Desolate Mage: A Legend Reborn!
/ Desolate Mage: A Legend Reborn! 182 Two Doors End
The council members were shocked; no-one had ever dared to touch the Truthstone ever before, knowing that it was filled with concentrated Divine Light – enough to melt bone and disintegrate flesh… The only ones who could work with the Divinity in such close proximity were cardinals – Elders anointed by the Divine Sun like the Divine Beasts or heaven-blessed individual.
'But even with Elder Mash'noth's Divine alignment, being so close to the explosion, she…' Zera's heart tightened in apprehension. She tried to get to her feet, then struggled to walk over to Elder Mash'noth's side. But merely on the first step she took, the strongest combatant in the entire homestead found herself swaying and her knees nearly buckled.
'Sh*t… I-I need to recuperate… The loss of lifespan… I need at least a day to recover…' She steadied herself for a moment and was relieved when she saw that Saint Ren had already dashed over to the Elder's side, while Sir Kenneth was checking on the boy, Lars.
"I'm alright! Just a bit tired from weaving the formations… Right, the boy! Check on the boy!"
* * * * *
In a regular looking house, a boy lay sleeping peacefully in bed. He looked slightly worse for wear, but otherwise alright.
He still was clearly a youth – especially now when Lars was soundly, peacefully and fully asleep – a state he had not truly been in since… Since always.
As a trained killer, when was the last time he had shut off his senses completely and surrendered himself to pure, deep sleep…?
But this time, it wasn't just sleep, as the three people standing by his bedside in Elder Mash'noth's house quickly realised.
The Elder was perched by the boy's head on his pillow and pressed her forehead against his ear as he breathed in and out regularly.
She held her head there against Lars' for some time, long enough that Zera who stood just beside the bed began to fidget, unable to help herself from asking, "Well? How is he…?"
"Be patient, will you!" The Elder flashed Zera a look of annoyance, muttering under her breath, "Kids…"
Finally, after several more minutes, Elder Mash'noth lifted her head and turned to Zera.
"His body is fine. Bruised, yes, but not injured. Thank the gods that as terrible as the explosion seemed, there wasn't much physical force. The power was mainly Divine Light to which the boy seems to have a horrifying affinity for. So yes, he's unhurt…"
"As for why he hasn't woken up… He's… In deep, deep sleep. Almost like his mind is not there. Like you saw, we've checked if we can wake him, but neither water nor pinching him nor any sensory perception seems able to rouse him."
Zera's face was grim. She, Xiloth and Elder Mash'noth had invested too much into this boy Lars, banking on his unique disposition that could resist the Taint – banking on this chance to defeat the Darkness and forge a path back to the rest of civilisation.
"Sleeping… But his body is completely ok, right…? The Fated One can't be hurt that easily… Could he…?"
Elder Mash'noth shook her head.
"I don't know. His body seems fine, but his mind…"
She leapt off the bedside and began to walk away, turning only to add, "…We can only wait and see."
Zera sighed. She was so tired both physically and mentally that she was tempted to just plop herself down into the armchair nearby. But she strengthened herself – there was still too much work to be done to prepare for the goblins' raid…
Just then, they heard the sound of a horn being blown, a sound that caused their hearts to sink and race, both at the same time.
The sound of the emergency alarm.
"Chieftain! Elder! It's terrible! Come quickly! The goblins, they're—ARGHH!!!"
"Milady, we're under attack!!"
"!!!"
"!!!?"
Zera and Elder Mash'noth exchanged a brief glance before rushing on out.
* * * * *
The boy who was still stuck in the world of blank whiteness was none the wiser about what was happening.
Lars was seated on the floor – if you could call the emptiness a floor – before the two doors.
Just minutes ago, he had reached out tentatively towards the pure white door, before stopping just millimetres away.
He didn't know why, but he was suddenly filled with doubts.
So he delayed the obvious choice and instead chose to sit down and, once again, think.
'Divinity… The seven deadly sins…'
'The Taint and the Darkness…'
'This world where mana doesn't exist… And where I'm not able to utilise mana to interact with the universal laws…'
A look of understanding began to set on Lars' face. He felt that he was nearing a breakthrough… A breakthrough somewhere in his mind and soul that would bring him into uncharted territories never before mentioned in the annals of Yiluo planet or Earth.
