novelraw Chapter 762: Everything
Chapter 762: Everything
Just before the Ultimate flickering with specks of light from outside the Barrier, right upon the Fluid Sword blade seen by the "Renee" turning her head, reflected clearly from that mirror-smooth blade surface was her expression of astonishment at this moment.
And passing over her astonished expression, behind that blade, was Fisher's pair of gloomy eyes, his black hair hanging down.
In a mere flash of lightning, that Fluid Sword blade plunged straight into "Renee's" back, swept away all obstacles. That blade containing Fisher's final strength fiercely pierced through her chest, subsequently pressing forward indomitably to push against her lower abdomen, leaving her completely motionless on the spot. Only that blade went increasingly deeper inside her body, and she grew increasingly closer to Fisher.
"Pfft!"
Fisher lowered his head panting, deadly pressing the blade against her back. Yet cracking lines abruptly appeared upon the pierced body before him, leaking droplets of darkness from within...
And upon her raised head, that astonished expression slowly faded, until the corners of her mouth slowly curled up, sketching a smile upon Renee's face that Fisher couldn't be more familiar with.
Regrettably, at this moment Fisher had his head lowered and was behind her, unable to see her expression entirely clearly. He could only hear her voice transmitting faintly,
"Are you so certain? Just in case you guessed wrong, you would be personally slaughtering that child..."
"..."
Fisher exhaustingly panted without responding, yet still breathed in more than he breathed out.His eyes hidden amidst black hair were dark. Remaining silent for a good while, feeling the avatar's power before him draining bit by bit, only then did he seemingly scrape up strength from within his body to open his mouth,
"If I didn't return to the past, if I didn't appear before you... after destroying the Barrier, you definitely would have consistently hidden in the shadows, quietly observing this world like those stars, exactly like watching a play until the curtain fell. There would be no World-Ending Prophecy, no Mother Goddess descending... The deities also fundamentally wouldn't discover the property hidden within the Sea of Souls. They would merely go to war with past enemies..."
Before he returned to the past, the Ocean's identity had consistently been concealed extremely well. Everyone believed She was an angel.
The stars quietly observing this world day and night were born from the Sea of Souls. In other words, they were creations truly born from the Ocean's power, hence they possessed traits similar to the Ocean.
"The deities outside the Barrier, be it powerful deities like the Dream Illusion or Ramastia, They have never heard of Your honored name. The reason is actually very simple: because You have consistently merely [Observed], never intervened, rendering Your existence unable to be discovered by Them who are extremely weak compared to You... Only the more powerful Azanroth could perceive a clue, but even He did not discover the property hidden within the Sea of Souls from the very beginning, otherwise He wouldn't have cast down the Barrier for Ramastia...
"Yet such a You abruptly showed Yourself from the shadows and directly made a move after a certain day in the past... You utilized an avatar to kill two Archangels, facilitated the eruption of chaos in the Ideal State, facilitated the birth of the Demon Dynasty; it was You who cast down the World-Ending Prophecy, it was You who brought the Infinity Authority... Since that day, You abruptly stepped onto the world's stage, and the sole variable was... me."
The black-haired woman bearing a visage identical to Renee before him smiled as she turned her head back, looking at the Fisher with a lowered head, listening to his voice seemingly originating from the depths of his soul.
At this moment, he had already understood everything.
"I constantly believed it was the creator of the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook who forged me, that she placed the precious property into my body, subsequently making me traverse back to ten thousand years ago, returning before You, forcing You to step out into the open...
"But walking along the way, I saw many contradictions. You knew to begin with that the Authority of [Nothingness] was within the Sea of Souls. Even if it was wrapped by a soul and brought before You, it shouldn't produce any changes. You would just extract it when the time came... However, the look in Your eyes when You looked at me back then... still revealed surprise.
"Either it was because that property became unable to be extracted after hiding in my body; or, Your surprise wasn't because of the property appearing within my body at all...
