Dimensional Descent

Leonel felt his consciousness nearly blink out of existence. If not for the fact that [Instant Recovery] was still active, maybe it truly would have. He felt, facing this force, that his own Destruction was far too lacking.

His Destruction World cracked and nearly crumbled. He barely managed to hold it together with a strand of consciousness. He knew that the moment it disappeared, his brothers would lose one of their main supports. Anything could happen to him, but he refused to allow anything to happen to them.

He had promised… He had promised…

Leonel coughed up a mouthful of blood, or rather, he thought that that was what happened. But everyone saw something completely different. It was like bits and pieces of his soul were being expelled. He barely managed to keep it together when his mouth was closed, but the moment it was forced out, Runes of Destruction flashed and burnt those pieces to ash.

Just a single casual motion from the Primordial Terror had almost destroyed him down to his very essence. Even [Instant Recovery] couldn’t seem to keep up. As fast as he was recovering, his soul was trying to dissipate at double the speed. It didn’t even seem like he was being attacked, but rather that his soul was taking the initiative to disperse on its own, unwilling to remain in the world.

Leonel landed on the ground heavily, the shards of the Pillar of Truth scattering across the wall and falling like meteors. The destruction was grand, but they had little to do with him at all. Aina’s eyes widened in the distance. Her instinct was to run over, but her feet were rooted in place by the logical voice in her mind. Nana faltered for only a moment as tears of blood fell from her eyes. The strain was great, but as great as it was, she knew that she couldn’t give up now. Leonel’s last words still rang in her ears. No matter what… she had to take the shield.

The eyes of Leonel’s brothers turned bloodshot. Their weapons cut with greater ferocity and they unloaded their guns without the slightest intention of conserving their strength. If only they could kill faster, if only they could wipe this army out fast enough, maybe they would be able to help in some small way.

Leonel coughed up a mouthful of soul once again and his weakness was practically palpable. His large golden avatar collapsed and the silver wings formed by Tolliver wilted. He weakly tried to communicate with his Metal Spirit, but there was no response from Tolliver at all.

Leonel felt as though a blade was cutting into his heart. Tolliver had been following him for so long. It had always been by his side, and though it had a little rivalry with Blackstar, it never caused him problems. The world thought that he had a lot of strengths, but his greatest strength was probably the Metal Spirit that had kicked off his Crafting journey to begin with. And now…

A great amount of rage filled Leonel’s heart, but there was nothing that he could do. Fury did nothing for him at all. It just fell into an endless, fathomless pit, doing nothing for his body at all.

“Are you angry?”

The rumbling voice echoed. Leonel couldn’t even lift his head up to see who spoke, but even if he didn’t have such a great memory, it would be impossible for him to forget this voice… because it was impossible for anyone to forget it. When the Primordial Terror spoke, it was like the world shuddered. The voice was so deep that one’s bones vibrated and one’s inner organs shifted and quaked. It was as unfathomable as an abyss and as endless as the void itself.

“You have no right to feel anger.”

The Primordial Terror’s voice continued to rumble. It didn’t seem like it was shouting, but the world reacted no differently.

“I should have known by your smug smile and careless words who you were. Blessed by the Northern Star, granted talent beyond what most could imagine, with a mind that easily comprehends the most complex things… not only were you granted everything and deserve nothing, but you actually had the audacity to stand in my way before you had fully grown.

“And for what? A woman and her tantrum?”

Aina’s heart shook, understanding what the Primordial Terror was referring to immediately. Tears fell from her eyes.

“Why bet on a person as foolish as you? The Northern Star granted you everything, but what did it give me?

“I see nothing but endless abysses. My mind plays the Destruction of worlds and the collapse of everything I know. I feel the urge to kill my brothers, my siblings, my wives, my parents, my family.

“And I can’t control any of it.”

Every word spoken was perfectly spaced, almost as though they were just as perfectly picked. Not a single one was out of place and it seemed like these words had been beating in the Primordial Terror’s heart for eons.

“Do you know why that is? Violet Winds?” The Primordial Terror continued calmly. “It’s because Existence needs balance. So that you can be happy, I must suffer. So you can be powerful, I must be weak.

“You enjoy laughter and jokes, do you not? Surely, you should laugh at such a thing. It’s a joke that the Northern Star plays on you as well.

“I exist to make you suffer so that you can push through and evolve. Don’t mistake its favor toward you for goodwill. It will never allow you to break its rules, as it won’t allow me to break them either.

“So I have played their game to this point, and today, I will lay the final steps of my plan. Since I was created to destroy, I will do exactly that.

“Very soon, the world will cease to be in its entirety. And when that time comes, I will finally be at peace.”