'Could this world… Could this be…'
'A completely different universe? One without mana, but where living beings interact with the universe through different paths…'
'…And if the door of Divinity is here because of the power of the Truthstone… While the deadly sins should be from my bloodline…'
'Then where is Insight…? Insight is my ability that has brought me to where I am, that has been with me from the start and can be said to be my core… Insight should be the strongest and most likely path to be laid before me!'
'Then… Where is it…?'
'Is this… A trick or trap…? Is it hidden…? Or am I just overthinking things…?'
Lars forced his thoughts to calm down and concentrate. He recapped what he already knew once more and revisited every point he had made so far to identify any gaps.
'Hmm… Let's come back to these two doors first…'
Lars observed the white door and the red-black door once again.
What *is* Divinity…?' Lars pondered, allowing himself to process it, digest it and regurgitate the thought again and again. He paused for a minute, before his eyes snapped open and he rose to his feet and he walked towards the doors.
'Divinity… The close encounters I've had with the Divine realm should be…'
'The All-Heaven Divine Empire's All-Father and the being that appears when I use Money Makes the World Go Round… If there is a term to be used for them, they should be called gods… Not the universe creating supreme power, but still gods to us mortals. Hence, the Divine realm.'
'Their powers seem vastly different. The power Elder Mash'noth uses is of the light element, cleansing and purifying while bringing a calm feeling. At the same time, there is strong burning aspect – perhaps like the light of a Sun?'
Lars nodded. He felt that he was already on the right path and discovering some aspects of the core of the universe's existence.
'Now the All-Father…' Lars tried to recall what he had seen during his reincarnation, bring the memories of his encounter with Kizorik to mind.
'The All-Father didn't exhibit any explicit powers, but his size alone can contend with a planet – but with how everything around the All-Father was entirely cold, dark and lacking any sense of life, he couldn't be further from the concept of Divine Light I've seen here in this world…'
'And just from his – her – based on that divine realm being's nature and powers, Greed as one of the seven deadly sins seems to be in direct opposition to the power of Divine…' Lars looked at the doors before him where Divine Light was placed as an either-or-choice as compared to the path of sin to confirm his assumption.
'I'm back to my original question… So then, what *is* Divinity?' Lars massaged his neck – not that it ached, just out of habit.
Lars shook his head and sighed, deciding to put the question aside – at least he had already resolved one thing.
This world's Divine Light and the Taint – the Darkness – could be thought of as two opposites counteracting each other. He likely didn't have a door of choice of the path of the Darkness due to not having enough of an understanding or enough exposure to it.
Perhaps one could compare Divine Light and the Darkness to Acid and Alkaline. One would encounter these every day, whether using Alkaline based detergents to wash dishes or the body, or consuming Citric Acid – Vitamin C. Acid and Alkaline were present everywhere in our day to day life, just like Divine Light in the form of sunlight to bring nourishment and Darkness, for night time, rest, recovery and sleep.
However, once the intensity increased… Divine Light would sear and destroy, turning matter into dust. While too much Darkness, it seemed, would corrode the physical body, taint the nature and turn the mind and soul to depravity.
'Then… What type of cultivation and energy do others use?' Lars paced back and forth as he thought of the oppression released by Zera back in Elder Mash'noth's home – the formless, invisible power of inner vitality that could force everyone to their knees.
'Divinity… Seven deadly sins… Mana and the laws of my universe… And the laws of this one… The invisible force…'
'What brings all these together…? The seven deadly sins seemed to have transcended the worlds and exist here as well, but what about Insight…?'
A niggling doubt began to rise in his gut. He felt that he was held back by a paper thin wall, a veil of understanding in front of him that just needed the lightest of touches to break through – if only he could find where to press!
'Insight… Insight… If Insight is on the same level as the seven deadly sins, and it even requires all seven of the sins to be able to merge with Insight into my Myth-imprint…'
'Then Insight should be here as well!' Lars felt as if a bolt of lightning struck him, and his mind immediately began to grow clearer. A soothing sensation flowed across him as if he had crossed a threshold, but at the same time, a fiery energy also sprung forth from every speck of his being.
'WHERE IS INSIGHT? HAHA! Where is Insight indeed… Hahahahahahahah!'
"Hahahah! I was blind! Too blind! Now I see, now I see!"
He was laughing, because he realised that he had been completely blinded, his vision and thoughts clouded, unable to see the forest for the trees. His laughter grew louder and louder, beginning as a chuckle before growing into full-blown guffaws.