"I cannot see my previous life. I thought it was the contributor of the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook who created my soul, but the truth is, she possessed no such immensely capable abilities. From the moment she discovered me, that property was wrapped inside a soul. That soul was innate, not created by her..."
Fisher recalled the process of the Demi-Human Girl Con panting and kneeling on the Sea of Souls, exhausting all her strength to dig out that glowing property.
Upon seeing that property, all the little Chaos-kin seemingly acting as protection backed away in terror.
But the truth was they weren't terrified because they saw that property. These little fellows knew from the beginning that some property was buried within the Sea of Souls. What they were truly terrified of, was that soul wrapping the property.
Fisher raised his head bit by bit, looking toward the woman before him, articulating word by word,
"Everyone thought wrong. You showing Yourself was not for that property, or rather You didn't show Yourself solely for that property. You were for my soul. Back then, ten thousand years ago when You saw me, it wasn't surprise that the property left the Sea of Souls; what You were truly surprised about, was that the soul wrapping the property was born...
"From that time on, You even utilized another avatar that had vanished long ago, [Gui]. If my guess is not wrong, this avatar capable of seeing through the future possessed the ability to see through all timelines... and You consistently hid her inside the Infinity Authority. I thought Gui merged into one with the Infinity Authority to mend it, but the truth is, as long as Your other avatar is present, the Infinity Authority wouldn't suffer damage, correct?"
Renee's appearance was exactly identical to Gui. This was the proof of that avatar lurking within the Infinity Authority.
"You hid Gui within the Authority of Infinity, using this to influence the reincarnated Renee, because You who could see through time knew, only she in this world had the capability to send me back to the past. And only by me returning to the past would the timeline of my soul's existence exist...
"Because, only by me returning to the past would Gou Wen appear in the Ideal State, and he and Xuan Can would save the contributor of the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook from ten thousand years ago."
Why would Renee know the method of using Chaos to disturb time and send him back?
Referencing the Mother Goddess's previous incarnation's subtle influence on her, the one influencing her in one aspect, was precisely the Ocean's final avatar, [Gui].
Fisher gradually realized, the concept of Time perhaps wasn't as other living beings and existences saw it for the Ocean.
If She could see through all time and outcomes, then She inevitably had to choose a step capable of facilitating the outcome She wished to achieve back then.
From a third-party perspective, even with Azanroth and the Demi-Human Girl Con's reminders, regardless of how the deities searched, They couldn't find the property hidden within the Sea of Souls...
And the Demi-Human Girl Con's luck was truly ridiculously extreme. Not only did she find that property, she even incidentally dug out the nascent soul wrapping the property that the Ocean truly desired.
In other words, the Ocean inevitably saw that across all of time, only the Demi-Human Girl Con's solitary attempt using up tremendous luck caused the birth of that soul, making the Ocean have no choice but to yield, walking step by step along this timeline, walking until Fisher's birth, walking until sending him back to the past to arrive at the Ideal State to meet Gou Wen, and Gou Wen in turn saved the Demi-Human Girl Con...
"Similarly, I deliberately halted the Demi-Human Girl Completion Handbook's mending of my soul to lure You into appearing. The moment my soul was mended, and Your other three avatars all died, I knew, it's Your final avatar that appeared...
"Now, tell me... where is Renee?"
The Helaire before him gradually grew ethereal, her body also gradually turning into wisps of fluorescent specks due to the gap from Fisher's fatal sword strike.
And the Barrier before him also began a process of gradual closure. It appeared the Infinity Authority's supplementation took effect; this was similarly the reason Fisher uneasily wanted to inquire about Renee's whereabouts.
"Are you so worried about me eating your girl up?"
Hearing this, Helaire gave a faint smile. From within that Barrier, an incomparably fragile soul plummeted out, exactly Renee's soul.
When he saw that fragile soul, Fisher finally remembered. As that Authority was sent into the Barrier, the soul wielding it was not innate to the Authority, but a soul inside the Barrier, so it could independently detach from the Authority at this moment?
