“By the way, was it Aurora who told you about me?”
“Who’s that?”
“A rainbow-colored fairy,”
“Oh... I remember. It was a blurry figure about three feet tall, must be the Aurora you speak of,”
The gigantic centipede, aka Marquess Wu of the abyss, was bored to death after being imprisoned for millennia. It was no wonder he didn’t close his mouth ever since he met Zyrus.
“Why didn’t you follow the plan though? From what I’ve heard from you, they are most likely your allies who had good intentions in mind,”
“You answered it yourself- they’re allies. Do they have to test me like I’m their subordinate?”
“Heh, the way I see it, you did that because of your petty pride.”
“You know, you remind me of Franken when we first met.”
Zyrus too felt a sense of kinship with the first abyss dweller he had met after becoming a Sylvarix. The duo chatted as they swam deeper and deeper into the abyssal zone.
They reached the seafloor before long, but Zyrus didn’t want to waste any more time in finding things here. Because even if he did discover something, there was no way he’d be able to take them away now that the flag was disconnected.
‘I can tell Wu to carry some stuff, but it’ll be dangerous to protect it on the way,’
He was certain about the dangers of the deepest part of the ocean. Two of them didn’t possess enough strength to roam there unhindered.
“Are you sure it’s the right direction?” Wu asked after scanning the surrounding with its numerous purple-red eyes.
“Should be, is there a problem?”
“There isn’t a soul in sight for hundreds of miles. From what I recall, the gateway of the trenches wasn’t this barren,”
“I see...I’m sure we’re in the right direction then,”
The deepest part of the ocean was called the Hadalpelagic Zone, also known as 'The Trenches'. This single zone was deeper than all of the previous zones combined.
The environment here was pretty much inhabitable. However, it didn’t mean that no creatures lived here.
Zyrus remembered what happened in the carmine mire as well. The scenario there was similar to this one. The absence of lives on their path should be related to whoever was in charge of this mission.
7000 meters…8000 meters…9000 meters… the two descended into a deep pit which looked like a behemoth’s mouth.
“Be careful,”
“Got it,”
Neither were in the mood to chat any longer. The deep and suffocating feeling they felt was enough to alert them even in their prime.
The sentient creatures of abyss had a clear hierarchy. Baron, Viscount, Earl, Marquess, Duke, Prince, King, and the Mythological Emperor of the Abyss.
Although Wu was in the middle ranks, this didn’t mean that he was weak. Zyrus had seen an Abyssal Duke wreak havoc in the fifth ring with his own eyes.
9500 meters…10,000 meters…
Just when Zyrus was beginning to wonder why he needed Wu’s help if the path was like this, a change occurred in their surroundings.
Hundreds of vine-like tentacles swayed beneath them. The harmless looking plant was one of the most fearsome creatures that lived in the trenches, the zombie worm.
“I see why they choose you…”
Wu was, in a sense, their natural enemy. These plant-type monsters had defensive abilities similar to the Nuckelavee. To top it off, they had the ability to dissolve all living beings’ bones within a certain range. It was a fraudulent ability that worked regardless of the level difference.
They were the last scavengers in the ocean’s ecosystem. More than 70% of the bons that sunk down were consumed by them.
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‘It’s a pity that we’re not strong enough to harvest them…’
Zyrus recalled that these Zombie worms were perfect material to improve their ship’s qualities. But it was just a pipe dream with their current strength.
“There are thousands of them,”
“Yet not one of them would bother you,” Zyrus chuckled at the swaggering Wu.
He was a pure abyssal creature whose very existence corroded the surroundings. Even if his bones were dissolved, no one would dare to get near them. Every part of an abyssal creature was hazardous to sentient beings.
Of course, one can purify them with pure mana, but such thoughts were beyond the imaginations of these Zombie worms.
In their eyes, the gigantic centipede was the most disgusting food they’d seen.
‘We’re close,’
Zyrus became cautious as he felt the humming response from the cube. There were no visible differences in their surroundings, but he realized that he was almost at the end of this journey.
‘Reaching here was easier than I’d thought…’
He wasn’t happy about it though. It meant that the mission this time would be more complex than the previous one.
