Chapter 706: The Revival Match

Yagumo Shizu paused, turning slightly in surprise.

"Ah," Kaguya whispered, glancing at her hair, "the Hōrai herb is taking effect."

"Princess?!" Yuyin Yonglin's pupils dilated rapidly, reflecting Kaguya's face.

Confusion and bewilderment flickered briefly in the eyes of this deity of wisdom, but then she turned to the Watanuki sisters, her brow brimming with visible anger.

"Did you take the Hōrai herb from the Moon Capital and give it to Kaguya?"

The ingredients for the Elixir of Immortality are not rare in the Moon Capital.

Many are stored where the Moon Rabbits grind herbs daily, but aside from Yuyin Yonglin's own Elixir of Immortality, only the imprisoned Chang'e possesses this herb—she being the first "criminal" to have consumed it.

The only one in Gensokyo who could instantly return to the Moon Capital and retrieve the Elixir is Watanabe Hime—the one who wields the power of mountains and seas and holds the title of Moon Princess!

But she did not know this herb had another little-known function: as a medium to carry "eternity."

"This," Hime said helplessly, seeing Kaguya's behavior differed from what they'd agreed, "she said she was willing to return to the Moon with us."

"It seems the ultimate transcendence is slightly stronger?" Kaguya closed her eyes, sensing inwardly.

"That's expected, but—"

"I have a solution."

A smug smile curled her lips, and as Yuyin Yonglin opened her mouth, she snapped her fingers.

Snap.

A beam of light settled upon Su Lin and Kaguya; in an instant, an invisible bond spread—Su Lin's presence grew denser, while Kaguya's did the opposite, as if one's strength rose as the other's faded.

Deathly silence.

Even Yuyin Yonglin had not anticipated this.

All eyes turned to Kaguya, whose form was growing increasingly ethereal, her existence and perception vanishing at a visible rate.

Su Lin lifted his eyes and asked, "What are you doing?"

"The eternal force within the Hōrai herb could no longer hold, so I deliberately released the contradiction between eternity and transience, binding it to your own Hōrai herb. Now it's my turn to become the Pyre King."

"The sun blazes brilliantly but fades in an instant; in contrast, my eternal night as payment seems a fair exchange?"

Kaguya turned to Yuyin Yonglin and smiled, "I'm sorry, Yonglin—I deceived you and Hime."

Did you also deceive me? This isn't an upgraded version of the Five-Second Manifestation Pill—it's Hōrai herb infused with eternal force?

"Princess," Yuyin Yonglin asked in a tone beyond words, "I don't understand."

Yagumo Shizu, lured by a tabloid newspaper, brought Watanabe Hime; Kaguya used the opportunity to have Hime return to the Moon for herbs, knowing full well what Yagumo Shizu feared, deliberately pushing the limits, and finally diverting Yuyin Yonglin's attention toward Gensokyo's affairs.

The goal was to make Su Lin ingest this Hōrai herb infused with eternal force?

Kaguya of Hōrai Mountain seemed ready to dissolve into a phantom; at this moment, even Teacher Yan Sen could only shake his head helplessly as the crowd watched.

"It's hard to pry anything out of Old Lady Shizu, but I do bear responsibility for how things turned out," Kaguya said, waving her hand.

"I can't go back to the Moon—the people in Gensokyo and the group are all talents, and they speak so beautifully—I adore this place."

Su Lin's eyelids twitched violently.

He wasn't surprised Kaguya caused trouble for fun, but now she'd gone this far?!

Su Lin tried to have his Sky Phantasm force his throat open, but the Hōrai herb had already vanished from within his inner vision.

The group members were all stunned; they gradually realized what Kaguya was doing, but she had given them no time to react from start to finish.

Lu Mingfei slapped the Matchmaker and asked, "Are you sure today's an auspicious day?!"

"." The Matchmaker and others, just freed from stasis, looked dazed.

Around Kaguya, clockwise from her feet, floated the Swallow's Shell, the Hōrai Jade Branch, the Buddha's Stone Bowl, the Fire Rat's Fur, and the Dragon's Neck Jewel.

"Eternity,"

"is a lie frozen at its most brilliant moment."

"Do you remember what I told you before?"

Kaguya smiled, "That guess about Kleine—anyway, if the world truly reaches the End of All Things, this eternity would be the very thing I could never accept."

Kleine: "?"

He vaguely felt others had pulled away from him.