Then the laughter died off.
Gradually, a thought and decision began to emerge in his heart. It started as a seed, but within an instant sprouted into a certainty.
The idea began to consume Lars, and with a gaze of determined passion, he strode forward towards the doors, stopping when he was at arm's length distance.
He stopped his gaze on the door of Divinity.
"Divine Light, the power of sun…" He traced his fingers across the surface. Earlier he had been afraid to even touch it for fear of accidentally making his choice, but at this time now he was dauntless.
His hand left the surface of the door of Divinity as he moved over to the door of the seven deadly sins. He hesitated for barely a moment before he began to touch the texture of the uneven surface, tracing the veins and stopping momentarily at each node. The nodes that were high up on the doorframe were easily reached as well as Lars began to float up without seeming to make a move. It was as if though the whole world of white were moving lower to accommodate Lars' intent of touching the doorframe.
"The power of Sin… The Prime Evils…"
Lars could hear millions of ghostly voices calling out to him as he touched the door, voices of desire, vengeance, grudges, promises and temptations.
But he ignored them all as his hand returned to his side.
Lars took one more look at the door, then smiled grimly as he turned away, a glint in his eye.
He took a step away, another, and another before stopping arbitrarily.
"Distance… Time… Space… In this world, all that doesn't matter…"
Lars' eyes closed peacefully. The smile remained on his face, looking completely restful as he spoke to himself – no, for himself to solidify his path.
"These doors represent choices… And the powers within me…"
"But these doors… These doors cannot force me to choose…"
His eyes flashed open.
"No!" He roared out to the skies, to the walls, to the whiteness all around him.
To himself.
"And I…" Then he whispered, and yet every word of these whispers resonated with his surroundings, seeming to cause the whole mental world around him to swirl and move.
"I…" He looked up to the sky and opened his eyes.
But instead of pupils and irises, contained within those eyes were star systems, galaxies, stellar bodies and what looked like the whole of existence.
"I shall be the master of my destiny! No-one, nothing can limit me to just one path, nothing…!"
"NOT EVEN MYSELF!"
"This is my own world… And everything within it, is just another part of me… Whether the door of Divinity…" As Lars spoke, the door trembled before bursting open, allowing endless golden-white rays of light to flood the mental world.
"…Or sin…" The door of the seven Prime Evils began to pulsate like a heart. Then, blood began to pour forth from it, as if an uncountable number of wounds marred it – eventually exploding into a torrent of blood that flood his world.
"Everything within… Is mine!"
Those words reverberated all around, domineering, commanding and powerful.
And Lars knew.
"This…"
"Is my Insight…"
"This…"
"IS MY WORLD! AND EVERYTHING WITHIN IT IS MINE!"
Suddenly, everything around him fell still, frozen within the flows of time.
Lars looked around, seemingly only to his left and right, but somehow, his eyes could capture sight of every single thing in this entire cosmos of whiteness, golden-light and crimson-black blood.
He paused, as if savouring the sensation of being in absolute control, before speaking once more.
"And if it's not here …"
He suddenly raised his head up high, eyes piercing the skies and heavens, power emanating madly from him as a whirlpool grew around him and sucked in the whiteness, the golden lights of Divinity and the red-black bloody miasma of the seven deadly sins.
"If it's not in here yet…"
He roared.
"I'LL GRAB IT, SNATCH IT, ROB IT, TAKE IT AND...!!!!"
"*MAKE*."
"*IT*."
"*MINE*!!!!"
"And whether it is the All-Heaven Divine Empire... The All-Father... The being of Greed, the Abyss, the Wyrm at the End of the Far... Whoever, whatever it is that tries to get in my way...!"
"I will bring them to ends of desolation!!!"
The lone figure wrapped in the world-crushing whirlpool of colours raised his hand straight to the skies like a lightning rod, grasping the heavens in a fist, displaying his determination to conquer and dominate everything.
Then everything exploded.
"INSIGHT!!!!!!!!!!"
With that final word, Lars triggered his soul-imprint of Insight, the power that spanned even a different universe, that was greater than the power of Divine Light, original sin or anything he had ever known or seen.
The whole of the white-gold-red-black world began to *twist*, changing colours madly. The scene grew from white to grey to black to white again then to red, to gold, to blue – every colour imaginable and even those unseen to the human eye appeared and disappeared just as quickly.
Before everything faded away and he awoke.
Chapter end
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