Seeing Fisher's stunned expression, while Helaire's avatar fractured with increasingly more cracking lines, she conversely lowered her eyes in a faint smile, merely asking in reply,
"What makes your soul so important to me, hm?"
Looking at the Helaire before him, Fisher remained silent, softly speaking a term,
".[Yin Nature]."
"..."
Remember those ten doors sealing the Authority of Death inside the Demon Dynasty?
On the Gate of Victory inside where "everything is opposite", Fisher saw the text written on the door surface, "Yin Nature".
Those ten doors were formed from the eruption of the Ocean's power during the Ideal State era. Now they had completely merged with the Demon Dynasty, severing the connection with the Ocean, but they indeed belonged to the Ocean, being a symbol of the Ocean's power.
"I realized this from the moment the name of the Authority inside my body was guessed by Heon. Why could my Authority that clearly represents having absolutely nothing, [Nothingness], use the power of other Authorities; why was the Authority You sent in, out of all things, the [Infinity] Authority representing 'Incalculable Order of Magnitude'; why in the dreamscape, You and I similarly possessed the ability to not be influenced by the dreamscape...
"Our Authorities, why are they so similar, yet so different? If they share the same origin yet manifest differently, could this explain why my Authority is your treasure... I don't know, Helaire... I am merely guessing."
"Crack, crack, crack..."
Trembling, Fisher raised his head, looking at that face losing its smile, seeming increasingly unlike a person, but rather [God].
At this moment, her last avatar inside the Barrier had already turned into flying ash completely vanishing without a trace, appearing to have gone far away. Within the entire Barrier, not a single trace of the Ocean remained.
But facing the utter emptiness before him, he ultimately still tentatively voiced out the uncertain guess within his heart,
"I guess, if my Authority is merely an illusory [Nothingness], then, Your seemingly inexhaustible Authorities, perhaps they all point to an entirely opposite property connected amidst the unseen world, [Existence].
"Then by the same token, if You are the master of souls, are the great deity possessing consciousness of all consciousness, conversely, could the deity possessing the Authority of [Nothingness], be an existence without consciousness, without a soul?
"I am merely thinking, Your wrapping of the property within my body with such a massive Sea of Souls, apart from wanting to suppress its almost instinctively diffusing destructive power, could it be You were waiting for a day, for this property sharing the same root and origin as You to sprout an consciousness unique to it from the Sea of Consciousness...
"You perhaps, were constantly waiting for me."
Following Fisher voicing out these final words, the strength all over his body also seemed entirely drained.
He couldn't plainly tell, whether he was happy or sad right now.
Perhaps he was indeed rejoicing, rejoicing that it turned out her everything toward him ten thousand years ago was not play-acting, not to covet the property within his body...
That affection transmitted from consciousness, was true.
"Phew..."
Inside the Barrier, following the thorough passing of the Ocean's final avatar, the entire Spirit World became exceptionally quiet.
Without interference from any external Chaos, of course, those existences that originally forged it had also departed. At this moment within the grandiose Barrier, there were only the subjects it had sheltered for tens of thousands of years.
And at this moment, Fisher had one final obstacle left to overcome.
Fisher arduously raised his head, looking at the continuously mending Barrier before him. Ever since the death of Helaire's avatar [Gui], Renee's true body that truly sacrificed herself to mend the Barrier also revealed herself from the gradually dissipating darkness.
Fisher's final task to do, was precisely saving Renee.
There was only one method: he temporarily departs the Barrier, only so could he manipulate the property of [Nothingness] scattered outside, using the Authorities of the foreign deities killed by that property to replace Renee in mending the Barrier.
"Hah..."
Fisher tremblingly tossed the Fluid Sword he gripped onto the ground aside, subsequently walking step by step toward the direction of the Barrier. Gently grasping Renee at the edge of the Barrier, he pulled her back.
Along with the severing of the link between the Infinity Authority and the Barrier, that originally healing Barrier completely stagnated anew, leaving a moderately sized gap in vain.
