The residual impact of the beam collided with the golden barrier protecting the city, and a spider-web of cracks raced across its surface. Alaric froze in disbelief. Even he was unsure whether he could stop the thing without sacrificing his own life. His instincts screamed that the creature had far more devastation to unleash beyond the green ray of death that had annihilated an Elder Dragon and an entire mountain range.
The alien creature emitted a sound that resembled a snicker. The ripple of purple across its body shifted to green and swelled outward to smother the region once again. The ground trembled and buildings crumbled as cultivators were pulled to the ground, unable to withstand the might of the attack.
This time, Alaric had to cycle his cosmic energy to the absolute limit to keep his spine straight. He gritted his teeth and roared — Release. Once again, the oppressive pressure subsided, but many cultivators remained unconscious. The ones who were still in their senses shouted like maniacs and scrambled to flee the area which was sure to become their grave.
Through his ‘True Vision’, Alaric saw the runic inscriptions on the thing’s surface scramble and rearrange itself. The green ripple on its body turned red. It was preparing for something. There is no way around it. Alaric mentally prepared himself to sacrifice his life force — the most potent form of energy available to him — and prayed it would be enough to save the city.
He had sacrificed his Dao Energy in favor of wielding cosmic energy, but he knew even his Dao wouldn’t have been a match for this abyssal energy, which seemed limitless in his ‘True Vision’. Cosmic energy, on the other hand, was much more versatile, powerful, and capable of merging seamlessly with other energy forms.
Fusing the entirety of his Prana, or life energy, with the cosmic energy he nurtured for his ascension, he forged a barrier that enclosed the thing. With an immense surge of willpower, Alaric clapped his hands together, shrinking the transparent barrier trapping the creature. The barrier’s walls steadily closed in, forcing the thing to get into a fetal position. Just a little more…
Unfortunately, it looked like whatever the thing was trying to do was complete. The red ripple expanded and struck the energy barrier from within. Once. Twice. Thrice. Each impact formed another crack on the barrier’s surface. Alaric gritted his teeth, straining his willpower to the limits. Chanting a final incantation, he bellowed with all his might — Obliterate.
The inside of the barrier turned into a black void, but Alaric could still feel a tremendous pressure threatening to readjust the scales of power at any moment. Suddenly, he felt the pressure turn up a notch as a red spiral surged out of the center of the black void. Little by little, the red energy ate away at the black void. Alaric observed the red ripples pulsing multiple times a second, vibrating with a high-pitched tune.
It’s not enough. The thing will break out of the barrier any second. Alaric felt a deep sense of regret in his heart. For failing to protect humanity. A series of images flashed before his eyes. All the training he underwent with his mentor. The happy moments he spent with his peers as a child. All the disciples who depended on him and saw him as an infallible figure — the stuff of legends.
No, I cannot give up. Not like this. Not now. Not ever. Alaric decided to change his strategy and bet everything on the following attack. Even if it meant committing a taboo and erasing his existence from the cycle of life and death. He quit channeling cosmic energy into the barrier to channel it fully into his heart Chakra — Anahata — to the limits.
The barrier restraining the thing burst almost instantly. Even faster than that, Alaric created a shimmering energy funnel in place of the barrier and linked it to his heart and soul to siphon in the tremendous energy within the barrier — now released — before it could wipe out the entire city. The thing was momentarily taken aback, confused by what happened. Then it focused its hollow slit-like eyes and released a roar.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Alaric barely managed to restrain the tremendous energy — a mix of his own and foreign — and channeled it towards opening his Crown Chakra. The whole process took barely a minute before a single petal bloomed and time seemed to slow down until it stood completely still. A wave of insight staggered him, and he found himself adrift in an ocean of pure nothingness.
A single petal was not enough to merge with ‘True Divinity’, but it was enough to allow him access to Karmic Energy. Time resumed, and with a final intention of sacrifice, he swore a Karmic Oath in exchange for momentary power. Every soul that left its mortal vessel was reborn into a different body, world, and circumstances, depending on its previous life karma — good or bad.
Good karma led to good destiny while bad karma led to bad destiny and misery.
This karmic manipulation was not possible unless you were blessed by ‘True Divinity’. Now that Alaric had managed to partially bloom his Crown Chakra and could manipulate Karmic energy in a limited capacity, he decided to exhaust all the good karma he had accumulated in this life. That meant he would be reborn into misery after he died. Or he would not be reborn at all for committing this taboo. However, there was no sense of regret in him due to that if it offered him a chance to save his loved ones, friends, and humanity.
As the Karmic Oath settled into place, he felt an ocean of golden energy flood every inch of his being. It was pure and serene, untouched by any other form of energy. The golden energy squashed the foreign energy in his body like a candle flame snuffed out by the wind. A sense of serenity radiated from his body, which seemed to calm down every cultivator that was fleeing for their life.
With a lazy gesture, Alaric formed a fist and chanted — Obliterate. A golden barrier formed once again, trapping the thing in it. This time, the red runic energy vibrating within the barrier was utterly useless in shaking the barrier by even a single hairwidth. As the barrier constricted with ease, the red energy turned to black. However, even that was extinguished by the radiance of the golden energy. The golden barrier shrunk down to a pinpoint with a plop and obliterated the alien creature.
Alaric released a sigh of relief. The world is safe, for today at least. He closed his eyes, savoring the happy old memories from his childhood one last time as his body began to disintegrate from the edge of his limbs. His knowledge of what happens in the afterlife was all conjecture and shrouded in fog. But he supposed he had committed a grave taboo. Still, there was not a thread of regret in his heart. He followed his path to his last, dying breath. He heard a familiar echo of a voice in his mind — his master’s. You did well, young Alaric.
Before his body disintegrated completely, he shed a single drop of tear. Suddenly, he was greeted by an ocean of black void. Only his sense of ‘I’ -ness remained. But this sense of ‘I’ was utterly different from the one which inhabited his body and mind complex. It was just him, a being that existed and remained aware of only itself.
There was no thought, no understanding, no feeling, no movement. Time and space lost their meaning. Suddenly, he regained his sense of intellect along with his mind and memories. His emotions were numb, but there was no movement.
A flicker appeared in his mind.
Greetings Soul #19892321. You are in the process of being reborn.
# Error Detected #
Initializing…Please Wait. Process Resolved. Due to your contributions in defeating a wanted Anomaly, you have been awarded the following:
Experience points (adjusted) - Once reborn, you can utilize the experience points to improve your stats.
Memory Retention - You retain access to the memories of your previous life.
Rebirth Customization - Select your region of rebirth, identity, and status.
Choice of cultivation resource - Choose from a list of resources to gain a head start on your cultivation journey.
Signature Title - Ally of the System (Unique).
Would you like to proceed forward? Yes/No.