Chapter 119 (1/2)
Luthor had no idea what he was witnessing. Was this something a human could take? Bolt after bolt of black lightning rained from the sky, striking a bloody figure as it climbed up the side of a massive hole in the ground. The figure was shrieking in pain but also in retaliation towards the lightning bolts. Blood covered the figure, and black lightning danced along the surface of its body, emitting flashes of darkness. It was impossible to know what the figure had looked like; every surface was covered by blood as if all of his or her skin had been melted off. Where the person’s eyes should’ve been, there were melted chunks of solidifying goop, and Luthor was surprised the person could even scream with how damaged their throat was.
“Do you see, Mr. President?” the head of homeland security asked with a pale face. “This is why it’s so difficult for our officers to become false immortals. Ascending is an act going against the heavens. Only the mightiest can even hope to withstand the tribulation that follows.”
Luthor gulped. The destructive aura coming off the lightning was sending shivers down his spine. If even a single spark were to touch him, he knew he’d turn to ashes upon contact. However, he had still braved the risk and came down to witness the tribulation. If the federation wanted to recruit this unknown master, they had to show their sincerity. If the president refused to show up, wouldn’t that be an insult to the false immortal’s status? The federation was asking for something that would preserve its life; no one was too important to have the false immortal come to them instead of the other way around.
A sigh escaped from the head of homeland security’s mouth. Looking at the tribulation-taker’s state made him feel helpless. It was obvious the person couldn’t last much longer. Once he or she failed, the federation’s hopes and wishes would turn to dust. It wouldn’t be inappropriate to say the fate of hundreds of billions of lives rested on this person succeeding, and right now, the head of homeland security could see those lives slipping away like grains of sand through his fingers. “It’s a shame there’s no way to help someone when they’re undergoing a tribulation.”
“We can pray,” Luthor said.
The head of homeland security nodded. He supposed that was the only thing that could help the person survive, but would a god really listen to their prayers?
***
Pravos’ brow furrowed. How long had it been since she was last in a dilemma? She couldn’t let Rachel die; if Rachel died, Vremya’s avatar wouldn’t have someone to hold up the sky for him. The empire and coalition would invade, and there was no way Grandpa Vremya could survive against two false immortals. It wouldn’t be possible to trick them into undergoing their tribulation of the mind like he did to Maximillius. If Grandpa Vremya perished, then Karta, Vremya, and Pravos would be stuck in the black hole for even longer. However, if Rachel passed the tribulation because of Pravos’ interference, would Pravos be able to live herself?
Rachel was inherently an evil person. Her personality was twisted, and her mind worked in demonic ways. The karma coming from her tribulation was enough to prove Pravos’ judgment of the ex-sect leader. If she was supposed to die naturally on her way to becoming a false immortal, saving her would be similar to unleashing a great evil in the lower dimension. An evil person survived despite being in a sure-death situation, where was the justice in a situation like that? It was absent, that was where. Pravos bit her lower lip. However, if justice chose not to leave the black hole through all means necessary, wasn’t that the same as letting evil take over outside of the black hole?
“Hey, woman!” Karta said. “If you don’t save her, everything we’ve been doing will turn to crap! What are you waiting for?” After spending so much time accompanying Emily and the seventy-two remaining users on the Moon Lotus World, she was starting to get attached to them. Her users had never gotten this far before, which just went to show how strong the power of money was. If their hard work was ruined by Pravos’ indecision, Karta would feel the heartache too. What kind of god wanted bad things to happen to their users? Maybe the god of sadism, but that was it! “Well? Are you going to say anything?”
Pravos clutched her hair with both her hands. “I don’t know! Tribulations are the greatest form of justice! If someone isn’t meant to survive through one, then helping her is an act against justice. How can you ask me to do something that goes against myself!?”
“Alright, that settles it,” Karta said and leapt off the couch, trotting to the corner Pravos was sitting in. With a wave of her hip, Karta used her hindlegs and her butt to knock Pravos away. Then, the god of the marketplace and potato chips placed her paws on Pravos’ personal computer. “If you can’t do it, then I’ll do it.” She bared her teeth when Pravos sat up and made eye contact with the dog. “And don’t try to stop me because not stopping me is injustice or something, okay?”