The Renee in his embrace had a pale face. Her vision was blurry, unable to clearly see Fisher's figure before her. She could only feel him gently caressing her cheek, subsequently laying her down again, walking toward the Barrier entirely alone.
"Fi- Fisher..."
Behind him, Renee's weak and pitiful call pulled at Fisher's shoulder, yet he didn't hesitate, merely genuinely arriving at the edge of the Barrier, looking at the outside world, the outside universe without any impediment, without any barrier for the first time.
Yet seeing beyond that golden light, those greedy, twisted, and indescribably powerful deities having thoroughly surrounded the glowing property, Fisher took a deep breath, subsequently gently grasping the edge of the Barrier, stepping across that threshold.
"..."
"Buzz..."
In a mere instant, as if all sounds gradually faded, the universe outside the Barrier was so cold compared to inside the Spirit World. The void devoid of any medium was left with solely darkness.
With a soul inherently damaged, Fisher solely felt a dizzy spell, yet he didn't hesitate, because upon entering this stretch of space, this true world outside the Barrier, he once again felt the Nothingness Authority's attraction toward him.
He gently raised his hand. That Authority surrounded layer upon layer by deities yet constantly remaining motionless unexpectedly began moving anew at this moment, charging toward the direction of the Barrier.
"!!"
In a mere split second, the deities outside the Barrier, those undeniably powerful, bizarre existences Fisher had never even heard of locked all their attention entirely upon Fisher.
They very quickly realized, this property was inexorably linked with that existence appearing before the Barrier...
Grab him!!
"Heh..."
The corners of Fisher's mouth curled up slightly. Right before those deities were about to make a move, that property of Nothingness had already broken through the soul blockade a step faster, smashed the heads of several deities, and dive-bombed toward Fisher's position.
That property of Nothingness came hanging upside down enveloping several deities' Authorities. Fisher gritted his teeth, linking them with the Barrier behind him the instant the Nothingness Authority entered his body.
"Buzz..."
Inside the Barrier, the entire space flickered with dazzling golden light.
Renee's heavily blurred vision gradually grew exceptionally clear beneath the illumination of that golden light. Looked at the anew shrinking Barrier before her in disbelief, she subsequently turned to look at the Fisher outside gripping the Nothingness Authority rushing back.
Only then did she realize, to prevent her Authority from being devoured, Fisher unexpectedly stepped outside the Barrier.
"No, no, no..."
She hurriedly urged her final bit of strength to stand up, wishing to reach out a hand and pull Fisher back from outside the Barrier. With a stagger of her body, just as she was about to extend her hand, raising her head, yet the Barrier before her had already completely shut, transforming into a complete closed circle.
"Buzz!!"
At this moment, as if the light during creation radiated brightly once more, illuminating this sector of the universe entirely brightly.
Fisher dragged his heavy body. Yet even sprinting with all his strength, wishing to return inside the Barrier, he could never arrive no matter what.
He turned his head back, looking at the countless powerful figures behind him urging Authorities to obstruct his return. Only then did he hear his own panting sounds amidst the cold and silent universe.
"Hah..."
Fisher's slightly contracted pupil gradually grew peaceful. At this final moment, he merely couldn't resist looking back at that closed Barrier, looking at the teary Renee disappearing bit by bit inside the translucent Barrier...
Until that Barrier completely shut in one go, completely shrouding the entire world in a patch of golden light. Looking from the outside, only then did Fisher discover, a few large characters were inscribed upon this Barrier using some divine writing. It seemed Ramastia and the others wrote them.
It read,
[New World]
Merely looking at that line of glittering golden text, the body of Fisher riddled with gaping wounds finally couldn't help but tremble in expression.
Amidst a patch of utter darkness and coldness, he seemingly felt the tentacles of powerful existences behind him, limbs or perhaps some other things grabbing him, dragging him back into that gloomily dark deep space.
Yet he merely thought, thought about what the finally peaceful inner world would look like.
Sometimes during peaceful moments, perhaps he'd also be unable to resist letting his imagination run wild, imagining what he would go do after everything settled down...
