For a moment, nothing was said while Ezekiel processed what he had just heard.
Inside his head, he felt a burst of confusion as Shine exclaimed their own bafflement at the Fanged Lord’s statement. The floating sword actually dipped several inches toward the ground before catching themself.
To say that Ezekiel was shocked was an understatement. Hearing the Fanged Broodlord, the oldest remaining original Cruor, tell him that he needs to devour his soul was the last thing he had expected from the monstrous figure.
His bafflement took the form of open-mouthed shock, with his jaw dropping, and his movements pausing as he stopped in his tracks. If not for their incredibly weakened state, Ezekiel realized that the two Broodlord’s might’ve been able to take advantage of his mental lapse, and possibly injured him.
“Do as he says! We are already dead! The Broodmasters’ betrayal can’t be successful!” It had taken a moment longer, but the Deep Lord had also understood what was happening. Ezekiel raised an eyebrow and looked at the both of them.
“I know that you don’t have any reason to trust our generosity or care, for both of us hate this world, or at least humanity, but you can trust our hatred!” The Fanged Lord drew Ezekiel’s attention back to him. “Right now, all that I had left was taken from me by the very beings who promised us a throne just one step down from theirs. That promise is broken, now devour my soul, and take my knowledge of what they are planning!”
The Broodlord’s roar nearly made Ezekiel flinch back from its intensity. Yet he held his ground, and a frown formed on his face. He didn’t sense any danger, but he also knew that this was far too good to be true. How could a Broodlord actively request that he kill him.
What do you think? He asked Shine, who was silently observing, after that first outburst had awakened them from their meditation. Is this likely to be a trap?
Neither of them was that good at figuring out the different tells that a Cruor had when they were lying, but the vitriol and desperation in their voices made the two Broodlords believable.
I would say that it’s a risk we can take. His soul won’t be much more difficult to interact with than that of the various [Blessed] Abominations from the Cult of Light. I should also be able to get you out in time if anything goes wrong. Shine sounded wary, but ultimately their decision was in line with his own.
Ezekiel stepped forward, Shine now by his side, and loomed menacingly over the Fanged Lord.
“Don’t resist this,” he muttered while placing his hand on the Fanged Lord’s head. “Any indication of this being a trap will result in your head exploding.”
The grin he received in response made him pause, but there was a glimmer in the Broodlord’s eyes. One that he had seen before. It was the look in someone’s eyes when they had lost all hope.
It was the look of someone who wanted to die.
An expressionless calm settled onto the Fanged Lord’s face. Then, with a flex of his mana, Ezekiel’s [Will] was projected into the Broodlord’s soul.
His consciousness didn’t go in. There was no need to go that far just yet, but this would grant him the chance to see if there were any sort of traps lying in wait for him.
It was apparent that there were none, but Ezekiel couldn’t help but nearly gag at what he saw. It was so disgusting that he nearly recoiled, pulling his senses out from the Broodlord’s soul.
The soul of the Broodlord was a filthy thing. Bloated and warped, seemingly barely held together by intense emotions that were slowly dying out. Along with multiple lines of golden oil that were barely holding it together, even as it burned the soul away, like a toxic glue.
Age had also withered the soul to the point that it was nothing like the robust, yet mutated, form of the Broodlord’s physical body. Instead, this soul was thin and nearly lame. Like it had been beaten and broken multiple times, only to be forcibly inflated and put back together to fill up space. Given what he had learned recently regarding Tier six, Ezekiel could tell that reaching such a level would be impossible for him. Which was strange, since Drake had sounded confident at being able to reach that Tier once more.
What are you waiting for? the Broodlord’s soul whispered to his mind. It was a weak and feeble sound. Like the dying breath of an old man, but one that was leaning on his weapon at the edge of a battlefield, unwilling to just fall over, but just as unwilling to fight the enemy in front of him.
Looking deeper into the Fanged Lord’s soul, Ezekiel could see glimpses of what had done this.
It was an enemy far more terrifying than anything he could embody at this time.
