness on a few occasions, yet it still had not broken free from her body, remaining confined within a specific area.
Could she, who had not even fully mastered Elemental Power, truly manage to make a power of such a level obey her so completely?
Perhaps the Dendro Elemental Power wasn't suppressing the Power of Nihility itself, but instead suppressing its impact on its surroundings!
The Power of Nihility had also realized that if it left at will, it would cause unpredictable damage to this world, so it had actively chosen to stay within her body, for she would not be affected by the Power of Nihility and was its best possible vessel!
If her conjecture was correct, then Dr. Edward's actions could be explained.
What an extremely contradictory man he was; though he claimed this world was beyond saving, even formulating a plan to let everyone spend the rest of their lives in a beautiful dream, his heart still believed there was a chance for salvation, and for this reason, he had even made preparations for both possible outcomes.
The events in Sumeru had been changed under Emily (No. 8)'s persuasion. At the time, they all thought it was Emily who had made Dr. Edward change his mind, but now it seemed that even without Emily's persuasion, Dr. Edward still would not have carried out that plan to the end. The Power of Nihility he left for her was his true plan all along!
Perhaps Dr. Edward's true intention was for her to use the Power of Nihility to assimilate the Abyss. If it truly succeeded, the Abyss would no longer be a sword hanging over the heads of everyone in Teyvat, but would instead become their protection.
Thinking of this, Lumine took a deep breath. As expected, none of these Numbered Members were simple. She had actually entered the game from the very beginning and become one of their pawns.
At this moment, Lumine couldn't help but start to wonder, was the plan of Persephone (No. 3) and Chen Feng (No. 9) really as simple as it appeared on the surface?
The biggest key lay in why Chen Feng would be so willing to sacrifice his own memories. Why did he trust Persephone so much to proceed according to the plan they had previously agreed upon, especially when the current situation seemed to be that Persephone had already betrayed their original plan?
Connecting this to the Mark, which clearly didn't belong to Persephone but seemed more like Chen Feng's ability, a chill involuntarily ran down Lumine's spine.
Could it be that they were still in the game?!
"Traveler!"
At that moment, the others' startled cries brought Lumine's consciousness back. When she refocused her attention on what was in front of her, she saw Persephone's face, covered in a smug expression, followed by a fist that kept getting larger.
"Bang!"
A dull thud echoed, and everyone's hearts instantly tightened with worry for Lumine. But the next second, the expressions on their faces froze. Lumine had actually raised her hand to block Persephone's punch. The terrifying force and wind from the punch rushed toward Lumine, but they didn't cause the slightest ripple on her body.
Lumine's body just slid back a few meters before coming to a stop.
Just as everyone was wondering if Persephone had held back, the remaining wind from the punch struck the pile of rubble behind Lumine, directly carving out a vacuum zone!
"Huh?"
Persephone's eyes lit up slightly, and a fierce battle intent surfaced on her face once again.
"That last hit was a bit interesting."
Persephone casually blocked the attacks of the others while offering her critique.
Lumine took a deep breath, feeling a mixture of disbelief and excitement.
Just now, she had simply thought that the Power of Destruction Persephone possessed might also be a form of the Power of Disorder, so she tried to assimilate it using the Power of Nihility. To her surprise, it actually worked.
No wonder the enemy feared the Power of Nihility; it truly had a certain level of effectiveness against Persephone!
With every shred assimilated, the Power of Nihility grew stronger. The reason Lumine had still slid back a few meters was simply that she couldn't fully block Persephone's power at the very beginning; after that, she felt no significant pressure.
Perhaps they could actually win this time!
A surge of strong confidence welled up in Lumine's heart once more, but the next second, her body soared into the air again.
The others only saw a blur before their eyes, and Persephone had already taken Lumine's place, while Lumine was sent flying.
The moment this scene unfolded, the excitement and smiles on everyone's faces froze before they even had a chance to fade.
Lumine herself was completely bewildered. So fast, it was just too fast!
She clearly felt her power had grown significantly, now at least equal to fourteen or fifteen Shouki no Kami, yet she still couldn't put up the slightest resistance against Persephone.
No, while the enemy's power was equally terrifying, the damage dealt to her was less than before.
She was more durable, which meant she had become stronger.
As long as she could capture Persephone's movements, she should be able to block the enemy's attacks.
Thinking of this, Lumine once again deployed a grayish-white Domain around herself. This time, the Domain was maintained within a circular area with a diameter of only three meters, and Lumine fully concentrated her mind within it.
Suddenly, Lumine's mind stirred slightly, and in the next second, her upper body leaned sharply to one side, while the Dull Blade in her hand slashed out fiercely!
The terrifying fist wind almost grazed her cheek, but she dodged it!
And the Dull Blade also captured the enemy's figure, pointing straight at Persephone's chest. A pillar of grayish-white energy erupted from the Dull Blade, and this time, even Persephone was forced back a short distance. A layer of golden light appeared on her palm, which then transformed into a blade, splitting the energy pillar open as she dodged sideways.
The crowd was once again shocked by this scene. This was the first time they had seen Persephone dodge an attack, making them clearly realize that she was not invincible.
