Fenghuo didn't rise to Granholm's teasing.
But he also didn't attack immediately. Instead, he simply watched Granholm in silence—like an artist savoring a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.
"Underestimate you?"
"No. I never underestimate anyone who is walking toward Nihility."
"Your extinction should have been a grand, quiet curtain call."
Fenghuo tilted his head; the humanoid ash seemed to turn toward Acheron.
"Unfortunately… it seems I won't get to enjoy that final silence alone."
Acheron's blade did not lower. Her eyes were cold, tracking Fenghuo's every minute shift.
"Your 'appreciation' costs too much."
"Cost?" Fenghuo gave a soft, almost amused breath. "The end of existence is the price by default. I merely accelerate the process—and taste the brilliance of the instant."
"Acheron, you walk the void. You should understand: one moment earlier, one moment later—what difference does it make?"
"The difference is choice," Granholm said quietly. "A meaningless death… or a meaningful offering. I chose the latter."
"Choice?" Fenghuo countered. "When Destruction and Nihility swallow everything, choice itself becomes meaningless. Your so-called offering merely postpones an inevitable ending."
"Even postponing it," Granholm replied, "is worth it."
The air tightened.
It felt as if the three of them might clash again at any second—
But the battlefield was no longer what it had been.
In the earlier exchange, Fenghuo had clearly held the advantage.
Yet that single move from the old Nameless had shifted the balance.
In Fenghuo's eyes, Granholm's level had reached the threshold of an Emanator.
Perhaps still short of Fenghuo and Acheron—but already far too dangerous to dismiss.
"Hey?"
"Hello, hello? Anyone home? Miss Acheron, could you open the door for me?"
A light, almost cheerful voice suddenly rang out in the gray-white space.
Wei Qing appeared at the edge of the domain at some point, tapping the invisible barrier as if he were knocking on a neighbor's door.
Acheron frowned slightly, but she didn't retract the domain. With a thought, she opened a narrow seam in front of him.
Wei Qing stepped in, smiling as he glanced over the trio.
"Yo. Pretty lively in here."
His eyes settled on Fenghuo.
"So you're the legendary strongest Annihilation Lord—Fenghuo? I've heard a lot."
Fenghuo's blurred face turned toward him. Gray embers flickered faintly.
"…You also carry the scent of Nihility."
"Oh, you flatter me," Wei Qing said, clasping his hands like he hadn't heard the scrutiny at all. "I'm just a passing Nameless. Saw the commotion and figured I'd check whether anyone needs a hand."
He walked to Granholm and steadied the old man, sending another gentle current of Abundance into him—just enough to keep his collapsing vitality from slipping away.
"Old sir, you really made a scene," Wei Qing murmured. "You even managed to draw this one over."
Granholm could only give a bitter smile and shake his head.
"You're here."
Acheron looked at Wei Qing—and, for the first time since Fenghuo appeared, something in her finally eased.
She had to admit it: in this exchange, she was half a step behind Fenghuo. Even with Granholm's support, continuing meant an uncertain outcome.
And even if they won, the residual shockwaves of their power could still ruin Qilan Star.
But with Wei Qing present, the equation changed.
This was someone whose combat power surpassed her own. With the three of them together, they might not be able to keep Fenghuo here—but they could at least protect the planet.
Unfortunately—
Acheron's understanding of Wei Qing was still far too shallow.
Wei Qing's overall strength truly stood above the top tier; against other apex-level foes, he might still need effort and finesse.
But Fenghuo was different.
Fenghuo was an Annihilation Lord of Destruction.
And Wei Qing was a candidate—a successor-in-waiting—to Destruction itself.
On the Destruction path, Wei Qing might not have walked much farther than Fenghuo in sheer "distance"—
But a successor is a successor.
And an Emanator is an Emanator.
They are not the same thing.
That was exactly why, right after leaving the Luofu, Wei Qing could one-shot Phantylia: not because she was weak, but because the rank gap was real.
If Shuhu revived tomorrow, Wei Qing wouldn't even need any special tricks—he could still erase him with a single move.
And Fenghuo sensed it.
From Wei Qing, he felt an impossible medley of Path auras—
Not chaotic noise, but something unnervingly coherent within a single vessel.
More importantly, Fenghuo felt threat.
A pressure of rank.
As the strongest Annihilation Lord under Destruction, and with Nihility's stain sharpening his sensitivity, he recognized certain "scents" more clearly than most—
Especially Destruction and Nihility.
And right now, in front of him stood someone who seemed like a Destruction-aligned being… and a Self-Annihilator… and worse—
Someone whose Destruction attainment stood above his own.
Could it be… Qingzhou?
Fenghuo recalled a scrap of intelligence Phantylia had once shared during a rare meeting:
A peer who carried Emanator-level authority in Destruction, Hunt, and Abundance—who had received the most supreme authority of the Finality's actor right in Phantylia's presence.
And according to Phantylia, that authority allowed him to erase her with nothing more than a glance.
"…Another one," Fenghuo said, calm as ever, yet with a different weight behind the words. "Since when did the Astral Express harbor someone like you?"
"I literally just joined," Wei Qing grinned, tone breezy, as if this weren't a knife-edge standoff.
"So, Mr. Fenghuo—look, the homeowner clearly doesn't want you here, and Miss Acheron is asking you to leave."
"Life's too short to force a good time. The melon you twist won't be sweet."
