Desolate Mage: A Legend Reborn! 214 The Secret 4

Lars sword-pupils remained dark while his body shone white in a holy-looking display that would cause worshippers to fall on their knees in awe. However, this light did not seem to brighten the surroundings, not reflecting off the stones in their surroundings.

"Divine Light… No, there is nothing divine in nature about this law… It is not even truly the laws of light but the laws of fire… Crafted to form a strong visual aspect of white holiness… Why…? Likely to draw more adherents and form a cult…" he did admire the extremely well-established understanding of the laws of fire that he had consumed from the Sun Lord, but the more he knew about the Sun Lord, the more he was disgusted.

Who would intentionally alter their laws to become weaker, less effective just to put on a light-show? Just to gain more believers?

"Just like a confidence trickster or scammer… Dastardly Sun Lord…"

"Nevertheless, I have to thank the Sun Lord… The laws of fire I've absorbed are among the most well-developed that I have right now… Sadly, it isn't the laws of light, heh."

"This could fall into the category of the Physical Path or stand alone in the Elemental Path… Or it could also be combined with the Arcane Path together with the laws of mana…" Lars paused, toying around with little balls of fire, tossing them from finger to finger.

He considered the permutations for some time, pondering the similarities and differences between the laws of fire with the Physical Path and the Arcane Path. Alternatively, he could continue with the laws of fire by itself and add-on more elemental laws as he progressed.

Shrugging, Lars decided to leave it by its own for now. He would have to revisit this in the future as well as to refine his understanding and shed off the extraneous and useless cosmetic aspects of the laws of fire…

Having made his decision, the light faded away from his body and flowed to his eyes, forming a second tiny symbol of a ball of white fire in his pupil which floated alongside the dark sword at a certain angle. The two emblems circled one another and orbited the centre of his pupils, seemingly connected to one other by an invisible link.

And as these emblems circled one another, he felt a strange feeling – a cool and hot flow of energy washing over him, only, this energy wasn't anything he was familiar with.

Keeping still for a moment more to savour the sensations, he tried to see if he could connect this with anything he had felt, but could not put his finger on it. In the end he decided not to look further into it yet, putting it down as the unique power of laws related to the fusion and co-mingling of multiple systems.

What he did know was that he could palpably sense a significant boost in the potency of the laws – something he hoped that he could test out soon. He was not quite sure, but from the fluctuations of laws, he thought that he could hold his own against the full-powered Terra Root War Angel form that Belic Wildwood had taken…

He hadn't been able to ascertain his strength level until now in this world, having faced opponents too far above his power level at that time. If not for the Door of Gluttony and the bone-chilling power of the creature behind that door… Lars knew he would not have lived to see this day. Or at least, he would have had to run away with his tail between his legs and not gotten a free lunch!

Excited, Lars moved on to the remainder of his main powers – the path of Mana or Magic or Arcane Arts, Prime Evil of the Seven Deadly Sins and the Demon Hunting Arts. He went inwards once more, focusing on his soul-realm and calling up the soul-imprints that represented each of these laws. Three imprints that remained floating in the centre of his soul-realm.

Prime Evil – an ornate set of double doors covered in blood with 7 nodes of veins of which two were practically shining with sinister crimson light, pulsing like beating hearts.

The Arcane Arts – a transparent bluish-white crystal which he now believed represented the aether energies that flowed throughout the universe. The blue tinge, he surmised, came from the stellar energies while the white was a result of a combination of multiple colours – representing a rainbow of all elements and all schools of magic.

And the Demon Hunting Arts – a practically invisible insignia, a 9-stroke seal. If not for knowing that he was looking for something incorporeal, he would not even notice the slight difference in the air of his soul realm.

But there was one more.

'…Insight… Acies…' Lars muttered to himself and willed his core soul-imprint which began to materialise in his soul-realm.

However, as the sigil of Insight appeared, Lars felt the strange sensation of epiphany again, something amazing, wonderful and beautiful just calling out to him from deep within himself.

In his mind's eye, Lars suddenly could see through and into the sigil of Insight.

He saw darkness.

Cold.

A little boy. Lost. Shivering. Alone.

Without sight. Without mother or father.

Crying.

Alone.

Despairing.

Desolate.

Looking up at him with pleading, longing eyes.

Reaching out his hand, begging him to bring him out of his prison of darkness.

Unbidden, Lars found himself reaching out in return to help, for he himself could understand fully those same emotions. After all, he had been alone, lost, cold, crying… Without anyone in this world. And he didn't want another to go through the same.

As he reached out to the crying boy, Lars felt his fingertips touch the surface of the soul-imprint of Insight, and as he did so, he felt a pang of wrongness, but he ignored it.

And as his fingers pierced through the surface of the sigil, the boy smiled from ear to ear – literally.