So, with a deep breath, Ezekiel dove in. His [Will] pulled his soul toward the Broodlord’s, and his mind was assaulted with memories, while the world around him faded away.
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When Ezekiel closed his eyes, Shine’s awareness spread out, and their focus on keeping their partner safe spiked to the highest level. Nothing would be permitted to escape their senses, and anything that tried to harm Ezekiel would be destroyed.
“Heh,” the muffled chuckle from the Deep Lord nearly made them pull Ezekiel out, but the look of relief on the aquatic Broodlord’s face made them pause. “Good... With this, we can die, knowing that our revenge at least has a chance of being fulfilled.”
“What do you mean by that? I thought that the revenge you wanted was entirely directed toward humanity?” Shine couldn’t keep the question to themself. Given the strangeness of their current situation, they just needed to know more.
“That would usually have been the case... I still hate you for destroying so many of my Brood... However, humanity abandoned us, and sent us away declaring us worthless for being Void Mages... They did not give us hope and tear it away after using us like puppets.” The Deep Lord spoke with a warbling voice that sounded like it was filled with bubbles.
Shine mentally flinched at the wheezing coughs that came after. The Ichor that came up with it showed that the Broodlord was injured internally. Something that neither they nor Ezekiel had done.
A slight deviation in their senses showed them that both Broodlords were dying from internal injuries. Their Ichor was eating them from the inside out. Something that neither Ezekiel nor they would’ve noticed if not for this specific instance of attention. It was unsettling, and Shine felt his soul shiver at the thought of just how much pain the Deep Lord must be suffering from
“Yet, it was Radiant Chaos that propagated several of your numbers joining the Cruor in the first place.” Shine squashed the small pit of pity that was forming inside them. “You can’t tell me that you regret it now, after you’ve known that the Broods were secretly behind the discrimination against Void Mages increasing in severity over the past several decades.”
“That was simply the act of bringing humanity’s evil to the forefront! Even then, it was all for the sake of propagating more sympathy towards our cause.” The deep Lord slammed his fist into the ground, but the action did little besides injuring his arm. “Only when Radiant Chaos showed his true colors, the truth about our service, and how we were nothing more than puppets, with all the Broodmasters’ oaths being worthless!”
Silence filled the artificial cavern. Shine floated, gently letting off a glow of mana while remaining ready for any signs of deception. Yet nothing happened, only the raspy breathing of the injured and dying Broodlord gave any sign of life.
“At least you saw the truth before the end,” Shine’s voice wavered, the thought of such a betrayal was unimaginable, but at the same time something that they had expected.
Anyone who had ever fought the Cruor knew that they were monsters, and their Masters could only be even worse. It was hard to feel pity for those that had betrayed humanity, only to be betrayed in turn. In a way, it was simply their just desserts.
“Yes... at least there is that...”
Silence pervaded the darkened cavern once again. This time, Shine ignored the Deep Lord. They no longer cared about what he had to say. Any words at this point would be worthless.
If he had anything to say that would aid in the destruction of the Broodmasters, Shine figured he would’ve said it already, given the two Broodlords’ apparent desire to defy their masters.
“Hrk!”
It was only the sudden exclamation from Ezekiel that pulled the Void Spirit from their thoughts.
“Ezekiel!” They pushed their senses and [Will] into their bond.
What they felt nearly made them recoil. A sickening sensation, like being covered in rotten meat covered their soul for a moment before they pushed through.
“So, it’s already happening...” The Deep Lord sighed and rolled onto his side. “The Fanged Brood has been informed of our betrayal... The bond between them is being severed, and my senior is dying.”
Shine didn’t pay the Deep Lord any attention. They were too focused on the attack against Ezekiel’s soul. If this went on for too long, then there would be damage that would take a long time to recover from. Time that they didn’t have to spare.
“If there is nothing you can do to help, then shut up and stay in your corner!” Shine started vibrating in place, ready to fully immerse themself in their soul in order to help Ezekiel.
