Legend of the Embroiderer

Chapter 576 The Origin Imprint and the Last Chance for the Core (2)

The gatekeeper quickened his pace, leading everyone through the pitch-black domain. He used his own black energy to clear away the spatial distortions and remaining black tentacles along the way, clearing a clear path for everyone.

The Guardian's consciousness was filled with excitement. He rushed towards the rift first, followed closely by his clones and the fused entity.

But just as they were about to enter the rift, it suddenly began to contract, and the surrounding space trembled irregularly. Countless streams of pale black energy surged out of the space and shot toward their twin barriers.

"It's a spatial oscillation caused by a leak in the domain's energy!"

The gatekeeper's expression turned serious. He poured all his black energy into the barrier. "The rift will close completely in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. We must rush in before it closes!"

Without hesitation, everyone charged toward the crack.

The clones extended the barrier to its maximum extent, blocking the continuous flow of energy. The guardians and the fusion cleared away the obstructing energy fragments in front, while the gatekeepers brought up the rear, reinforcing the weak points of the barrier with black energy.

The energy attacks became increasingly intense, and the silver-gray energy on the barrier's surface was eroded thinner and thinner, with several obvious cracks already appearing. Some clones, having exhausted their energy, began to gradually become transparent, yet they still gritted their teeth and persevered.

"Hang in there! We're almost at the crack!"

The 17th clone shouted, suddenly detonating all his energy into a silver-gray light shield that blocked the densest wave of energy. "Charge! Don't worry about me!"

A flicker of pain crossed the eyes of the guardians and the merged entity, but they knew they could not betray the sacrifice of their clone. They could only speed up and lead the remaining people toward the rift.

As their consciousness finally rushed into the rift, the rift closed completely behind them. The energy flows that had not been blocked were isolated in the domain space, and the light shield of the 17th clone also turned into countless silver-white light spots and dissipated in the domain the moment the rift closed.

The moment they passed through the crack, the familiar symbiotic cocoon of light appeared before them—but the sight before them made everyone's hearts sink instantly.

Two-thirds of the temporary protective layer left behind has been broken. Black patterns are wrapped around the surface of the cocoon of light like vines. Only a thin layer of white energy remains in the core of the original consciousness. The pale golden energy of the Absolute End Key has also become disordered and may go out of control again at any time.

What shocked them even more was that a black phantom appeared in the center of the cocoon of light—this phantom was clearer than the remnants of the ancient being's consciousness, and it was surrounded by energy of the same origin as the Absolute Termination Domain. It was the phantom of the ancient being's original consciousness!

"You... are finally back."

The ancient phantom let out a cold laugh. He slowly raised his hand and pointed to the golden-gray balancing energy in the guardian's hand. "Unfortunately... it's too late."

"I have already corrupted the core's origin with my residual consciousness. Once I detonate the key, the entire primordial consciousness core will transform into the 'second core' of the Absolute Termination Domain. At that time, all existence will be completely devoured, and no one will be able to stop me!"

The guardian immediately raised the golden-gray balancing energy, preparing to inject it into the cocoon of light: "As long as we inject the balancing energy into the core, we can purify your corruption. You won't succeed!"

"is it?"

The ancient, phantom figure suddenly laughed, pointing to the balancing energy. "You think this energy is pure?"

While you were extracting energy, I planted a 'primordial imprint' within it. As soon as the energy touches the core, the imprint will detonate the core's white energy, accelerating my plan!

The guardian's movements froze instantly. He looked at the golden-gray energy in his hand—there was indeed an extremely faint black mark on the surface of the energy, which could not be detected without careful observation. This was a trap left by an ancient being.

The consciousness of the merged entity also turned cold. The balancing energy they had obtained with all their might had been tampered with by an ancient being. Now, injecting it into the core would result in an explosion, while not injecting it would mean waiting for the core to be corroded. They were caught in a dilemma.

The gatekeeper stepped forward, his black energy resonating with the black patterns on the cocoon of light: "I can temporarily suppress the erosion of the patterns and buy you time."

But it can only last for half an hour at most. After half an hour, if a way to break the mark cannot be found, the core will still be detonated.

The guardian looked at the balancing energy in his hand, then at the nearly broken cocoon of light, his heart filled with struggle—could they find a way to break the mark in half an hour?

The ancient phantom floated silently in the center of the cocoon of light, wearing a confident smile, waiting for the detonation moment half an hour later.

Just then, the merged entity suddenly recalled a detail from the memories of the 0th generation observer—the energy of the twin seal contained the "key to breaking the primordial imprint," and the key required "synchronous resonance of twin consciousness" to activate.

She immediately shared this discovery with the Guardian and the Gatekeeper: "We still have hope! As long as your twin consciousness resonates with the Gatekeeper's, you can activate the key to break the seal and clear the primordial imprint from the balancing energy!"

The guardian and the gatekeeper exchanged a glance, and without the slightest hesitation, they simultaneously immersed their consciousness into the golden-gray balancing energy.

Half an hour later, a familiar black crack finally appeared ahead – it was the entrance they had used to enter the domain, and the only passage back to the core of their original consciousness.

"Quick! We can get back to the core by going through the crack!"

But just as the twin consciousnesses were about to synchronize, the phantom of the ancient being suddenly launched an attack. A stream of dark purple energy shot towards the gatekeeper's consciousness, attempting to interrupt the resonance—the gatekeeper's consciousness had just been purified and was still unstable, making it the easiest weakness to exploit.

A sharp pain shot through the gatekeeper's consciousness, instantly disrupting the synchronized rhythm. The primal imprint within the balancing energy also became agitated, beginning to flicker with black light.

"Quickly... continue the resonance..."

The gatekeeper gritted his teeth and persevered, channeling all his black energy into his consciousness to resist the attack of the dark purple energy. "I can hold on... Don't give up..."

The Guardian immediately accelerated the rate of consciousness injection, attempting to resynchronize the twin consciousnesses.

The fused entity then led the remaining clones to form a barrier of consciousness, standing in front of the gatekeeper to block the continuous attacks of the dark purple energy.

Can the key to unlocking the primordial imprint be activated? In half an hour, can they synchronize their twin consciousnesses despite the interference of the ancient beings?

This suspense, concerning the fate of all beings, hangs in the consciousness of everyone, making this ultimate confrontation surrounding the core of primordial consciousness even more intense.