Child of Destiny

…

“The battle between the Immortal Emperor and that Great Demon King was extremely terrifying. Even for someone like me, such a battle is not something that I can get involved with, much less in my injured state at that time.”

“Our side was at a great disadvantage during that battle because of our injuries. Because of this, the Immortal Emperor has to constantly look out for us while fighting such a terrifying enemy.”

“The Immortal Emperor may be extremely powerful, but he also has a lot of burden on his back. Not just us, but the surviving citizens of the Immortal Empire as well.”

“In the end, the Immortal Emperor is forced to make a choice. Either defeating the Great Demon King before him while forgetting about his subjects or sacrificing himself to let everyone survive.”

“Those are the choices that the Great Demon King has laid before him. It was even laughing in amusement as it watched the Immortal Emperor struggle to make a choice.”

“If he chooses the former and saves his citizens, the only method is sealing the entirety of the Immortal Empire along with that object that fell from the sky. However, if he makes this choice, the Great Demon King will be free to do whatever it wants, even consuming the surviving powerhouses and making itself even stronger.”

“On the other hand, if he chooses the latter, then he has to fight the Great Demon King with all his might, hoping to kill it. However, the subordinates of that demon will slaughter their way toward the Immortal Empire while he is entangled in such a battle.”

“Even if we try to buy enough time for him, it will not be enough due to our respective states.”

“Moreover, we can also sense that there are three more Great Demon Kings heading our direction at that time. Even if there are also some powerhouses on equal footing as the Immortal Emperor, they are a bit behind since the demons seem to have a special means to communicate with each other.”

“Also, that Great Demon King that the Immortal Emperor is facing at that time seems to have an extremely special and authoritative position within their side, given how much power he wielded and how the other Great Demon Kings are rushing for his aid.”

“The moment when those powerhouses arrive, the situation on our side will most likely be ‘resolved’ by those demons.”

Hearing this, Shin could already imagine how much pressure the Immortal Emperor was facing at that time.

A moment later, Doran immediately continued. “But who would have thought that the Immortal Emperor would force a ‘third’ choice to salvage the situation. Or should I say-… minimize the losses on the side of the Altas World.”

“Realizing that the Great Demon King before him is not that simple, the Immortal Emperor decides to do something absurd during the final moments.”

Pausing for a moment, a mixture of emotion suddenly washed over Doran’s face, particularly awe and helplessness.

“The Immortal Emperor used the Sacred Relic of the Immortal Empire to communicate with the mysterious object that fell from the sky, intending to borrow its powers.”

“For whatever reason, that ‘object’ seems to understand the intention of the Immortal Emperor. Moreover, it seems to be disgusted with the demons as well, particularly about their evil auras and especially when they are trying to destroy it.”

“With the help of this mysterious object, the Immortal Emperor used another one of their ancestral relics to seal the Great Demon King, as well as the other three that were rushing for the latter’s aid.”

“This way, the Immortal Emperor will not only save his people but also capture four of the most powerful forces of the invading demons along with their most trusted subordinates.”

Shin finally realized what the current Immortal Empire had ended up like, and disappeared from the world without a trace, yet the largest NPC organizations and factions within the game still recorded their achievements.

However, their side was still unable to fully recover everything since they were not clear about what exactly had happened.

“However-…”

He was lost in thought when Doran’s tone suddenly became grave, attracting his attention once again.

“-… the Immortal Emperor did not expect that the four Great Demon Kings would be much more troublesome to deal with, particularly the one leading them.”

“In an attempt to stop the sealing process, the four combined forces cast an extremely powerful curse over the entirety of the Immortal Empire, making it suffer and unable to recover.”

“During this crisis, everyone from the Immortal Empire used their unique treasure, the Samsara Stones, to fight back. Unfortunately, the curse is too powerful, which is why they can only reduce its power.”

“Realizing the situation, the citizens of the Immortal Empire decided to sacrifice themselves to deal an even higher blow against the demons. Their powerhouses contributed a lot in the entire process, even killing two of the four Great Demon Kings before their corrupted bodies were sealed by the Immortal Emperor.”

“A lot of powerhouses have fallen during that battle, but the final ancestral treasure of the Immortal Empire is activated at the final moments to save their souls and tie them with the fate of the empire, becoming the undying guards and teachers of the future generation.”

Hearing this part, Shin finally realized why those special eras throughout the island were in that state. They had their own rules because the inhabitants took the initiative to sacrifice themselves to seal the demons and their demonic corruption with the help of those Stones of Samsara.

As for the overall environment of the island, it was due to the clashing forces of the Elemental Powers of that mysterious object that fell from the sky and the Curse that the Great Demon Kings had used for their final struggle.

Meanwhile, the souls of the powerhouses that had fallen during that battle were all sealed within the Tower of Inheritance to guide the future generation.

Just like what he was thinking, Doran added. “As for us, the poor people unlucky enough to be present at that moment, have no choice but to join the battle.”

“It is also our final battle, so we have pleaded to the Immortal Emperor to take our souls as well and seal them into this tower.”

“It has also become our second prison to atone for our ‘sins’,” he added, clearly talking about himself, who had broken the oath that he had with his kin, even though they had wronged him.

Shin finally understood how the entire matter took place and how this Tower of Inheritance came to be.

However, there were still quite a few questions inside his head that he wanted to get answered, but he was unable to quickly organize them since Doran continued.

“Brat, in this inheritance tower, not only will you get the legacies left behind by the powerhouses of the Immortal Empire, but also the ones that come from experts that allied with them and ours, who got swept by the tide due to our greed and curiosity.”

“If you clear the entirety of the tower, you may even get the legacy of the Immortal Emperor himself,” the old chatty elf paused for a moment when he reached this point, and sighed before continuing. “However, I will never suggest you do that.”

Shin was somewhat taken aback at first when he heard that.

After all, who would want their souls to be trapped in this place forever? But he later realized that these guys had chosen this and accepted the role of being the guide for the future generations.

It was just a bit unfortunate that no one had visited this place for a very long time because the entire place was currently under the seal cast by the Immortal Emperor.

He also quickly regained his composure after realizing the hidden meanings behind those words.

“Are the two Great Demon Kings currently sealed under this tower?” he asked.

Doran smiled when he saw that Shin was quick to understand his intentions. However, he shook his head and said. “Not two, but one.”

“Eh!?” Shin was taken aback by this and quickly asked. “Did Elder just say that there are only two Great Demon Kings-… who have fallen-… during that final battle?”

The more Shin spoke, the lower and slower his voice became. He seemed to have realized something, especially after recalling the unique characteristics of the demons that Doran and the others were fighting at the time.

“Could it be-… that the leading Great Demon King had consumed their bodies along with the surviving one?” he asked in terror.

He could already picture how powerful that Great Demon King was just by listening to the words that Doran had said, especially when the said demon rivaled even the strongest powerhouse of the Atlas World.

From what Shin knew about these demons, the rank of a Great Demon King was slightly stronger than the Sovereign Beings of the Atlas World, which was the pinnacle of this plane.

They could even rival some of the Divine Beings residing at the higher plane of this world, which were the so-called Gods and Goddesses.

If that so-called Great Demon King further evolved and became even more powerful, then they would truly become a god – a true Demon God!

From the records that Shin had seen at the Forgotten Temple of the God of Primordial Waters, there seemed to be an even higher rank among the Gods and Divine Beings. Some of them were even called the Absolute Beings and Boundless Beings.

“Damn! This has become even scarier than it has already been.”

……