Chapter 553: Final Chapter

The deep, commanding voice of the King of Nightmares echoed in every ear, as if the entire space trembled beneath his will.

His countless tentacles lashed across the sky above the sea, each movement unleashing thunderous booms. The ocean surged wildly, rising into towering waves hundreds of meters high—nature itself seemed to kneel before his might.

Faced with this sudden, terrifying presence, everyone except Luoning felt fear clawing at their very souls.

It was hard to imagine what kind of resolve the ancients had possessed a thousand years ago to seal away such a being.

No wonder the Great Sages and Sages alike had perished after that war.

Luoning remained unnervingly calm.

He understood the capabilities of both sides all too well. If a full-scale battle erupted here, not only would the shattered Exiled Land be annihilated, but even Crescent Continent and Starfall Continent could be dragged into ruin.

Thus, he had to take the battlefield far from this world.

"Ryder."

"My lord!" Ryder stepped forward, summoning courage to receive orders.

Without a word, Luoning unleashed energy essences—over four hundred thousand of them—pouring them directly into Ryder.

Not only did this elevate Ryder’s power to the peak of Sagehood, but it also raised his innate talent to the level of Great Sage.

In a single breath, Ryder’s progress halted at Grand Sage (128,982 / 150,000).

A celestial baptism descended upon him, leaving Praxis, Laine, and others stunned beyond belief.

"The Grand Sage's Ascension Rite!"

"Has Ryder ascended?"

"What has Luoning done to him?"

Doubt and awe mingled; the way they looked at Luoning changed completely.

To elevate a Sage to Grand Sage in an instant—what manner of existence was Luoning?

They recalled how moments earlier, the King of Nightmares had enhanced Salonas and the others, and their eyes widened in shock.

Could it be… Luoning stood equal to a demon god?

If so, could he also raise *their* powers?

At this thought, their gazes burned with fervor.

Yet they were mistaken.

The King of Nightmares could empower Salonas because of the unique nature of Nightmare Energy and their intrinsic bond.

Luoning could not simply grant such strength to Laine or the rest.

"This battlefield is yours. I’ll deal with this beast."

Ryder struck his chest firmly. "May you return victorious!"

Luoning gave a slight nod, gripping the Flowing Flame Sword in hand.

In a flash, he appeared above the colossal form of the King of Nightmares—and slashed downward.

Instantly, space tore open, revealing a horrifying storm of void winds. A monstrous suction pulled at the King, attempting to drag it into the abyss.

"Foolish!"

Countless tentacles coiled upward, seeking to bind Luoning—but he transcended space itself, reappearing beneath the monster’s massive body.

"Inside you go!"

With a powerful kick, space compressed overhead, and the King of Nightmares was hurled headlong into the endless void carved by the Flowing Flame Sword.

Above, the rift in the sky slowly sealed shut. Luoning and the King vanished without a trace.

"Our sovereign has claimed his battlefield. Ours lies here."

Ryder’s sharp gaze locked onto Salonas. "Fight! Let our victory herald the emperor’s return!"

Whoosh!

Ryder crossed space, charging straight for the Shadow Lord.

A thousand years ago, he had died alongside the previous Shadow Lord. Now, reborn, he would slay the new one with his own hands.

"Kill!"

"Victory belongs to humanity!"

All hearts blazed with excitement.

Even without Phoenix, though Salonas and his allies had grown stronger, the balance still tipped toward them.

In the endless void, storms raged around Luoning and the King of Nightmares. Yet their bodies were now so mighty that even these void tempests meant little.

The battle had begun.

The King thrashed through infinite darkness, its roars splitting the void into jagged fissures. Every sway of its titanic form threatened to tear reality apart.

"Tentacles from all directions… carrying spatial stasis?"

Luoning remained ice-calm, his eyes gleaming with unwavering resolve and wisdom, carefully sensing and evading each assault.

Clearly, the enemy wielded principles of essence—but not at a high level.

Through the Plane Core, Luoning knew the King’s power from a millennium past. Compared to now, there had been little change.

Most likely, during these thousand years, it had merely slept or healed its wounds.

Once sealed by an alliance of Grand Sages and Sages, its strength couldn’t be overwhelmingly supreme.

"After more than a thousand years, you remain stagnant. How disappointing."

Luoning’s voice reverberated through the void, heavy with unquestionable authority. His Flowing Flame Sword flared anew—the tip igniting space itself, setting the void ablaze with a sea of scorching fire.

The King refused to yield. Its dense forest of tentacles whipped furiously, each like black lightning, striving to ensnare Luoning.

But Luoning moved like a phantom, dodging with flawless precision, using the sword’s searing edge to slice the tentacles with surgical accuracy.

One, two, three…

Though severed, the King’s vitality was monstrous—new limbs sprouted endlessly.

Meanwhile, corrosive energies spat from its wounds, and spatial seals launched attacks that wounded Luoning in turn.

Yet his Sovereign Body, reshaped by the Plane Core, possessed miraculous resilience—every injury slowly mended.

The fight escalated into ferocity, then, as time stretched on, transformed into a grueling war of endurance.

