Duality of Shadows-Chapter 957: Chaotic Virtues (3)

Ciceya was confused by his words, but upon seeing the absolute confidence in his eyes, she took a deep breath. This figure was who the Heaven’s Will had predicted would arrive, and she already knew about the chaos and destruction he had caused on the Alpenglow planet. She had to trust and see with her own eyes.

"First, gather everyone here," Bruno spoke quickly, and she nodded in agreement.

The two left the simple house, and Ciceya immediately issued a summon. Soon, thousands of people gathered at the center of the small dark town.

Venjio, however, wasn’t there; he stayed in a region beyond the limits of the place, monitoring and protecting the people. If a larger number of invaders appeared, he wouldn’t be able to stop their passage alone, and the townspeople would have to fight.

Ciceya spoke beside him: "They’re all here."

"Where’s your statue? Aren’t you a goddess?" Bruno asked, curious.

"I had to sacrifice it last time, to summon all my accumulated power. It was an emergency measure that saved us," she replied calmly, and Bruno nodded, satisfied. They had finally found an experienced practitioner of the power of faith. She knew how to do many things he hadn’t even imagined, and now he would be able to learn a lot.

The whale turned to the people and spoke serenely:

"I’ll take you to my universe, a completely safe place… as long as I’m alive, of course. In that place, I’m worshipped, but you’ll be allowed to continue your faith in her. I don’t need to be the only God, nor will I be the only one protecting you. By the way, my wife, technically, is also worshipped in a different way. So, you can spread your faith, and if you want, you can join mine too. Don’t feel pressured, and my followers won’t cause any trouble."

Ciceya heard that and grew tense. Take them to his universe? There was no universe completely safe from the Queen. If a problem arose and they were all in one universe, they would have to be sacrificed for the missionary to escape and have a chance in the future. Taking them out of that place seemed like using them as a shield for future problems.

The whale continued seriously, looking at everyone. "But, unfortunately, you’re only souls now. I’ll seal you and can reincarnate you. Don’t worry, you’ll keep the memories of this last life. If you prefer, I can create elemental bodies, turning you into Heavenly Elemental Spirits. What do you want?"

They were silent for a few seconds, then their gazes turned to the Goddess of the Void, whom they trusted.

She spoke calmly: "His words are trustworthy. If he says he can reincarnate you with memories, then he can. Decide for yourselves. I failed to protect you, and now you’re only souls; I have no right to decide for you."

Everyone became serious for a few seconds, until a figure spoke: "I... I’d like to be able to fight and cultivate."

The one who spoke was a young man who appeared to be fifteen but had already lost his body in battle. He had frustrated eyes, and several others nodded, agreeing.

Alm and Bruno understood. Everyone who had survived was someone who had fought and gone through a tough selection. They had lost their bodies, unable to fight or truly help because they couldn’t cultivate.

They must have felt like a great burden to the Goddess who protected them. The weak, who wanted to be cared for, had already left; everyone there valued the person who protected them and had the spirit of warriors ready to fight alongside her. They knew the reason for all of this, and the bigger enemy they had to defeat.

"Don’t worry, you’ll be able to rise and fight alongside her. If you really want that, I advise you to choose reincarnation, as it would take longer for you to adapt to an elemental body," the whale replied calmly.

Everyone nodded, looking at him with bright eyes. No one wanted to become a Heavenly Elemental Spirit, so Alm and Bruno didn’t waste time and made a move. All those souls felt a force surround them, and then they lost consciousness.

They were all marked in the reincarnation system of the inner universe. They had full control over this and could easily restore everyone’s memories. However, this wouldn’t happen immediately after birth, as it wouldn’t make sense for them to lose their childhood while keeping the mind of an adult; if they couldn’t cultivate, it was better to enjoy it.

Although there were some advantages to having an adult mind, they weren’t significant. To reach the immortal realms, they would need to live new experiences. Perhaps being born without memories until adulthood, building a new family and relationships, would help them in this process. As they matured, their memories would gradually return, as promised.

After death, souls didn’t stay in the universe; they were marked by their cycle and were taken by the celestial laws. Then they went through everything others had to go through, and when it was time to reincarnate, the marking on them would force them to be born within the inner universe; if there was space, of course.

In the inner universe, there were many people who lived and died normally. Even without new souls, people were always being born again. However, there was a limit: if there were no souls available to be born, women would become pregnant, but the babies would be born dead; they didn’t allow the entry of unmarked souls. To avoid this, they needed to bring more and more people; this way, there would be a large flow of souls waiting to reincarnate.

Ciceya watched everything as a spatial rune opened, swallowing all the souls that disappeared after. Since it was their first time, Alm and Bruno didn’t let them be taken by the celestial laws after being marked; this was how they cut in line and would reincarnate faster in place. Confused, she turned to Alm and Bruno, but they didn’t waste time explaining. They simply said:

"Take us to Venjio. Then, we’ll open the doors for the invaders."

They moved quickly to the limits of that dark world. Upon reaching a barrier, Ciceya waved, and a hole opened to another region. That place had been three times larger, but with the loss of power, she had to seal the parts that were exposed to the invaders.