Perhaps he'd think to go check out the vast prairies and jungles of the Southern Continent again, to document creations unrecorded by predecessors, to document the traces left by those primitive civilizations, as well as what they had become today.
Also perhaps he'd want to go to the freezing cold yet exceptionally magnificent Northlands, to see how the once glorious Wutong Tree of antiquity rose up, to see how their merchant ships bypassed the icy ocean...
Ah, of course, there were also beautiful Colorful-Winged Whales there he had never ever seen before.
Of course, most likely, he would perhaps stay in Naris, that homeland he was once enemies with.
He didn't hate the land there, there were all his memories there, there were people he cared about...
A person who lost her eyes, hadn't met him again, hadn't spoken to him again, was waiting for him.
Ah...
A world where everything settled down, should be a very wonderful world.
Regrettably...
Within that world, solitarily lacked the himself who sacrificed everything for it.
However even so, it should be worth it, right.
In Fisher's peripheral vision, beneath the wrapping of the Barrier, that character-engraved world instantly thoroughly vanished within the universe.
Where even space, and time were completely unable to trace its existence, vanishing before Fisher's eyes just like that.
Secrecy's mighty power could turn any concealed thing into [Non-existent]. Consequently after so long, if the Barrier hadn't been broken from the inside, it wouldn't have brought the offensive of chaos outside either.
Fisher's broken remains were dragged back into the cold universe by deities. After seeing that beautiful new world thoroughly vanish, his soul seemingly grew increasingly utterly exhausted, to the extent that the boundless and inexhaustible terrifying existences before him left him completely uncaring either...
He merely, was a bit tired, and wanted to rest for a while.
Fisher thought like so. His soul also peacefully closed his eyes.
Little knowing, when those deities pierced power into his body in an attempt to extract the property of [Nothingness] again, They abruptly discovered, that property of [Nothingness] that was originally supposed to be radiant and devour everything around it suddenly became pitch black...
As if an eclipse, erupting from that light, was layer upon layer of darkness that couldn't be seen through.
If the original light devouring everything was the so-called [Nothingness], then at this moment, what did this viscous, seemingly endless darkness signify?
What is going on?
Looking at that property completely turning into a blob as if the gloomiest darkness in the universe, the ignorant yet consequently curious deities momentarily couldn't find the reason.
But not knowing whether it was an illusion or not, the entire surrounding universe, seemingly began turning increasingly dark. Even the shadows of the scattered brightly lit stars among it began being swallowed, shrouding everything in extremely thick darkness...
Amidst the unseen world, a faint song transmitted over, making the countless deities present abruptly possess a shuddering feeling blooming from the depths of Their Authorities.
As if, something came over from within the darkness.
"Swish swish..."
The incomparably expansive universe seemingly turned into a patch of an ocean spanning an unknown era at this moment. Amidst the gloom, the sound of liquid patting the shore transmitted over. Accompanied by that seemingly non-existent song, it echoed within the hearts of the thousands of deities in this place.
Following closely after, They merely saw the closed-eyed Fisher float uncontrollably upward, pausing beneath a pair of blurry blue-gold eyes exactly like a reflection.
"My dear..."
From within the gloom, a viscous, indescribable certain substance gently caressed across Fisher's cheek, causing the slumbering him to slightly knit his brows.
"Hehe... truly cute..."
At the perimeter, some deities who already realized a catastrophic problem turned tail and ran, yet all paths heading outside the galaxy were already a patch of darkness; the bolder ones fiercely surged resonant Authorities with a boom, intent to attempt fighting it to the bitter end; while even more out of ignorance, exceedingly curiously looked toward that unknown existence in the depths of the gloom, attempting to seek Her truth...
But regardless of how...
Outside the original Barrier, was entirely a patch of dead stillness and darkness at this moment, completely unable to see anything, completely unable to hear anything.
Solitarily a wisp of a seemingly non-existent song, echoed in the depths of the universe.
(End of Chapter)