Lars felt a sense of dread overcome him as he saw the boy's mouth spread in a smile that was impossible for a human to make, one that literally split the boy's head in half as a mouth full of row after row of deadly fangs was unveiled.

Lars reacted quickly, trying to pull his hand back, but before he could, the boy's fragile and small hand turned into a titanic claw that shot forth and locked on to his – and Lars screamed.

The vision disappeared, but the sigil of Insight began to squirm madly almost like a cocoon from which something was trying to burst out of.

At the same time, Lars chest felt an intense tearing pain – as if though that same thing were struggling to break out of him.

His mind wavered and his soul-realm to shake crazily. The pure-white ground, walls, ceiling, everything began to burst apart and crumble madly even as Lars consciousness was hit hard.

And even though there should be no concept of vision in the soul-realm which existed within Lars, he felt his vision blacking out as stars swam in his eyes. At the same time, he felt a ripping sensation deep within him, as if though something was struggling to break free from inside.

As this happened in a short instant, a dark omen swept over him and his intuition told him that he was in grave danger, the greatest crisis he had ever been in. At this moment, Lars felt genuine fear. But what was most confusing and frightening was the fact that, deep inside, Lars felt as if though there was rejoicing and delight… A sense of jubilation and glee, a sense of liberty and… Salvation!

But those weren't his emotions.

Nearly panicking, Lars fought to keep conscious while he felt his mind slipping. Fear gripped him even as the other entity within him pushed harder, harder, harder and he could feel something like a membrane or shell of an egg within his soul nearly cracking open.

He felt/saw/heard/experienced mad, turbulent memories flood through his mind, visions and images. Images of galaxies exploding. Images of horrific creatures lying slain by his side – for whom he wept. Images of glee and delight as tens of gruesome, mutilated abominations that passed for claws stuffed mangled and bloody pieces of flesh into his mouth.

He felt disgust... And yet, hunger and a great desire to stuff his mouth with bloodied flesh…

And for a brief second when he could see again, Lars suddenly saw the one who was in him – a red-eyed, horned, scaled bulbous monstrosity with eight scorpion legs and a devil's upper body with countless clawed arms protruding from all over it's upper torso.

And yet he knew that this was but one form of the being...

'I AM THE DESOLATOR!!! AND FINALLY I AM FREE!!!' he suddenly heard a sickening, putrid voice whisper the name.

Then he lost his vision once more, lost control of everything as his consciousness was flooded by millennia, by eons of visions and images again.

Images of being surrounded by countless enemies as darkness closed in around him, roaring in discontent, roaring in rebellion against the heavenly fate.

And most of all… Resentment, anger and despair and the desire for vengeance against the man with a penguin on his should and the necklace wearing woman before him as they perfected the seal on him.

And now joy.

He was free to track them down, to exact vengeance, to find them and devour their souls.

Almost.

"NO!!!!!!!! MOTHER, FATHER!!!!"

Lars cried out desperately, not knowing why, but he suddenly knew. He knew.

He would not give this body to one who would kill his parents.

In that short moment, time stood still.

In that short moment, he thought back to the people he had fought alongside, loved, cared for in the past and present.

He thought about the people who were waiting for him.

He thought about his homeland, his home planet.

He thought about his comrades of life and death in this life and the past one.

He thought about the women in his life, one separated, one who was forever another's, one who loved him unrequited.

And he thought that there was no way in hell he was giving up here!

"Arrrghhhh!!!!!!!"

Opening his eyes despite his shock and dizziness, Lars roared out and steeled himself as he brought to bear all his strength and laws. Whether it was power of laws or energy of Earth Pulse, Prime Evil, Physical Strength, Arcane Arts, Distortion, Demon Hunting Arts or Blood Energy, Lars channelled it desperately.

In less than a thousandth of the time it takes to blink an eye, Lars weaved the most complex, abstruse and powerful formation he had ever formed in his life.

If it were a painting, it would take hundreds of master artists decades to emulate – and yet Lars formed it naturally, almost as if he already knew what to do – no, he did know. He knew exactly what to do.

He knew it because this was the same sealing formation he had seen closing in around the being, the Desolator, in his memories… The rune formation in his soul, the sigil of Insight.

He did not know how he did it or how long it took, but quickly he weaved a new rune of Insight and, with a decisive move, slammed it into his own chest.

Correspondingly in his soul-realm that was still in chaos, a brilliant shining insignia of light materialised before instantly rushing at the sigil of Insight.

The moment the two runes met, a great soundless explosion burst forth, sweeping away Lars' consciousness and mind.

Nevertheless, Lars smiled as he fainted – because he heard the response he wanted.

A voice of timeless evil letting loose a long desperate wail, crying out a single word.

'No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

Chapter end