Chapter Eight: The Fall of the Sage

After that finger strike, Blue Sky distinctly sensed that the owner of the eyes had suffered a grave injury, for the vision they shared had grown blurred, a haze of crimson filling his sight. Blue Sky surmised that the eyes themselves must have been bloodshot, battered by the wild force unleashed.

The owner of the eyes drew a deep breath, once more projecting that starlit panorama—this time with desperate resolve. Within the projection, the cosmos quaked; every planet aligned in that instant, arrayed to form a terrifying spear, its tip aimed directly at the monstrous beast.

As if a meteor shower had exploded, all celestial bodies erupted with boundless radiance. The spear formation, moving with unimaginable speed, hurled itself toward the beast. In that moment, it was as though a colossal invisible hand grasped the spear, thrusting it with all its might toward the beast. In the blink of an eye, the spearhead struck the creature’s hide. Some mysterious force seemed to join planet to planet, forging a perfect, indomitable weapon—a dazzling stream of light that pierced the beast straight through.

Victory!

Blue Sky’s heart soared, swept by exhilaration, as if he himself had slain the monster with his own hands. But what followed was intolerable: though the beast howled in agony, it still clung to life. Its terrifying body collapsed and melted in a manner beyond Blue Sky’s comprehension, reorganizing itself into a strange, spherical form.

Most astonishing, the beast in its new spherical shape expelled the spear outright. Then, its body shrank, the surface writhing with a nauseating motion. Before Blue Sky’s disbelieving gaze, it swiftly resumed its previous monstrous form—though now countless times smaller. Purple flames surged from its body, and the aura it emanated was even more formidable than before.

“How is this possible? It gets stronger the more it’s wounded?” Blue Sky was speechless, a foreboding sense creeping over him.

The owner of the eyes seemed uneasy as well. Their ultimate killing move had failed to inflict real harm; this beast was far too terrifying!

After its recovery, the beast’s cold gaze bore into the owner of the eyes. Now more agile in its diminished form, it transformed into a stream of light and attacked once more. With a single strike, the owner of the eyes was sent flying, blood spraying as he hurtled hundreds of thousands of miles through space. In the next moment, space warped, the beast stepped forward, purple flames shooting forth. The starlit projection trembled and contracted around the owner’s body, forming a powerful shield. Flames wrapped the shield, detonating violently and draining its strength.

A barrage of shadowy blows rained down, forcing the owner of the eyes to spit blood as he was battered back, the situation suddenly dire in the extreme.

At the very brink of being swallowed by the beast’s bloody maw, the owner of the eyes struggled fiercely, reactivating the shield to consume the last of the purple flames. Once the flames faded, he kicked with all his might, stomping upon the beast’s towering teeth and shattering them like mountains, using the immense recoil to retreat at lightning speed.

He quickly reached the spacecraft, which, without any visible action from him, suddenly broke apart, splitting into countless oddly shaped fragments of metal. These fragments, as if endowed with sight, flew toward the owner of the eyes.

From Blue Sky’s perspective, the owner seemed to transform into a human magnet; all the metal fragments adhered themselves to him. Feet, legs, abdomen, chest, arms, head—he was rapidly encased by the fragments. Without a full view, Blue Sky couldn’t see his entire form, but from his arms and torso he could tell: the fragments rotated and locked into place, forming a gilded suit of armor that enveloped him completely.

Once the golden armor was complete, the owner of the eyes ceased retreating. An overwhelming aura began to surge—this seemed to be his true strongest state!

The beast paid no heed to the armor, unleashing a torrent of attacks in an instant. Were this not in space, the speed of its strikes would have produced thunderous booms, like ten thousand storms descending. Its attacks now exceeded the speed of sound by untold multiples.

Yet the owner of the eyes, assaulted by countless blows, did not retreat as before. He endured them head-on—the armor’s defense was truly terrifying.

Then, the owner began exchanging blows with the beast, their struggle fierce and unyielding.

Suddenly, the scene accelerated severalfold. Blue Sky was startled, but quickly deduced the reason: the battle had dragged on so long that Bai had sped up the playback.

With the flow sped up, Blue Sky’s vision could no longer keep pace with the fighting. All he saw were blurred shadows of beast and fist, shockwaves rippling to nearby planets, causing them to explode like fireworks in the void—a spectacle so dazzling it left Blue Sky awestruck.

He had no idea how long the battle lasted—judging by the accelerated playback, it might have spanned years. Toward the end, each blink seemed to transport the combatants to a new, unfamiliar region of space.

Suddenly, Blue Sky’s vision blurred and the playback returned to normal speed. He guessed the fight had reached its climax.

Indeed, with the speed restored, details became clear once more. The beast had shrunk to roughly human size, its former overwhelming aura gone. Its body was covered in blood, wounds cracked and bleeding, streams of silvery fluid floating in the weightless void like mercury.

The owner of the eyes, though his armor had shifted from golden to gray-black, seemed in worse shape than the beast. Blood filled Blue Sky’s sight, blurring his vision; the body inside the armor was likely near collapse. His left arm hung limp, swinging with his movements and never raised—clearly broken. One leg bent forward unnaturally, as if the bones had grown backward.

Both combatants paused, facing each other in the void.

Then, drawn by some mysterious force, they attacked simultaneously, as if for a final decisive showdown. The beast roared, purple flames blazing fiercely as it charged. At the same time, the owner of the eyes unleashed the starlit projection, unused for so long. Gritting his teeth, he expanded the projection at speed, wrapping the beast within.

Once the beast was fully engulfed, the owner’s body shook violently, weakened yet resolute, compressing the projection with all his strength. The beast struggled fiercely, the cosmic projection trembling, cracks spreading across its surface.

The moment of final victory seemed imminent, but to Blue Sky’s horror, the owner inexplicably closed his eyes.

“No way! The beast isn’t dead yet, and you’re dying first?”

“This is the last showdown, brother!”

“You’ve trapped the beast in your projection, just a little more and you’ll finish it—how can you die now?”

“Just wait a bit longer before you go!”

Perhaps Blue Sky’s frantic muttering had an effect, for suddenly the owner’s eyes opened again, and Blue Sky could see once more.

Yet now, his vision was filled only with endless white light; nothing else was visible. As he strained to discern what had happened, his sight blurred, and a figure appeared before him—one bearing some resemblance to himself.

It was... Bai!

Blue Sky realized he had returned to reality.