Winding back time, John began feeling a throb in his chest and he began seeing things through her eyes. Their connection acted as a catalyst that the system used to show him her memories. The memories of what had happened flowed into him, like a tsunami he felt struck by the intensity of the scenery.
For a heartbeat after he fully absorbed the memories, the world stood still. Then something inside him snapped.
John's rage detonated it was pure, molten, absolute. His fire exploded out of him like he was a volcano, lighting the forest a blaze. His rage wasn't a scream or a roar; it was a silence so deep that reality itself trembled around him.
The fire continued to flow out of him and ravaged the land around him, it was a deep crimson and exuded his intense wrath. The dungeon's walls groaned, the system's text flickered and distorted as if afraid of the wrath surging through his veins.
His heart thundered like war drums, every pulse hammering the name of the one who dared to harm her. Heat bled from his skin, his breath burned, and the air shimmered with the distortion of uncontrolled qi.
How dare that ancient chaos touch her? How dare it mar the one he had sworn to protect? His lady and the one whom his Fealty belonged to, the very goddess that had allowed him to live and who had blessed him with so many opportunities to grow stronger even at the risk of her own life.
His vision turned crimson. Threads of scarlet qi erupted from his body, coiling through the air like serpents of fury. Even the system faltered its calm voice now as the text was trembling.
[Warning: Emotional state exceeds human limits. Wrath Qi detected. User has mastered the Dao of wrath (Tier 2 rank novice) you have achieved the inferno of wrath, 2 out of the 7 aspects of the purgatory inferno mastered. Class Monarch of The Seventh Inferno has advance to (rank e+)]
John clenched his fists, and the world seemed to answer. The floor cracked beneath him. A gale of raw power swept outward as the crimson flames coated his body before fusing with it. At that moment he did not simply feel rage—he had become rage.
A cold rage spread through him, and he vowed to himself, "For the crime of Harming my goddess and invoking my wrath, you must be slain Chaos"
The vow of the monarch of the seventh inferno changed everything in the dungeon, it was the start of his legendary ascent.
With his vow, the dungeon shook. Somewhere on the deepest level of the dungeon, glowing letters burned themselves into the flat surface of a rock. Several figures surrounded it and the saw the text. A prophecy about a man named John was seared into the rock in a language as old as time its self, mana.
A soul pact bonded to John without his knowledge. It latched onto his heart and elevated the blood and qi that flowed through it. This gave him power, but also forcing him to go through with his pact. If he failed to complete the task when he was strong enough he would lose his life.
John reined in his rage as he couldn't let his goddess see that side of him. His Dao of wrath made it way easier to do so, he was back to calm in only a few minutes. He dashed back to his cavern to have a proper place to welcome his goddess. Only a minute or two had paced since he read the message, but he was ready to come save her now.
With the intent to save her he felt a strong energy welling from in his gut. It flowed out his dantian and raced through the meridians and blood vessels. Flowing like a torrent, it shot to his hand, making the rune of Verdent Terrestra begin to glow. He felt a slight searing on his palm, as space split open. A glowing green portal formed, revealing a gorgeous woman collapsed on the ground of a forest. Her mana a mere whisper in her body, he approached her slowly to not frighten her.
His intense relief seeing her and his desire to protect and heal her manifested as a soft energy flowing out of him in intense waves.
They enveloped her and he noticed her strength returning, of course he spoke to her telling her his intent to save her. He could tell that the mental walls she had built to keep her sane after being trapped in that prison collapse as she tried to reach for him.
He noticed the trembling in her legs and rushed to catch her as he notice her stance becoming unstable. As she began to fall, he reached her and lift her into his arms. Lifting her into a princess carry they walked through her portal, as tears flowed from her eyes.
He brought her in the cabin and with a single motion changed the bed comforter to a new one and lied her down on it. She passed out from exhaustion mere moments after. He sat down on a chair he made for the desk, rolled up his sleeves and worked in his room to make it better for her. He then stayed by her side after some mild renovations. Making sure to attend to her for the brief moments she woke up.
She slept for nearly a week while he kept going around and completing most of his daily task while not veering to far from the cabin. He checked in several times an hour to keep her safe and try to keep healing. At night he rested on a cot like structure he whipped up, so he could stay close enough that he could keep pouring the nourishing nature and earth mana into to expedite her healing.
Late afternoon on the eighth day, he was cultivating on the floor in front of the bed. He had taken off his shirt to let the mana flow into his body with less resistance or obstruction. His cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, his dantian had almost advanced to the peak level of tier one, his body was half way through tier two and his mind had advanced to the high tier of the second rank because the strain of learning so many Dao at the same time.
He began enhancing his heart after absorbing so much mana into his dantian, using his will he converted the mana into wi of earth and nature, He sensed a stirring from the bed and moved his senses back of from his body. His eyes opened and saw the once sickly and extremely thin woman, having had filled out a bit and had gained more color to her skin.
He could sense her power and while it was higher than his own, it was extremely weaker than what he had sensed when they had interacted.
He kneeled before her, and spoke with reverence and an intense respect "How are you feeling my goddess. You haven't eaten in the week you've been asleep, shall I fetch you something to eat? You look exhausted". He said after all he had seen the torment she went through and the poor quality of nutrients she had been subjected to in that devilish prison.
She shifted a little uncomfortably, she wasn't used to such a devoted follower. Especially not such a handsome man, his looks seemed to have grown in the time she was away from him. She notice his glistening muscles and well toned physique due to his lack of shirt.
She shyly spoke with a soft tone, "I'll be fine, you look quite tired yourself. You should rest as well". A slight blush crossed her face as she stole glances at his muscular physique.
