Chapter 533 - 370: Eternal Star Dome, Corrupt Monarch (Part 2)

There were even floating plazas supported by anti-gravity Runes. Though most had crashed, a few fragments of wreckage still drifted in midair.

The city’s architectural style was completely different from the underground ruins. This place was more exquisite, more magnificent, and closer to the Floating City technology Ian had envisioned.

Although most of it had collapsed into ruin, the remaining fragments were enough to reveal the former glory of the Star Shining Empire.

’So this is the Eternal Star Dome.’

A complex emotion flickered in Ian’s eyes as he slowly landed on the city’s central plaza.

The silvery-white tiles beneath his feet were etched with intricate Star Orbit patterns.

His Gravity Perception spread like a tide, instantly locking onto the presence.

It was a blazing, chaotic presence, like a volcano on the verge of eruption, far stronger than any Mutant Beast he had previously encountered.

’This has to be a Level Four Late Stage!’

Ian took a deep breath and strode toward the end of the plaza, arriving before a magnificent grand hall.

Carved on the hall’s outer walls were the orbits of stars and countless Rune Arrays Ian had never seen before.

Though its surface was covered in a dark purple fungal carpet, the vast aura of the Star Realm was still overwhelming.

He stepped into the grand hall, and the space inside was even more expansive than it appeared from the outside.

The dome hung high overhead, inlaid with countless glowing Crystals that simulated a starry sky, but most of them were now shattered and dim.

In the center of the grand hall, a figure sat upon a silvery-white throne.

The figure was clad in a tattered Star Robe, its edges rotted away to reveal translucent skin beneath.

Brilliant Starlight flowed across the left side of its body, while dark purple Abyssal Energy writhed like vipers on the right.

The two Energies converged and clashed at its chest, forming a bizarre equilibrium.

A piece of information flashed through Ian’s mind; he had already guessed the figure’s identity—the last Great Emperor of the Star Shining Empire: Astra.

The figure on the throne slowly opened its eyes.

Its left eye reflected a brilliant nebula; its right was a swirling, dark purple vortex.

A terrifying Spiritual Suppression bore down on Ian!

The air instantly solidified, and the ground began to splinter with loud, cracking sounds.

Ian’s Gravity Barrier activated automatically, and silvery-gray ripples flowed around him, forcefully repelling the suppression.

A Red-Bladed Spear the thickness of an arm instantly materialized and shot toward the space between Astra’s eyebrows.

Astra’s left eye narrowed slightly, and a beam of Starlight shot out to meet it.

The two attacks collided in midair and, with a HISS, canceled each other out and vanished.

Ian’s attack seemed to have angered him. Astra slowly rose to his feet and spoke for the first time.

"Intruder..."

His voice held the clarity of Starlight mixed with the rasp of the Abyss, the two tones overlapping in an utterly bizarre way.

In Astra’s palm, the two energies of Starlight and Abyss converged and intertwined frantically.

They formed a distorted beam of light half a meter in diameter, the space within it constantly undergoing Annihilation and turning to the Void.

’The Annihilation Attribute.’

Ian’s pupils contracted. He instantly sidestepped, unleashing his Gravity Rule at full power to distort the surrounding space.

The beam grazed the corner of his robes and slammed into the hall wall behind him, directly "erasing" the space it touched.

A circular hole ten meters in diameter appeared in the wall. A kilometer away, a High Tower was struck by the aftershock.

The tower snapped in half. Its upper section slowly tilted and then crashed down, sending a deafening RUMBLE across the trembling ground.

"Fast... reaction."

Astra’s Star Robe billowed without a wind, and he suddenly vanished, reappearing behind Ian.

In his palm, a fist-sized, continuously collapsing Annihilation Ball had already formed, emanating a terrifyingly volatile energy.

If this attack landed, it was powerful enough to completely erase a Level Four Initial Stage being.

But Ian was prepared. Empowered by his Rule Domain, his thoughts accelerated once more.

The instant Astra appeared, Ian had already "seen" the trajectory of the attack.

He took a step forward, turning as he did.

He brought his hands together before his chest. This time, Ian incorporated even more Rules into his attack.

A Gravity-Bound Core, Extreme Thermal Energy Compression, an infusion of Purification Starlight, and a release of Time Acceleration Energy.

Four-colored light intertwined in his palms, forming a blazing white orb half a meter in diameter, yet far more condensed than before.

BOOM!!!

The Eternal Fierce Sun collided with the Annihilation Ball.

There was no sound, only the terrifying sight of space being torn asunder and erased.

Pitch-black fissures spread outward from the point of impact.

