The inner regions of the destroyed city.
The Soul Shrieker was silently staring at the sky with a heavy expression.
I really can’t understand why [Chaos] had issued me such a mission.
It couldn’t help but recite simultaneously with both of its male and female voice: 『 「 Endless [Chaos], I was the founder of the Era, why did you have me remain here to prevent an unknown danger to my enemy? 』」
Lines of grey text appeared in front of its eyes:
[Everything is judged with the search for the ultimate secret as a priority]
[Whether it is you, or the other side of the Apotheotic Combat, both sides must work towards this goal as hard as possible]
[An excellent display during this process will grant you appropriate rewards]
Soul Shrieker continued to stare, still completely puzzled.
「 『 Reward? 」』 it asked.
[Indeed] [Chaos] replied, [You do not need to worry, once the path leading to the ultimate secret is opened, you shall be directly transported over]
[For now, stop the countless enemies that are coming your way]
All the text disappeared.
The Soul Shrieker quickly noticed something and looked up.
One after another, sprites of light appeared from above the sky.
They were radiant and immense, filled with solemnity and power that begets a desire to worship in the human mind.
『 「 So it was the foul stench of [Order], I understand now 』」
The Soul Shrieker howled in a deep voice.
—–it seems my main responsibility will be to buy time for that Deity of [Chaos], allowing her to reach that mysterious path.
Next to the Soul Shrieker, the Raging Flame Traveler suddenly shouted:
「 Too many! That is too many! 」
In the sky above, so many sprites of light had manifested that it appeared like a river of stars.
They were descending towards the two of them at an unimaginable speed.
The Raging Flame Traveler remained silent for one breath’s worth of them, then loudly declared: 「 [Chaos], I give up on this Apotheotic Combat, please transport me back 」
The Soul Shrieker’s expression warped and shouted as it caught his shoulder: 「 『 You’re mad! If you leave now, do you expect me to stop them all by myself!? 」』
The Raging Flame Traveler lightly knocked the Soul Shrieker’s hand away and asked in return: 「 I nearly lost my life just now, do you understand? 」
The Soul Shrieker froze.
Earlier, Gu Qing Shan’s sword had already cut through half of the Raging Flame Traveler’s neck, if [Chaos] hadn’t suddenly intervened, the Raging Flame Traveler would have already died.
The Raging Flame Traveler continued in a harrowing voice: 「 I have a lengthy lifespan, wield great strength, and possess numerous supernatural abilities; but that man’s sword was too fast, he did not give me any chance to even use my power! 」
「 I know that I’m vastly stronger than him in numerous ways, I even have a few unique abilities that can directly take his life—– but facing him, I have no chance to act! 」
「 He is a true God of Death! 」
The Raging Flame Traveler roared with a fearful voice: 「 And I have no desire to be the enemy of someone like that! 」
The two of them paused.
「 『 I really didn’t expect for you to also be a useless failure 」』the Soul Shrieker scoffed.
At the same time, the grey text of [Chaos] appeared in front of them:
[Regardless of whether or not you leave the Apotheotic Combat, both of you must face the enemy at this very moment]
[Remember well, this is a pivotal moment for Chaos]
[Those who flee shall die]
Before the Raging Flame Traveler could say anything, three new lines of notifications appeared in front of their eyes:
[In consideration of the many Orders that had arrived, the following judgment had been made:]
[This operation has been exposed]
[From this point on, you may exert all of your powers to resist Order]
The Raging Flame Traveler’s body trembled.
He could feel his restrained power being fully released again.
He had returned to his normal state.
「 That’s better, at least there’s a chance to stall them now 」
He mumbled to himself and turned to the Soul Shrieker.
Only to see the Soul Shrieker’s body also emanating an eerie pressure.
A profound and dreadful chill continuously radiated from the Soul Shrieker’s body, like an invisible fluctuation that quickly spread all over the sky.
「 『 Carriers of [Order] who came from distant worlds! You pitiful fools should never assume yourself to be so arrogant, as you are merely conduits for the souls 」』
『 「 And souls, are mine to consume 』」
At the next blink of an eye——-
A mixed male and female voice resounded in a chant-like shriek: 「 『 SOULS! OFFERING UP YOUR SOULS TO ME, AAEEEE———————————- 」』
The dreadful shriek echoed throughout this world.
At another location.
Gu Qing Shan, Zhang Ying Hao, Ye Fei Li, and Ye Ru Xi stood at the bottom of the ocean.
All the seawater in a radius of several kilometers had been pushed away from them.
No oceanic monster could ever reach this place.
Zhang Ying Hao looked at this miraculous scene and couldn’t help but ask: “Hey, can you perform this feat as long as you wield that sword?”
“No” Gu Qing Shan replied, “I need to spend power of the soul for it”
Ye Ru Xi stated: “This is a very unique sword. Gu Qing Shan, I need you to use the power of this sword to undo my seal for me to retrieve my power”
“Is it that thing?” Ye Fei Li asked.
“Yes” Ye Ru Xi replied.
Immediately in front of them, a spherical bronze object silently laid motionlessly on the seabed.
