Against The True Gods-Chapter 176: Visions of Horror(III)—Inverted Lands of Oom

Tears of blood began to stream down the mask's face as it laughed and cried out loud, its distorted wails echoing like the chorus of a fractured mind. Caine watched it all unfold, silently. The more he calmed himself, the more his mind cooled, and the clearer the creature's true form became.

It wasn't just a mask.

It was a gigantic mass of putrid grey flesh, covered in countless masks, faces, and limbs.

Most of the faces were those of children, either crying or laughing, frozen in grotesque expressions of eternal torment. Atop the creature, a young man could be seen, his presence eerily out of place amidst the chaos.

The young man wore airy and light white robes that draped over his slender and frail frame. His long white hair cascaded over his shoulders, while his eyes burned with a mesmerizing scarlet light. Thirteen pairs of white feathery wings stretched from his back, each covered in golden, unblinking eyes.

Above his head, a single halo spun, a ring of circulating blood, glistening under an unseen light.

Looking down at Caine, the young man grinned, his gaze piercing through the illusion of the creature's form, locking onto Caine himself. Their gazes met, and in that instant, Caine understood. When he had met Laplace, behind him had been a strange spherical creature, not too different from the one before him now. This could only mean one thing.

This young man was an angel. Or something close to it.

'A Fallen.'

The words came to him like natural enlightenment, as though they were a fundamental truth whispering itself into his soul.

"Would you look at that?" The young man smiled. His voice was soothing, enchanting, reminiscent of Uriel's, yet it held a weight and force that far surpassed anything the latter had ever displayed. It was the voice of something truly divine, yet wholly defiled.

"A mortal able to withstand the light of Divinity? How novel." His grin widened, sharp and unsettling. "You also… smell like him." He chuckled, but there was something insidious beneath the amusement.

Suddenly, the young man's grin twisted into something demonic. His cheeks split apart, tearing into gory ribbons as his mouth widened into an unnatural, bloodied smile.

His chest split open, revealing an endless world of carnage—a realm of screaming, writhing beasts, so horrific that Caine was forced to immediately shut off his senses for fear of losing them forever.

The young man's wings grew mouths, and from them, they began to vomit mouthfuls of heads. Countless tiny, crying and laughing heads, each rotten, accompanied by waves of white blood.

The scene was delirious—maddening.

The young man reached out, attempting to grab Caine, but in an instant, the world faded to nothingness.

***

Caine returned to the abyss, trembling, the sweat on his body endlessly accumulating.

His heart was steady, unmoved, and yet his body refused to stop trembling. He exhaled a breath, trying to calm himself. '…Was that a demon?'

He barely had time to process what had just occurred before he noticed the abyss had changed once more, this time in an instant.

The ground beneath his feet was covered in luminescent green grass, swaying softly beneath the pull of gentle winds that traversed the endless plains. The skies were a light shade of blue, grey clouds drifting lazily, as a soft drizzle fell from above.

The landscape was one of rolling hills, rising and falling endlessly, blanketed in emerald green. White petals floated through the air, carrying a lavender scent that seemed to soothe the soul itself. The world was a haven of peace, calm, and relaxation.

It was beautiful.

Caine looked around, scanning the serene environment, but found nothing out of the ordinary. With no immediate signs of significance, he began to walk across the land.

In his path, he encountered lakes of glowing emerald waters, zones where gravity seemed inverted, and fields brimming with qi types he had never encountered before.

Graves, statues, ancient remains, ruins—the world was full of mysteries.

As he wandered, he noticed something peculiar.

There was a strange resonance between this place and his Dao Heart. His Dao Heart had always been a tool of focus, an anchor that could plunge him into deep states of enlightenment, sharpening his perception and comprehension beyond his usual limits.

And yet, this place seemed to have the same effect on him, as if it were designed to nurture thought, to breed understanding. The serenity it exuded wrapped around him like a gentle embrace, and he gladly sank into its calming depths.

After a while, Caine stumbled upon a stone tablet, weathered and standing tall amidst a small clearing. The moment his gaze landed upon it, the tablet pulsed with a faint light, and a voice began to echo.

[I have been following the footsteps of the so-called True Professor for quite some time now. All trails lead to this place.]

The voice was sultry, enchanting, dripping with unrestrained charm, yet laced with an undercurrent of curiosity and unease.

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[They call this place the Inverted Lands of Oom.]

[To get here, I had to traverse the Astral Plane, reaching a place called the Sea of Forgotten Heirs. From there, a portal to the Abyss was given to me.]

[I had to kill quite a few of their sovereigns and negotiate with their demigods, but in the end, they allowed me to continue.]

[It's strange—having to traverse so many unrelated locations just to… reach here. I expected a world of riches, of endless possibilities, but in the end, it's… much more and much less—all at once.]

[It's weird, very weird, but truly a place the Professor would obsess over.]

[I haven't found him, but I have found his notes.]

[These lands contain the secrets to… something. I just don't know what. But I can feel it.]

[Something great. Something beyond anything I've ever been part of.]

[If only I could rescue the Professor and… aid him, I feel like the stars would merely be a starting point. This may be a pivotal nexus to our path to [—-]

[On another note, I have also found traces of the Alchemy Haven here. Quite strange.]

[But I digress.]

[To any who may find this recording in the future, don't hesitate to reach out to me or the Professor. Numbers make strength.]

[Signing out.]

The recording ended.

Seconds passed. Caine remained in front of the stone tablet, his hands clasped behind his back, his mind spinning. He was confused.

Relatively interested. But mostly—shocked.

'The Alchemy Haven extended beyond the Five Skies…?'

This complicated things. This complicated things far more than he had ever imagined.