Wherever the fissures passed, the hall’s walls, pillars, and dome were all silently sliced apart.

The cuts were smooth as glass, and any matter they passed through simply vanished.

The entire grand hall began to shake violently. Swaths of Crystals on the dome shattered, raining down like a storm.

The confrontation lasted for three seconds before the Eternal Fierce Sun and the Annihilation Ball simultaneously annihilated each other.

A pitch-black void a hundred meters in diameter was left behind, a hole where space itself had been temporarily "erased."

Ian stumbled back three steps, the ground shattering beneath his feet.

Astra retreated two steps. The shockwave tore the sleeve of his Star Robe to shreds, revealing the translucent skin underneath.

Beneath his skin, the two energies clashed violently, and their balance began to waver.

’So that’s how it is...’ A flash of realization crossed Ian’s eyes.

’The two energies inside his body are in a delicate balance.’

’Once that balance is broken, he’ll descend into Chaos, maybe even self-destruct.’

’Let’s try this.’ Ian raised a hand, and a pure, pale golden light bloomed in his palm.

The light formed a Purification Beam that shot toward the right side of Astra’s body.

A flash of rage crossed Astra’s crimson right eye.

The Starlight in his left hand flared, forming a brilliant Starlight Shield in front of him.

The Purification Beam struck the shield, producing a SIZZLING, corrosive sound.

Fine cracks appeared on the surface of the Starlight Shield, but they were quickly filled by more Starlight.

"The Abyss... replenishes... the spent Starlight..."

Astra’s voice was laced with a distorted pride. "You... cannot break... the balance..."

The battle erupted once more.

Ian repeatedly tried to use the Purification Rule to weaken the Abyss, while Astra continuously replenished his power with Starlight.

The two of them moved at high speed throughout the hall, trading blows. Each collision caused this spatial fragment to tremble more violently.

More cracks spiderwebbed across the sky, and the darkness of the Void began to seep through.

While Ian and Astra were locked in fierce combat, Gaga slipped silently into the shadows at the back of the hall.

The little creature suppressed its presence to the absolute minimum, moving along the base of the wall like a true shadow.

It skirted around spatial fissures and dodged falling rubble, finally reaching the deepest part of the hall.

Here, a lone altar stood. A massive, three-meter-diameter orb of light hovered over its center.

Silvery Rune Chains flowed across the orb’s surface. Inside... an eyeball was suspended in the light.

The eyeball was made of Dark Gold, its pupil reflecting a swirling nebula.

But its surface was covered with a fine network of vein-like patterns, through which flowed dark purple Energy.

Just a single glance sent a tremor deep into Gaga’s Soul, as if it had been targeted by some ancient, evil entity.

"Ian..." it transmitted cautiously through their Soul Link.

"There’s a sealed orb of light at the back of the hall. It has an eyeball inside. It feels really dangerous."

Gaga then noticed dozens of translucent Crystals scattered around the altar.

"And there are lots and lots of Recording Crystals."

Ian, who was still trading blows with Astra, registered the message with a flicker of thought.

’An eyeball? Recording Crystals?’

Before he could dwell on it, Astra suddenly threw his head back and roared, a sound so powerful it made the entire hall tremble.

"You vile little thief! You’ve truly angered me now..."

Astra spread his arms wide. The Starlight from his left hand and the Abyss from his right erupted in a blinding flash.

The hall began to collapse. The dome shattered completely, revealing the broken sky outside.

Countless chasms split the ground, and dark purple Tentacles writhed out from the fissures, whipping about frantically.

At the same time, the fragmented Starlight Power in the sky was forcibly drawn down, transforming into countless silver streams of light that converged on Astra.

Starlight and Abyss intertwined and fused above his head, forming a terrifying beam of light over a hundred meters in diameter that radiated a destructive aura capable of freezing the very Soul.

"Star Abyss... Light of World Annihilation!!!"

Astra pushed his hands forward, and the massive beam of light slowly bore down on Ian.

It was not fast, but everything in its path was subject to Annihilation; even space itself dissolved before it.

Ian’s expression grew grave. Five Rules spun madly within him as his Blazing Star Core whirled at maximum speed.

An alarm bell suddenly rang in his mind. In that instant, he had sensed another presence—one at the Level Four Peak.

This new, powerful enemy was even more cunning and exceptionally skilled at Concealment.

He glanced toward the back of the hall, where that cold, bizarre presence still lay in wait.

It was like a viper in the darkness, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

A cold resolve formed in Ian’s mind. ’You want to ambush me? Fine. I’ll give you the chance!’