This bronze sphere wasn’t particularly special, it only had a single small slot that seemed to fit some sort of key.
Observing this bronze sphere, Gu Qing Shan felt a bit strange.
Bronze…
The giant corpse was also imprisoned on top of a bronze pillar.
Would there be any link between them?
Gu Qing Shan walked forward and placed his hand on top of the sphere.
Lines of glowing text quickly appeared on the War God UI:
[Dreamscape Soul Artifact: Seal of the Ocean]
[This is a Dreamscape Soul Artifact created for the sake of sealing power, it is able to suppress the dreamscape shuttling power to a terrific degree]
Gu Qing Shan immediately asked: “What’s a Dreamscape Soul Artifact?”
His Soul Points value on the War God UI was silently deducted by 200.
The War God UI answered: [The most powerful Soul Artifact within any Reality Gate is a Dreamscape Soul Artifact]
[Firstly, this type of Soul Artifact is the long-cherished goal of all beings, any mortal who wishes to obtain such a thing would only be able to do so in their dreams]
[Secondly, this type of Soul Artifact is used to suppress or release the ability to use the dreamscape shuttling power of an individual. This power is actually the most powerful available within any Reality Gate]
Gu Qing Shan gasped.
Who would’ve thought that I would run into such a thing at this place?
After thinking, Gu Qing Shan asked: “How should I help Ye Ru Xi release her power? And what is the dreamscape shuttling power?”
The War God UI replied: [Each Dreamscape Soul Artifact has its own unique target, so the answer to this can only be found out through knowing the identity of the sealed individual]
Another 200 Soul Points was directly deducted.
“So even you have to see through her identity in order to see the truth?” Gu Qing Shan purposefully asked.
[Naturally, I am the War God UI, not an omnipotent encyclopedia] the War God UI replied.
This time, it deducted 400 Soul Points.
Gu Qing Shan didn’t mind it too much and stood up to look at Ye Ru Xi.
“What should I do now?” he asked.
Ye Ru Xi looked at the Chao Yin sword in his hand and explained: “This sword of yours is… let’s just say that it can suppress the oceans of infinite worlds, but also unleash that vast power”
“So you will need to thrust this sword into this seal, then communicate with the sword through your will to make it help you undo the power of the seal.
Gu Qing Shan nodded and sent his voice to the Chao Yin sword: “Are there any issues?”
The Chao Yin sword casually vibrated as an answer.
Gu Qing Shan relaxed a bit, then thrust the Chao Yin sword into the bronze sphere.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three breaths.
The Chao Yin sword emanated a deep blue glow.
The bronze sphere suddenly broke apart, turning into various components, and shot towards Ye Ru Xi.
A black eye patch covered her left eye.
A yellowish-green metal mask covered her mouth.
A thin length of bronze chain restrained her right arm.
Both of her feet had been wrapped in heavy shackles.
“Xiiii—– hoh—-”
Ye Ru Xi took a deep and sharp inward breath.
“What happened? Aren’t we undoing the seal? Why did she become restrained instead?” Zhang Ying Hao doubtfully asked.
“It’s nothing, the seal had indeed been released, 10% of my power is now free” Ye Ru Xi’s voice resounded from behind her mask.
She displayed the things all over her body for everyone to see and explained:
“My eye can contact the Awaitings, my mouth can call upon them, my right arm can be reinforced with their techniques, my feet can arrange their formations of great power, so they should indeed be restrained like this”
Gu Qing Shan asked: “What are the Awaitings?”
Ye Ru Xi replied: “I’m not really sure, just that I’ve been able to sense them since I was young. I’ve always felt like they were waiting for something, so I refer to them as the Awaitings”
Gu Qing Shan carefully pondered this term, feeling like it carried a deeper hidden meaning.
He recalled the bronze finger he saw in Ye Ru Xi’s dreamscape.
At that time, there was a voice——-
「 The age of Apocalypse has yet to end, it is not time for me to awaken, who is calling for me? 」
Before Gu Qing Shan could think any further, what came next cut off his train of thought.
Ye Ru Xi undid her mask and muttered: “I have to leave this world as soon as possible, otherwise, once my power is released, this world would definitely be destroyed”
She began chanting an incantation:
“The mourning bell of the Apocalypse resound outside the Reality Gate”
“Entities hiding in the shadow, cautiously awaiting”
“Heed my words”
“The Era of all endings has yet to pass”
“But I”
“The herald of your dawn now requires a path leading towards the ultimate secret”
The incantation was finished.
Instantly, the entire world disappeared from the four’s visions.
Complete darkness.
A stairway made completely of grey fog silently manifested and appeared beneath their feet.
The stairway of grey fog was connected to the darkness of the void, reaching endlessly far outside of one’s vision.
“Alright, let’s go” Ye Ru Xi said.
Zhang Ying Hao and Ye Fei Li followed her onto the grey fog.
Gu Qing Shan followed behind the three of them, but his gaze was focused on the void of space in front of himself.
Lines of new glowing text appeared on the War God UI:
[The other party’s identity has been confirmed]
[Ye Ru Xi, Harbinger of Apocalypse’ End]