Chapter 522 - 482: Contract! Enlightenment

Chapter 522: Chapter 482: Contract! Enlightenment

"Hm? You..."

Then, Roland clearly "heard" the undisguised surprise emanating from the inhuman consciousness.

"You are a Caster... The ’string’ of your soul is taut, and the ’lake’ of your Spirit is stirred... but your core has never undergone... ’Arcane Enlightenment’?"

The voice paused, as if reassessing the being before it. Then, its previous seductiveness was replaced by "enthusiasm."

"I see. A traveler on the fringes of the Magic Net who has yet to knock on the Gate of Origin... What a rare specimen."

"In that case, things are much simpler..."

The whisper’s tone deepened, carrying an undeniable guiding force.

"Answer my call, traveler. Here and now."

"Use me as your ’medium,’ and use this Domain—a place teeming with decay and blasphemy, yet echoing with the primordial Echo of the ’Divine Remains’—as your altar..."

"Complete your ’Arcane Enlightenment.’"

Hearing this proposal, Roland fell into a silent deliberation.

The truth revealed by the Son of Divine Remains seemed logically self-consistent and explained many of the mysteries he faced.

However, recklessly undergoing "Arcane Enlightenment" with a creature born from a blasphemous experiment—one that exuded an aura of instability and agony—was an act that touched the very source of his soul, and it still made him instinctively wary and uneasy.

’But...’

The rigorous and philosophical arguments from *Arcane Enlightenment: Introduction to Primordial Resonance* surfaced in his mind.

The book clearly emphasized that the essence of enlightenment was listening and resonating. The ultimate Authority to initiate, continue, or even halt the process always remained in the hands of the one being enlightened.

It was a protection granted to seekers by the world’s fundamental Laws, a Domain that not even Deities could forcibly interfere with.

At least, that was the solemn claim made by this classic text, a product of the Crystal Era’s pinnacle of wisdom.

As if sensing the many concerns weighing on his mind, the whisper of the Son of Divine Remains came again.

This time, the seductive quality in its voice had diminished considerably, replaced by a hint of calm.

"It seems you require a more solid guarantee... I understand your caution. If you are still worried, we can form a ’contract.’"

"A contract?"

The word made Roland’s brow twitch slightly.

Unlike the "enlightenment" described in *Arcane Enlightenment: Introduction to Primordial Resonance*, which was a unilateral process reliant on the protection of the world’s Laws, a "contract" held nearly absolute credibility and binding power on this continent and even across the many Outer Planes.

It was a power inscribed into the very foundation of the Rules, a bond that even beings like Deities and Demons had to treat with the utmost seriousness.

They might play with words and set traps, but they would not—or rather, could not—violate the contract itself.

This was far more reliable than simply depending on the records of an ancient text or the verbal promise of a suspicious entity.

Sensing Roland’s softened stance, the Son of Divine Remains’s whisper continued to flow, its tone becoming more direct, even revealing a hint of poorly concealed urgency.

"The contract can ensure the purity and safety of the process. In return, when you answer my call and complete your enlightenment, you will gain the power to perceive and even influence the fissure in this time loop... That is the very key you need to escape this cage."

It paused for a moment, as if gathering some grave resolve. Then, its voice dropped abruptly, carrying a soul-piercing sorrow and finality.

"And I... only need you to promise one thing, as the other part of the contract."

Roland’s gaze sharpened.

"What is it?"

The Son of Divine Remains’s answer was like a sigh from the edge of the Abyss, branded clearly and coldly upon Roland’s consciousness.

"I want you... after you break free from this loop, when you find a way to other Space-Time trajectories..."

"Find me."

"No matter which world I am in, or in what form I exist..."

"And then, kill me."

After the Son of Divine Remains’s words faded, a heavy silence fell within his consciousness.

It was not an emptiness, but a Void left behind by the settling of some immense emotion, like the suffocating air before a storm.

Roland looked up, gazing at the twisted creation before him, which pulsed with a blasphemous light.

Perhaps it was because the brief spiritual connection had not yet been completely severed, or perhaps because the despair contained within the request "kill me" was so pure, he could faintly touch upon a sliver of the being’s "inner" landscape.

It was not a human emotion, but a more vast and desolate existential agony.

A forcibly shaped hatred, a lucid awareness of its own polluted nature, and a desire for an end that spanned all of eternity.

This was no conspiracy. It was more like...