"The movie never established any clear lore..." Su Lin rubbed his forehead, disbelieving, "You've been brainwashed by second-hand canon?!"

Movie?!

A hint of hostility entered his gaze toward Kleine.

The Fool, utterly confused, wanted to ask for clarification but had no time—he was desperately trying to reboot or fool Kaguya's state.

"Didn't Old Lady Shizu just confirm? If the Great Barrier cannot be rebooted, and the entire universe faces destruction, that theory must come true."

Kaguya said, "So I'm doing you a favor—when you recover, if you're able, help resolve Gensokyo's issues."

Su Lin's eyelids twitched violently, his throat choked with words: "Even if you hadn't done this, I and others would help when we can."

"Yes, I suppose there are other ways to solve this," Kaguya smiled, "consider it boredom, or a sudden whim."

Getting Loki to stir things up and escalate the problems still under Yagumo Shizu's control was also for this step.

Unlike Marvel worlds, Gensokyo's problems aren't urgent at all—there's no powerful external enemy currently threatening it.

No imminent destruction, ample time—merely the presence of group members, or Su Lin and Meng Qi with their ontological issues, had blocked Yagumo Shizu from altering reality.

"Revive me when you're capable—it's not the first time I've died, and a longer rest won't hurt. Then, a world where only I suffer is achieved."

"If you must have a reason—"

Kaguya lowered her head, thought for a moment, then smiled, "I simply wanted to make you regret it for the rest of your life?"

"You've been brainwashed by an abusive-relationship visual novel?!"

Yet now, her fading silhouette drew closer to Su Lin.

Kaguya cupped his face in both hands, grinned mischievously, and asked softly, "Must I save Your Majesty a hundred, a thousand times before you believe my heart?"

She stood with her back to Yuyin Yonglin and Fujihara Mekong, like a flickering candle; after the wind passed, she vanished, leaving only echoes behind.

"Hakugyō?" Mekong opened her mouth.

No one answered.

Tiny circles of light rose slowly, the lingering resonance of a moonbow, flying toward that cold, bright, clear moon.

【Prompt: Group member Hakuōyama Kaguya has entered death state.】

Meng Qi stared blankly at Su Lin—partly because the scene before him carried a strong sense of déjà vu, and partly because.

"What are you doing?"

He saw Su Lin, expressionless, raise the Tianqing Yu Xu Sword and point it at his chest, then, as if uncomfortable with the posture, shift it to his neck, while his other hand pulled out a token.

"Think about it—if the Fantasy Realm were destroyed and all the Hōrai couldn't survive, Yonglin would surely return that part of the Hōrai Medicine to me forever. Though Chikyū spends her days fighting me, she's still someone who's given me her heart and soul; maybe she'd even give up immortality for me."

"Mm."

"Right? If I'm the only one left alive, just thinking about that life is unbearably dull—I really do care about them."

"Mm, keep going."

"So it'd be easier to just hit 【Skip】, wait for you to solve whatever disaster, then revive me—no need to struggle against Dafan Sect."

"I see."

"Also, my eternity can remember everything before and after the Great Barrier's reboot—day after day of that kind of time is enough to make anyone weary."

"Understandable."

The bonfire scorched bamboo shadows onto Su Lin's white robe; each time Kaguya stirred the fire with a bamboo stick, several charred leaves turned to ash in the flames.

"May I ask—are you at the level above Sacrificial Dao, or have you transcended, to sit here chatting with me?"

"No, I've also become like that."

"I see."

Kaguya stuck the bamboo stick into the ashes, gazing blankly at the man beside her, then followed his gaze to the sky, where absolute stillness had created a spacetime mirror-refraction.

Countless fissures of gaps oozed violet light like stardust, projecting simultaneously the Fantasy Realm from different eras, seasons, and weather conditions.

"By the way, are you Hakuōyama Kaguya, who lives in the Eternal Pavilion?"

Su Lin pulled out a Universal Communication Token, opened a livestream, and behind Kaguya's face of utter despair, gave a victory sign: "Your mama prepared your favorite Hōrai Medicine."

【Kaguya】 Yuyin Yonglin narrowed her eyes, swirled the test tube in her hand, and smiled: 【It seems I've spoiled you too much.】

The potion in the test tube was poured into Reisen's mouth; her face instantly turned purplish-black. When Yuyin Yonglin placed a manga before her, Reisen, seeing the manga character, gagged and vomited a rainbow-colored substance.

