Chương 1016

Ember appears in the memories of the past again, this time, bonded to a Demon with a stature I recognize. It is the same one that showed up in the Demonic Legacy memories. The one who found the Creator's Legacy tomb, and built his own rendition for an entire race from scratch. It is the Demon that, ever since we arrived in the Green Zone of the Upper Realm, Ember has been hiding his presence from. The Demon Marcellus continues referring to as the Overseer.

Glitching images of this Demon's silhouette staring down at the source beside Marcellus pour into my mind. Many are of him waving his hands and talking down to him like he is a teacher. I can make out some of their words, as he describes a hierarchy of demons, and a way to steal all of the energy from this system and make it their own. Even now, as I try to look at this Demon's face, it is covered in silver glyphs and empty space, making even my subconscious mind avoid it inside the memories.

I have to use a large amount of concentration just to make out his words. Even these threaten to slip away from me. A plan to infiltrate what they refer to as the Originators Domain, now known as the Upper Realm, is laid out before my eyes. The formation of the 5 Great Families, and the long, drawn-out wait to weaken the generations of many mana races to come while slowly siphoning energy from the galaxy makes more and more sense the longer I listen.

"And when we have succeeded, promoting me to the newest Supreme, you may claim this paradise all for yourself. This is how it will be done." The Overseer waves his hand, and everything within Marcellus' vision blurs. The source disappears, and they both reappear on the far side of the galaxy. It is like space warped and bent, connecting the two places and spitting them out on the other side. A dark black, planet-sized sphere with glyphs engraved all over it now floats below them in the void of space.

My memories of the past begin to glitch and stop progressing again. The split vision of the battlefield fades, and I can go back to blocking and countering Marcellus again. However, in the back of my mind, the flickering level-up notifications remain. On and off, new boosts of power flow into me as the system continues to try and register a kill but fails to fully assimilate it. I dive right back in even though there is a dark black and purple gash on my side that is not yet healed.

I only expose my other side while diving in to land another wave of fire. Maria dives in on the opposite side, and puts herself at a large risk too; but the flashing artifact is becoming so bright, that every flash begins sending a shockwave of hot, refined ether through the air. It's even more refined than the ether in my own glyphs, like it has reached the peak of what High Quality ether can become. I feel a slight static charge run through my Primordial aura when it reacts to these strange pulses.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. The knowledge I just gained from an assortment of memories is pinged into Maria's mind, and we digest them together while landing a massive X-shaped blue and red slash on the Demon's chest and back. It obliterates a large chunk of its Demonic Essence, exploding into fire and ice. For a moment, even the chaotic aura in the air is vaporized. I can see the core peeking out of its chest.

It's the closest we've got, but we don't have enough power or time to break through before getting hit by his close-range counter. Maria is hit point-blank, but she has layers of mirror-like ice ready. She is at full strength and can handle the blow. Massive fragments of source resin and pure blue icy Advanced Primordial aura explode as she's blown backward. Tens of millions more pseudo soul energy cores are summoned in order to grow back more layers of ice armor and disperse the blast.

All of the glyphs and infused high-quality ether deep inside this essence are devoured by sparkling particles of resin, while raw purple matter is ejected into the air. My own Primordial aura latches onto it, and it is funneled into my corruption. However, my active mind is more focused on my only uninjured side getting hit by another attack. It tears through every layer of crimson defenses with even more ease. I got up even closer this time to try and land a killing blow, but it's backfired.

The Demon used up almost half of its remaining Demonic Essence to shield its core and throw a counter. It was either desperate to stop me, or so confident that its artifact will finish the seal before I can attack again, that it's lost all care for its energy usage. From what I can feel, I think it is a little of both. It makes the impact with this clash multiple times stronger than the last.

As the flickering mass of dark Demonic Essence crashes against the outside of my soul again and again, my consciousness vibrates like a bell, and the visions of memories pour back into my mind. The timeline in these new memories is scattered. Some show Marcellus traveling in the Lower Realm and plotting to take over as many origin worlds as he can while still using the high-quality ether highways to get around.

Others are far closer to the present day, some of which I've already seen from the First Bloods' and Outer Guards' point of view. There are visions of the creation of the strange clouded array that protects the Demonic Realm from discovery, and the planting and creation of the thrones. Even the Imperial Army of mindless drones and leftover Outer Guards, I watch them being placed all throughout the dying areas of space in the galaxy as the ether is siphoned upward and out of the Lower Realm.

Yet, these memories become covered in glitches, and even more hard to fit together. The final one I see is a very strange scene. I can't tell where on the timeline it is, but I think it's happening here in the Purple Zone. Through Marcellus' old eyes, I see him follow a soul tie upward through the center of this Primordial Tree stump. It gives off the same sensation as moving upward to a new zone, but at the same time the outside of his body becomes covered in a silver and Advanced Primordial Aura veil.

Wherever he's gone, it's impossible to see or feel anything. There are only vague black and white shadows, and all of the movement around is blurred. I can only see two silhouettes fighting in the air, and for a frame of time, the memories glitch and trigger a moment of perfect clarity. I can see a silver-cored demon covered in the original Demonic Legacy glyphs, and he is fighting against a crimson-eyed dragon that sprays hot white flames down on him.

Yet, the Dragon's fire does not attack this demon's cores, or glyphs, or even Advanced Primordial Aura. It burns the invisible bond connecting their souls. The memories glitch again, and all I can see are shadows and blurred silhouettes through Marcellus' memories. There is an enormous blast of energy, and this Purple-Cored demon is thrust out of the space by an unknown force. I can feel confusion, fear, and anger pouring from Marcellus, and realize this is long ago, before he ever met Ember for himself.

Yet, one thing does not add up. If those flames succeeded in what they were meant to do, there should not be an Overseer any longer...