Chapter 337

Roar of a King (XVIII)

Cain abruptly found himself flying back, his chest bleeding, while frantically trying not to patch himself up or land, but see where the next attack is coming from. By the time he did, however, it was too late; a silver shine in the shape of a short blade cut from his left, affording him no time to react. The blade easily lodged itself between his ribs and skewered, causing even more blood to pour out and puncturing his left lung.

His brain was still processing the last attack when another one landed, severing his left leg entirely. He was forced to watch the limb fly off freely like a branch of a tree, blood spraying out as his consciousness began to grow hazy. He would die, he realized, if nothing changed. This was a boss battle that he had no business fighting--no, it wasn’t a boss battle. It was like a scripted event in a game where, no matter how powerful your character was, it would beaten bloody regardless.

He couldn’t put up even an iota of a fight; what he used to be proud of, the speed at which he charged and then discharged Mana, now felt sluggish and beyond slow. By the time he had a working orbit of elements, he was forced to dissipate it just to try and patch up yet another hole in his body.

It was true, he realized by the time his left eye was gone. He’d have to eat the fruit. All else aside, even if the man could have killed him in just one hit, it was clear that he was giving him some time to react, to process, to realize the utter helplessness of trying to fight the battle with his current self.

As such, it was pointless to delay. He didn’t want to do it yet, especially before returning to Earth, but he had to. Forces beyond him, clearly, were weaving a tapestry that he wasn’t privy to--and him consuming the fruit was in their plans for today... and he couldn’t say no. He was too weak, once again, to beat back the fate ordained for him. Biting his lips in frustration, he reached into the pocket, took out the fruit, and put it whole in his mouth, chewing violently through the blood that was gushing.

He felt it, piece by piece, since it disintegrated before even traveling halfway down his throat. The hard fruit turned into tiny motes of energy that swelled and covered him. Suddenly, he stopped flying about like a ball being repeatedly kicked. Thick shield of energy coalesced around him and deflected yet another strike. He could breathe, finally, and see. See things statically.

For a moment, he breathed in relief, but the energy within him exploded. Closing his eyes, he gritted his teeth and realized where he was once again--in the Infinitium, the headless space where he spent cycles during the trial on the Ninth Floor.

The blank canvas that was the boring cosmos suddenly lit up brilliantly--from the cosmic dust that began to swirl and coalesce, the burning, bright stars started to form one after another. Around them, planets and moons. In-between all, nebulae, strays, and other cosmic wonders.

He was witnessing birth of reality from above, though sped up beyond measure. What took billions of years to form formed within a minute--and he could see it all. The entire cosmos, millions of galaxies, etched itself inside his mind... and within him. At the ‘center’ of it all was he, a shine in his hand that was exuding energy of everything that it created.

He was the avatar, lines of laden gold and silver creating patterns across his naked body. A watcher, a guardian of the life that was imaginary... yet eerily real. Just then, a window, something the hadn’t seen in a long while, appeared in front of his eyes as a projection from the fruit.

[You have become a titular Deity]

[There are Four Stages to the Formation]

[Stage 1: Genesis -- reward, Divine State]

[Stage 2: Infernum -- reward, Mote of Creation]

[Stage 3: Grace -- reward, Touch of Ka’dun]

[Stage 4: Avatar -- reward, The Crown]

[Everything is a World within itself]

[Word is the silence that haunts]

[Designs in place and gears of the machine]

[The Cradle is an infinite Cycle]

[You who bore witness to the Gears]

[You who bore witness to the Tears]

[Life lingers]

[Death awaits]

[All of creation coalesces]

[I who write these words await]

[Rewrite my faults]

[Rewrite my wrongs]

[I fled, arrogant in thought]

[For creation is mindless]

[I made them not, though worshiped still]

[In these motes I leave my wisdom]

[For weakness surges]

[You who now bore witness to the Machines of Creation]

[You who now bore witness to the Faults of Creation]

[Bear witness further to the truths and lies]

[I rue the day I ran, yet guilt eats me]

[Many wonders... but twice as many horrors]

