Black Magic Rose Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Body as Contract

The Eternal Night Palace fell into a deathly silence, as if even the rotating runes had solidified. Shu Yijin’s words were like the coldest judgment, hanging in the air. Every syllable carried the weight of Annihilation, crashing down upon Wen Jingheng’s heart and every corner of this space.

Sacrifice. Destination. Annihilation.

Wen Jingheng stood rooted to the spot. The black-gold energy surrounding him was like frozen flame, solidified on his skin, no longer circulating. Extreme anger, the sting of betrayal, and the horror of this insane plan crashed through him like a tsunami, only to be ultimately swallowed by a deeper, more thorough sense of nothingness.

He did not look at Shu Yijin’s crimson eyes, which were filled with madness, obsession, and even a strange hint of pleading. His gaze was unfocused, fixed on a point in the void, as if penetrating the barriers of the Eternal Night Palace to see the world he had once sworn to protect, but which had ultimately pushed him into the abyss.

The Shu Family’s exploitation, his father’s heartlessness, the Supernatural Administration Bureau’s encirclement, the world’s fear and scorn… Scene after scene flashed rapidly through his mind, finally settling on the rainy night by the cliff, when Shu Yijin had reached out his hand to him. At that time, he thought it was the only piece of driftwood in his despair, unaware that the driftwood led to eternal sinking.

It turned out that from the very beginning, there was no salvation, only destruction. Personal destruction and the destruction of the entire world were fundamentally no different, only a matter of scale.

He suddenly laughed softly, a dry, hoarse sound that echoed through the silent hall, carrying a chilling blend of desolation and release.

“Heh heh… Hahaha…” The laughter gradually grew louder, finally turning into a near-maniacal, drawn-out, hoarse laugh. He laughed until he bent over, his shoulders shaking violently, yet no tears came, only an unnatural redness around his eyes.

Shu Yijin watched him quietly, neither stopping him nor offering comfort. His crimson eyes were deep as the sea, and beneath the madness, a flicker of an extremely subtle, complex emotion seemed to pass.

After a long time, the laughter abruptly stopped. Wen Jingheng straightened up sharply. All emotion had drained from his face, leaving only a coldness and calm akin to mutual destruction. He looked at Shu Yijin, his eyes hollow, yet seemingly burning with the final flame named “End.”

“So, from the beginning, your approach, your care, the so-called ‘alliance’…” Wen Jingheng’s voice was terrifyingly calm, containing no accusation, only confirmation.

“It was to make the ‘key’ fit the ‘lock’ better,” Shu Yijin admitted frankly, his tone equally calm. “Your trust, your reliance, the deepening Shared Sensation between our powers… these were all indispensable steps for completing the final ritual.” He paused, and a barely perceptible ripple crossed his crimson eyes. “But… it wasn’t just that.”

This subtle addition was like a fine needle, gently piercing the layer of ice over Wen Jingheng’s dead heart, but he was too exhausted to probe further.

“When?” Wen Jingheng asked, referring to the time of the ritual.

“When the energy of the old world’s core—the Tower of Eternity—reaches its peak,” Shu Yijin answered. “That will be the moment when the rules are most unstable, and the Annihilation effect can spread maximally. There is… not much time left.”

Wen Jingheng nodded, as if confirming an ordinary schedule. He raised his hand, looking at the black-gold energy in his palm—docile, yet containing the power of destruction.

“What do I need to do?”

“When the ritual begins, abandon all resistance and completely Sacrifice the Holy Energy within you, which originates from the Source Blood,” Shu Yijin’s voice carried a chanting solemnity. “Guide it to perform the final fusion with my Evil God Essence. The rest, leave to me.”

“Will it be painful?” Wen Jingheng’s question was unexpectedly simple, even carrying a hint of… curiosity?

Shu Yijin was silent for a moment. Dark currents seemed to surge in his crimson eyes. “…Annihilation at the rule level will erase all traces of existence. Pain… perhaps there will be, perhaps not. It will be… an experience beyond perception.”

Wen Jingheng nodded again. He lowered his hand, his gaze once more cast into the void, as if he could already see the inevitable end.

“Alright.”

Only one word. Light as a feather, yet heavy as a thousand tons. This was a soul’s final judgment on its own existence, and a final farewell to the entire world.

Shu Yijin watched him accept this insane fate so calmly. The complex emotion in his crimson eyes surged again, finally transforming into a deep, almost compassionate resolve. He stepped forward, reaching out his hands to gently cup Wen Jingheng’s face. The movement was unprecedentedly tender, forming a cruel contrast with what he was about to do.

“Wen Jingheng,” he called softly, his crimson eyes gazing deeply into the other’s hollow gaze. “This might be the last ‘gentleness’ we can offer each other… and this world.”

Gentleness? Ending all pain with complete nothingness? What an irony, and what… despair.

Wen Jingheng neither pushed him away nor responded, merely allowing himself to be held, like an exquisite puppet that had lost its soul.

Shu Yijin’s fingertips moved slightly, and a wisp of pure dark energy flowed into the Black Rose mark on Wen Jingheng’s chest. The mark suddenly glowed, its color deepening, as if it had come alive, resonating more strongly with Shu Yijin’s essence. An invisible, even more secure contract was completely established at this moment.

“Body as Contract, together to the End,” Shu Yijin whispered, as if making an Eternal Wedding vow.

The ritual was now irreversible.

Just then, the runes on the dome of the Eternal Night Palace suddenly accelerated their rotation, emitting an abnormally bright light! The entire hall vibrated slightly, and a vast, ancient energy fluctuation from a distant external source faintly rolled in like a tide!

Shu Yijin looked up, a sharp light flashing in his crimson eyes. “The time has come. The peak of the Tower of Eternity… is imminent.”

He released Wen Jingheng and stepped back. A dense, almost tangible dark aura began to emanate from him. His crimson hair danced without wind, and the Evil God’s pressure was released without reservation. The entire Eternal Night Palace trembled under his power.

Wen Jingheng felt the call of the energy from afar, and the corresponding thrumming of the Source Blood within him. He took one last look at the reflection of the world he had existed in within this space—cold, dead, and holding no attachment.

He closed his eyes and slowly began to release the suppression on the Holy Energy within him, guiding it, like a bursting flood, toward the predetermined, destructive endpoint.

In the last moments of his consciousness, he seemed to hear Shu Yijin’s voice from that rainy night again:

“This world doesn’t want you. Wen Jingheng, are you willing… to come with me?”

Then, he had grasped that hand.

Now, he would walk with the owner of that hand toward eternal darkness.

The light in the Eternal Night Palace grew increasingly intense, gradually swallowing the two figures. An ultimate Annihilation, using themselves as the Sacrifice and dragging the entire world down with them, was about to begin.