Chapter 16.2 (1/2)

Chapter 16: The World Faraway (Part 2)

A/N - *Teresa = Thalia

[West of Aslan Empire – Extreme North – Congealed Stench Cave]

The storm stops gradually.

The b.a.l.l.s of ice that had been turbulent and violent before has disappeared. The harsh air current has stopped, leaving behind a soft breeze coupled with goose feather-like snowflakes. They float lazily in the air, making the vast heavens and earth seem shrouded in quiet tenderness.

An empty field of white stretches before their eyes. Snow collects heavily on the ground, making it look like a soft layer of clouds. At the end of their vision are black cliffs that rise from the grounds, meandering forth, coming together to form a vast black canyon. At the end of the canyon is a dense black cave.

This is the birth place of each generation of corroders – the Congealed Stench Cave.

Just thinking about the horrifying scenes in the depths of this cave makes Teresa sick to her stomach.

Nether and her perch on the snow-covered ground silently. They have been waiting at the same spot for a long time. The snow gathering on their shoulders makes them seem like they haven’t moved in a while.

“Out?” Nether raises a thin but strong finger to lightly dust away the frost that has crystalised on his brows.

“Not yet. I have not sensed any traces of soul powers at the moment.” Teresa closes her eyes. When she opens them again, the turbulent white storm has disappeared from her pupils and her eyes are clear again under her thick lashes.

“In a blink of an eye, it’s been so many years……when we first struggled out from there back then, we were still children, no? Were you even ten then?” Nether asks Teresa with a low voice. He seems to be reminiscing.

“I don’t really remember.” It is obvious that Teresa is distracted. Nether turns and looks at the unsettled Teresa before saying, “You’re still contemplating?”

“Yes……” Teresa pushes away the few strands of hair that was blown into her face by the wind. She too, turns to look at the young but wild and unyielding face of Nether’s, “Don’t you think that this generation of corroders was born way too quickly? How long has it been since we became n.o.ble lords? A year? Half? How is it possible to have a new generation of corroders ‘born’ in such a short time? Remember, between us and the previous generation of corroders, there was a gap of more than a decade. We just completed the ma.s.sacre of the previous generation’s n.o.ble lords, eliminated the two weakest ones, and renewed the Aslan n.o.ble lord’s soul bending abilities; it’s only been a mere year, unless the new corroders are about to begin the next round of ‘elimination’ so soon? I find that hard to believe……”

“Perhaps there wasn’t such a long gap. Maybe there were other corroders that existed between the previous generation and us, and even the two newest corroders we are awaiting may not be out next generation. There might have been even more generations of corroders between us existing……” Nether’s gaze resembles two pitch-black abyss and no one knows what he is thinking.

“What do you mean?” Teresa asks.

“Do you think Gilgamesh is a corroder?” Nether suddenly questions.

“……” Teresa says silent. After a moment, she replies, “If you put it that way, I am slightly aware now.”

“Although neither of us has met Gilgamesh in person, but from the words of the Silver Priests before, we can infer that his soul’s return circuit and the level of his soul powers are not something that Qi La can compare to. There are only two methods to the birth of a n.o.ble lord – one is inherited by the disciple, the other is corroding and replacing. And so, from this, we can conclude that Gilgamesh must belong to the latter, which means he must be a corroder. It’s just that we do not know if he was birthed before us or after us……”

“Why did the Silver Priests suddenly increase the speed of production of corroders?” Teresa’s face pales slowly. Scattered pieces flash through her mind but she is unable to piece together a complete picture. Faintly, she senses a grand and terrifying secret awakening in the darkness, about to break through the surface at any given moment and engulf the entire land and sky. However, she is unable to grasp the main thread and can only turn and look at Nether palely.