“…”
“…”
“Th-they’re talking about me?” Wu asked in a confused tone. This was the first time someone had told him a ‘little one’.
“Well, since I’m the one who’s supposed to complete the mission, it can only be you,” Zyrus replied and jumped off from Wu’s back.
“…I see,”
Zyrus wasn’t too surprised at their words. He told Wu to convey his messages to his troops so that they could hold on without him for a few months.
“Is that all?”
“Mhm, I’ve trained them so that they won’t need me to work things out,”
“Later then,” Wu fled away as if his legs were on fire.
Zyrus didn’t know what happened after he heard that voice, but in the next second, he was in an empty cave glittering with blue and white radiance.
“Welcome, Zyrus Wymar,”
There, what greeted him was a meter-long snake coiled above a stone altar. Others might’ve found it funny that he called Wu a little one with its size, but Zyrus knew better.
“Thank you,” he nodded his head and looked at the formation on the altar.
“I see that you’ve recognized this array,”
“Indeed. The Array of descending stars, a mechanism used to summon an incarnation,”
What Zyrus didn’t mention, however, was that only a godlike being could send an incarnation. Even the weakest of such beings were on the same level as the Eternals.
“Haha, correct. Please, take a seat,”
Zyrus sat down on a similar stone platform and looked at the snake with a confused face. He didn’t mind having a conversation with the other party, but what about the mission?
“In case you’re wondering, we’re not going to fight. I disagree with their methods of testing you, and I’m sure you share the same sentiment,”
Indeed, Zyrus didn’t like the fact that he was fighting when most of his powers were sealed. Only after giving their all can one make a progress on their path.
“Let me evaluate your feats thus far, you’ve learned how to use the power of laws, and your application of the void laws is almost flawless,”
None of them mentioned the progress in the sanctuary or the earth. Things like that weren’t a real challenge for Zyrus to begin with.
“However, your progress on understanding your source of origin has reached a standstill. You’ve unlocked the door to the origin, why then, are you not walking on that path?”
“I’m not able to reach that state as I wish,” Zyrus replied without hesitation. One must let go of their pride if they wanted to learn something. The one sitting here wasn’t the void monarch, it was the arcanist who pursued the pinnacle of arcana.
“I guessed as such. It’s not unexpected since no one had taught you about such things. While I can't help you walk on your path, I can at last give you a push to move past the hurdle in your way. But before that, let’s talk about your past,”
Zyrus nodded at the snake who was observing him with its orange eyes,
“The Eternals knew about the source of origin, every field boss knew about it and so did hundreds of powerful creatures in the sixth ring,”
Its next words sent waves in his tranquil heart.
“Do you think it makes sense that you, the one who defeated them in a mere 1000 years, didn’t know about the source of origin?”
It was the question that struck true to his core. Zyrus never doubted his talents when it came to mana. He wasn’t being conceited, but even the word 'genius' wasn’t enough to match his feats.
He was just a step away from ruling the whole sanctuary. Laws or not, it was a fact he was strong enough to defeat all of the administrators and the Eternals. Did that make sense that he didn’t learn about the source of origin despite all that?
“I suppose you’ve thought about it as well?’
“Yeah,”
Zyrus wanted to say that maybe it was someone’s scheme that led to his demise or there was a greater force that led to his regression, but what was the point in that? The truth was useless for him who was so weak right now.
“I'd advise you to ponder on that. I’ll even give you a hint, it had nothing to do with anyone except yourself,” the snake replied in a solemn tone.
And hearing that voice, Zyrus was sure that it was the truth. Because the words it uttered were filled with the power of laws.
He instinctively sensed that lying in these circumstances would result in a backlash. There was no reason the snake would do that at the cost of its very existence.
“Hahaha…you see this, don’t you? You’re talented when it comes to understanding the laws as well,”
“I suppose so,”
“And I appreciate your humbleness. There are a lot of creatures who are far above you in terms of this aspect. No one gives a crap about talent and age in the middle of a battle,”
Zyrus knew this all too well. Talent that didn’t result in strength was useless. He had seen far too many geniuses who fell along the way in his past life.
“Anyway, let me tell you some basics first, starting with the ‘Realm of Order’,”
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