Skyfire Avenue - Chapter 809

Chapter 809

Chapter 809: Death of the Doppelganger

In the moment the creature’s defenses shattered, its full and terrible potential was unleashed . A wave of dark purple light spread out from it like ink from an octopus . Wherever the slithering light touched an infection bloomed that constrained the power of the Five Lightnings . As the contamination spread the Monarch’s avatar disappeared within it .

The thick, plum-colored taint spread quickly, swallowing everything it came across . Lightning continued to blast at it from all corners of Lan Jue’s Domain, but couldn’t seem to burn it away .

Lan Jue scowled . This inky energy was strangely unique, composed of condensed vital energy and possessed of a ruinous hunger . It surged with an ebb and flow, constantly creating and destroying as it spread out through his Domain .

That should have been power only the alien planets could control . Understanding was beginning to dawn on the Jewelry Master . He thought life and death were as incompatible as fire and water, but in fact they were the extremes of one another . Destruction was the end result of life, and life was born from ashes of destruction . The two were inexorably combined .

The alien evolutionary process required unceasing destruction of humanity . Through consumption of their vital energies they expanded their own, a common fact of nature and one they had been involved in for many years .

Thus did they continue to rise in strength to their current level . Their whole reality was incessant consumption, and through it they understood vitality and creation, death and decay . It was their reality, their protogenia . This was the only way they knew how to fight against the tyranny of universal suppression .

As life and death coiled among each other, the aliens’ protogenia continued to change . It was a constant cycle of consumption, assimilation and creation . The planets created more of their species but had to deprive others of life to do so .

Creation and destruction . It was also the crux of the universe . The death of one universe invariable gave rise to another .

Lan Jue had to acknowledge that, although the aliens were a threat to his species, their understanding of the natural way was profound . It had to be, otherwise they never would have reached the heights they enjoy today or have the power necessary to create a realm of their own . If they continued on their path, who’s to say they wouldn’t eventually threaten the universe as a whole?

Lan Jue and Zhou Qianlin exchanged a wordless glance . Their hearts as one and their aim identical, a pair of lights sprang up around them .

Behind Lan Jue appeared his dharmic image, the Middle Heaven Emperor of the North Pole Star of Purple Subtlety . The Queen of Heaven, Guanyin, towered over Qianlin . As their dharma manifested, both of their auras surged .

The light of the Queen of Heaven was marvelous, almost crystalline . Qianlin was a vision of benevolence and protection . Lan Jue’s presence, meanwhile, adopted an imperatorial air with a promise of bloody judgement .

Direct confrontation of protogenia was the best way to resolve this conflict with the enemy .

The Emperor of the North Star was commander of the cosmos, back when the immortal realm existed . He held authority over life and death, simultaneously creator and destroyer, whose knowledge of the correlation between the two was complete . Lan Jue’s knowledge, by comparison, was superficial at best . Yet still he had access to a depth of understanding far beyond what the aliens had accrued .

The Queen of Heaven was a power of pure deliverance, perfectly selfless and rooted in virtue .

As the two powers mingled the connection between life and death faded into the background . What was important in this moment was their relationship to each other . Their affections had survived numerous trials and transcended all, leaving only their love . Qianlin had been willing to sacrifice herself to destruction in order to save Lan Jue, who in turn would give up his life for her .

In this integral moment the only thing in their hearts was each other . Against the backdrop of creation and annihilation their love bloomed .

Suddenly the light of their swords flared . Both Paragons merged into the images of their dharma . The Emperor of the North Star took Guanyin’s hand in his own, and the two stood side by side . The kingly image of the former god was different now than it had been upon Lan Jue’s breakthrough . At that time he had channeled the primordial spirit of the Emperor, rife with disdain . Brimming with power and contempt, it scared the Monarch’s avatar enough to force its retreat .

This time the image looked more like Lan Jue . His influence was not settled, and the light of the cosmos did not live in his eyes as it did for the Emperor of the North Star . Instead the image of the beautiful woman beside him was reflected in their depths .

