Upon seeing the figure behind him, Ling's eyes filled with disbelief, shock, and a trace of fear.
"It… is you…"
"How, how is this possible…"
Ling spoke with great difficulty, his voice trembling.
With a single sentence, blood gushed out uncontrollably.
The translucent being embracing him from behind had short, deep purple hair formed from starlight, emitting a soft glow.
His face bore a striking resemblance to Ling's, and he was now staring coldly at Ling.
His name was Xing.
That's right, he was the original owner of the body that Zero, as the system, had possessed.
The first ray of starlight born in the universe…
Lin Feng silently retracted his arm, looking at the figure who had suddenly appeared.
He felt no hostility from Lin Feng; in fact, there was a hint of goodwill and gratitude.
The golden aura surrounding him was unstable, flickering and about to vanish.
It seemed the duration of his state had ended.
But Lin Feng was no longer worried.
Because the Ling before him had lost the ability to resist.
Lin Feng retreated a distance, his gaze drifting between Ling and Xing's faces, his lips sealed in thought.
"Are you surprised?"
From behind Ling, Xing spoke coldly.
His eyes were filled with hatred and mockery.
"You should… be dead…"
Ling spoke with difficulty once more.
The moment Xing appeared, Ling could no longer mobilize the power of the stars. He could only watch as the wound before him grew larger and death drew nearer.
He wanted to retrieve some potentially useful items, but Ling found that Xing not only restricted his use of starlight but also seemed to have taken control of his body.
He wanted to escape, to break free from this dying body, but found he still couldn't.
Xing let out a mocking laugh.
"I am dead, I died long ago."
"I died at your hands, who was supposed to be my system!"
As Xing said this, his eyes blazed with fury.
"But didn't you forget, I am starlight."
"As long as there is starlight in this universe, I will never disappear!"
"I sealed my last shred of soul and have been sleeping, waiting."
"Waiting for the day you would come before me, waiting for the day I could personally take revenge!"
"Waiting for this near-impossible probability to occur…"
"Fortunately, I waited, I waited for your arrival, and even waited for you to personally awaken this last remnant of my soul!"
Xing bared his teeth and smiled happily.
He had waited for this moment for far too long!
Ling struggled to widen his eyes as they began to close.
Awakened by his own hands?
Ling's eyes widened slightly.
He remembered, he remembered how he had used the power of the stars on the planet when he had tried to claim this space.
"Heh, hehe…"
"I never thought, I never thought…"
Having understood, Ling smiled bitterly, his smile laced with unwillingness, yet surprisingly, with a hint of relief.
It was truly… dramatic…
"Yes, I didn't expect it either."
"Just as I never expected back then that your appearance wasn't to help me, but to possess my body…"
Xing continued mockingly.
"Now, it is time for you to atone."
With his last shred of soul, Xing controlled his original body, preventing Ling from escaping or moving, leaving him to be continuously eroded by the energy left by Lin Feng.
The gaping hole in his chest had spread halfway across his body.
Ling could no longer escape, only watch as his existence slowly vanished.
He seemed to have given up struggling, and with his last ounce of strength, he looked at Xing, then shifted his gaze to Lin Feng.
"In the end, I couldn't go against the protagonist…"
"Truly… unwilling…"
Ling mumbled a few words and closed his eyes.
His translucent body began to disintegrate into light particles, shattering completely…
He was disappearing, truly disappearing.
Years of effort turned to dust.
Perhaps Ling had been on the wrong path from the very beginning.
Everyone, or rather, every living being, had their own meaning of existence, but Ling, as a system, had tried to replace another person's meaning of existence.
This ultimately led to his demise, and perhaps Ling had been prepared for this all along.
Because in Ling's words of unwillingness, there was always a hint of relief.
Ling vanished completely, leaving no trace behind.
And as Ling disappeared, Xing's last remnant of soul also began to fade.
He looked down at his hands, calmly accepting the coming dissipation.
Xing looked up at Lin Feng again and smiled.
His face held goodwill and gratitude.
"Thank you, stranger from beyond…"
Xing's words were also filled with a sense of release.
Perhaps it was because his great revenge had been achieved? Lin Feng did not know.
Lin Feng knew what Xing was thanking him for, and shook his head calmly.
He had destroyed the black-robed figure and Ling not for Xing, but for himself.
Xing smiled, spoke no more, his form becoming increasingly transparent as he disappeared along with Ling.
However, Xing's existence was likely not completely erased.
Lin Feng, still in overclocked state, sensed that Ling had indeed dissipated.
But Xing's being seemed to have dispersed into countless starlights across the universe.
Just as Xing had said, as long as stars twinkled in the universe, he would never disappear.
The golden aura around Lin Feng also began to dissipate.
The state duration had ended, and there was no need to prolong it; the objective had been achieved.
*Ching…*
With a soft sound, the golden aura vanished completely.
The Cosmic Heart on the Superman Gauntlet also popped out, ceasing its operation, and transformed into a stream of light that re-entered Lin Feng's palm.
Returning to his normal state, Lin Feng felt a sense of weakness, but it wasn't as severe as before when he used it.
"Hoo…"
"Fuck!!!"
Lin Feng let out a long sigh, then let out a forceful roar.
Then, he started laughing heartily, occasionally punching the air forward, as if he had lost his mind.
Ling's disappearance gave Lin Feng a surreal feeling.
He had just, just eliminated Ling?
To be honest, the entire process had been relatively uneventful!
The surreal feeling was likely due to the smooth process.
But he had indeed dealt with the final boss.
With his greatest objective achieved, Lin Feng suddenly felt a sense of emptiness.
After his roar, he felt an indescribable sense of relaxation.
Since arriving in the Marvel universe, he had never felt so relaxed.
He leaned back, lying peacefully in the void, a smile on his face.
Closing his eyes, he savored the comfort of weightlessness, letting his mind go blank.
It felt so good, this feeling of complete liberation…
Rest, let me rest, just for a little while…