SHK CH 732 (Patreon)

[Nihil’s Dimension.]

Sitting on a rock, a young white-haired boy wearing shorts and a black shirt opened his eyes. A golden light flashed as he released a sigh, and a voice far older than normal came out.

“I cannot feel Asura’s karma line anymore.” On his back, three pairs of white wings flapped lightly, and a golden halo shone above his head. He was an angel. In his hands was a small lyre. 

“So he died.” Hypnos pinched the bridge of his nose. Things were not progressing as he had expected. Asura might not have been the strongest of them at his peak, but in the current era, where most of the others were still asleep, his straightforward combat abilities were invaluable. Losing him like this was a big blow. 

“Was he able to send some information at least? Who was he fighting?”

“Sol Luxuria.”

“Him again.” Hypnos gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowing. Be it in the Astral Realm or during the War against Wratharis, this damned young man barely an adult have proven again and again to be a thorn.

But more than anything.

“He is just a King, right?” Hypnos could only shake his head in disbelief. The way mortal grew in power was very intriguing, and after years of studying, Hypnos was sure that few could understand this system more than he.

A king fighting a demigod was, in theory, not impossible. If the King was a powerful Divine Beast of the like of Kiyohime the Dragon Queen, or one of the Four Great Witches, then it was possible to be the match of a False Demigod. Someone who reached their level of power through pure luck by stumbling on a crumbling Territory.

Even then, victory would be nearly impossible without great sacrifice.

Sol Luxuria was not some old entity that stayed stuck in the King Realm for millennia.

Asura was not some fake demigod either.

“Any chances Asura was ganged up?”

“Impossible. The very reason we chose Asura for this test in the first place was because it’s impossible to gang up on Asura. He can always force a one-on-one duel. Not even Tiamat or our stupid sisters could counterattack that Law.”

Hypnos nodded. They have lost their power, but their divine authority was still somewhat usable. Only a God with a Law of equal or superior level could stop Asura’s forced duel. 

For him to die means that he died fighting against one opponent. This opponent may or may not be Sol’s Luxuria. The moron was hot headed enough to disregard the plan and fight the strongest there. It was very possible for him to have died fighting Ambrosia or Lilith, or Sun Wukong. 

“What do you think, Karma?”

Karma, the one who stood closest to the power of Fate. In terms of pure combat power, the young boy here was one of the weakest. But as someone who governed Dreams and Illusion, Hypnos knew that abstract powers like theirs was always more dangerous than brutish power like Asura’s own.

“Well. Let’s just say that I am debating killing myself again.” Karma laughed, but his words brought a chill down Hypnos' spine.

Eons ago, Karma was the only god to die before even the Twilight started. 

He simply killed himself. 

Back then, no one knew why. Some simply theorized that he might have gotten bored with life. Only after Adam went mad did they realize that he had killed himself to escape the massacre that would soon unfold.

“Is it that bad?” Hypnos asked. “Is Sol the reincarnation of one of our siblings?”

“I do not know.” Karma swung his legs, now appearing more like a kid. “All I know is that you have two choices or perhaps three in fact.” Karma giggled. 

“One. Give up on Su Daji. Bind her and offer her to Sol Luxuria in sign of peace and surrender yourself.”

“Two. Do not bother his side until Nihil wakes up. She is currently his fated nemesis. The Narrative Story and Fate can give her a powerful edge against him if you play your cards right.”

“Three. Use all the power at your disposal now and launch an all-out attack. To utterly and completely destroy Lustburg and Sol Luxuria, and when I say all, I really mean all. If you hold back even a little, you will fail to kill him.” 

Su Daji was their younger sister. One born slightly before the 14 goddesses, she was an emotion goddess like the fourteen, and she governed over Love and Hatred. 

Karma shook his head even as he finished speaking, “I know your ambitions, and I know that there is simply no way you will surrender yourself to that young man. As per our contract, I will shield you and our others siblings from all prying. I will sever and erase all Karma line. But that is all.”

“You plan to play the two field.” 

“Yep.” Karma smiled, not denying in the slightest. He felt no shame.

“I am a coward. All I want to do is to observe the world and amuse myself. If I have to be honest, helping you guys already make me somewhat of an enemy. But as long as I do not cross the line, I know that I will be spared whoever end up being the winner.” 

Hypnos gritted his teeth.

“Do not resent me little brother. Thus is the destiny of the weak. I only held loyalty to myself. Only my survival matter. Why do you think I left no messages before killing myself back then? It was simply to not make father angry. In his madness he might have chased my soul across space and time just to erase it.”

His form became faint. It was only an avatar and now that his work was done he had no reason to keep it here.

“It seems like it’s also time for me to leave the angels’ Kingdom. Those stupid pigeon might put me in the cross fire.” He appeared whimsical. Simply going with the flow where the wind took up. 

His fingers glided on the string of the lyre, bringing out a cheerful melody that contrasted with the somber mood. 

“Smile my brother. A new era is upon us. A beautiful and epic story is unfolding. The roles we will play in this depends entirely on ourselves. Will you be a loser or a winner? A major character or only a footnote in history? Only time will tell.” On those words, the young barb completely vanished. 

Now alone, Hypnos looked up. His plans needed to be changed.

As for surrender? 

He never considered it even for an instant. 

How could he call himself the God of Dreams and Illusions if he dared not have his own dreams?

“A new era, huh?” 

Then surely this new era would belong to him.

Thus was his dream.