Under the shocked gazes of those present, Aiden explained that after ordinary mortals and saints die, as long as their souls haven't been dispersed, their souls will enter the Netherworld and become they would turn into an undead.
Whilst an undead, one loses their free will. They will become a creature that follows only their base instincts and impulses, meaning whilst alive and conscious, Sullivan stopped at the mid-stages of the saint realm to comprehend as much of the laws of fire as he could before breaking through to become a deity, but as an undead, his instincts will lead him to grow stronger as fast as possible, meaning right now, Sullivan had more than likely already become a deity.
Although that would make his future path more difficult than he would've liked, it also means that he would've regained his free will. Although Demi-Gods are extremely weak in the upper realm, the fact that he regained his free will at least means that he will be able to think for himself, which, in turn, will only increase his odds of survival.
Since their return, Ace noticed the gloomy aura that hung over Mathias and Lauriella. Although they tried their best to hide it to welcome Ace and the others back, the impact of losing their first and only child made it impossible. But when they heard Aiden's words, their death-like eyes lit up.
Before the couple could say anything, though, Ismarelda took it upon herself to volunteer to head over to the Netherworld. As a Sovereign, her Godrealm was more than powerful enough to scour the entire Netherworld at once; if Sullivan were there, she would easily be able to find him and bring him back.
It was then that Aiden explained that although Aiden was 99% sure Sullivan would've broken through to become a Deity the moment he became an undead, he couldn't be 100% sure. If his desire to follow the path of a Supreme Genius was strong enough, it wasn't impossible that it could overwrite his natural instincts, meaning there was still a 1% chance Sullivan had remained an undead.
Unfortunately, there was no way for a High God to find the specific undead which a person's spirit became. Not even most Sovereigns were capable of that; only the seven Sovereigns of death were capable of such a feat.
And because of Beirut's feud with Augusta, should he or any of the other newly ascended Sovereigns of their Yulan Plane head over to the Netherworld before Ace had the chance to speak to Augusta about letting him off, there was a chance that they would only end up getting themselves killed before they could find Sullivan. Even if not by Augusta himself, then potentially by another Sovereign who wanted to get into Augusta's good graces.
Hearing that, the eyes of Lauriella and Mathias' eyes dimmed considerably. They understood that without the help of a Sovereign, the chances of them being able to find their son in the Netherworld were hundreds, if not thousands, of times more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack as an ordinary mortal.
It was then that Killian volunteered to head into the Netherworld. As the disciple of Mathias, who had also long since surpassed Mathias, the guilt of watching his master rot away like this had long since been eating him up.
Even though his Divine Fire Clone was his weakest clone, he was a soul mutate – each of his bodies had access to his three-way divine power. Had he not been in the Necropolis of the Gods at the time, there was no way a mere seven-star fiend like Odin would've been able to escape him.
He was no Sovereign, but as a three-way soul mutates, his Godrealm was only inferior to paragons. He stood a far higher chance of locating Sullivan than Mathias and Lauriella.
But Beirut shook his head with a frown and said that of those present, Killian was the last person who should enter the Netherworld and spread his Godrealm like that.
He then explained that although he didn't have much interaction with most of the Sovereigns, he knew a fair bit of information about each of them. Of the seven Sovereigns, one of the two Intermediate Sovereigns of death, a man named Matadall, was a soul-mutate himself.
Unfortunately, because only his death clone had become a Sovereign, he had no way of using his fused energy, not without it taking a large dip in power. Apparently, in an attempt to see if there was another way to utilise fused energy without both clones being at the same level.
Although he hadn't had any joy as yet, his research has allowed him to sense if someone was a soul mutate just by sensing their soul. As a result, he has collected a small collection of Soul Mutates to be his Emissaries, most of which were against their will – including the only other known three-way soul mutate in the universe.
If he were to discover him, he would undoubtedly force Killian to become his Emissary as well, even if it meant offending Shinji – the allure of another three-way soul mutate would simply be too much for him to resist.
Ace was just about to suggest that he go when Kannal and Osiris said that they'd go. Ace was just about to suggest that they go together when they reminded him that in the next hundred years, he was due to enter the planar battlefield; that should be his only focus right now.
They didn't have to worry about finding Sullivan; as long as he was alive, they would find him and bring him home. As for the dangers in the Netherworld, they were more than strong enough to face them.
Ace agreed with their idea as he knew that Osiris was virtually invincible amongst seven-star fiends and Kannal could be considered a very powerful Commander – although there were still several commanders more powerful than him, together, they would be fine.
But more importantly, looking into their eyes, Ace could tell that they both had other motives driving them.
When they heard that mortals who were killed without their souls being dispersed were turned into undead, both Kannal and Osiris couldn't help but think about their own family members who were taken from them too soon. Osiris, his parents, who were killed by his ruthlessly evil older sister, and Kannal, his older sister, who was killed by that mortal dragon all those years ago.
The chances of their family members still being alive to this day were a long shot, but as long as there was a chance, they felt like they had to take it.
Kannal and Osiris were just about to head off when Aiden told them to wait for a month.
This time, the person to respond was neither Kannal nor was it Osiris – it was Mathias. As much as he loved and respected Aiden, this was about his only son. The longer they waited, the more likely it would be that Sullivan could die.
Aiden didn't take Mathias' outburst personally. Still, he explained that if Kannal and Osiris were going to succeed, they should be as strong as possible beforehand.
He then went on to explain that he could sense that Osiris' [Shadow Piercing Arrow Art] had reached the peak of the Full God Realm. As long as Osiris didn't slack off, he should be able to help him break through to the High God realm within a month.
As for Kannal, his Sword Art had already reached the High God Realm, and although he likely couldn't help him make another substantial breakthrough with regards to his comprehension in that time, he did have a way to bring his power up to another level in a short amount of time.
He then stood up and led his wife out before telling Ace, Kannal, and Osiris to come and find him tomorrow.
The next morning, Ace, Kannal, and Osiris headed over to Arianna's accommodation in the Forest of Darkness to meet up with Aiden, as requested.
When they did, they found Beirut there as well. It was then that Aiden confirmed Beirut's suspicions. He explained that back when he first founded the cultivation of Concepts, the voice he could hear guiding him on how to progress was none other than the spirit of the Overgod of Wind.
When he heard that, Beirut's eyes constricted. It had to be understood that as far as he – or anyone else for that matter – was aware, there were only four Overgods in existence – one for each of the Edicts. It was those four Overgods who created the four higher realms. It was why the higher realms of the four Overgods were so much larger and more stable than the Seven Divine Planes of the seven elements, which were later created by the original seven sovereigns of each element in unison.
No one knew for certain the reason why, but what everyone was sure of was that only the four Edicts had an Overgod, and the seven elements didn't, so Beirut's shock could be understood.
It was then that Aiden said something even more shocking. He explained that the reason for the misconception was no accident; it was done on purpose by the Overgods of the Four Edicts!
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