Chapter 96: Goddess of the Moon

[On Wonnack, now stabilized, nature began regulating its climate anew. Torrential rains fell abruptly, the waters converging into a massive crater.]

[You stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Jingliu, silently observing the magnificent rainscape before you.]

[This silence spoke louder than words.]

[Time became meaningless until the downpour gradually ceased. Day turned to night, the firmament transforming into a curtain studded with gem-like stars.]

[The accumulated rainwater had filled most of the crater. Perhaps due to its geometrically perfect shape, the water's surface under starlight became mirror-like, reflecting a silvery sheen.]

[Jingliu slowly removed her bloodstained garments and stepped into the water until the silvery surface reached her waist.]

[Her alabaster skin shimmered crystalline under the starlight, surrounded by the reflected constellations dancing on the water's surface.]

[In this moment, Jingliu was the Moon Goddess incarnate.]

[She crooked a finger at you.]

[You smiled. When a goddess summons, who could refuse?]

[Discarding your clothes, you entered the water, embracing her as you both fell beneath the surface.]

[Tonight, you would claim this radiant moonlight as your own!]

...

[Dawn illuminated the land.]

[You rose to meet the sunlight, glancing back once.]

[Jingliu still slept beneath your coat, her jade-like arms, delicate feet, and pale shoulders peeking out slightly.]

[Such temptation would have made your former self pounce like a beast to savor her anew.]

[But today, you turned away without hesitation.]

[As your silhouette vanished into the sunlight, Jingliu slowly sat up.]

[Her feigned sleep betrayed no attempt to stop you. She simply gazed at where you'd disappeared.]

[The unspoken truth between you lingered:]

[You could never halt your journey for her.]

[Nor would she abandon her identity as a Galaxy Ranger for you.]

[Better to forget each other in the vast rivers and lakes than cling together in dwindling drops.]

...

[With all puzzle pieces assembled, you boldly initiated the final phase.]

[Using higher Path authority than Nanook's, you forcibly disrupted his control over the Destruction Path.]

[Though your Path authority surpassed the Aeon's, you could only interfere—not seize control entirely. Should Nanook destroy you, he'd reclaim full authority instantly. Never since Aeons emerged had anyone slain an Emanator to plunder Path authority—a high-risk, low-reward endeavor bordering on folly.]

[Creating a new Path would be more feasible than weakening an Aeon this way.]

[Yet today, you'd play the fool's role deliberately!]

[Nanook's wrath ignited instantly!]

[Across the cosmos, all life shuddered with the illusion of universal conflagration!]

[The next second, Nanook's towering white-haired, dusk-skinned form materialized before you.]

["DIE!"]

[His attack struck immediately—you were plunged into a supergiant star's core, trillion-degree heat annihilating you instantly.]

[Then verdant life energy breezed past, restoring you unharmed.]

[With Aeonic pride, Nanook ceased attacking, glaring into the void.]

[Billowing vitality emerged as all creatures rejoiced. The thousand-armed, thousand-eyed deity of compassion manifested silently upon golden branches.]

[As Yaoshi appeared, all life seemed to chorus: "The Phecda's mercy, the Arbor's bloom! Sowers united in paradise!"]

[Though Nanook's dusk skin hid it poorly, Yaoshi's interference visibly darkened his expression with rage.]

["Die with him!" Nanook roared, attacking mercilessly.]

[Yaoshi waved a golden branch, parrying the blow.]

[Then a 'shooting star' streaked across the cosmos—distant one moment, piercing Nanook the next.]

[Caught mid-struggle with Yaoshi, Nanook took the full impact. A severed arm flew, golden ichor spraying, gilding half his body.]

["THE HUNT!" Nanook bellowed.]

[A navy-blue figure raced closer—Lan the Hunt, the Xianzhou Alliance's other patron Aeon.]

[You smiled. Millennia of planning bore fruit at last.]

[Lan's presence resulted from your thousand-year scripture lectures (indoctrination). While not fully converted, his ideology had shifted—no longer fixated on destroying Abundance, but targeting all cosmic evil.]

[The Hunt now embodied justice, its Path broadened beyond its original scope.]

[Lan's transformed appearance reflected this: his chariot bristled with new weapons, his armor now azure and gold.]

[His prey expanded beyond Abominations of Abundance—the Antimatter Legion, Swarm, and Mechanites infected by anti-life equations all fell under his purview.]

[His appointment of three Galaxy Rangers as Emanators evidenced these changes.]

[Indebted to you, Lan agreed to one intervention.]

[Thus Nanook became your lucky volunteer.]

[One veteran Aeon plus one combat-specialized young god versus a severely weakened Aeon? The odds favored you overwhelmingly.]

[Victory was guaranteed.]

[Failure? Impossible.]

[When you fully understand the enemy's hand and prepare exhaustively, defeat remains only theoretical.]

[Setbacks are just excuses used by clowns who underestimate foes and overestimate themselves.]

[Within ten exchanges, the battle concluded decisively.]

[With his Path control disrupted, Nanook suffered seconds-long delays channeling Imaginary energy or activating powers.]

[Against lesser foes, his sheer might compensated.]

[But against two peer adversaries? This flaw meant certain annihilation.]