Chapter 103: Heart Light Burns the Dark

Chen Mo walked toward the silhouette of the assault craft, and in the flickering alarm lights of the Dawn's bridge, he cast a resolute silhouette. Su Yu instinctively reached out, but her fingertips only brushed the cold edge of his armor.

"I'm going with you!" Her voice carried undeniable firmness.

Chen Mo's steps halted; he didn't turn, only tilted his head slightly, revealing his sharply chiseled jaw. "It's too dangerous there; your perception ability can be more useful aboard the ship."

"Precisely because it's dangerous, I must go!" Su Yu stepped forward, standing beside him, looking up at him. "My True Knowledge Vision can help you avoid energy turbulence and find the most precise entry point. In the Abyssal Resonance, in the Stardust Ruins, weren't we always together?" Her gaze was clear and steadfast, reflecting the exploding flames outside the window.

Chen Mo stared at her, and countless perils they had faced together flashed through his mind. From the first meeting on Pure Land, when she was the girl needing protection, to now a partner who could act independently and even guide him. Her perception ability was indeed irreplaceable, especially in this rule‑chaotic energy core zone. Keeping her on the relatively safe flagship would certainly reduce her direct risk, but if that caused the mission to fail, everyone would be doomed. He realized his earlier refusal was tainted with too much personal feeling, not pure tactical consideration.

"…Keep up." Chen Mo finally uttered the two words, his tone low yet trusting. He entered the assault craft first, and Su Yu followed swiftly, moving with precision.

"Night Owl will escort you and tear open a passage!" Han Qing's calm voice came through the comms, simultaneously ordering the fleet to unleash full firepower, sparing no cost to draw enemy attention to the assault craft.

The tiny assault craft shot out like an arrow from the Dawn, darting through a hail of gunfire. The Night Owl, under Han Qing's command, guarded like a phantom, using precise fire to clear the blocking Hunter Dogs. Zhang Yang and Wang Hu also led fighter squadrons and destroyers, creating massive disturbances in the outer ring, firmly holding most enemy ships at bay.

Inside the craft, the atmosphere was oppressive. Chen Mo focused on steering, dodging the swirling shadow energy and warship debris. Su Yu closed her eyes and concentrated, fine beads of sweat forming at her temples, fully sensing the fissure ahead that resembled a scar in the cosmos.

"Turn left 15 degrees! Avoid that energy vortex!"

"There's an invisible minefield straight ahead, bypass it!"

Her voice was short and clear, becoming Chen Mo's most reliable navigation amid the chaotic battlefield.

The closer they got to the fissure, the stronger the cold, dead silence emanating from the Void became. It seemed even space itself wailed; light twisted here, and physical laws grew ambiguous. The assault craft's shield let out an overburdened moan, its surface energy coating rapidly peeling under the erosion of shadow energy.

Finally, they broke through the layers of obstruction and reached the edge of the fissure. From here, it was not a simple "crack" but a continuously rotating, inward‑collapsing dark vortex, countless twisted shadow energies extending like tentacles, stirring the surrounding spacetime. The energy node Su Yu pointed to lay slightly left of the vortex's center, shielded by a defensive field that solidified like black crystal.

"There!" Su Yu pointed at the node, her complexion pale from mental overexertion. "Break it, and we can disrupt—or even close—the fissure!"

Chen Mo hesitated not a moment, steering the assault craft into a sharp turn, pushing the engine to its limit, racing straight toward the node! Simultaneously, the Order Force within him resonated with his chest's Starlight Crystal at unprecedented intensity, and the Order Administrator's battle sword materialized in his hand; its blade now glowed not with pure blue light but with a dazzling silver radiance infused with starlight.

"Stop him!" A cold, chaotic will seemed to sense the threat, echoing from the depths of the fissure. More shadow tentacles and several remaining elite Hunter Dog warships surged recklessly toward the assault craft!

"Not a chance!" Zhang Yang's roar blasted through the comms; his fighter, like a raging tiger, rammed a attempting enemy ship with its hull, then ejected amid the exploding flames. Wang Hu's destroyer, using its last ammunition, erected a brief fire barrier.

Under the self‑sacrificing cover of their allies, the assault craft finally surged to the node! Chen Mo thrust the battle sword, infused with all his own power, the Starlight Force, and the hopes of countless people behind him, hard into that black‑crystal‑like field!

"Boom—!!!"

It wasn't a material explosion but a violent collision on the rule level! The fused power of Order and Starlight clashed directly with pure Void shadow. The blinding flash instantly devoured everything, and a massive energy shockwave hurled surrounding warship debris and even small meteoroids outward!

