Chapter 562: Back Again (2/2)
”I guess that I can't call that bast-, I mean little buddy, Leech any longer. How about Spare? If he's going to turn into spare organs for me in the future,” Ogras grinned, still lying sprawled on the ground.
Zac wryly smiled, but there was still worry in his heart. Ogras seemed to want to pretend it was all under his control, but he had definitely cut it close just now. His pale was completely pallid, and his hand shook noticeably. And who knew what the future ramifications would be for something like this? Getting possessed and having your body turned into a vessel wasn't unheard of in the multiverse.
”Well, I'm glad you can laugh about this,” Zac snorted as he glanced at the destruction around them.
It looked like Ogras had cheated death this time once more, but the others weren't so lucky. The two unscathed Anointed had just returned with the body of the one who was flung away, and he really had perished from the Dominator's strike. With Void's Disciple having escaped there was probably no chance of saving the ones trapped in the scroll either, if that was even possible in the first case.
It was a poignant reminder of how cheap life was in the multiverse.
”This was such a shitshow,” Zac muttered with a shake of his head.
It looked like the universe agreed as a massive explosion erupted far in the distance, in the direction of Site 16.
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The displacement had caused more damage to Void Disciple’s already harried constitution, and waves of all-consuming pain buffeted him until he finally couldn't take it any longer. The only way for him to withstand the chaotic storm in his mind had been to unleash his might once more, destroying parts of the town around him.
Sweat trailed down his face as he started running, unhesitantly abandoning his original goal. It was regrettable, but he had already found most of what he needed. The enormous surplus of foul Karma gathered from the Zhix Wars would hopefully be able to substitute what was missing. The notion made him start, and he quickly shook his head to refocus his straying thoughts.
He wasn’t in the Mystic Realm right now, he couldn’t let his minds wander so freely out here.
Fragment of the Vacuum helped remove the space in front of him, and he pushed himself as quickly as possible to get out of the range of whatever was preventing his [Cosmic Gate] from activating.
Void Disciple’s mind was filled with reproach as the surroundings flashed past him. To think that a moment of anger could cause such devastating results. He knew that he should have just left, what could those people have done to prevent it? But seeing the face of his son’s murderer had made him lose control. How could he face Harbinger in the afterlife if he didn’t exact at least a punishment that was within the bounds of his Master’s acceptance?
But the newly integrated sapling had grown into a towering tree, and Void's Disciple knew that he had barely gotten out of the situation alive.
At least he had managed to get back at that wretched demon for using [Skybreaker] right in front of him. There had been no energy forthcoming from his strike, but he should at least be crippled from the punch full of spatial tears. Void's Disciple kept moving for another hour until he finally sensed that the hidden dimensions were tranquil once more, and he arduously opened a gate toward the nearest hive.
However, he barely had time to walk through the portal before the pain erupted once more, and Void Disciple helplessly fell over as he desperately clutched his head. The cost of subverting fate wasn’t an insignificant one, at least not with the treasure that his Master had provided. The timeline struggled to repair itself, and the wound spreading from his shoulder all the way to the hipbone on the opposite side deepened once more.
Having insight into a corner of space had driven home just how terrifying that final strike of Zachary Atwood was. It combined two opposing Daos to create an endlessly deep rift in space, and not even he would have survived normally. But it was also a testament to the greatness of space, the great delimiter.
The soul-shaking pain continued for a few more minutes until the bleeding finally stopped. The wounds managed to close a bit thanks to him having over 2000 Vitality running at a tremendous efficiency, but he knew that it would keep getting worse almost no matter how high the attribute was. The threads of karma surrounding the human progenitor were too strong, and subverting his deeds was far more difficult than normal.
Transferring all of it to the [Karmic Subversion Effigy] was impossible, and the effect would slowly weaken over time, the damage seeping back to him.
He popped a pill into his mouth as he got back on his feet, arduously opening a portal again. He needed to get back into the Mystic Ream, to enter the healing vats they had commandeered. He had been loath to use unknown technology thus far, especially since it required the assistance of those scheming natives, but now he didn’t have too much of a choice. He would really end up bisected if he didn’t increase his rate of healing.
Of course, the physical wound was just the most immediate concern.
The [Karmic Subversion Effigy] was a taboo item, and using something like that would have consequences even when not used against someone so loved by karma as the Super Brother-Man. It was one of his master’s more successful experiments into harvesting Karma on a large scale, but it was ultimately a flawed item.
His Master hadn’t mentioned anything of the sort in the scriptures he left behind, but Void’s Disciple had managed to make a few discoveries over the past centuries. Using it would allow you to live when you should have died, but that life would eventually become a curse. He could already feel the darkness spread in the depths of his mind, and he still hadn't figured out a method to counteract it.
Not yet.
He couldn’t stop now. He had a goal to accomplish, and his daughter needed him to be strong for a while longer. The loss of his necklace was a shame, but the [Scroll of the Depths] would be able to be activated again as soon as it had absorbed enough energy from the stars. It should be finished well before the doors of the Mystic Realms closed.
Void's Disciple finally reached the hive, and he wordlessly activated the Teleportation Array before disappearing, his brooding aura quenching any questions from his followers. He appeared in a snow-blasted valley a minute later, the spatial tunnel just a few kilometers away. He entered the Mystic Realm after handing over the scroll to his trusted attendant, and he felt the sense of freedom once more as the darkness transferred him to a shielded subspace. Not even a brush with death and getting cursed could dampen the spirit of liberty after centuries of bondage.
Here he was Adcarkas once more.