Chapter 133: Winning Until the Very End

The yellow coin snatched from Russell glimmered in mid-air, spiderwebbing with cracks before it crumbled, disintegrated, and dissolved into a cloud of dust.

In that very moment, a strange disturbance rooted in destiny rippled through the darkness, granting Colin an instant of relief as every shackle binding him loosened. Simultaneously, a will as intense as an oceanic torrent surged into his mind from some unknown source. It was the concentrated spiritual manifestation of the intense, dying obsessions of countless perished survivors:

Continuance!
Survival at any cost!

The "Coin of Destiny" channeled these fervent obsessions into Colin’s mind through an unknown conduit, bracing his spine. For a fleeting second, he was lost in a trance, seeing light after light struggling to hold out within the abyss.

Behind him lay the lights of a thousand homes.

He could not die!
At least, he could not die at this moment!

The torrential will surged through Colin’s mind, fueling his depleted spirit and soul, and imbuing his body with tangible strength. Willpower was power! Amidst the dark, fearful despair, Colin stood up, inch by inch.

However, the strange, frozen distortion of space-time was erased by the darkness, which came rushing back to swallow him whole in an instant.

But!

Colin had already raised his head, staring straight into the heights, his cracked lips moving as he croaked out a hoarse command:

"Let there be... light!"

In an instant, a pure, white radiance erupted from Colin’s body, shattering every shackle upon him. This searing, blinding, and exclusionary light pierced the darkness, expanding endlessly like a new star rising in the void. The entire "Dreamscape" shook violently as wave after wave of writhing darkness dissolved in the dazzling brilliance.

This "light" was absolute; it permitted no impurity, no secret, to exist under its glare. Even the darkness, teeming with a "Great Will," halted before him. Within the brilliant radiance, the formless, writhing shadows blurred, turned transparent, and finally vanished.

It was at this moment that the true appearance of this "Dreamscape" was revealed. From the corner of his eye, Colin saw that he remained in the place of "light," standing before the throne. Yet, there was no one else present. Because this was still a dream.

Above the dream, the darkness writhed in its purest form.

Under Colin’s gaze, an invisible connection manifested in the air, illuminated by the light. "Threads" of intangible bondage reached out from the depths of the infinite darkness above, tethering a distant figure upon the earth, using unknown means to spread the "miracle" from that figure across the world. Now, exposed to the light, these threads disintegrated and evaporated.

The connection between the "Night" and this place had been severed!

The darkness above began to blur, as if pushed out of this world by a special and magnificent force, eventually disappearing entirely.

But it was not over. The searing light spread along the dream, piercing through layers of obstacles to shine into reality. Just as the "Night" had done, Colin used the Dreamscape’s reflection of reality to shine light into every living being influenced by the "Night." It erupted from the deepest layers of their subconscious, leading them all to break free from this dream.

Finally, just before the arrival of the seventh dawn, as a white light erupted from the depths of everyone’s minds, the darkness and terror that had isolated the world began to recede.

In this moment, the survivors, who had held on through more than ten hours of darkness and despair, finally saw "hope" once more.

A hope as solid and unshakeable as reality itself!

Infinite, dazzling light erupted from the Dreamscape, which connected all life, bestowing an unprecedented "blessing" upon every living soul across the world.

"Let there be light!" a hazy voice resonated in everyone's minds.

Amidst the gray fog, every human’s stature grew by several inches, and a pure glow emerged on their skin. The sudden transformation left everyone stunned. But a second later, information composed of white light appeared in their minds, and their faces were filled with extreme joy.

[Divine Light Apocalypse]
[For the next hour, the blessed will receive the following effects:]
["Tenfold increase in all attributes"]
["Immunity to all mental attacks"]
["Immunity to all negative status effects"]
["Immunity to madness"]
["Light’s Protection"]
["Keen Insight"]
["Hyper-Intuition"]
[...]

Pain was negated. Despair was banished.