A sudden movement from behind nearly caught them off guard, but since it wasn’t aimed at them, or Ezekiel, the offensive action didn’t matter.
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“What did you do?” Shine muttered, their gaze not turning from the body of the Fanged Lord, who had a spiked tentacle piercing his chest.
In an instant, the disgusting sensation emanating from Ezekiel’s soul disappeared. Crushed beneath the weight of his [Will]. The next second, his eyes opened, and Shine felt a sense of warmth emanating from their bond.
“He helped me out,” Ezekiel said before turning and waving his hand at the Fanged Lord’s corpse. Rather than let it dissolve on its own, Ezekiel released a wave of mana that was so imbued with [Nothingness] that it quickly ate away at it, consuming the mutated flesh before it could corrupt the area.
Ezekiel stalked over to the Deep Lord, a flat expression on his face, but Shine could tell that he was anything but calm. Uncorrupted from his ordeal, but still bothered by whatever it was that he had seen inside the Fanged Lord’s soul.
“Any last words?” Ezekiel raised a hand, a blade of [Void Light], shimmering in the darkness with opalescent mana formed from his fingertips. “I already received the wishes of your friend.”
Friend? Shine couldn’t help but ask, keeping silent and emitting their question through their bond.
Ezekiel mentally shook his head. I’ll tell you later.
Shine dipped in the air a bit, but decided to let things lie for now.
“I only ask that you kill them,” the Deep Lord whispered with a gurgling voice filled with sorrow and hatred. “Do not show mercy... Do not lock them away... Kill them all, and claim this world for humanity, in whatever form it takes, when the end comes for this war...”
A sense of confusion filled Shine’s mind, but a wave of reassurance and promise filled them. It came from their bond, so obviously Ezekiel knew what the Broodlord was talking about.
“I promise... Once this war has ended, the Cruor will no longer exist in this world, and the Broodmasters will be no more.”
With that said, the Deep Lord closed his eyes. “Thank you...”
A flash of white light filled the cave, a wet splash echoed, and a head rolled on the ground. With a wave of his hand, Ezekiel once again destroyed the body of the Broodlord, and purified the ground of Ichor in the process.
“Ezekiel... What did you see?” Shine asked, hovering beside Ezekiel once more. “You feel... like you are sorry for having to kill them.”
“... Sorry. I guess I’m just concerned. The things that Radiant Chaos bragged about to Lord Rafael were a lot. It proved to me that we don’t have much time. Less than a year before the end of the world as we know it. So, we will need to prepare and move quickly.”
He reached out a hand, grasping Shine, and silently asking for his Spirit Armor. Shine transformed, and Ezekiel was once more clad in opalescent armor.
“I’ll show you what I saw while we fly. But we need to meet up with Wolken. Then, we need to go to Tarquessa.” With a blast of energy, the hidden cave that they had made was thrown open, and the pair took to the sky.
All the while, Ezekiel conveyed his memories of what he had seen to Shine, the information flooded into the Void Spirit, and they couldn’t help but regret asking for it.
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Minutes ago, Ezekiel fully immersed himself in the soul of the Fanged Lord. He couldn’t help but shudder, since it felt just like bathing in oily slime.
A pressure pushed in on him from all sides. It was so great that, had he been even a single Step weaker, he would’ve succumbed to the sheer filth of this corruption.
Having a soul strong enough to reach Tier six was all that saved him.
“It’s pathetic, isn’t it?” a voice filled his mind. “I am the oldest mortal being in the world, yet the power, the strength, that I once wielded, is now nothing more than a broken barrel. The holes that fill my soul leak even now. Pierced by Radiant Chaos’ corruption.”
Ezekiel turned, his attention now focused on the warped and emaciated avatar of the Fanged Lord’s soul.
“I am Rafael, the Fanged Lord... This is the first time we have met in such a manner, isn’t it?”
A piece of Rafael’s soul broke off, and it shrank just a little bit more.
“So, this is the consequence of taking in power that isn’t your own...” Ezekiel spoke in a horrified whisper, a quiver that contained his disgust at what he was seeing was clearly heard by Rafael, who shrugged.
