Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1036 - 1035 - Broken

The heartily burning fire cast warmth into the ancient office. Older Twin was reviewing another report and frowned.

How had the Inheritance become a Ruin so quickly? It did not make sense. He was only a Divine Will but his mind was essentially an extension of his creator.

He was cut off inside but he had access to more knowledge normally. If he asked, he could get an update of the outside world but there was nothing there.

He knew his true self was alive but why couldn't he reach it?

The double doors burst inward suddenly as a tired sigh left his mouth.

"Who is that brat?! What is he?! He just extracted a Black Lotus!" Surprise bloomed on his face. True shock after so long was unexpected but Lind Frey had been one surprise after another.

"Where is my useless husband?!" The woman screaming in his office was tiresome but it was only because she refused to leave his brother alone. She was warned what it would be like to administer some of the core tests of the Inheritance but she had not listened.

In battle, Older Twin would bow to her superiority, but in administration and politics, he was far above her.

"My brother is doing what he can. We have become a Ruin it seems." Her tirade finally froze. Her confusion was understandable. Impatient as she was at that moment, she was a genius of her family.

"That makes no sense! What is going on?! We should have had several epochs left before it broke down." Her much calmer tirade was welcome but he picked up a sheaf of papers from his desk and handed it to her.

He brewed more tea as she read over it but her narrow face became scrunched up from what she was seeing.

"You confirmed he was telling the truth but even now you don't know what happened? Why weren't we told?" That confused him on both counts but the former he had an idea.

"We are not the creator of this Inheritance. We offered up Divine Wills to help but we are still just a part of the whole. It is possible my brother cannot come see us despite wanting to." He looked grim as he held his square jaw looking into the fire.

"What will happen to us?" A smile graced his face briefly. She really did not pay attention.

"If you are worried about your true self, I can only confirm we are cut off. Their life or death I do not know but they will not be harmed by our loss. Still, a Ruin can endure for epochs in the right environment." Both knew they were not in such a place.

The concise report he made from talking with Lind was horrifying.

"That damnable monster has grown into a Journeyman or a Master, hasn't he?" The power behind those 2 words would hurt Lind if was still there but neither of them were bothered.

"I suspect far worse. So little is known about the next step other than that it exists. If that thing is trying to get there, the realms are doomed." A shiver passed through her and he could not deny the shake of the jade green cup in his hands.

"What is that boy? How can a Crystal Tier ant even affect a grade 8 herb?" Older Twin could only shrug.

"He is a 6 elemental but compared to the handful we met, he is far more powerful. He also has somehow integrated all 18 elements into his cultivation. Something I thought impossible." A fierce hiss came from her.

"He is part Fiend?!" He pointed at the papers in her hands. She read further than froze. She read it again and crinkled the precious paper in her hands. It was not easy to do that to that particular paper but she had the power to do so.

"H–h–how is that possible?" A whisper escaped her but both jumped as a voice spoke from the doorway.

"His harmony is unique. No other has it nor have I ever encountered it in any record I studied." Both whirled to see Younger Twin in the doorway. He looked worse for wear too.

His usually glowing robes were dim and stained. What had happened to him?!

"My love!" She dropped the reports but the pages slowed and then floated back to his desk. The couple embraced but Older Twin frowned more at that. His Sister-in-Law was far more solid compared to his brother.

"It was not easy to get here. The Ruin is broken in fairly complicated ways. Plus, I had some intruders to deal with. They thought they were clever to use tokens from my former students. It did not go well for them," Older Twin narrowed his eyes at his brother.

"What did you do?" His dark tone brought her out Younger Twin's embrace as she also frowned. He patted her arm but took a seat heavily.

"Our situation was worse than I let on. The Ruin was about to move out and destroy the Celestial Fields we are in. It is far too weak to withstand us. Lind Frey is all that stands between the trillions of lives here and the automatic features currently working in the Ruin." Older Twin felt shock go through his body.

Those words even got through to his wife.

"The Inheritance was broken up?!" Gold eyes went wide in shock and understanding. Older Twin felt old just hearing it.

It was not unheard of for an Inheritance to be targeted not for capture but for destruction. It was for various reasons but a Divine Inheritance had only 3.

To deny a foe the chance to rise.

To deny a dangerous legacy to endure.

To enact revenge for old grievances.

A Ruin would always fall but causing particular damage can cause it to fall so far as to be ripped apart by the difference in Qi pressure.

Unlike an Inheritance that broke down naturally, the damage done was to intentionally destroy everything as it collapsed.

It was sheer luck they had stopped at the 2nd layer of the Celestial Fields. If they had gone to the Heaven Realm Lands, they would have ripped it apart as it collapsed!

"Does Lind Frey know?" His brother shook his head. Older Twin could only agree. Bad enough the Ruin would move to find an inheritor it detected, why add to the burden?

"How long can it last?" Her quiet question drew both men's eyes. It was a valid question as he turned to his younger brother.

"Not sure. The strange things afoot outside could speed it up or buy us more time. Lind is doing well but he is currently facing a mental trial as his body recovers from extracting that essence. He might–" All 3 felt something shift and Older Twin smirked as Younger Twin smiled in awe.

"Seriously, what is he?!" The mental trials in the Inheritance were not simple nor merciful. Unlike the dream trial he put the boy through, mental trials intentionally strained the mind by various methods.

An Immortal should have broken but once more the boy surprised them. Older Twin frowned sadly at that thought.

The only reason an Immortal could survive that particular ordeal was due to facing horrifying mental trials in the real world. What had that boy been through that he had not spoken about?

"Where will he go now?" A Ruin changed the sequence but also his brother had led the boy directly to his office. That bypassed a lot of trials that would still exist if the Garden Infinitum still stood.

"He should be near the outer core now. I can't go there anymore. It is all on him now." Younger Twin was slowly recovering but he got up and bowed to them. "I have to go. I am doing my best to hold it together until he can succeed or fail. If he fails, it will all come apart and we will kill everyone currently alive."

Older Twin sent a prayer to the spirits but doubted they could hear him any more than his true self.

The broken Ruin could be healed if the plan worked. If they could trigger the dormant systems still there, repairs could be enacted that would allow the Ruin to stabilize but they needed to leave the Celestial Fields.

"Outer core, inner core, and the Dao Heart. Can he get in there or will the pressure kill him?" It was a sort of trial. If an inheritor got that far, they had the potential to claim the Inheritance in its entirety.

Lind could not do that but he could tame it enough to trigger recognition. He smiled at the token he had given him too.

"Do not disappoint us, Lind Frey. Show us what you can do." He was left alone in his office as the doors closed. He was unsure if she would try to find Younger Twin again but the woman was far more stubborn than anyone else he knew.

A pang went through his chest at the flash of a bubbly and bright young girl came to his mind. How long since he had thought of her? He was still mortal when she was taken. So many were taken in those days.

"Kill him boy. Kill him for us all." Older Twin spoke aloud his dearest wish but he did not have the power to do it. No one had been able to, not since the Fiends washed over all the realms like a plague.

He was one of the few that could remember a time before the Fiends. It was hardly peaceful but it was a far cry better than the present.

He made one last prayer to the spirits and returned to his work. In case they did die, he wanted his true self to know all he could when the memories returned to him.