Chapter 49: The Origin Fusion Began

Chapter 49

Orion was truly, overwhelmingly grateful for the gift the being had decided to grant him.

Dwaine had been wiped out, erased from existence entirely. Restoring his spirit was something that shouldn’t even have been possible, something Orion couldn’t have accomplished no matter how desperately he wished for it.

Yet this being had done it.

He had reversed the erasure, recovered Dwaine’s soul, and sent him into the cycle of reincarnation, granting him another chance at life.

The process and everything it entailed were things Orion couldn’t even begin to fathom. There were too many things beyond his understanding and too many mysteries surrounding the laws of existence that he had yet to comprehend.

But none of that mattered to him right now. What mattered was that Dwaine would live again, and that alone was enough to fill Orion’s heart with gratitude.

"Thanks... Thanks a lot, Senior."

He spoke from the bottom of his heart, his voice carrying a sincerity that needed no further explanation. The being’s warm gaze remained unchanged as he slowly nodded in response.

Orion fell silent after that, his eyes following Dwaine’s soul as it moved farther and farther away into the flow of reincarnation. He continued watching until the soul gradually disappeared from sight, vanishing entirely into the endless cycle that would eventually lead his friend toward a new beginning.

Only after Dwaine’s soul had completely disappeared did Orion finally withdraw his gaze.

The being spoke once more.

"Now that that is taken care of, we shall move on to the next step..."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"Fusing your soul with the Origin."

Orion blinked, and a flash of understanding crossed his eyes as information he clearly hadn’t possessed before was suddenly transmitted directly into his mind.

It was a strange sensation, as though an invisible door had opened within his consciousness, allowing him to understand certain things about the Origin that he previously couldn’t have comprehended.

He now knew many things about it.

For instance, the Origin’s power could only be described as boundless and immeasurable within the universe. It was an existence whose true limits couldn’t be calculated, whose power couldn’t be quantified by any ordinary standard, and whose significance extended far beyond what most beings could ever hope to understand.

Another thing he learned was that the Origin must have a wielder. It wasn’t something that could remain without a master indefinitely.

The reason Orion hadn’t known any of this before was because he had arrived at precisely the right time. Had he failed to prove himself worthy of wielding the Origin by completing the thousand trials, the Origin might have been forced to find another way to acquire a suitable wielder.

And that alternative method...

Would have been extremely brutal and detrimental.

The consequences would have been far more devastating than Orion could imagine.

In simple terms, the universe was fortunate that a worthy wielder had finally appeared, and that person was him.

Orion slowly absorbed the information, his expression becoming increasingly solemn as he realized just how significant his accomplishment truly was.

He had initially believed that completing the thousand trials was merely a matter of proving his worth and earning the right to wield the Origin. But now, he understood that there was far more at stake than he had ever imagined.

His success wasn’t simply a personal achievement. It had prevented something far worse from happening.

"Since you have passed the thousandth floor, your body, mind, and soul have all been thoroughly tempered and reconstructed by the energy of the trials..."

The being’s voice pulled Orion’s attention back to him.

"That has made you capable of undergoing the fusion."

He paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating whether he should say something else. His expression remained calm, but there was a slight hesitation in his actions, as though he were considering the consequences of revealing what he was about to explain.

Ultimately, he decided to speak.

"However, there is something I need to do first."

His warm gaze settled on Orion.

"I will seal most of your memories of the trials, along with the secrets of the Origin, within you."

Orion’s expression changed slightly.

"The knowledge you have acquired is enough to wipe you out of existence. Not even I would be able to bring you back afterward."

The being spoke in an unhurried manner, explaining the situation as though he were discussing something that had already been decided.

"Fortunately, the laws of this place are bearing that overwhelming burden in your stead. But for the sake of your survival, those secrets and memories will have to be sealed away."

Orion didn’t need to be told twice to understand just how important it was for his memories to be sealed. After all, regardless of how impressive his accomplishment was, and despite the fact that he had spent countless ages reaching the end of the trials, there was one undeniable fact that remained.

At the end of the day, he was still an ordinary Level One.

His current strength simply wasn’t enough to bear the full weight of everything he had learned. Even 0.00000000000000000000000000001 percent of the secrets and memories entrusted to him would be more than sufficient to wipe him from the surface of existence entirely.

It wasn’t an exaggeration. The knowledge he had acquired was simply too profound, too dangerous, and too far beyond what his current existence could withstand.

If he were to carry all of it back into his world without any restrictions, the consequences would be disastrous.

Orion understood that much.

The being nodded upon seeing that Orion had grasped the situation, then slowly waved his hand.

In the next instant, numerous chains materialized out of nowhere and pierced through Orion’s body.

There was no physical rupture, and no blood flowed from his wounds. The chains didn’t seem to damage his flesh in the slightest, yet Orion could feel their effects almost immediately.

His mind began to grow foggy, and his thoughts became sluggish, as though an invisible weight had suddenly descended upon his consciousness, binding his ability to think and preventing his mind from moving as freely as before.

Then, something else happened.

His memories began to fade.

It was as though an invisible force had reached deep into the depths of his consciousness and started pulling them away, dragging them toward an endless void where they would remain beyond his immediate reach.

The memories of the trials...

The endless pain and torment he had endured...

The countless challenges that had pushed him to the brink of his limits...

One after another, they were restricted and sealed away.

The memories didn’t simply disappear. They were being locked somewhere within him, placed behind barriers that his current self could no longer reach.

The secrets of the Origin were treated in the same manner. The knowledge of how it was connected to the universe, the numerous truths surrounding its existence, and the countless other secrets that Orion couldn’t even begin to understand were all pulled away and sealed.

Everything that could potentially endanger him was being carefully restricted.

Several minutes passed as Orion’s consciousness gradually weakened and the process continued. His eyelids grew heavier, and his thoughts became increasingly distant until he could no longer maintain his awareness.

Eventually, he lost consciousness.

However, he didn’t fall into the endless black space below him. Instead, an invisible force wrapped around his body and gently pulled him upward.

As he ascended, a mark of rainbow hues appeared on his forehead. It remained there for only a brief moment before vanishing without a trace.

The being nodded slightly as he observed what had happened.

He hadn’t merely sealed Orion’s memories and the secrets of the Origin to protect him from the overwhelming knowledge he had acquired. There was another reason for doing so.

He also wanted to ensure that the countless experiences Orion had undergone, along with the emotions he had absorbed from the countless humans who had braved the trials, wouldn’t harm him when he returned to his world.

The young human had already endured far too much. He had experienced countless trials, witnessed suffering beyond what someone of his age should have been forced to endure, and carried the emotional burdens of people whose lives had ended before they could reach the end.

If all those experiences were allowed to remain fully accessible within his mind, they could eventually become a terrible burden. The memories might overwhelm him, the emotions might consume him, and the endless experiences he had accumulated throughout the trials might prevent him from living a normal life.

That was something the being didn’t want to happen.

When the fusion was complete and Orion was reborn with the Origin, he wanted the young human to retain the ability to enjoy his time with his family and loved ones as he normally would.

He wanted Orion to experience the simple things in life without being constantly haunted by the endless suffering he had witnessed.

After all, he had already suffered enough.