Dual beams of red and blue burst forth . Hand in hand, Lan Jue stood with Captus gripped in his right fist . Demortus was nestled in Qianlin’s right . As the two of them lifted their godblades, their light combined . They were separate only in appearance, for their spirits were one as the Harmonious Swords were released in a resplendent rainbow beam of light .

Lan Jue’s Boundless Starlight Domain and Qianlin’s Queen of Heaven abilities combined . An unprecedented sensation swelled through both of them, washing away any barriers that remained . Only the great affection they felt for one another was left .

Lan Jue’s face betrayed a contented smile, as did Qianlin’s . In fact it seemed as though they’d forgotten the presence of their mighty enemy . The multifaceted flair of the Harmonious Swords erupted from them and fractured into a shower of light .

The poisonous light of the avatar continued to grow, roiling with the powers of life and death, creation and destruction . However, as the rainbow of colors shone upon it the inky darkness was dispelled like a mist before the morning sun .

The emulsion of energy from the couple continued to grow and spread across a huge area . Their Domains were channeled through the Banishing Blades to both empower and be empowered .

As reality continued to unravel around it, the alien general felt like it was trapped in a universe of suffering . Tens of thousands of shimmering bolts descended upon him . As they pierced the darkness things became strangely surreal for the avatar . The power derived from the home worlds he put so much faith in was revealed to be fragile in the face of the Harmonious Swords .

So fragile, in fact, that it seemed resistance was futile . The beast’s body proceeded to swell, proceeded to regain its true monstrous form . But even as the full might of its abilities surged through it, the dagger-like beams of color pierced its flesh only to burst out of the other side . All of a sudden it was a creature of pure, shining light .

The feeling of of the inevitable overcame it . Monarch’s avatar slowly closed its eyes as pieces of the creature began to chip away . Panic set in and it thrashed, trying to find any way to evade the purifying light . No succor was found .

It didn’t make sense . By all that they knew these humans shouldn’t have been able to harm it . However the moment their Domain consumed it, the doppelganger was cut off from the others . When these glimmering lights came the connection it had to the home worlds was severed as well .

An eruption of blinding purple light burst from its chest, impossibly bright and alarming . It was as though something within it was fighting tooth and nail to get free .

It was revealed to be an orb, shimmering and translucent like a gem . It looked like a miniature version of the Monarch planet .

Rays of purple light blazed into the blackness of space just as Lan Jue and Qianlin dropped their swords . The purple orb hung suspended in nothingness, but was soon enveloped by an enigmatic power . It was something even the alien planets couldn’t grasp, an energy that sealed the evil will of the crystal and cleansed its poisonous nature . A few moments later it was nothing more than a crystal of pure vital energy .

The kaleidoscope of light continued for a full minute until, little by little, it faded into darkness . When Lan Jue and Qianlin opened their eyes, their dharmic images were gone . It was only them, hand in hand, swords at the ready .

It was a little awkward that the other Paragons were standing nearby, gaping at them in abject confusion .

Lan Jue blinked at them, and with a little cough, asked, “What happened?”

Luo Xianni sounded incredulous . “You don’t know?”

He shook his head . “Last thing I remember is employing the Harmonious Swords against Monarch’s avatar . Then she and I slipped into some kind of meditation… it’s hard to describe . Everything after that is fuzzy . I suppose we killed it?” He asked, uncertain .

Luo Xianni nodded . “It looked like you really grasped the power of that technique . The Monarch’s doppelganger couldn’t flee . When you released that light the other two seemed to have felt it and escaped . They used the images of the three planets we saw to somehow ferry them away . ”

Lan Jue looked around and discovered that the other Paragons had slain the remaining alien forces . Most of the progenitor’s corruption was already gone .

The Driver was almost fierce as he came upon Lan Jue . “What was that? When did the two of you get so strong?”

Lan Jue grinned ruefully . “If I told you I actually have no clue, would you believe me?”

The Driver just stared at him . But the truth was, Lan Jue and Qianlin really didn’t know how they’d managed to kill Monarch’s avatar .