Chapter 697: Awakening Of The Chaos Emperor

Before Grey could examine the clearing, the Chaos Source Codex stirred within him. Its fragments began shaking so strongly that he turned his attention away from the forest.

"Give me a moment, something happened."

Lily waited beside him while Grey entered his inner space. The pieces of the Codex had gathered together, and streams of Chaos Power were flowing between them.

As he approached, the fragments pulled closer and began to merge.

The gaps between them disappeared one after another until a single source floated before him, and a voice suddenly rang through his mind.

"Where is this? Wasn't I dead?"

Grey stopped in front of the Codex as a faint figure formed above it. The figure became clearer while the voice continued.

"I remember the war with the Paragons, but what happened after that?"

The man examined the space around him before noticing Grey.

"Who are you?"

"I am Grey Lockhart, and you're inside my inner space."

That answer did little to explain the situation, so Grey pointed toward the Source beneath him.

"Your Source was broken into fragments, which became pieces of the Chaos Source Codex. I collected them, and they just merged."

"Is that so?"

The man examined the Codex and seemed to understand what had happened to him. His consciousness had survived within the pieces, though he had only now recovered enough to wake up.

Grey had expected the Codex to gain awareness once it came together. Having the Chaos Emperor himself start speaking was a little more than that.

"How did you find my fragments, and how much do you know about me?"

"I know enough to know that you're the Chaos Emperor."

The Emperor was about to ask another question when Grey released a small amount of Nexus Energy. It spread around him and caused the Chaos Power within the Codex to settle at once.

The man stopped speaking.

"T-That energy... is it what I think it is? from the core...?!"

"Unfortunately, yes."

Grey nodded, and the Emperor tried to examine it more closely without letting his own power touch it.

"How are you controlling it? That shouldn't even be possible."

"It works quite well once you get used to it."

"That isn't what I meant!"

Grey had expected that reaction, but he did not have time to explain his entire life. Lily was still waiting outside while they stood in a forest hiding something powerful.

"Not right now, we'll talk once we're out of this place."

"What place?"

The Chaos Emperor spread his consciousness beyond Grey's inner space. His attention passed over Lily and the forest before settling on the ground beneath them.

"There is a strong presence below you, at least at the 14th Rank."

"Yeah, that's why we're here. We came to find an inheritance."

Grey explained that they had followed a connection to this clearing, but nothing had appeared when they arrived. The Emperor examined the ground again and sent his consciousness deeper.

"The entrance is hidden beneath several layers, but I can help you reach it."

"Without destroying the inheritance, right?"

"I know the difference between opening a door and breaking everything behind it. Lord Grey."

"Mhm." He was initially surprised to see him calling with the "Lord" title. But it made sense, didn't it?

Grey returned his attention to the forest while the Chaos Emperor's power spread through him. Lily noticed the change at once and stepped away from the center of the clearing.

"What did you do?"

"Someone woke up, and he's helping us find the entrance."

Before she could ask who, a line of golden light appeared beneath their feet. It spread across the clearing and formed a ring around them.

The heat rose as the hidden power reacted to the Emperor's presence.

Grey moved beside Lily and covered them both with Axiom Power. A golden pillar burst from the ground where he had been standing and struck the trees above.

The branches caught fire, but the flames disappeared before they could spread. Light rose from the roots and fed into the ring beneath them.

The forest itself had become part of the defense.

Chaos Power flowed out from Grey and pressed against the golden light. The ground shook as the two forces met, and more lines appeared between the trees.

Lily stared at the power coming from him.

"Who is that? How is he doing this?"

"Someone powerful. Even more powerful than you and the first sunbringer in fact."

Grey said while watching the ring grow brighter.

"He picked a rather busy time to wake up."

The golden pillar split into several beams and swept toward them from different sides. The Emperor gathered his Chaos Power around the beams, forcing them away before they reached Grey's barrier.

The attacks struck the outer edge of the clearing and bent back toward its center.

Grey watched the light return to the ground instead of fading.

The defense was taking back the power from its failed attacks.

"That could get annoying."

"I noticed." The Emperor replied.

His Chaos Power spread across the ground and covered the glowing lines. The next time the beams tried to return, they struck that power instead of reaching the ring.

The golden light flickered, but the defense quickly changed its attack.