"How about you show your 'art of annihilation' somewhere else?"
Fenghuo fell silent.
He didn't know why this person insisted on playing the Nameless, but Fenghuo was already convinced of who he was.
If the other man wanted to hide, Fenghuo had no interest in exposing him.
But that made things… inconvenient.
One weakened yet strangely capable Nihility-and-possibly-Path-crossing old Nameless.
One Nihility Emanator he'd fought before.
And one "Nameless" who reeked of an infiltration job—Qingzhou.
Continuing would gain him nothing.
Qingzhou had no reason to reveal himself for Fenghuo's sake.
Could Fenghuo force his hand by calling out his identity?
Maybe.
But Fenghuo refused. It would be ugly.
What he pursued was the pure instant of annihilation—not an unpredictable war of attrition.
At last, Fenghuo spoke—still calm, but with a faint, unmistakable loss of interest.
"It seems today's performance… is destined to end unfinished."
His gaze swept Granholm again, like a man staring at a masterpiece interrupted before its final stroke.
"Pity. A soul so close to pure 'nothing'…"
"It deserved a finale worthy of its struggle."
Acheron's blade did not waver.
"Leave," she repeated, colder than before.
This time, she had more confidence.
Wei Qing remained relaxed, but his aura had already locked onto Fenghuo—one wrong move, and he'd strike.
To be honest, even Wei Qing was a little surprised.
That was it? Fenghuo's actually going to leave?
It didn't match the man's reputation.
Which meant one thing:
Fenghuo had probably identified him as Qingzhou.
After all, Fenghuo had been staring at him with Destruction pressure thick enough to suffocate the air.
But if Fenghuo really was stepping back…
Then maybe the man wasn't just strong. Maybe he was also… sensible.
Fenghuo didn't call him out. Didn't try to force him into helping.
Wei Qing's mind flickered with an irreverent thought:
If I really do replace Nanook one day… Fenghuo might end up being my hardest-working employee.
Compared to Abundance—conservative, uncertain succession, and a disorganized faction with no reliable "workforce" to speak of—
Destruction suddenly sounded almost… efficient.
Acheron's blade dipped slightly; the blood-red stain faded from her haori, returning it to its plain, clean cloth.
The gray-white space rippled, and reality bled back in.
"If you don't intend to die with the three of us here," Acheron said evenly, "then leave now, Fenghuo."
Fenghuo gave no answer.
His presence thinned at the seam between gray-white and reality, already slipping away—
But at the last moment, that blurred face turned back toward them.
"Next, I will go to the place where Nihility IX resides."
"Since all three of you have already stepped onto Nihility—and in forms like this…"
"I believe you carry the same thought I do."
"I will wait there for one year."
"If you do not come by then—or if you come sooner…"
"I will knock on that door."
"The door of Nihility itself."
"That place requires existences of sufficient weight… to fill the ultimate 'nothing.'"
"If you possess the resolve to face the final falsehood—come witness it."
"Or come die with me."
With those words, Fenghuo's existence vanished—like writing erased between reality and void.
Acheron's domain fully dispersed.
The three of them returned to Qilan Star.
Granholm began to cough violently, swaying as if he might collapse at any second.
Wei Qing caught him and sent Abundance into him again—yet it was like pouring water into sand: it only barely kept the dying flame of life from going out.
The old navigator was worse than before. Interrupting Fenghuo's strike had burned more of what little "self" he had left.
Acheron sheathed her blade. The last trace of blood-red was gone; her haori was plain again.
She looked at Granholm, her gaze complicated.
Fenghuo's final words were a stone dropped into still water, sending ripples through her heart.
"He's inviting us…" Wei Qing raised an eyebrow, "to charge straight at Nihility? To throw ourselves at IX?"
"That guy—what, is he lonely? Looking for company in a group suicide?"
To challenge Nihility IX sounded like moths flying into a flame.
The final, most insane delusion of Self-Annihilators.
But Fenghuo wasn't just any madman.
He was the strongest Annihilation Lord, and when he spoke of "knocking on the door," he wasn't talking about a clean death.
Wei Qing remembered a tale—an old testimony from a Self-Annihilator's dream:
At the end, where nothing remained to destroy, an Annihilation Lord dove into IX…
And then a violent white beam—pure destruction—pierced the bottomless dark.
If Fenghuo hadn't done it yet…
Then perhaps he was about to begin.
Acheron stood still, fingers unconsciously brushing the hilt.
The cold metal was the only thing that kept her anchored.
"He's right," she said softly.
"The end of a Self-Annihilator was always meant to be… that ultimate void."
She lifted her eyes, looking from Wei Qing to Granholm.
For someone who had wandered Nihility for who knew how long, a clear endpoint carried a near-irresistible pull.
She wasn't chasing the meaning of survival.
She was chasing the meaning of ending.
Fenghuo's invitation was a lamp in the dark—
Even if it illuminated a cliff.
And even if the next step was a fall.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 155)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter200)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter110)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter230)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 200
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 180
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 230
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 220
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 120
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 135
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 110
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 100
My Harem Is Indescribable 90
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 95
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 80
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 70
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 75
Checking In in Demon Slayer 80
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 85
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 70
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 65
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 70
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 70
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 65
Why did they assign me to Uma 65
MYGO Beauties 65
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 55
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 65
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 45
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 45
The Uma Musume Who Became 40
I'm Definitely Not the King of 45
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
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