"Wow, your mama really loves you," Su Lin remarked.

Kaguya: "."

She crouched on the ground in shock, frantically rubbing her face and hair, as if trying to figure out what was happening.

"It seems I gave you eternity and moment."

"That's right. You even said you'd make me regret it for life."

Memory hasn't failed me, but why do I feel like I skipped dozens of chapters and jumped straight to the finale?

"So now you're… committing suicide?"

"I'm doing a resurrection match."

Su Lin pulled out a plaque that projected a screen, displaying strange but comprehensible text.

——【Resurrection Match in Progress: The Dead of This Era Fully Revived. Countdown: 00:10:59 (What the hell is going on with this spacetime?!).】

"Are you insane?!" Kaguya's mouth twitched violently; she clenched her fingers into a fist and cried out in despair:

"You should've taken my authority to save the Fantasy Realm, gained the affection of countless beauties, and revived me only after the crisis was over—even if not the true ending, it should've been after the danger passed!"

"And you became a Hōrai person—why are you here doing a resurrection match?!"

"That's a long story," Su Lin said, glancing at the countdown, his thoughts drifting back.

About half an hour ago…

He had not mourned Kaguya for a single moment.

Within his vision, the laws of creation were about to restore completeness; the five remaining artifacts glowed brightly, intertwining to form a pentagram. Moment and Eternity clashed, giving birth to paradox.

This force formed a reinforcement, granting Su Lin a vacuum buffer zone before ascending to the Throne of the Abyssal God, "forced" into ultimate transcendence.

If one were to describe it: Su Tuoni (Extreme) — Eternity and Moment — Su Lin (Abyssal God).

But the longer it lasted, the sooner this eternity would be drained away.

Yet this time was enough for Su Lin to do many things—like influence the Void, correct the universe's reality, and attempt to strip away Hakuōyama Kaguya's authority.

The inverted Tree of Sephirot emblem resonated with the Celestial Manifestation; in eternal time, Su Lin would first detach from reality and return to the Abyss.

"No need to return to the Abyss—why not just turn this place into the Abyss?"

The Celestial Manifestation spoke the instant Su Lin turned his head:

"Abyssal Vitality Infusion."

"Dimensional Anchoring."

"Creation of Abyssal Phenomenon."

The deepest, lightless zone suddenly emerged, spreading endlessly into the Void; a low, resonant laugh arose, carrying a hint of release.

A divine throne appeared beneath him; three rings emitting black light gradually shed their ill omen and strangeness.

Su Lin frowned: "Wait, what are you doing now?"

The Celestial Manifestation transformed into Su Lin with black hair and black eyes, struggling like a phantom shadow, desperately trying to rise.

It wasn't surprising that this thing retained some spiritual awareness—after all, when Su Tuoni reached the Extreme, the First Celestial was still seated on the throne. But now it had become a mere proxy, entirely controlled by Su Lin.

"Finally… I've found my chance… Damn you, Above All Things!"

Then, as if remembering something, his gaze turned to the Fantasy Realm enveloped by the Abyssal Phenomenon: "What kind of trash is this?"

A single thought aligned with Su Lin's intention.

Under the force of that vast will, as though stirring a boiling sea of the abyss, those crystalline scars, the spacetime ripples that triggered butterfly effects, and even the observers who had just arrived in this world—all turned to dust.

"Finally I can get rid of you two lunatics! If you don't want that woman's laws to vanish, don't stop me—it's good for everyone!"

"This is the power of the Primordial Demon God, the final origin beneath all things!"

"Su Lin, I quit being the Abyss God!!!"

No.

Haven't you noticed that inside and out, even your mental state has taken the shape of Su Lin's kind?

Before he could figure out what this remnant spirit was raving about,

On the divine throne, the first layer was "Nothingness," the second was "Infinity," and the last was "Infinite Darkness." Of these three symbolic layers, the innermost "Infinite Darkness" no longer surged with black radiance.

The feeling of being "worn" to the utmost sublimation suddenly lessened considerably, and before Su Lin could be glad for two seconds, it seemed some presence within his body had awakened.

The black-haired, black-eyed Heaven Dharma Aspect donned a crown, rings of light like water circling its sides, its aura lofty and remote, its form towering as though spanning past, present, and future.

"If you won't take the seat of Hun Tian Di of the Abyss, I will!"