“Unlike you, we had no other path forward.” He sounded tired, and Ezekiel found himself spreading out his senses, ready for anything. “Now, that doesn’t matter. In this space, time moves differently, so here are my memories of Radiant Chaos’ taunts.”
The sickly soul waved a hand, and Ezekiel felt a knock on his mind. He cautiously let it in, and was assaulted by visions and thoughts, heard from behind the fog that Rafael had been lost in.
“If you thought that we spoke true about you becoming lords beneath our rule, then you were always fools!” An image of Radiant Chaos corroding parts of Rafael’s body appeared, before moving onto the next memory.
“It is a shame that I had to fall back on my reserve plan. Feasting on all of you would’ve been a nice way of gaining my peers’ power without a fight. Alas, I’ll need to take my time in consuming them.”
The sight of a seal being broken open, and the body of the Rotting Matriarch being possessed filled his mind. Yet no one else seemed to hear what was being said.
“Just a little longer... A year at most, and all that will remain of this world will be Chaos... Radiant Chaos, that will spread beyond the stars...”
A twisted smirk in Rafael’s direction, followed by a chuckle that sent shivers up and down his body, utterly out of his control, filled his mind.
More and more visions filled Ezekiel’s mind, all taken from Rafael’s mind, freely given.
Each one detailed different portions of Radiant Chaos’ plan. Usually in the form of rants or mutterings to himself that only Rafael could hear.
Ezekiel listened as Radiant Chaos muttered to himself, detailing how he would consume everything that this world had to offer, and in turn reach the same level as Eldramir himself.
His ravings were maddening, and the sheer horror at the realization Rafael had, when he saw the truth of what he had sworn himself to, was enough to make Ezekiel gag.
However, even with so much information presented to him, he still had questions.
“... Why would he do this? While I fully understand that Radiant Chaos is a cruel and unusual monstrosity, there is no reason for him to have shared his plans, even as nothing more than insane ramblings. To you, and only you.”
Rafael smirked, “Who says that it was entirely his own [Will] that was behind his words... Do not forget who he inhabits right now.”
Like a bolt of lightning, understanding filled Ezekiel. Unlike Radiant Chaos, who was born at Tier six, and didn’t understand the intricacies and inner workings of the soul and rising to higher Tiers of power, Drake Cross, who had climbed his way t Tier six in his past life, would’ve been more than capable of leaving a few traps behind, even after he had been possessed.
“I see...” Ezekiel muttered. Perhaps he would be able to get more information about Tier six before Rafael died to his master’s [Will]?
Before he could voice any more questions, Rafael’s soul screamed in pain, and the golden oil that held him together stretched like melted cheese. His figure bloated and swelled.
“This... is it... Kill them... Kill them all... Show no mercy!”
With that final cry, Rafael’s soul burst from the inside out, and only Ichor remained. Ichor filled with a [Will] empowered by a being much stronger than Ezekiel.
He quickly reinforced himself, his own [Will] pushed back against the one that was now trying to invade his soul. It was merely a remnant, but the power behind the fading bond between Rafael and his sealed master was still strong enough for echoes of its filth to reverberate through his soul.
“Shine! Get me out of here!”
The pressure pushing in on him increased. He felt pokes and prods from his Spirit, but nothing truly solid. So, he forced himself to hold on until the bond faded away, then he would be fine.
Then, out of nowhere, the bond snapped, and the [Will] pressing down on him disappeared.
Rafael was dead, and Ezekiel knew that he needed to wake up.
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The was a moment of incredulous silence from Shine that Ezekiel was thankful for. He was still processing the information he had received. Radiant Chaos’ madness was almost too much for him to believe. Planning to devour and absorb the other Broods just to elevate his own power to the next level was a stupid plan, but one that he could envision being conceived by such a monster.
