Chapter 14: Inside The Void - A Desperate Deal
The game was rigged, and the gods wanted to get to the good stuff, so they made half the contestants leave the match, including the two Li was supposed to battle, in place for Veyl and Morik.
The Celestial God sat on the second-highest tower in the first city rings, which was way into the clouds. His hands were vibrating; clearly, he was nervous.
Brimel wasn't as bright as his sons nor his nephews. For a long time now, he had been looked down upon by everyone until he awakened the Celestial Light of Oblivion — the main ability of the Celestial Gods until the Nexora was locked away.
And the Celestial God race began to devolve into average races, losing their factor as Celestial Gods. Brimel being able to summon a light spear was a revelation to the evolution of the Celestial Gods.
Now, back to the Celestial God. Egoel sat on his throne, viewing the arena through the eyes of his avatar, Brimel.
"If it's true and that human has all twelve laws, what happens if he goes berserk mid-battle?"
A thousand thoughts ran through Egoel's mind in a millisecond.
He recalled his short conversation with Saerah's entity. She had told him that his grandson would be participating in that year's Wildclash tournament. Shock ran through the eyes of the Celestial God's spine; his celestial ego was hurt. He couldn't plead or refuse but simply accept. If Aris ever grew stronger, he might be able to claim the lost pride of the Celestial God race.
With a deep breath, Egoel cleared his mind and hoped for the best possible outcome.
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(Inside The Void)
(Li Fen's POV)
I woke up inside the void feeling more energetic than ever. Looking at my charts, they had changed.
Though I don't know how to enter this state at will, each time I come here, I always come back twice as powerful. I smiled in self-satisfaction. I assessed my charts and found new digits and letters had formed.
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Cultivation Method: Wild Dao
Souls Remaining: 11
Supreme Laws Accessed: Death, Time
Ordinary Laws Accessed: 5
Title: Death's Harbinger
Gear: Scythe (cuts through the lines connecting the soul to the body)
Law Abilities: 2/7 (Soul Farmer), (Dark Mist)
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Wow, two abilities already. I remember — if I gained all the abilities linked to Death, I would be able to master the next law.
But the Time Law had mysteriously appeared there. I reached my hand into the void and brought out a light green orb. Looking at it, I felt a pang of joy in my heart.
"I wouldn't be too happy if I were you."
A familiar voice echoed in my ears; it was the Soul Farmer who had filled me in the first time I assessed the void.
"What do you want?" I asked him, giving the vibe of thanks for earlier, but I think I'm good now.
"You currently have two incomplete, and outside this space is a being that has mastered ten supreme laws," he said, making a point. I had just witnessed firsthand how the Celestial God used the Light of Oblivion to erase a being with ease. And based on the Seekers Elder's respect, he must have high psychic powers. Come to talk of Saerah herself — it would be foolish to go out there with just two incomplete laws, and based on the fact that Aris was holding back, what would it mean if he went all out?
"Arghhh!" I screamed in frustration. "Why is it every time I come one inch to power, I get to realize how weak I actually am?"
Back at Nexora - Doarin, this was my life on a daily basis. But I'm sure I'm going to pull through this in one piece.
"No, you won't."
What the hell — did he hear my thoughts?
"You don't know that! I have friends outside. Veyl is the smartest strategist I know, and Morik is a good mage. Surely they have a plan B if I lose the match," I retorted at him without even realizing how naive I sounded. "Now leave," I said, not wanting to hear any more of his words.
He looked at me, refusing to give up. As he slowly faded, he floated toward me and laid his palm on my head, sending me out of the void and into the main world.
"Astral projection," I muttered to myself. Looking at the surroundings, I realized I had been projected to a couple of hours before the tournament began, and what I saw left me dumb and made me feel like a fool.
The same people I cared so much about had struck poison inside me. Looking at Veyl take part in Morik's betrayal only broke me more. I looked at my body on the stage, about to be finished off by Aris.
He raised his spear, and before his attack could hit, a force field generated around my body, and the overwhelming force was kept at bay — at least for now.
I was brought back to the void. Looking at the figure in the eyes, it shared its story with me.
He was actually the first being to master the Law of Death and master the ability no death user has ever mastered — Karma.
After mastering Karma, his abilities skyrocketed; he was unbeatable. As the first being to access the Law of Karma under Death, he linked the scythe as its soul weapon.
Back then, before his glorious fall, the people gave him a name — The Grim Reaper.
The Grim Reaper was a legend but failed to realize that the Nexora Paths do not support raw abilities but refined ones. And because he lacked that knowledge, came his downfall.
The Nexora Dao within him began to break, and soon his physical form could not handle the power, and he was sucked straight into Death's Embrace.
There, his life force gradually faded. If he didn't find a body strong enough to handle the full abilities of Death, he was going to merge with the entity in the next millennium to come and cease to exist.
Now I get what he needs me for — to share my body, which can handle more than a dozen souls, and in return, he helps me survive this crisis.
Finally, I accepted his offer and opened my arms as he merged with me. Ten souls from the void transformed into the remaining ten laws.
He had unlocked all my laws in a second. Both Death and Time Laws skyrocketed to their peak.
I finally stood up and watched the surroundings. My body was heavy from the overwhelming power. Without having to turn back, I could see Veyl behind me, clearly in shock.
"VEYl!!! WHY!!!" I shouted in anger, still having a hard time believing that Veyl would betray me.