Moreover, more good news flooded in: the endless aberrations were also covered in light, but it brought the exact opposite effect. Their numbers plummeted! They were no longer unkillable! Their attributes were weakened by at least half!

"Kill them! Avenge our fallen!"
"Destroy these monsters!"
"I will kill every last one of these aberrations sooner or later!"

Clusters of brilliant light erupted within the fog, accompanied by deafening war cries. At this moment, the counterattack of human civilization against the evil lifeforms was absolute and resolute!

Soon, survivors on various "islands" began to hunt down Lord-level aberrations while stabilizing their positions. Even with such powerful blessings, the raw attributes and skills of Lord-level aberrations were still despair-inducing. Yet, they had to face them—they had no choice but to face them, hunting them like moths to a flame!

One hour!
They had only one hour!

If they could not secure a sufficient victory in this hour, they would once again face inescapable terror and despair. For the sake of survival, everyone had to face these aberrations—which had caused them such deep psychological trauma—with absolute resolve.

At this moment of human counterattack, inside the dream, the light-forged figure standing before the throne collapsed after a violent tremor.

Colin’s body was covered in deep cracks, like a porcelain doll, revealing raw red flesh beneath. Blood spilled from the fissures, instantly turning him into a blood-soaked figure. Yet, ignoring this, he clutched his head, rolling on the ground, his face twisted in agony.

"It’s those two eyes..."

Colin gritted his teeth, realizing the source of the problem.

The Night had receded, but something else refused to let him go so easily. Colin felt as if his brain were being gripped and stirred by a giant hand. All his nerves were firing sporadically, and his muscles were twitching in irregular spasms. On his scalp, bulging lumps were writhing, growing like cancer, shifting and bringing unspeakable agony.

Suddenly, he drove a finger into his own temple. Gritting his teeth, he channeled the light from his skin into his brain, letting the radiance erupt within his own skull. In an instant, the lumps shuddered and withered away as if losing their vitality.

Shortly after, foul black liquid, smelling of blood and rot, seeped from his temple and dripped onto the floor. Colin used his finger to stir within his temple, manually "disinfecting" his brain, draining the vile fluids. As the intense, twisting pain faded, his face relaxed, and he couldn't help but reveal a trace of pleasure.

"I am peaking..."

Colin shifted his focus, supporting himself with one hand while continuing to purge his brain with the other, gasping for air. Finally, as the last of the black liquid drained, he pulled his finger out with a *pop*.

The hole in his skull, where his fresh brain tissue was visible, began to sprout granulations, writhing and knitting together to heal. A sense of intense exhaustion and emptiness surged from his heart.

But—

"Not yet. I cannot rest yet."

Colin struggled to rise from the pool of blood. He did not know exactly what was happening outside, but he vaguely knew that multiple aberrations still existed on the island, and he had to eliminate them while his power remained.

As he stood, more cracks appeared on his body. Colin coughed, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Looking at the blood mixed with the black filth, his eyes narrowed as he recalled the whispers. They contained vital information. At the very least, they made Colin realize that the "Night’s" target was not humanity, but something else entirely.

What that was, he did not know. Uncovering the purpose of these entities was no simple task; one could easily fall into a despairing trap.

Colin did not linger on the information from the "whispers." He felt, vaguely, that doing so would re-establish an unknown connection with that entity. Such a connection was dangerous. Until he possessed sufficient strength, this information had to be sealed away, or he risked falling into despair once more.

Furthermore, within this "Dreamscape," Colin had gained some understanding of the current state of the System—a pessimistic one. He was certain that the "Prompts" were not directly related to the System. However, there were too many hidden entities participating in this event, and Colin had no excess energy to sort it all out for now.

He shook his head, cleared his thoughts, and took a deep breath. Colin stood slowly, steeling his heart in the process.

"I will win. I will keep winning, until it all comes to an end."

Then, his figure began to blur, departing the "Dreamscape" and returning to reality.