Will of chaos

Pov Ronan:

“< Origin Art: Omnipresent Vision >” (me)

“He’s really gone…?” (me)

I look around, noticing major changes, but find no sign of the Avatar I was facing. Everything around us is half-destroyed, and my own body is in ruins.

Both my arms are mummified, a bite mark has displaced part of my left shoulder, and both my eyes are covered in miasma, obstructing my normal vision.

My forehead is open, with a white eye in its place. All my senses are connected to this eye, so I can see beyond it with my Concept power pulsing through it. Thanks to this, I can see even more accurately around my surroundings and react with great speed.

“(So he left as soon as Raakoy died…)” (me)

Even during the fight, I still kept an eye on Zenos’s fight. His attacks were destroying everything around him, too devastating for an environment that was becoming increasingly unstable.

All the energies of Law were in chaos in the surrounding area, the Flow of Law completely corrupted by miasma, and the curses everywhere were beginning to change.

I could see this and prepared myself. Both the Avatar and I were avoiding area attacks for our own safety, but the Bringer of Chaos was insane in his combat, as if he cared nothing for his own safety.

“(He is dead, your mission is accomplished, Ronan… Son of Ohara.)” (Pride)

“I am proud to have fulfilled your expectations, my Lady.” (me)

“(He’s proud, for he managed to surpass my expectations; his reward awaits him at the end of all this.)” (Pride)

“I am honored by your words.” (me)

My eyes turned to where Zenos was fighting. Without my other eyes, I could only use the eye of my technique to comprehend the situation. Even so, it took a while to see that area where the power of Reality was seething while space and all those natural energies seemed to decompose, making everything even more unstable.

But in the middle of such a distorted space stood Zenos, in a half-Dragon form, carrying something in his arms.

Seeing that it looked like some kind of doll or something similar, I put it aside to focus on what was most important: in the skies, the battle between Krimus and the Universal Golem was intense and also seemed to be further away.

“(What are the Ascended doing here…?)” (me)

Soon, waves of energy spread in all directions. My eyes turned to the source. It was as if Raakoy’s death had triggered a chain reaction. All the cursed energy and miasma began to be sucked into the ground. Not only that, but I could see everything being dragged into the ground. The ghosts, specters, and even the pitiful people still alive as part of the curse were all pulled into the ground by roots that looked more like stone tentacles.

The spectral creature above was torn apart from the inside out by tree branches, which soon formed a large canopy above what remained of this city. The tree sucked the power of Law, Vitality, and even all the power the ground had absorbed.

Yaffe’s success in her purpose was clear. I still don’t know what she intended with all this, but her ability to take possession of a Curse Factory like this only serves to demonstrate her immense capabilities.

“You look awful.” (Zenos)

“I’m still better than you. I’ll need a few hours to recover, but you’ll need…” (me)

“A few minutes, if you’re lucky, as long as there’s something nutritious to eat.” (Zenos)

“The power of chaos…?” (me)

“Yes, but my recovery won’t be complete. The consequences of this fight were very serious for me.” (Zenos)

“Then let’s see the others. Krimus seems to still be busy with the Ascended. I don’t know why they’re here, but at least they were useful. Let’s try to get out of here before they return.” (me)

With that said, the two of us ran toward the city center, which was also the most intact place so far, but the difference was stark: the column of cursed energy from before had given way to the petrified trunk of a tree.

“(I sense two concepts there, what did they do?)” (me)

“(A new Natural Cycle, they’re transforming and inverting the purpose of this Curse Factory.)” (Pride)

“…” (me)

———————–

Pov Zenos:

I was carrying Raakoy’s body in my arms. I didn’t want to let him enter Tarzor. I wasn’t sure what he could do. I just killed him, that much I’m sure of, but I didn’t know how much of the Curse’s influence remained in him.

As far as I know, the vessels for the Entities aren’t exactly the Avatars’ bodies, but rather their Souls. The bodies themselves are merely tools for the Entities to move through reality, and the Soul itself is the true vessel. So, since it doesn’t have a Soul, its purpose as a vessel is broken. But that doesn’t mean the Entity’s influence has been completely purged. It’s precisely because of this uncertainty that I’m going to take this body for the Twins to examine.

I couldn’t completely trust Ronan. He’d left me to fight this battle alone, and I’m not sure what he would have done if Krimus had returned sooner.

With these doubts keeping my mind occupied, the pain in my Soul and body seemed more bearable. My body was in a pitiful state, strange veins spreading from my heart, down my neck, to my face, and part of my arms.

My half-Dragon transformation was fading on its own as I counted to my human form, but that was due to my injured Dragon Soul. My Soul still burned as if it had been burned, my entire body sensitive to the point of feeling every speck of dust hitting my body.

Trying not to think about my current condition, distracting my mind with random thoughts was the best, but nothing was more random than seeing a petrified tree in the center of an urban ruin. I could also see a red creature coiled around the tree. I thought it was a Dragon at first, but soon realized it was actually a Serpent. Its scales were scarlet red. An absurd life energy pulsed through that Serpent, a life energy that spun ever stronger, it was as if the tree were nourishing the Serpent that was merely sleeping.

While thinking these things, we soon reached the foot of the tree. There we found Yaffe in a pitiful state. Her body was skeletal, her body drained of a drop of blood, and her Aura was growing weaker. Even so, she looked at me with a mischievous smile.

“You… owe me…” (Yaffe)

I looked at Yaffe, then at Lolth, who just nodded at me. Then I looked at Sarazar, who seemed to ignore everything as she focused on the tree. Her Aura seemed to merge with the tree.

“I want a… new heart…” (Yaffe)

“What does this have to do with me?” (me)

“You’re going to give me… this heart…” (Yaffe)

“…” (me)

I looked questioningly at Lolth. She approached me and touched my forehead, sharing memories of everything that happened. This made me look at the giant red Serpent with new eyes.

“(I can feel a great many souls within you now that I look more closely.)” (me)

“(I can even see new bodies forming, Serpent bodies.)” (me)

“I don’t owe anyone anything, this was your decision, but I won’t deny that I like what you did.” (me)

“< Unholy Eclipse Magic: Life Transmutation >” (me)

Struggling to lift one of my arms, a red energy rose from me, but it seemed to burn everything in its path. It was more than just torturous. Even so, I could feel Yaffe weakening more and more with each passing moment. I didn’t want her to die.

Even before becoming a God, I could create life. Of course, there were several conditions for this to be possible, but almost all of those conditions disappeared after I became a God. Even now that I’m more than just a normal God, this is still something I can do. The reason I don’t perform such acts with my power is because I understand that life is not a toy.

I don’t want to create new life forms to satisfy my senseless curiosity. I’d rather transform my enemies for this purpose than to toy with innocent lives I’ve created. Even I have my limits.

But creating a Heart isn’t difficult. Of course, under normal circumstances, in my current state it’s almost torturous, which is precisely why the heart takes several seconds to form.

I used all the cursed power refined and sealed within the Star Sword during my fight against Raakoy, as well as a blend of serpent bloodlines. The veins of the heart possess natural Ki patterns. Runes of Law and Spirit are imbued into the heart as parts of magic circles created directly within the heart tissue. Then, I use my unholy power to refine a portion of my vitality before passing the heart to Yaffe.

“< Unholy Awakening >” (me)