He began talking with an overflowing charisma unknowingly, "My goddess, I have pleged my self to you for life. There no need to worry about me, after all my mission right now is to keep you well-fed, and provide what I can to support you. If there something you want or need let me know my lady."
"Alright, my dear apostle. Please fetch me some food I am starving." As soon as she said so he began rushing about. Quickly rushed about gathering food and medicinal herbs to finish the lotion he'd worked on the entire time she slept. He whipped up a pot of stew quickly and finished making the potion as well before rushing back to her side.
She readily grabbed the soup but questioned the potion, "What's with that vial you have there?"
He handed it to her as spoke calmly while smiling at her recovery thus far, "My goddess it was to potent for you to drink before you had the strength to move on you own. All it is, is just a simple recovery potion that I infused with nature and earth qi".
She looked at the vibrantly glowing potion and many thoughts ran through her mind in that moment. The main one being, 'That potion is anything but simple'. She took it nonetheless, because of the insistence from John.
A massive flow of power entered her and her power began rapidly recovering. It was still on the lower end of the low tier god. But it had stabilized and solidified her power at the new level, she felt a minuscule fragment of her soul recover as well.
She felt slightly disappointed at how long it would take to return to her previous level, but she felt extremely happy she could do so with John at her side. But her bush kept intensifying every time she looked at him.
Finally, she reached a breaking point as he inadvertently flexed all his muscles while waiting for her next request. She shouted, "PLEASE PUT A SHIRT ON" before she buried her head in the blankets.
The look in her eyes softened, as she spoke calmer. " I'm sorry, I'm just not used to being around men without their shirts on. It's making me a little nervous. She looked over at him to see if her would accept her apology only to find him with a clean shirt on and holding the bowl of soup so it didn't fall in the commotion.
"It's no problem my goddess, I will wear it take off anything you desire. For you id lift mountains, slay gods, and even destroy the world". He remained on his knee with the bowl of soup in his hand, acting like he hadn't just said something so intense to such an innocent goddess!!!
Her blush intensified and she sputtered for a second, her first apostle was daring with his words. She grabbed the bowl from him and calmed herself by fully focusing on eating. She let her mind wonder as she ate.
Realizing that since she drank the potion her body felt lighter and she had less pain from her fractured and slightly destroyed soul. She even felt much more rested at this point, curiosity got the better of her and she looked into John with her power
It was like he opened up to her like a book, she could finally have a better look at him. As she analyzed him, his aura caught her attention and while slowly eating her soup she noticed something bizarre. A fragment of extraordinary power radiated from John.
From that she noticed that he had two different sources of extraordinary power which rooted themselves in John existence. One was the Authority of a sovereign, and to make it even more shocking there was two of them. She also noticed a slight interference from fate that clung to his existence even if only slightly. Moving on she analyzed the other power source which made her jaw drop before she controlled herself. She had seen the foreign mana signature on his heart and immediately understood the meaning of his vow.
She could still feel the faint hum of the pact in his heart — the vow that had burned itself into his soul. It wasn't just words; it was law. He had offered his life to avenge her pain, and now their fates were intertwined more deeply than even the gods themselves could easily undo.
Her hand moved instinctively, brushing the back of his fingers. "You shouldn't have gone that far for me," she whispered. "Even a goddess is not worth such a price."
John's eyes fluttered open, his gaze steady and unflinching. "With respect, my lady," he said softly, voice still rough from sleep, "you don't decide what's worth it for me. You gave me purpose. I simply followed it."
She frowned slightly, torn between gratitude and guilt. "You are too earnest," she murmured, sitting up. "And too reckless. Do you know what that vow did?"
He sat up as well, watching her. "I felt… something bind to me. A searing pain, and a conviction root itself into me. A contract, maybe. But I don't regret it."
Her eyes softened — luminous pools of divine light. "You are bound to the Infernal Pact of Monarchs," she said quietly. "It is ancient, older than mortal civilization. When a monarch of the inferno makes a vow tied to their Dao, the universe itself enforces it. Fail to fulfill it… and your soul unravels."
John's expression remained calm, though the air around him seemed to ripple faintly in response to her words. "Then I'll make sure I don't fail."
She sighed — a sound like wind moving through crystal. "You speak of impossible things so casually."
"Maybe," he replied with a faint smile, "but if I've learned anything from following you, it's that impossible just means 'not yet.'"
Her lips parted, then closed again. There was no argument to make — not one she truly wanted to.
Another blush crept across her face, and she realized how extremely lucky she was to have such a devoted and beautifully compassionate apostle. She also thought of how ripped he was making her drool a little. As she did so, John who was still knelling quickly wiped it from her face with a handkerchief that appeared from nowhere.
"My goddess, I can feed you if your not feeling up to it quite yet". He held the bowl for her and reached for the spoon, briefly holding her hand as she let go of. She felt embarrassed so she'd blame her health rather than admitting to drooling because of him.
He held her in his arms for support and slowly fed her the last of the food. Her heart beat wildly as the atmosphere turned more romantic with his gestures while she was weak. As if her was a husband feeding his sick wife.
Of course he was oblivious to all of it as he never had a girlfriend. After all, they thought he was damaged goods. As an orphan with no parents to offer any dowry parents made their kids stay away from him. He was just acting in a way to help his goddess recover, though he felt a similar increase in heart beat and blushed when he looked at her beauty.
They both blushed even harder, holding together even after he finished feeding her. Neither showed any kind of movement, as hundreds of thoughts ran through their minds. At the same time they both realized, 'It's going to be hard acting normal around such an attractive person'
And lastly the thing that made them blush even harder when they thought about it, 'Am I in love with my roommate?????'
Before long they both collapsed from exhaustion, still holding each other close.