[I wonder awander... whether it is worth it]

[Is the suffering of trillions worth the joy of billions]

[Is the suffering of even one worth the joy of ten]

[Is there a way to end the suffering]

[Or is the suffering inscribed within the codex of the core machinery]

[I tried]

[I thought I would do better]

[But I failed]

[And now I bear witness the reality I left behind]

[They call themselves my children]

[And in my name they baptize the cosmos]

[And in my name they scream and wave the flags of civility]

[And in my name they justify themselves]

[But they not now my name]

[They not know my face]

[My voice]

[Among them, I see]

[What are you]

[An excuse]

[Not a friend, not a relic]

[Not a story]

[Not the tapestry woven by those want of a change]

[I now see]

[I now realize]

[There is no change]

[There is temporary mask]

[A veil]

[Undo the curtain]

[And lies are delivered unto you]

[I apologize]

[I apologize for my wants]

[My desires]

[I apologize for asking of you what I failed to do]

[But I am weak]

[I am wane]

[In these halls all I ever hear is silence]

[And my voice is mute]

[Alas, my soliloquy comes to an end]

[The Mote you consumed is one of three that I created]

[I created them unto the image of those I found]

[They are weaker, but less volatile]

[The energy within it, still, is too much]

[You shall awaken it in stages]

[I have made the first one easy on you]

[Though a gift weak, I afford it to you nonetheless]

[From now on, you can marginally be considered it]

[That which many have come to call ‘Divine’]

[A new road awaits you, one laden with stars]

[I hope you shan’t follow my path]

[Though my hope is wane]

[Alas, in due time, we shall meet, I imagine]

[From here on out, communications will be infrequent]

[Your first task is to conquer your world’s Crucible completely]

[And to subdue its core machinery]

[The way to do it is simple]

[Activate the Divine State after you defeat the final Guardian]

[You shall find an invisible door leading you to the Crucible’s core]

[There, you have to overwrite its gear]

[Do so by simply overwriting the existing Mana with yours]

[After, you shall have full access to it]

[To not invoke the ire, keep the truth hidden]

[Someone shall meet you after you Conquer the Crucible]

[But before you Ascend]

[Good luck]

[And may we one day speak in the garden void of evil]

Cain blankly stared at what looked like a long-winded poem, yet one decidedly packed full of information. Some of it seemed like the ramblings of an old man who feels he’d wasted his life, though a lot of it were subtle hints to the larger picture. Toward the end, those hints became outright advice and even instructions.

He stayed in space for a little while longer, ruminating on everything he’d read, though he knew it would be quite some time before he ultimately accepted it all. Especially the part where he, supposedly, was now a ‘Divine’.

Suddenly, he was ejected from the writhing and thriving cosmos and back to reality. There, he found himself face to face with the man once again, though the latter stayed at distance and ‘looked’ at him with a faint smile.

“How does it feel, seedling of Chaos?” the man asked suddenly.

“...” Cain did a quick inspection of himself--not much has changed, actually. At least not compared to what he was expecting. “Uh...”

“All whom acquire the glorified Ascendance find themselves speechless, not unlike you,” the man continued. “They all imagine a writhing change, where they become the weapons of unmatched power. But being a Divine has nothing to do with strength.”

“No?”

“In fact, many newborn children can be classified as Divine. Alas, this is a conversation for another time. Besides, once we start fighting again, you shall see it. Where the seed of the Divine lies. Our fight shall help you coalesce your metamorphosis, but the future... is up to you. Now that you walk this road, seedling of Chaos, there is no turning back. We shall buy you some time of anonymity, but, eventually, you will be found. I beseech you--grow. Grow and then continue to grow. All else shall fall in place for your coming. Though you shall hear of the war’s imminence, understand, centuries to us feel like days to you. So, even in the future once you begin hearing of the roaring war that will break out ‘any day now’, as per your world’s expression, understand.

“Now, once again, I invite you to duel me, seedling of Chaos. You now understand what it means to be Cosmic. For you had seen the sight only few in history had. Let us duel... so you may end this Avatar before it is discovered by the powers that be.”