Chapter 1899 - 1898 - The Eternal Reconstitution

The last time Lind had faced the Bastard directly had been across the expanse of the holds. They had been far apart and both had been pushed to their limits.

The Fiend had been consuming one hold or Eternal Realm cultivator after another from outside their boundary while Lind had laced every hold with his harmonic Qi, poisoning the well for the Fiend.

It had bought him time as the Fiend had to pull back and expunge his harmonic Qi from the Bastard's dantian.

While Lind had driven him back, it was mostly a draw. Further, he had lost so many to get to the Fiend that he could not call his current progress a victory.

Now, he saw the impossible in a cage. An Eternal Realm version of Cyntilla and he knew she was real! He could feel it as well as the clear connection to his Tapestry. The Bastard could not manipulate that but there was more.

The connection carried the history and the Cyntilla that died and was reborn in another life was right there in that cage! How was she an Eternal Realm?!

Cyntilla had died as an Immortal. Even if he had somehow resurrected her, there was no way for her to skip an entire major realm!

The shadowy figure was not flustered anymore but smiling. He was standing directly between the large group and the 2 beings they had found.

"Do you like it, Lind Frey? Lanbao is a bit of a mixed bag as bits of her were all that remained but your wife is fully here. I must say, it worked better than I expected." He was bragging but Lind needed time to recover.

He glared holes into the vile Fiend yet it only amused him.

"If there are any doubts about her origin, you should know that little fox's Talent led to some discoveries. I have killed the Twins before, you know? Yet they were completely alive and whole in the last battle I waged. Do you know why?" Violet Cloud and Shattering Fist Eternal flinched at those words.

The Bastard was severely outnumbered but was totally calm. It told Lind the room was far from safe despite its decrepit state.

"Did you know, I can't hold onto an Eternal Realm cultivator's soul if a new version of them ascends? It is quite painful and leaves me weakened. You were able to cage me because of that mistake." Lind narrowed his eyes as that information was not known to him.

More, he could grasp what had happened. Just as Divine Memory could recreate reality inside an Inheritance or other pocket realm, an Eternal Realm cultivator was inviolate. They could not be broken apart so easily with the exception of the Bastard.

The Fiend's unique dark skill to absorb life was one of the few that could pierce that quality.

The reversion of their Divine World was a saving grace but it also reconstituted all that lived before in whatever state they had been in. Karu had made it clear it was not a simple reset of her life but everything.

She could not pick and choose anything. Only when she was alive and able to recover her memories was she able to make changes going forward. Lind had proven just how far that could go as history did not unfold the same every time regardless. People lived on a knife edge as cultivators.

Some died that had lived before. Some avoided terrible danger they had fallen to and so forth. While much of it did not matter in the higher realms, the longer someone lived or the more talented, the greater the impact their lives had.

The Twins were prodigies so legendary they inspired craftsmen everywhere and every time. While they were technically echos of the originals in one sense, they were the original souls as well.

If that was true, why had they never mentioned it? Also, he looked at his wives but they all seemed to understand his question and shook their heads.

A dark laugh made them all snap back.

"Oh, they have no memory. Unlike poor Lanbao here, they are not the same people. What they took from me was the essence of those other versions. The actual person is gone. All that remains is the energy and maybe some inspiration." Lind frowned at that but could not deny it.

He was about to simply attack when a shadowy hand snapped over to Cyntilla.

"Now, this one was a rare tool of yours. You moped about not saving her or she turned on you and became a bitter enemy. There was one time I know she sacrificed her whole clan to save yours! Honestly, she was all over the place! Yet, she was rare to make it here. She almost always died but you went and did something this time. I knew you did." The Bastard's white eyes gleamed with dark joy.

Lind's hands cracked on his staff. He had recovered so he saw no need to hold back. A scream froze him in place. Cyntilla was having her limbs broken fresh once more!

"Don't rush things, little dragon. You seem to think you have won but you really should look down." Lind felt his stomach drop as he looked down. His eyes glowed and his Talents saw the horror in every groove beneath their feet.

Yes, the plinths, consoles, and various artifacts were destroyed to some extent or another but the floor was entirely untouched.

Carved into it was a massive array and he had no time to grasp it as the dark light of Fiend Qi flared. Screams came from the group behind him as they were withered instantly.

"Did you think you had me caught at last? Did you think I would make it easy? Only that blasted tiger woman and you are immune to the array, Lind Frey. The rest of your group are entirely in my grasp." Lind's eyes narrowed.

There was a lie. A lie big enough that the Bastard was trying to overplay his power. Lind took his staff and stamped it onto the array. Emerald flames spread quickly but slowed once they got about 20 meters out.

The Bastard frowned but was not panicking.

"Annoying as ever. Do you not want to know why I still had a piece of her?" The shift back to Cyntilla was annoying but it bought time. Both sides were trying now to actively find the lethal edge.

The issue was that the Bastard had 2 really good trump cards to play!

His insidious smile spread as another soul appeared in his ash gray hands.

"Do you remember Solon or how about that little colony of stone drals? Some of them once followed you to the very end but I know you lost them too. The trick I learned, you see, is that while ascending wiped out all past versions and ripped them from me, I could reverse the process to make my little toys." The thralls that had given them the most trouble flashed in Lind's mind.

HIs emerald lines shrunk a bit but he cleared his mind and reasserted his control.

The Fiend noticed and his smile got even wider.

"She is not like them. A thrall will not serve the purpose. Lanbao was bait and she still is but this one, this one is where I make you pay." Lind barely registered the words when Cyntilla screamed again.

He was not refining her, he was shredding her because he could. He was acting like a Soulmancer!

Lind understood at that moment. Lanbao was disembodied. Even a little damage could cause her to disperse but a whole person could take a lot more damage before falling apart.

The Bastard stopped and seemed to relish the rage on Lind and his wives.

"So, to the point, I do not expect you to surrender but realize that while my array can consume people, I can also replicate what I just did. A little loss here compared to the entire Sea of Realms means nothing to me." Less lies but Lind could not find the lie he wanted.

The Bastard need not be so roundabout if he truly held them in the palm of his hands. What was he missing? Why did he need leverage?

More importantly, could he save Lanbao and Cyntilla?!

His mind raced but he was also feeling increasing pressure from the Fiend array. Why was it not being consumed?!

"I pulled her out of her new life. So long as they are alive, I can make them all my playthings." The Bastard suddenly broke his concentration with his words. He could do what?!

The Fiend smiled so brightly but it only made chills go down his spine.

"I call it Eternal Reconstitution. It only works with our little world but it means any Eternal Realm I have faced from there and has not ascended, is mine for the taking! No matter where or when they are, if they live, I can claim them!" The Fiend then held up both hands and his eyes went right through him.

Lind felt faint tugs on his Tapestry.

"Your children, your friends, even lovers you did not acquire on this go around are all inside my dantian. I took them all and I can bring them back to me right now if I wish!" Fear finally filled his heart.

Such an ability could not be freely used but the fact he could pull anyone out and then torture or refine them as he desired was horrifying.

Cyntilla was a proof of concept he could not deny. So long as they made it to the Eternal Realm, which his previous selves had hinted at was helped along by his Fusion Path, the Bastard could pull anyone he had ever known in front of them to play with!

"So, tell me, do you want to draw this out or will you surrender?" The shadowy figure stood before them, severely outnumbered but they could not kill him! The goal was right before him and Lind could not simply attack him as he wished!