Pressure fell over the clearing and forced Grey's barrier closer to his body. Lily released her own power to help, though it made little difference against the force pressing down on them.

Grey added more Axiom Power and kept the barrier steady.

At the same time, the Emperor drove his consciousness through the gap he had made below them. A low rumble passed through the forest as he reached the hidden layer controlling the attacks.

The golden ring rose from the ground and closed around them.

Chaos Power struck it from within before it could tighten.

The ring cracked and repaired itself, then cracked again as the Emperor kept pressing against it. Light flashed through the surrounding trees each time the two powers collided.

Lily had known something powerful was hidden here, but this was far beyond what she could handle in her current state. Without Grey and the being helping him, reaching the clearing would have been the end of her search.

"Could he stop it without damaging what's below?"

"That is what I'm doing." The Emperor answered.

His voice reached her directly this time, and she fell silent as a stronger wave of Chaos Power spread beneath the clearing.

The golden ring tried to draw more energy from the forest.

The Emperor blocked the flow.

Its light weakened for a moment, and he used that opening to force his power into the layer beneath it.

The pressure over Grey's barrier suddenly eased.

One by one, the golden lines stopped glowing until only a small circle remained in the center of the clearing. The forest stopped shaking, and the heat began to fade.

"I've suppressed the power, but don't interfere with anything else yet."

The circle opened beneath his words.

Soil and roots moved aside without breaking, revealing a wide staircase leading into the ground. A soft golden light came from below, though Grey could not see where the stairs ended.

He withdrew the barrier once the last of the pressure disappeared.

"No time to waste, let's go down."

Lily followed him onto the stairs while the Emperor kept the defense under control. The light from the forest soon disappeared behind them, but the steps grew brighter as they went deeper.

Grey had expected a chamber under the ground.

Instead, the stairs ended beneath an open sky.

He stopped at the last step and checked the space around them. The forest was still somewhere above, but this place had been sealed inside a separate space.

A bright golden light hung high overhead.

It resembled a small sun, though Grey could sense far more power within it than its size suggested. The light reached every corner of the empty land below and gathered around an altar in the distance.

Lily felt the connection return as soon as she entered.

It was much stronger here, and this time she had no trouble following it.

"The inheritance is on that altar."

They approached along a stone path while the Chaos Emperor checked for another defense. Nothing attacked them, but Grey kept his power ready until they reached the steps.

A golden mark rested at the center of the altar.

Light from the small sun flowed into it, and faint patterns moved across its surface as Lily drew closer.

Grey could not yet tell everything the mark held, but Lily's Source Law had already begun responding to it.

They had finally found the First Sunbringer's inheritance.

"There you go, the inheritance is right in front of you. Go and get it."

Lily could already feel her True Source Law of the Sun responding to the golden mark. After spending so long searching for this place, she had finally reached what she needed.

"I will, but could you protect me while I take it?"

"Wasn't that what I was doing just now?"

Lily smiled at his answer and climbed the altar. Grey stayed below while she checked the mark and let a small amount of her power touch it.

The inheritance responded at once.

Golden light spread from the mark and wrapped around her. She sat at the center of the altar as the power entered her Source and began passing on the knowledge left by the First Sunbringer.

Grey watched long enough to make sure nothing had gone wrong. The light around her remained steady, and the defenses the Chaos Emperor had suppressed showed no sign of starting again.

At least she could take the inheritance without another fight.

He left part of his attention on Lily and turned toward the bright light overhead. The inheritance had found someone to receive it, but the True Artifact was still there.

Grey rose into the air and approached it carefully.

From below, it had looked like a small sun. Up close, he could see that the light surrounded something much smaller at its center.

The power coming from it was enough to make him slow down.

He had known what to expect from Lily's explanation, but hearing about an artifact and standing in front of it were different things. Even without touching it, he could sense how much energy it held.

The Chaos Emperor spoke within his mind.

"Lord, this artifact belongs to the True Source beings. It holds enough energy to help you reach the 15th Rank."

"I know."

Grey had only just finished preparing his path for the 11th Rank. Having enough energy to support him all the way to the 15th would save him a great deal of trouble later.

Of course, that depended on whether he could actually use the thing.

He checked the altar once more and found Lily still taking in the inheritance. There was no sign of danger around her, so he returned his attention to the artifact.

Grey stopped just outside its glow and slowly reached toward it.