"So, what is the final contract?"
The surrounding barrier had shrunk to a dangerously close distance. After Ning Xuan and Shen Yiyue vanished through spatial teleportation, Ning Yu finally let out a sigh of relief, feeling completely at ease.
The Moon Princess walked up to Ning Yu, her calm eyes fixed on her, a mysterious smile playing on her lips.
"To obtain from me the weapon that will bring an end to everything."
Ning Yu understood she was referring to the skill: [The Gate of Mysterious Feminine]. She just hadn’t expected it could be used on the Moon Princess.
"Can it even destroy this ritual?"
Ning Yu pointed upwards, where the Yin-Yang fish was almost upon her.
Her body had also begun to turn nearly transparent, with only a swirling gray mist at her core, pulsing rhythmically like a heartbeat.
"Your abilities will deteriorate significantly... but you are not merely confined to being an Awakener..."
The Moon Princess listened to Ning Yu's words but offered no response.
"No, if I use it on you, not only will I disappear completely, but you too..."
Ning Yu suddenly realized the true meaning of the final contract.
By using [The Gate of Mysterious Feminine] on the Moon Princess, the two of them would draw infinitely close to the Origin—the truth of this world.
"Are you worried about me?"
The Moon Princess seemed to sense something, a flicker of surprise crossing her expression.
"But I never truly existed. I am merely a small fragment connected to the Origin."
"The knowledge within the Origin is vast, its mysteries boundless, beyond description by language or numbers."
"You need not overthink it, though I suppose this is a common sentiment among humans."
She mimicked Ning Yu's expression, narrowing her eyes, making Ning Yu feel as though she were looking at a reflection of herself.
"Remember, when you open the gate."
The Moon Princess's expression suddenly turned serious.
"See nothing, hear nothing, smell nothing. You must shut off all your senses."
"Eliminate all thoughts from your mind, achieving a state of complete emptiness, purified of all distractions."
"In that moment of absolute silence, you will synchronize with the Origin. You will feel everything returning to its roots, a process that will repeat endlessly."
"Finally, you will reach a wondrous state called 'Mystic Unity.' I cannot convey it in words, but you will undoubtedly feel it."
"Then, in that instant, you will draw out the weapon I have become."
Ning Yu listened intently, committing every word to memory.
"Will I ever see you again?"
Looking at the Moon Princess, who bore her exact likeness and shared her fate of impending disappearance, Ning Yu couldn't help but ask.
"I will not vanish. I will exist in every corner of this world."
"You will know."
The Moon Princess smiled like a little girl, her expression now radiating a hint of human warmth.
"With your wisdom, you must have already foreseen all the outcomes leading up to this moment, including what comes after, haven’t you?"
Ning Yu stared at the Moon Princess, voicing the thought she had long kept hidden.
"Including what Lacy ultimately did."
"You knew all along. You were waiting for this moment."
The Moon Princess neither confirmed nor denied, choosing instead to extend her hand in an invitation:
"Come, this fleeting existence has wearied me. Grant me peace and eternity."
Ning Yu accepted the invitation as if agreeing to a dance, reaching out to clasp the Moon Princess's hand.
"With pleasure."
The golden threads representing their contract and connection suddenly flickered, rapidly condensing and transforming, gathering in Ning Yu's hand.
They finally coalesced into a golden key, held firmly by Ning Yu, its surface gleaming with radiant light.
Like Ning Yu, the Moon Princess's form began to fade, but both were now entirely enveloped in thick gray mist.
The mist appeared faster than the ritual could absorb it.
Their figures floated upwards, foreheads touching, the golden vortex symbols on their foreheads glowing in unison.
A lock adorned with a vortex appeared on the Moon Princess's chest, turning golden as Ning Yu's key approached, symbolizing the Origin.
The surrounding mist swirled and danced, celebrating this moment.
Both opened their eyes, gazing at each other from an intimate distance.
Ning Yu had never seen the Moon Princess smile so genuinely, but now her expression was one of pure sincerity, filling Ning Yu with an indescribable sense of peace.
As Ning Yu turned the key in the lock, a faint look of pain crossed the Moon Princess's face, but she remained open, allowing the lock to be undone.
An endless surge of energy spilled forth, the sign of the "gate opening" that the Moon Princess had spoken of.
Ning Yu closed her eyes, shutting off all her senses, feeling her heartbeat slow to a crawl.
She cleared her mind of all thoughts, the gray mist enveloping her, allowing her to perceive a mysterious rhythm and flow.
Though she could no longer feel anything, Ning Yu sensed something calling to her from within.
She reached out, her hand passing into the Moon Princess's body, and drew out an object, all in a state of unconsciousness.
As the object was retrieved, the Moon Princess's body began to disintegrate. She wore a look of relief, as if a long-held mission had finally been completed.
Before her face vanished entirely, she mouthed the words "goodbye" to Ning Yu, who could no longer see her.
The Moon Princess dissolved into countless wisps of gray mist, taking form in Ning Yu's hand, while her body disappeared completely.
The key that had opened the gate, the golden thread symbolizing their ultimate contract, merged into Ning Yu's body.
When Ning Yu opened her eyes again, she saw the sword in her hand.
It had no name, and the system provided no information. It was a simple, unadorned gray blade, with a familiar golden vortex engraved on its hilt.
Holding the nameless sword, Ning Yu looked up at the Yin-Yang fish, now right above her.
She made no move, merely glancing at the rotating symbol, and it immediately came to a halt.
The ritual space around her cracked, the Yin-Yang fish shattering into fragments that fell like dust.
The entire ritual began to collapse, and with it, Lacy, who had served as its core, was also on the verge of vanishing.
Ning Yu's eyes now held only divinity. She swung the nameless sword, and a beam of light expanded into a void.
The void was devoid of color or light, but the fragments of the Yin-Yang fish and the ritual were drawn into it, swallowed completely.
The pillar of light in the sky above Blue Star, now deprived of energy, vanished as if a switch had been flipped.
The destructive orbs that had ravaged Blue Star disappeared.
The night, which had been as bright as day, finally returned to silence and darkness.
Ning Yu surveyed the abrupt conclusion of it all, feeling as though she had reached some kind of endpoint.
Her figure suddenly vanished from the dark underground.
Emerging above ground, she gazed up at the resplendent starry sky, now visible once more.
She recalled how, not long ago, she had been captivated by such a sight.
The nameless sword in her hand dissolved into gray mist, forming a gate before her. The gate beckoned, leaving her no choice but to enter.
With calm eyes, Ning Yu took one last look behind her, then stepped through the gate.
The final contract had been fulfilled.