“That plan won’t work!” Shine finally declared, to which Ezekiel nodded. “Simply taking in more and more power won’t be enough to break through to the next Tier. I’m not certain how it works for those who purely pursue the path of body refinement, but the necessary [Understanding] and spiritual development needed for energy cultivation mean that Radiant Chaos is more likely to just explode than to actually ascend.”
“Exactly... Even worse, if that ends up happening the sheer force of the energy released will greatly damage the surface of the planet, as well as tear a hole in the [Shroud] that’s protecting it.” Ezekiel’s face twisted into an ugly grimace. The thought of such damage to Eldramir was unthinkable. “If that happens, not only will the world be revealed to all who might covet new ground to conquer, but humanity will likely die out. The Spirit of Eldramir is already weakened, both due to the seals taking up its focus, and from the infestation in its Spirit Paths. Damage at that level to its body will probably cause it to actually die, and its soul will dissipate. All mana will soon follow afterwards, since the current state of the world relies on Eldramir being alive to enact the [Cosmic Rules] that create and generate mana in tandem with the elemental environment of a given region.”
This much was still only a theory, since he wasn’t certain if the process of generating mana was something that could happen if Eldramir was dead. It could be that only Ichor would be made, but there was no guarantee of that either. Especially since Ichor was simply a different form of mana. Albeit one that was infused with the [Will] of the most powerful abominations in the world.
The fact that his own blood was slowly changing color as he made progress with merging his body and soul together meant that Ichor was actually a primary component and side-effect of reaching higher Tiers. Though, he wasn’t certain if such would be the case for purely energy cultivators.
While his father had managed to brute force his way into Tier six with Theo’s help, it wasn’t like Ezekiel had gotten the chance to perform and in-depth examination of exactly what made his father’s new body tick. Anything new would have been discovered.
“Can we even afford to wait at this point? Shouldn’t we go and try to kill Radiant Chaos right now?” Shine’s question broke him out of his thoughts.
“I want to... but I’m not even certain how we would actually kill him. It’s only a portion of his [Will] that’s present, after all. Even if we could sneak past the other Broodmasters, and destroy his body in a single go, there would simply be opportunities for him to come back in the future.” This had been one of the things that were bugging him. He had no method of making sure any of the Broods stayed dead, unless their true forms were destroyed. “For the moment, we need to focus on reaching Tier six as soon as possible. That’s why I want to check in with Wolken, find my family, and scour my soul for that final Chakra. Only then will we be able to save the world.”
“But... if we kill him, we can at least buy ourselves some time, can’t we?”
Ezekiel slowed, his flight now on track to reach Quintessa in a few hours at most. Their path being one that would take them over the Desolate Land’s miasma.
The worry in Shine’s voice wasn’t something he could ignore anymore.
“While we could potentially kill him, and buy ourselves some years... We won’t be able to reclaim the Desolate Lands in the time that it would take for him to break out.” He held up his hand, Shine’s avatar appeared in the gauntlet that covered his arm. “Don’t forget that the seals are only slightly strengthened. Even if they go back in, there is no chance that the seals will last more than a century. That’s only if the previous prediction of a decade or so actually gets extended, which we have no proof of yet.”
Sensing that his explanation wasn’t easing his Spirit’s worries. Now, he was starting to feel worried as well.
“Is there something you want to tell me?” he asked. No accusations, no pushing with his bond, just asking. Nothing more.
“No... I’m just worried... It takes forever to find Chakras, and I’m not sure we’ll be able to find your sixth one in time. Nor is there any chance of me reaching Tier six on my own at this point either. I’m just feeling the pressure, you know?”
Ezekiel could tell that Shine was telling nothing but the truth, but he couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong. Like he was missing something.
However, since there was nothing pressing him to know more, and since Shine wasn’t lying about anything, he decided to let it slide. For the moment, he would need to focus on other matters.
When they met up with his family later on, then he would grill his Spirit for a better explanation.
Shine deserved it for keeping secrets in the Spirit Paths, and he deserved to know what the hell was going on with his Spirit.
They were a team, and needed to work on this together, or there was no way they would win.