Chapter 295 - The Final Purgatory
The White Sun was the core of the Neo-Demon Realm, and there were several dimensions built inside it. Some of those dimensions were very small, while others were larger than High Worlds, and every single one of them had a purpose.
The surveillance and level of protection the NRAI applied to those dimensions were based on how important they were.
There was a dimension that was located exactly in the center of the White Sun. Although it was smaller than an average Low World, it was the place Zatiel Daybreak considered the most important in the entire Neo-Demon Realm. Not even the True Neo-Demon Doomsday Chamber could compare with how significant this place was for the Ancestor of the Neo-Demon race and how much it affected the plans he had for the universe and his ultimate goal.
If one of the absolute powerhouses of the universe were to reach this dimension, the NRAI had orders to use all the power at its disposal to annihilate him, no matter the consequences. Even if it needed to suck dry the more eight hundred worlds connected to the White Sun and permanently harm the Neo-Demon Realm, the trespasser had to be eliminated.
Instead of the spherical form of a world, this dimension had the rectangular structure of a plane, and it was covered by a chaotic black sea that rose from the ground and reached all the way to the sky. The waters that formed this sea were ethereal, and although they cause no harm to physical matter, they were extremely harmful to anything related to the soul.
There was a powerful seal in this dimension that made unauthorized access next to impossible, whether it was physical by using powers like teleportation or incorporeal like astral projection.
To enter this dimension of the White Sun, you needed to be a Rank 4 Neo-Demon who had passed through the Three Severing and have authorization from the Ruler of the Neo-Demon Realm. Only then would the NRAI perform a full scan of you by using a power that not even a Being of Laws who had formed its own Omega Law could hide from, and then transport you to this place.
Any individual that behaved suspiciously would be restrained, and if they resisted in any way, the NRAI was authorized to exterminate them even if they were Neo-Demons.
Above the sea level, a fluctuation in space occurred, and the next moment Zatiel, who was using the Black Hole Runic Set appeared, and he was not alone. Behind the Neo-Demon, there were three hundred and seventy-two members of the Heavenly Race and a cocoon made of shadows.
Due to the Beta Heavenly World now being part of the White Sun, Zatiel could use the Black Hole Runic Set in every part of the Neo-Demon Realm. However, the energy source of the runic set was limited, and he would not use its powers unless he absolutely needed to do it.
Surrounding Oliver, Tomas, and the rest of the members of the Heavenly race, there was a white membrane protecting them.
The white membrane was a defensive spell cast by the NRAI that stopped the force in the black water from twisting the personality of the members of the Heavenly race and shattering their ego.
The same membrane was covering Zatiel's body, but this one was millions of times stronger than the one shielding the dukes and the rest. The Neo-Demon did not need any help to fend off the maddening force in the black water since, the moment his True Will reached the Star Breaker Rank, his will became too strong to be affected by it.
The reason why Zatiel was using the membrane was due to something much more important, something for which not even the assistance of the Black Hole Runic Set was enough.
The Neo-Demon did not lose time and flew forward, with the members of the Heavenly race and the shadow cocoon behind him. He felt a powerful scanning force present every moment of his journey, not only on him but also on the people he was carrying.
The only reason the NRAI did not erase the existence of the members of the Heavenly race and the individual inside the cocoon was due to Zatiel's authority as the Ruler of the Neo-Demon Realm stopping it.
It did not take long for Zatiel to reach the center of the dimension and what appeared on his sight was a maelstrom of apocalyptic proportions that originated in the bottom of the plane and rose all the way until reaching the firmament.
Just like the waters that filled this dimension, the maelstrom and its powerful winds did not harm physical matter, but they distort the personality of anyone who entered in contact with it.
To advance past this maelstrom, you either needed to be a Peak Rank 5 life form or a Neo-Demon with a True Will at the Star Breaker Rank.
Even without the help of the Black Hole Runic Set or the NRAI's protection, Zatiel was powerful enough to resist the force of the maelstrom, so he pierced the exterior and entered the center of it.
What welcomed Zatiel and the people he carried was a black pyramid floating by itself on the core of the maelstrom.
Countless runic lines were moving through the surface of this pyramid. They shined with all kinds of colors and represented a myriad of laws that were even more complex than the laws that formed the universe. Not even the all-mighty Omega Laws would be able to express a power capable of surpassing these runes.
If the NRAI was the brain of the Neo-Demon Realm, then this black pyramid was definitely the heart.
A stream of black fog was released from the pyramid, and once it passed through the maelstrom, it fused with the black waters that filled the plane.
Originally, the only thing in this dimension was this pyramid, but after millions of years of releasing that fog, it formed the sea that surrounded it.
Zatiel knew that this sea would be formed once he left the pyramid in this dimension and had decided to name it Will Forging Sea. As for the black pyramid, its name was The Final Purgatory.
Without wasting time, Zatiel put his hand on the pyramid. The next moment, the Neo-Demon, the members of the Heavenly race, and the shadow cocoon disappeared.
Zatiel and the rest appeared in a terrain with a metallic floor that extended for an unmeasurable distance and where not a single sign of life was present.
Filling that floor, there were countless statues made of black crystal that had all different kinds of runes carved on them and from which a black fog was being released.
These statues took the form of millions of different life forms, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that ninety-nine percent of the species of the universe were represented here.
Even though there were statues that belonged to massive beings like dragons, titans, and leviathans, and small life forms like elves, humans, and dwarfs, they were all between two and three meters tall.
Unlike their size, the runes that covered each statue were unique. Not even the slightest resemblance could be detected between them.
The eyes of the statues that surrounded Zatiel began to shine. The next moment, sounds depicting a deranged state of mind filled the area.
Zatiel did not care about the noise or the statues, but he did take a moment to analyze the black fog that filled the space around him and allowed a piece of it to pass through his defenses and enter his body.
This black fog did nothing to his body or energy, but it was able to infiltrate his soul dimension without a problem. Like a ferocious beast, it focused on the three entities formed by Zatiel's Primordial Essence and launched itself to them.
Just like when the Star Consciousness made itself present inside Zatiel's body, the True Will opened his eyes, and this time, instead of only his eyes, the entire body of the golden humanoid radiated a majestic light.
The black fog clashed with this light, and the two of them wanted nothing more than to destroy the other. Finally, it was the True Will's light, the one that proved to be superior.
Just like a muscle that is submitted to stress by lifting a heavy object, the True Will can be trained by fighting this black fog, and then by supplying it with Origin Power, its might would increase.
"My True Will is powerful enough to handle the pressure a Rank 5 consciousness is capable of generating, but it took me a considerable amount of time and energy to handle the Soul Resentment Fog of the 9th layer of The Final Purgatory. I guess the start of my training will begin here." Once the test was done, Zatiel turned around and focused on Tomas, Oliver, and the rest of the members of the Heavenly race.
By using the power of the NRAI, Zatiel had expelled the energy the Sage left in the dukes and returned them their personalities to their original state. They were still xenophobic garbage, but they once again cared about the people of their race.
"NRAI, handle the people of the Heavenly race according to the instructions I have given you before. Make sure the two dukes witness the person they love the most die in the most horrible way possible and then continue with the rest one by one. When all of them are dead, make them experience a billion years of solitude before creating an illusion in which they are saved and then force them to see their loved ones die again. The cycle must never end, and in case they are driven mad by the pain, erase their memories and start all over again."