Apocalypse: Master of Soul Beasts

Life is the piling up of every choice; for every choice a person makes, they must bear the consequences.

Choices matter. Maybe at a fork in the road, whether you choose left or right will lead to completely different life paths. Carmille doesn’t really understand why things ended up like this, but when she recalls everything in her mind, she can’t help feeling a kind of resignation.

It seems that ever since she first wanted to follow Spirit on that grand plan to ”dig all the way to the heart of the world,” every outcome was already set in stone...

Thinking this, a gentle breeze suddenly brushes her cheek. There are faint sounds rippling in the wind, as if someone is whispering right by her ear.

”Carmille, what are you thinking about?”

Spirit’s voice drifts over from afar. Carmille jolts, then raises her head; all she sees is a lush, primordial jungle—this is Spirit’s body.

Still on native Earth, still at Spirit’s side, everything about Carmille seems not much different from more than ten years ago.

But that’s only how it seems...

So she replies, ”Nothing much, just thinking about some things.”

”Don’t zone out. Lord Demigod will be going down to the Earth’s nucleus through our tunnel in a bit. That’s Lord Demigod, you know. Oh right, have you ever met Lord Demigod before?”

Spirit’s voice carries irrepressible excitement, like she’s about to meet the god she worships.

Spirit’s state makes Carmille feel a chill crawl over her skin, and so she thinks again of that decision that changed everything...

...

Their excavation plan had sounded like pure fantasy, yet as Carmille and Spirit grew stronger, they really did carry the plan all the way to the finish line.

They passed through the magma layer and reached deep into the Earth’s nucleus. When Carmille pushed aside the last barrier separating them from the heart of the world, that vast will appeared before the two of them.

”You... who are you?”

The voice said thus. As its aura spread, Spirit’s projection bent over uncontrollably; she murmured ”Mother” under her breath, then pointed out the owner of the voice to the dazed Carmille beside her.

But Carmille did not accept Spirit’s kind reminder. She just stared, unblinking, at the figure standing next to that huge sphere of light.

Dressed in white, wearing a complex-patterned iron mask, with eyes beneath the mask like black holes, pulling in all of Carmille’s attention.

Until the masked man spoke: ”I know this woman. She showed up in the Sequence Member-Ranking Battle—Carmille, right?”

The Demigod’s voice is calm yet forceful. As it rings out, Carmille shivers. She instinctively feels she has stumbled into some shady backroom PY deal, but within the Earth’s will’s sphere of influence, Carmille can’t even manage the simple act of running away.

Luckily, the Earth’s will pays her no mind. It only looks at Spirit, and after a while, speaks again: ”So it’s you, that group consciousness entity...”

”It’s me, Mother!”

Spirit’s voice is charged with uncontrollable excitement, and everything that follows unfolds almost naturally...

A heart-wrenching reunion ritual... and then Spirit becomes the Earth’s will’s most loyal lackey, entrusted by her mother with a daunting mission.

Guard the tunnel above that she personally dug out!

...

Carmille doesn’t know how many tunnels lead to the heart of the world, but according to the Demigod, there seem to be only two for now—one in the Mariana Trench, and one the two of them personally dug.

So the significance of this tunnel needs no explanation.

Carmille has a rough grasp of the chaos outside—the faction led by the Demigod is clashing openly and covertly with Yanjing, trying to overturn Yanjing’s absolute rule. Yanjing’s surveillance on the Demigod has never stopped, and the tunnel in the Mariana Trench is already on the verge of being exposed. The one she and Spirit dug, on the other hand, has become a concealed backup option.

Today, the Demigod will enter the Earth’s nucleus from here and hold yet another meeting with the mother planet.

Carmille doesn’t know what the Demigod and the Earth’s will intend to talk about, nor does she want to know—because the more you understand, the faster you die.

Thinking this, Carmille’s thoughts break off, and Spirit’s chirping voice sounds by her ear again.

”I think Lord Demigod is so cool, such a manly man. Hey, Carmille, I actually think you and Lord Demigod would make a good match.”

To that, Carmille only gives a wry smile.

Ever seen pyramid schemes? Ever since she met the Earth’s will a few times, Spirit has been like someone who fell headfirst into a pyramid scheme and can’t climb out. In Carmille’s eyes, Spirit has even gradually lost the very notion of ”self.” The mother planet and the mission assigned by the mother planet have become Spirit’s everything!

Now she’s even trying hard to pair Carmille up with the Demigod, hoping to leverage that relationship to get Carmille more into the Earth’s will’s good graces.

Carmille knows this definitely isn’t a good thing, yet it was probably all decided the moment she pushed open that barrier.

On this, Carmille can only remain silent.

...

The Demigod doesn’t keep the two waiting long. As the forest before them spontaneously parts to form a passage, the Demigod walks in at an unhurried pace, his figure coming nearer step by step.

As the Demigod draws closer, Carmille can’t help recalling what Spirit said earlier. Right now, she has to admit that in terms of build, mind, courage, and methods, this man in front of her is top-tier in every respect.

Pretty damn manly...

For some reason, at this moment Carmille suddenly thinks of another figure.

That black robe, that indifferent personality, those icy eyes, and that bearing of peerless Invincible!

”I wonder how Wen Yu is doing now...”

Wen Yu’s silhouette flashes briefly through her mind, and Carmille very cleanly pushes those past events aside—more than ten years without seeing each other; even the deepest feelings get worn down by time, let alone when there basically weren’t any feelings between them to begin with...

So she only lifts her skirt slightly, smiles, and lets a sweet voice slip from her lips.

”Lord Demigod.”

...

”Mm!”

Demigod Kuangliu nods to the beautiful woman before him, the corner of his mouth beneath the mask tugging up in a rare hint of a smile.

Everyone loves beauty—this world used to be all about looks. Faced with a beauty’s respectful greeting, even the Demigod feels a faint, indescribable swell of pride.

”Maybe it’s time to find a woman,” such a thought flickers through the Demigod’s mind, but then he gently shakes his head and chases off that bit of lustful nonsense.

These are just minor things—so minor they barely register...

He only says, ”Lead the way.”

Dim light and shadow coalesce; Spirit makes a polite ”please” gesture to the Demigod, then takes the lead, walking into the depths of the forest.