A plea.

Silence stretched for a moment amidst the cold air and the sickly sweet stench of decay.

Roland’s gaze swept over the tense and worried faces of his companions before finally returning to the "skin" of interwoven crimson and dark red. He slowly nodded.

"I accept your condition."

Four simple words, like a stone tossed into a deep pool.

In an instant, a sudden change occurred.

On the surface of the twisted structure, the pulsating patterns that resembled living blood vessels suddenly blazed with brilliant light.

It was not the chaotic flickering from before, but a rapid, interwoven flow that followed a pattern so complex and precise it was dizzying to behold.

Eerie green, dark violet, and pale light converged in the empty space several meters in front of the structure, outlining a massive, rotating, three-dimensional Array composed entirely of pure Energy and Runes.

The core of the Array was not any known magical symbol, but an extremely simplified geometric shape that constantly deconstructed and reassembled itself, symbolizing "agreement," "binding," and "fulfillment."

At the same time, Roland felt a slight tremor deep within his Spirit. An intangible, weightless "thread" that felt as heavy as a mountain was drawn out, resonating with the Array.

There was no parchment, no signature in blood, no complex Spell Chanting.

This was a contract that transcended physical mediums, forged directly through the essence of existence and the Echo of the Rules.

Roland "heard"...

No, he directly "understood" the contents of the contract, which were concise and cold.

[Contractor: Roland (Enlightenment Seeker)]

[Contractor: Son of Divine Remains/Deep Well Core (resonance medium)]

[Clause 1: The medium will guide the Seeker to complete Arcane Enlightenment. The process will adhere to the Laws of enlightenment, and the Seeker retains absolute control and the right to terminate.]

[Clause 2: Upon successful enlightenment, the Seeker will receive the corresponding perception and ability guidance required to interfere with the current Space-Time loop fissure.]

[Clause 3: After escaping this loop, within future Space-Time trajectories, the Seeker must find any other projection of existence or essential continuation of the medium and bring it to a complete end.]

[Witness and Binding: This pact is founded on the essence of both parties’ existence and witnessed by the Echo from the foundation of Space-Time, until Clause 3 is fulfilled or the essence of both parties is subject to Annihilation.]

Every word and phrase was directly branded onto the cognitive level of his soul, impossible to misinterpret, impossible to forget.

The sense of being bound did not come from external pressure; rather, it was like discovering one’s shadow had gained weight, becoming an inseparable "fact."

"So... the contract is forged."

The Son of Divine Remains’s whisper sounded again, devoid of all emotion, leaving only the emptiness of a ritual being performed.

The rotating Energy Array abruptly contracted, transforming into two barely perceptible streams of light. One sank into the space between Roland’s eyebrows, while the other returned to the structure’s core.

The moment the contract was sealed, Roland felt the world around him grow "quiet."

It wasn’t that sound had vanished. Instead, the suspended, unstable motes of Energy, the sickly sweet stench of decay, and even the faint breaths and heartbeats of his companions all seemed to be separated by a transparent film, growing distant and indistinct.

His Perception was forcibly compressed inward, yet also seemed to be pulled infinitely outward.

"Now..."

The Son of Divine Remains’s voice became impossibly vast, seeming to come from all directions at once, yet also as if originating from the resonance of his own soul.

"Cast aside all distracting thoughts, traveler. Listen... to the one true ’Echo’ from the depths of a thousand hatreds and pains..."

"I am the shackled ’Primordium,’ the twisted ’Law,’ the ’string’s note’ that yearns for rest..."

"If you dare to touch this Cursed resonance..."

"Then answer me!"

An indescribable "calling"—not a sound, not an image, but more of a "frequency" or "pulse" acting directly on the source of his existence—surged forth from the depths of the massive, twisted creation before him. It washed over him like a tide, gentle yet irresistible.

It passed through the subtle channel formed by the contract, gently knocking on the deepest gate of his spiritual world.

Roland closed his eyes.

He no longer observed the terrifying form with his eyes, instead sinking his entire consciousness into the surging sea of "frequency"—cold and filled with pain and Void.

The enlightenment had begun.

His consciousness, like a small boat, was cast into a bizarre sea of primordial Echo, one formed from the very essence of the Son of Divine Remains.

Here, fragments of knowledge flew alongside shrieks of madness; the whispers of decaying Divine Attribute resonated with the sighs of a billion lives at the moment of their Annihilation...