Novel Full Chapter 859: Recovery
Chapter 859: Recovery
The second fragment tore free.
This time, Michael felt it more clearly.
The moment he absorbed it, his entire soul space trembled. The sensation was impossible to mistake.
It was the crack that existed deep within his soul foundation, hidden beneath layers of stability. It had not crippled him, but it had limited him.
Now it shifted again.
Warmth spread outward in slow waves.
Michael inhaled instinctively.
His capacity had increased. He did not know by how much, but it was definitely more than a few weeks of natural recovery could have given him.
Veyrion felt the loss instantly.
His form flickered, faint strands of his soul dissolving into pale currents that drifted toward Michael.
"No... stop!" Veyrion shouted.
His voice was no longer commanding. It cracked.
"You do not know what you are doing! That essence is my very being! If you absorb too much, it will destroy you from within!"
Michael did not respond.
Another strand separated. It was bigger than the previous two combined.
Another wave of warmth followed.
The last traces of instability in his foundation tightened further.
Veyrion’s panic deepened.
"I can teach you!" he said suddenly.
The words came quickly now.
"I possess centuries of knowledge! Knowledge beyond your imagination! Release me, and I will guide you! I will make you ascend faster than any genius alive!"
Michael’s expression did not change.
Another fragment vanished.
Veyrion’s form dimmed slightly.
Seeing his offer ignored, his voice turned venomous.
"You arrogant child!" he snarled. "Do you think devouring me will make you strong? You are only poisoning yourself! My will shall remain! I will corrupt you from within! I will twist your soul until you beg for death!"
Michael only watched quietly, observing the changes within himself.
His perception sharpened as his awareness deepened.
Even the connection between his soul and the laws became clearer, as if a fog he had never noticed was thinning.
He had never truly noticed it until now.
Veyrion, on the other hand, only felt himself being reduced.
Desperation surged.
"I curse you!" he screamed. "Your soul will fracture! Your path will collapse! You will never reach the realm beyond! Never—"
Another fragment vanished.
His voice weakened.
Michael finally spoke.
"You talk too much."
Michael increased his devouring speed further, and Veyrion’s scream echoed across the endless dark.
Another fragment tore free.
Then another.
And another.
Each time he devoured a portion of Veyrion’s essence, Michael felt the change immediately.
The crack that had existed in his soul finally gave way.
The fracture sealed completely.
The instability that had lingered like a hidden weakness was gone, replaced by smooth, unbroken stability. His soul no longer felt like something recovering. It felt whole.
It felt like it had before the injury.
No.
Even better.
Michael inhaled sharply, his awareness expanding in every direction. The darkness of his soul space became deeper, more defined.
His capacity increased again.
And again.
Each fragment that dissolved into him did not simply fill him. It expanded him. His soul space stretched outward subtly, the invisible boundaries pushing farther into the endless void.
Veyrion, on the other hand, was filled with growing horror.
His form was no longer stable.
Parts of him dissolved constantly now, drawn helplessly toward Michael.
"STOP!" he roared.
His voice shook the darkness.
Another portion of his soul vanished.
His scream broke.
"You insect!" he shrieked. "I will not accept this! I refuse to be devoured by a child!"
His will surged violently, trying to tear free.
For a moment, the darkness trembled.
But the cauldron pulsed, and the resistance collapsed instantly.
Michael felt the essence flow into him in larger waves now. His awareness sharpened further, his perception brushing against truths he had never sensed before. It was as if a ceiling above him had cracked open, revealing greater heights.
He felt lingering bits of understanding about his law deepen.
Veyrion’s form shrank rapidly.
From a towering presence...
To something smaller.
Fainter.
Unstable.
His voice turned hoarse.
"I curse you..." he whispered.
Michael did not stop.
The last major portion tore free.
Veyrion’s form flickered violently, his outline breaking apart like ash in the wind.
Hatred filled what remained of his will.
His presence fractured further.
"I hate you..."
Another piece vanished.
"I hate you..."
Only a faint outline remained now.
And with the last of his strength, Veyrion screamed,
"I CURSE YOU, BASTARD!"
Then he disappeared completely.
Silence returned.
Michael stood alone in the endless dark.
His soul space felt vast.
Whole.
And far larger than before.
The first thing Michael did was check the changes he had felt while devouring the defeated Rank 4 superpower.
"I knew it."
Seeing how many contract slots he now possessed, the method he used to directly gauge the strength of his soul on a surface level, Michael felt excitement rise within him.
It was a staggering one thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight slots.
A couple hundred more than before his injury.
After the excitement settled, Michael could not help but feel a trace of regret.
A large portion of the essence he devoured had gone toward repairing his soul. If he had never been injured, his contract slots might have surpassed two thousand by now.
That was a terrifying thought.
If they were all filled, even the Damaged Coffin of the Forgotten might struggle to carry them unless he evolved the treasure further or forced all his undead into human form.
Michael then turned his attention to his next gain, something he had not fully expected.
"My previous thinking was wrong," he said quietly. "Even if I could have ascended to Rank 3 with my injured soul, it would have been imperfect. I was judging myself by the standards of others. But I should be my own standard."
The reason for this realization was clear.
Now that his soul was whole again, his law comprehension had surged to eighty-nine percent completion.
Only eleven percent remained.
The gap between him and Rank 3 was no longer distant. It was inevitable.
"After I leave this place, I will have my other body stop cultivating. Together, we will gather corpses," Michael said calmly. "Only after filling every contract slot will I continue cultivating. Otherwise, I might ascend accidentally."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"That would be wasteful."