On the other side, the horizon seemed broken, and the space was distorted, filled with spatial blades. Just one of those blades was enough to destroy a mortal soul like the ones of these people.

They could only fight by burning the power they had absorbed to attack, but defensively, they were like regular mortals.

*BOOM!*

Suddenly, a violent explosion sent the spatial blades flying in all directions. Ahead, a wave of reddish winds rose like a pillar.

Alm and Bruno watched closely. It seemed to be soul power, but it gave off a strange feeling at first.

"That’s the power the invaders have," Ciceya said. "I studied this a lot. The Immortal Chaos Fragment that is born in the world of the dead is constantly absorbed by all souls. It brings out the worst in them. Since these souls are evil and malicious, this turns into destructive power. They named it the Law of Annihilation."

Alm and Bruno reflected seriously. The optional mission had already been accepted, requiring them to understand the ’Chaotic Virtues,’ which, by coincidence, was also the name of the last stage of physical cultivation the creator conceived.

They already knew, from the brief description of this level, that it was connected to the Immortal Chaos Fragment. Now, hearing what Ciceya discovered, things began to make more sense.

’A person who lives many experiences and learns from their mistakes through karma, after death, shouldn’t become a simple idiot chasing power. If everyone absorbs this... does it mean that those who lived long enough in the world of the dead absorb the Immortal Chaos Fragment and it nourishes them? So, is this how they eventually break through to even the immortal realms upon reincarnating... this seems to make sense…’ Bruno reflected mentally.

Alm nodded: ’That seems correct. So this is the secret. Lives are just learning. It’s in the world of the dead that those who truly learned cultivate... if you can even call it that. The good absorb this power, not to become violent fools. When they do this enough, upon rebirth and cultivation, they reach immortality. After that, in the immortal realms, they must get more of the Immortal Chaos Fragment to keep elevating themselves.’

The two sighed, as their minds reflected in sync, silently. Even after living enough to reach the immortal realms, that didn’t mean they had become saints. In fact, from what they knew, immortals were still people and often clashed, seeking more of the Immortal Chaos Fragment.

Everything pointed to reaching the immortal realms, after all this process, being just a new step. Living lives and learning from it was the first step. Becoming an immortal was a new test. In the end... what would the final destiny be? Reaching where the Queen had reached didn’t seem right.

The heavenly laws were enigmatic, and everything seemed to have a hidden reason. But they were slowly understanding the deep secrets.

"Let’s go..." the whale said, moving calmly.

Soon after, they spotted a figure in spiritual form, but its whole body was scarlet, not ethereal and translucent like a soul should be.

"Venjio."

The whale spoke dryly, and at that moment the figure turned to them. Their eyes met, revealing a certain madness flowing in the young man’s gaze.

Alm and Bruno analyzed him coldly. He and Kaiyka had sacrificed their bodies to become fragments and escape to the underworld with Ciceya’s help. Kaiyka had intended to use the rebirth miracle on both of them, ensuring everything would be fine. It was supposed to be the Goddess of the Void who would take them to the underworld.

Venjio had been the first in that event of law domination. The law he mastered had perfectly merged with him, becoming an internal rune. Since it was so close to Ciceya’s Dao, she could easily bring him using it within him; before he destroyed his body.

Bringing only Venjio was simple. Bringing Kaiyka, however, would be more troublesome, and the goddess intended to burn all the power she had accumulated in the spear of the void, in the Queen’s universe. But that ended up not being necessary.

As for Venjio, he simply awakened as a wounded fragment in that dark place, without his beloved, learning from the goddess that the worst had happened. His pain and the feeling of uselessness for not having been able to help her consumed him.

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He then fought and fought tirelessly, completely dominated by the will to obtain power at any cost. But he wasn’t crazy. Like the whale’s other allies, Venjio knew he would come and help them eventually. He also believed Kaiyka was a strong woman and would find a way to survive on her own. There were no damsels in distress, or weak people by the whale’s side.

However, the feeling of being useless and unable to protect his beloved was overwhelming.

Alm and Bruno clearly noticed the feelings and chaotic madness flowing from Venjio. In fact, they even felt a bitterness, as if experiencing exactly what he was going through. The aura and power emanating from his soul were a pure reflection of what was inside him.

’It’s like... like all his feelings are burning and being amplified to the maximum by this. Is this what happens to people in the world of the dead?’ Bruno murmured, thoughtful.

Alm sighed: ’Chaotic Virtues... that seems to be the meaning. In that place, using the Immortal Chaos Fragment on souls, everything the soul feels and thinks flows uncontrollably and amplifies.’

’Yes, he’s no longer feeling anger and frustration... he has become the anger and frustration. It multiplied and became part of him,’ Bruno completed, seriously.

All this occurred in a few seconds. After better understanding the situation, the whale’s eyes glowed. He had already possessed a celestial soul for some time and had been learning to use it better each day.

With a gesture, Venjio felt something invade his soul, and suddenly, light returned to his eyes.