At this moment, Persephone first looked at her hand, then began to laugh softly.
"Hahaha, I admit your progress has indeed surprised me greatly. No wonder No. 4 ultimately chose you over that useless trash."
Following Persephone's words, everyone couldn't help but look at Scaramouche, whose face was incredibly grim.
"I used to think there wasn't much difference between you two, but now it seems No. 4's judgment was quite good after all."
"If he had chosen that useless trash, things wouldn't be this interesting."
Scaramouche clenched his fists. This was the first time he had heard that Dr. Edward's original target had actually been him.
No wonder he also possessed the Power of Nihility, yet ended up as the other party's discarded pawn, becoming a key link in Lumine's perfection.
How infuriating!
Scaramouche was on the verge of going mad. Intense resentment and hatred became the dominant theme in his heart. Persephone's casual remarks caused him such immense pain.
Previously, he was inferior to the Raiden Shogun; now, he was inferior to Lumine. He had always been someone else's replacement, betrayed time and time again.
How he hated it all!
Even though he had lost almost everything, his power was still inferior to Lumine's, who stood surrounded by so many companions.
Why was heaven so unfair? Was his birth a joke from the very beginning?!
What else did he have left to lose? Perhaps only the endless resentment and hatred in his heart!
Then he would use all of it as fuel to completely ignite himself, making everyone tremble from his momentary brilliance!
At this moment, Scaramouche was enveloped in a shroud of pitch black. His entire body transformed into a black hole, devouring everything around him.
Rosalyne, who was standing close by and caught off guard, was sucked directly into the powerful vortex. She only had time to let out one final, agonized scream before her figure was completely swallowed.
Yae Miko's expression changed. Although she had reacted, the terrifying suction force left her with little power to resist, and she was continuously drawn closer to the black hole, inch by inch.
Fortunately, Kitsune Saiguu finally intervened, grabbing Yae Miko by the scruff of her neck like a kitten and pulling her directly out of the black hole's range of influence. She stared warily at the black hole, which had already devoured boulders, lightning, and other objects.
There, she felt an extremely powerful threat of death. If she and Yae Miko had been standing any closer to Scaramouche, as they had when they were on the floating island, she probably wouldn't have been able to escape its gravitational pull either.
"Yes, that's right."
"If you don't want to admit you're a useless piece of trash, then keep proving yourself to me!"
Persephone laughed, then raised her hand, and a ball of golden light, radiating infinite profundity and charm, appeared in her palm.
"Here, as a reward, I'll stoke the fire for you."
After saying this, Persephone threw the golden light in her hand toward Scaramouche's position.
The moment the golden light touched the black hole, the black hole caved in deeply as if it had encountered something utterly terrifying.
However, Scaramouche also fought desperately, knowing this was the key to his transformation. He absorbed it recklessly, and the Power of Nihility within his body continued to grow stronger.
Just as the golden light was completely obscured by the blackness, everyone actually felt an aura of transcendence continuously emerging from that spot.
"Interesting, interesting. Let him play with you all for a while."
"You'd better perform well. If I'm satisfied, I might allow you to leave on your own two feet."
After Persephone spoke, her figure suddenly vanished.
When everyone saw her again, she had already found her previous throne. After placing it on a slightly larger floating rock, she slowly sat down and crossed her long right leg.
No longer facing Persephone directly, Lumine breathed a slight sigh of relief. She had no objections to the other's arrangements, as she needed a bit of time to get used to her own changes.
Thinking of this, Lumine couldn't help but turn her gaze toward Scaramouche, her expression growing slightly serious.
She could feel that Scaramouche seemed to have discarded something important. At this moment, the aura emanating from him had become extremely terrifying!
Of course, Lumine wasn't worried. Compared to Persephone, the pressure Scaramouche brought her was simply negligible!
"Hahaha, destroy it all! Let everything be destroyed!"
Scaramouche laughed maniacally; he had completely lost his mind.
From the moment he was defeated by Arlecchino and lost his Mark, he had already been abandoned by Persephone.
Having lost even the Shouki no Kami and the Gnosis, he no longer had any value.
All the pressure and the resentment of his hopeless revenge merged, causing Scaramouche's heart to begin to warp. Finally, it was ignited by the suddenly revealed truth and Persephone's mockery. He burned away parts of himself to gamble for a final glimmer of hope.
If he could defeat Lumine, perhaps proving his value would allow Persephone to resurrect him once more.
Even if this hope was extremely slim, it was his only chance.
This time, Scaramouche assimilated himself with the Power of Nihility. With his last shred of will, he controlled the Power of Nihility to erupt completely, destroying everything in the vicinity!
Because Persephone's Power of Destruction and the Power of Nihility's own will were pulling against each other, Scaramouche's consciousness could easily control the Power of Nihility to complete the final battle of his life.
Sensing Scaramouche's true nature at this moment, Lumine's expression changed drastically. She immediately ordered everyone to get away from the black hole that was continuously expanding, while simultaneously swinging her sword.
The grayish-white sword light struck the black hole, but it only broke through a small distance before being engulfed by the blackness and assimilated into it. After seeing this scene, everyone became a bit unsettled.