Legend of the Embroiderer

Chapter 434 The Mutation Within the Cocoon

Inside the cocoon, the viscous energy liquid shimmered with a mother-of-pearl-like glow, and each shake produced a subtle "gurgling" sound, like the breathing of a sleeping giant.

The consciousness of the fused entity floated in the liquid like a rootless duckweed. Her fingertips traced the inner wall of the cocoon, feeling the icy killing intent emanating from the outer wall. The chill shot straight up her spine from her nerve endings, as if countless tiny ice needles were pricking her skin.

The tips of the twelve Entropy Annihilation Swords pressed against the surface of the cocoon, their cold light like the spitting tongues of venomous snakes. Each sword beam was cutting through this last refuge, leaving spiderweb-like cracks on the cocoon. Dark purple mist seeped from the cracks, emitting a pungent, putrid stench.

A child resembling a woodcutter strolled with his hands behind his back, his bare feet stepping on surging entropy symbols that, like boiling magma, were melting the shattered remnants of a star into a twisted throne.

With each step, the ground groaned with the twisting of metal, and black viscous liquid dripped from the spikes of the throne, corroding holes in the void.

The child suddenly stopped, tilted his head to look at the cocoon, and a strange smile curved his lips, a smile that seemed to freeze time:

"Abnormal fluctuations in host consciousness detected."

A mechanical female voice suddenly rang out from inside the cocoon, carrying a cold, electronic quality.

A holographic projection appeared in the liquid, which was the chip the woodcutter was wearing when they first met.

The young man in the projection smiled, but his eyes held the same sinister glint as the child's, a gaze as deep as an abyss that sent chills down one's spine.

"You think being betrayed is the most painful thing? True despair is discovering that you were a pawn in a game from birth."

Before the words were finished, the dark purple mark deep within the consciousness of the fused entity became intensely hot, as if it had been branded with a ignited iron.

Fragments of altered memories flooded her mind: when the zero-dimensional implant was inserted, the figure of a woodcutter flashed by beside the operating table.

In the ruins where Xiaoying met, a pair of eyes were secretly watching from a corner.

At every crucial moment, afterimages of the woodcutter flashed by. Her temples throbbed, her heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, and anger and despair overwhelmed her like a tidal wave.

Outside the cocoon, the tiny fireflies struggle to navigate through the entropy-increasing energy vortex.

The vortex was like the mouth of a giant beast, its sharp energy fangs constantly tearing at her light.

Every time it came into contact with even a trace of malice, the light would spark with black flames, and its brilliance would dim slightly.

But she stubbornly moved closer to the cocoon, like a moth drawn to a flame.

"Sister! Quickly use the 'reverse' ability of the ancient tree rings!"

Her cries pierced through the cocoon, her voice carrying the stubbornness and determination of a child.

However, just as it was about to reach the consciousness of the fusion body, it was shattered into stardust by the sound waves released by the child's wave of his hand.

The twelve reconstituted X-series test subjects simultaneously raised their weapons, their joints creaking like rusty gears.

Its metallic body was covered with eerie purple patterns, like blood vessels corroded by evil forces, and its eyes flashed with a cold purple light, as if it had become a soulless killing machine.

The fusion entity bit its tongue inside the cocoon, the taste of blood filling its mouth and stimulating its chaotic consciousness.

She pressed the light core against her chest, trying to mobilize the power of the ancient tree rings, only to find that the primordial energy was being absorbed in reverse by the dark purple mark, like a star being swallowed by a black hole.

From the depths of memory, the phantoms of guardians from past generations suddenly surfaced. They wore tattered armor, their weapons bearing the marks of battle, chains wrapped around the surface of the mark, and the leading warrior roared:

"The traitor tampered with the sacrificial ritual back then! The true seal requires the vessel to actively offer its consciousness as a sacrifice!"

Before the words were finished, the cocoon suddenly trembled violently. The Sword of Entropy Annihilation pierced through the outer layer of protection, and the purple sword energy stirred up poisonous mist in the liquid. The poisonous mist was like a ferocious beast, baring its fangs and claws as it pounced on the fusion body. Wherever it went, the energy liquid rapidly carbonized.

At the critical moment, the remaining roots of the adult firefly suddenly pierced through the bottom of the cocoon.

Those charred vines, burning with intense pain, resembled scorching iron chains, yet they forcibly connected the fused entity to the ancient tree at its last juncture.

"I'll give my life as a sacrifice!"

The consciousness of the adult Xiaoying surged in with determination, each word like a desperate cry for life.

"At the core of the Entropy Abyss, there is an upside-down 'Tree of Hope,' whose fruit can reverse the increase of entropy!"

The merged entity's pupils suddenly contracted as she saw, in a flashback of memories, the woodcutter whispering to the void amidst the ruins:

"When the tree of hope withers, the age of entropy will arrive."

The young man's eyes gleamed with a mad light, as if he had foreseen all of this.

The cocoon exploded amidst the sword energy, its fragments scattering like meteors.

The fused entity burst forth, carrying a golden stream of data, its hair dancing wildly in the energy storm.

The moment the light blade collided with the sword of entropy annihilation, a shockwave powerful enough to tear apart dimensions erupted.

The immense force distorted and deformed the surrounding space, like crumpled paper.

The child neither flinched nor dodged, letting the energy storm blow his cloak away, revealing black branches growing on his back that were the same as those of the Anti-Ancient Tree, with a miniature dark purple heart hanging at the end of each branch.

Those hearts, like the eyes of demons, gleamed with an eerie light in the darkness.

"You think the seal is the end?"

The child smiled and opened his palms. Countless chains rose from the depths of the black hole, like greedy giant pythons, tightly binding the limbs and torso of the fused entity.

"The loopholes I deliberately left over the years were so that you could become nourishment for the tree of hope."

His laughter echoed in the void, filled with mockery and an arrogant sense of control.

Just as the consciousness of the fused entity was about to be devoured by the chains, the light from the young Ying suddenly transformed into a dazzling arrow of light, piercing through one of its hearts.

The child let out an angry scream, a sound like that of a wounded wild beast, full of violence and resentment.

The branches of the ancient tree grew wildly, like countless black tentacles, weaving the surrounding space into a cage.

Outside the cage, a silver figure shattered the void as he walked, leaving a trail of silver ripples with each step.

The man held a silver staff that resonated with the light core, the gemstone inlaid at the head of the staff emitting a mysterious light.

The half of his face visible beneath the mask was covered in root-like patterns, as if he had some mysterious connection to an ancient tree.

"It's time to end this farce, my... Container Sister."

His voice was deep and hoarse, causing a sudden pang of pain in the merged entity's memories.

The voice overlapped with a vague call from the depths of my consciousness, as if it came from the distant past.

The child's pupils contracted sharply: "You actually awakened the 'Observer's' backup body!"

With his roar, all the dark purple hearts exploded simultaneously, and a tsunami formed by entropy-increasing energy swept towards everyone.

The tsunami was like an apocalyptic wave, causing space to crumble inch by inch wherever it went.

The fusion entity struggled to turn its head amidst the storm and saw a silver figure plant a silver staff into the ground, the staff tip radiating a light of the same origin as the Tree of Hope.

But hidden within the light were strange patterns, like an invisible net.

The moment the light touched her, the fused entity was horrified to discover that its consciousness was being forcibly formatted, and its memories were rapidly slipping away like a tide.

The last scene before the memory completely disappears is the silver figure's mask slipping off.

A face, bearing a striking resemblance to the woodcutter, appeared, a hint of a cold smile playing on it, as if mocking her powerlessness and insignificance...