Within the timeless void, Luoning lost all sense of duration—but the steady accumulation of attribute points marked the passage of days.

One day, two, one month, two months…

Throughout the long struggle, Luoning continuously spent attribute points to grow stronger, while testing and refining his mastery of Spatial, Flame, and Wind Essences in real combat.

His techniques grew ever more devastating. From deadlock, he gradually gained the upper hand.

As for the King of Nightmares, though still writhing with life, it now suffered clusters of tentacles severed in single strikes—its main body even wounded.

"Human! Anchored to the Sea of Nightmares, no matter how many times you shatter me, I shall rise again!"

The King growled in defiance. "This battle serves no purpose."

"Whether the battle has meaning isn't for you to decide."

Luoning's figure grew hazy, flickering—then suddenly multiplied into rows upon rows of silhouettes.

This was the Essence of Wind, refined from his art of shadow clones.

Countless Luonings swung their swords in unison. The enhanced Vacuum Annihilation Technique swallowed the writhing, clawing tendrils before him, slicing the creature’s lower body into nothingness.

The wound of the Nightmare King oozed like a source of pollution, emitting black, corrosive miasma into the void.

Had this occurred on Crescent Continent, it would surely have birthed a new Sea of Storms—or cursed lands where no life could ever tread.

Bringing it here into the endless void had been a stroke of foresight.

Time passed—an age in silence. In the boundless emptiness, Luoning sat cross-legged.

Before him, the Nightmare King writhed under ceaseless assault from his sword intent, fracturing, dissolving.

Over the years, he had slain it countless times. Yet each time, through the so-called Sea of Nightmares, it reassembled itself and returned.

To end this burden once and for all, Luoning had relentlessly searched for a true method of eradication—experimenting without pause.

At last, he discovered that though the Nightmare King revived again and again, its power waned with each resurrection. Even the very essence of nightmare energy diminished.

Luoning surmised: as the living embodiment of the Sea of Nightmares—a unique form of energy—its death would cause that sea to dry up entirely.

So long as he continued the slaughter without rest, the creature would eventually be ground to dust.

Now, the time it took to rebuild its form stretched longer and longer. And each time, it could no longer fully reconstruct itself.

Were it not for the fear that it might flee and vanish beyond reach, Luoning could simply leave and return later at his leisure.

But at last, after all this struggle, an end was finally in sight.

The battle in the void never ceased. But beyond it, the war between humanity and demons had long since concluded.

On Crescent Continent, regions once seized and ruled by demons—the Blazing Ravine, the Plain of Sorrowful Winds, the Wastes—were reclaimed by humankind within two or three years, rebuilt and repopulated.

The Sea of Storms, too, under Elron’s tireless purification, had yielded wide navigable routes. For the first time in a thousand years, the two continents resumed communication and exchange.

And on Starfall Continent, Roland, guided by Blanche and Rulans, steadfastly carried out the blueprint laid down by Luoning.

Especially after the triumphant news from Crescent Continent arrived, nearly all nobles chose to embrace Luoning’s new order.

No longer absolute masters of their domains, their powers were gradually curtailed. The true authority now lay with the imperial core—the Six Ministries and the king himself.

With centralized power, progress surged forward. Great undertakings flourished.

Railways and steam locomotives spread across the land. Internal combustion engines emerged. Electricity flickered to life…

Wubei City, the earliest metropolis of the Starfall Empire, had become synonymous with science and advancement.

Though the imperial capital, Misthaven, boasted a more majestic and resplendent palace, Blanche still preferred to live in Wubei.

Sometimes, facing the sea, wind in her hair, she fancied she could feel the whisper of longing her husband sent across the void.

"Mother, you’ve come to the shore again," said Rosa.

At twenty, she stood tall and graceful, inheriting Blanche’s beauty and elegance, gifted in talent—nearly a Grand Magus now.

Blanche herself had not aged a day, though her aura had grown even more noble, more refined.

She sighed. "Your father has been gone over six years. Now Roland is to be wed, and you soon to be betrothed… I wonder when he’ll return."

Rosa leaned into her mother’s arm, eyes glistening with longing. "Yes… we all wish Father would come home soon."

Only because Rudal, McKenn, and Elron shared soul-bonds with Luoning did they refrain from fearing the worst.

Blanche drew a deep breath of ocean air, and her wistfulness softened into a smile. "Come, Rosa. I believe your father will return victorious—soon!"

As if in answer to their yearning, the air ahead shimmered. Elemental currents coalesced—and formed the silhouette of Luoning.

"Blanche… Rosa… it’s been too long."

Mother and daughter stared, eyes wide, hearts bursting with joy.

"Luoning! When are you coming back?" she cried, tears spilling. "We’ve missed you—so much!"

Rosa wept softly beside her. "Father, please come home!"

Luoning smiled. Rosa had been only fourteen when he left. How she had changed.

He raised his hand. A gentle breeze shaped itself into fingers, brushing tenderly across wife and daughter’s cheeks.

"Fear not. At most, one more year—and I’ll be home."

Blanche’s eyes sparkled with radiant hope. At last, their family would be whole again.

"We’ll wait for you, Luoning!"

(End of Chapter)