The once‑indestructible black field, under the impact of the merging force, sprouted spider‑web cracks that spread rapidly and finally burst apart with a bang!

The moment the field shattered, the entire fissure emitted a sharp, primordial‑cosmic screech! Its rotation speed suddenly surged, then abruptly stalled, and the interior structure grew extremely unstable as chaotic energy violently collided and annihilated within.

"We did it! The fissure's structure is collapsing!" Su Yu shouted, weak yet exhilarated.

Yet at that moment, a new anomaly rebirthed! At the shattered node, instead of dispersing as expected, a purer, darker, primordial shadow energy surged forth, brimming with endless malice and greed, taking shape like a living massive hand made of pure Void, which lunged toward the temporarily exhausted Chen Mo from the all‑out strike!

This was not a mere Hunter Dog‑level attack, but an extension of a sliver of power from the truly terrifying entity on the other side of the fissure!

The shadow giant hand moved faster than physical law, bearing a soul‑freezing chill, and arrived before Chen Mo in an instant! His old power spent, new power not yet born, even moving a finger became difficult; he could only watch helplessly as the darkness representing ultimate annihilation closed over him!

"No—!" Su Yu let out a harrowing shout, almost instinctively throwing herself before Chen Mo, using her body to block the shadow giant hand! At the same time, she unleashed all her spirit power, together with the near‑soul‑resonant link she had built with Chen Mo over the years, without reservation!

Her True Knowledge Vision, at that moment, ceased to be merely "seeing" and became a barrier that defined "existence"! A faint yet incredibly resilient light membrane, fused with her life's radiance and pure will, blossomed centered on her.

The shadow giant hand slammed hard onto that light membrane!

There was no sound, only a conceptual erosion versus steadfastness!

The light membrane quivered violently, flickering erratically; Su Yu's complexion turned translucent, blood slowly seeped from her seven orifices, yet she clenched her teeth, and the light in her eyes shone brighter and more resolute than ever. She wielded her "existence" to oppose the Void!

"Su Yu!" Chen Mo's eyes widened to the brink, his nearly exhausted internal power, over‑drawn, suddenly forced a new source to arise under this massive emotional shock! It was neither Order nor Starlight, but a will born from the deepest part of his heart, the purest, fiercest resolve to protect the person before him!

This newborn power surged into the battle sword, and within the originally radiant silver‑blue glow burst a warm, life‑filled… golden flame! It was Heart Fire, the fire of will, a power beyond rules and energy, belonging to "humans."

"Get… out of my way!!!"

Chen Mo roared, swinging a slash that surpassed his own limits! This blade bore his guilt toward his companion, his protection of home, and his resolute response to protect the woman before him at any cost! The golden Heart Fire coiled around the silver‑blue Order Starlight, like the first ray of dawn, and cleaved the shadow giant hand with force!

"Hiss—!"

Like a red‑hot branding iron plunged into ice water! The shadow giant hand, upon contact with the golden Heart Fire, emitted a harrowing, non‑audible screech as its composition began to violently boil and evaporate! The malicious will from the other side seemed startled and instinctively wary of this "Heart Fire" beyond its comprehension!

The hand rapidly collapsed and dissipated under the interwoven gold‑blue blade light. Deprived of that core energy, the already unstable spatial fissure finally began a complete collapse! It shattered piece by piece like a mirror, its internal darkness torn and annihilated by chaotic energy turbulence, ultimately becoming a waning wave of energy that faded into the void of the Orte Cloud.

The fissure was closed.

The assault craft floated in the now‑calming battlefield's center, surrounded by drifting wreckage and scattered flames. Chen Mo held tightly to the unconscious Su Yu, whose spirit power had been completely exhausted, feeling her faint pulse, his heart filled with lingering fear and an indescribable tremor. He lowered his head, gazing at the woman's pale face in his arms, gently wiping the blood from her lips.

"We… succeeded." Han Qing's voice came through the comms, hoarse from surviving the ordeal, with a barely perceptible sense of relief.

"Return." Chen Mo's voice was low and weary, yet imbued with new strength.

This battle cost them a heavy price; the fleet lost over a third of its strength, many fine warriors forever remaining in that cold void. Yet they succeeded in sealing the fissure, thwarting the enemy's attempt to establish a foothold, and more importantly, they discovered a sliver of hope against the ultimate Void—a Heart Fire born of human heart and will.

Chen Mo looked at the sleeping Su Yu in his arms, then gazed out the port window at the star gradually brightening, a symbol of home.

Darkness still loomed heavy, and the road ahead remained long.

Yet the Sparks have ignited, and the Heart Light remains unextinguished.

They will keep moving forward until all darkness is illuminated.