Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 222: Chapter 222: Echo of the Desdemona [1]

Chapter 222 – Echo of the Desdemona [1]

Cassius wasn’t truly paying attention to the loud, boastful voice ringing inside his head.

He wasn’t even hearing his goddess, trying desperately to hold onto what he had just seen and heard and lived through.

But it was no use.

’I’m... forgetting?’ He thought in hidden horror, noticing how slowly everything was becoming blurry, then disappearing completely from his mind.

’Wait, wait, wait! Why?!’ He grabbed his head as if it would change the outcome, trying as hard as he could to keep the memories of that snake and the woman atop it.

He tried to remember her voice; sweet and gentle, yet impossibly alien, as if it hadn’t come from a human or anything that could be comprehended.

Nothing changed.

Cassius Desdemona forgot everything a minute later. The only thing his mind retained was the ”impression” that he had been through something.

Something life-changing.

What was that something?

’I... don’t know?’ He muttered under his breath, feeling a kind of emptiness inside his heart.

He continued to ignore his goddess’s words. That, and his ancestor’s voice urging him to enter his abode.

Instead, Cassius began to dance again, seeking to grasp whatever had slipped from his mind.

And as he expected, it changed nothing.

In the end, Cassius gave up.

He exhaled, letting out a plume of steam from his mouth, his eyes confused but slowly returning to the reality around him.

And there, he finally heard her.

[Cassius!]

”Hm?” He exclaimed, shaking his head to dispel the fog around his mind. ”Yes?”

[Don’t ’yes’ me!] Ananke shouted, visibly disturbed by his previous state. [I called you so many times, yet you didn’t answer. What happened to you?!]

”I didn’t hear anything.” He said, wiping the blood from his face, silently wondering since when he bled white and black. ”My mind was somewhere else. Queen, something is strange.”

[What?]

”I know I lived through something.” He frowned. ”But I no longer remember it. Nothing at all. It’s as if someone deleted it from my memory.”

Not as if... Cassius knew that was exactly it. But who? And why?

Was it related to the Echo? Most likely, considering it was the only suspicious thing here.

Still, something didn’t add up.

’This feeling is bothering me a lot.’

Ananke, meanwhile, paused at his words, finally understanding why he was acting so strangely.

She then sighed.

[If your mind no longer remembers it, it’s certainly for your own good.] she reassured him. [Don’t dwell on it too long. I can assure you nothing truly happened to you. I’m here. Now, you have something to do.]

Cassius turned his attention to the door, his ancestor’s voice still booming all around.

”Well, Last Born? What are you waiting for?” He asked with a note of impatience. ”Are you shy? Why, of course don’t be! Let this gentle, talented, and certainly most handsome man of the Desdemona welcome you! I’ll have you know, though, that Lady Third herself said I’m her most handsome descendant. Hahaha! Now enter, let me see the fruit of our sacrifice.”

Cassius’s lips twitched at the ”handsome” part. He already felt this was going to be exhausting.

Gathering himself, he stepped forward and...

”Here I am.”

...entered the door of the cave.

Instantly behind him, the door closed and disappeared completely, making the mountain look no different from before Cassius had arrived.

...

Cassius looked around, his eye twitching heavily at the ridiculous sight before him.

He was standing in the middle of a wide, pristine white arena, wide enough to hold millions of people with a few spots to spare.

The surroundings were a dark blank. Nothing but essence swirling in on itself and circling the whole arena.

That was not what caught his attention, though.

Every inch of the arena was covered by strange silver and red metallic constructs.

They were not shaped like typical humans.

Their arms were so long and thick they dragged along the floor, with no necks because of how big and buff their bodies were.

Their faces held no features except a single eye in the middle, all black like a deep void, blinking unnaturally.

Their bodies were covered in complex runes.

The power radiating from each of them was at the Exalted rank. And considering their numbers, the atmosphere itself was soaked in undiluted tension, making it heavy, pressing and suffocating.

”What is this?” Cassius asked, his voice steady and unbothered by the sight.

He actually already knew the answer.

”What else, Last Born?” The ancestor laughed, his voice echoing all around. ”These are the constructs I personally created for you. What do you think? Aren’t they so good? I’ll have you know, the Desdemona have never known a greater Architect than me!”

”Oh, really?” Cassius rolled his eyes.

”Why, of course! I am the 12th Ancestor of the Desdemona! Albert Desdemona, also known as the Mad Origin Architect!”

”Why do you sound so proud of being labelled mad, ancestor?”

”...why wouldn’t I be proud?”

Cassius’s lips twitched.

This was the first time he was meeting another of his ancestors, and he had been expecting someone... normal.

He should have known better.

The 333rd was already crazy enough. She had slaughtered dragons and left him to deal with the consequences of her actions.

He had almost died because of that.

Now the 12th just looked like some toddler with too much creativity who enjoyed acting on it.

’It’s my fault for expecting anything ”normal” in my family.’

”Let me guess,” Cassius began, sweeping his eyes over the constructs, ”I have to kill all of them?”

”Oh yes, Last Born. Even if it pains my heart, I’ve been ordered to test your skills when you come to me.” His voice sounded genuinely sad. ”So go on. Kill my dear, precious babies.”

Cassius didn’t need to be told twice.

He had just obtained some upgrades to his overall power, and was in desperate need of getting used to them.

So this many punching bags was welcome.

”Ready?” Albert said, his voice amused. ”Go!”

The runes on the constructs flared to life, activating all of them. In an instant, they were all upon Cassius, throwing attacks from every side.

The Last Born created a ring of white flame around himself. The ring rotated on itself over and over, its edge sharpened and its lethality boosted by the flame.

The air began to wobble, forming a visible wave of heat.

Any construct that touched it ended up severed and burned, leaving behind a scorched scent. Their bodies were nothing before his flame that was the sum of dragon, spirit, and Desdemona fire.

Cassius began to slaughter them all.

After a moment, he deactivated his flaming ring and instead coated his fists with the fire, going into hand-to-hand combat.

During the battle, however, the 12th ancestor was not silent.

”So, Last Born, tell me what is your profession?”

”Profession?” He echoed, ducking a fist. He fell onto his stomach, spun, and cracked the legs of a construct with his own leg shielded in fire.

The construct fell to the ground with a loud thud, taking down others nearby with it.

Cassius snapped his fingers, and dozens of crimson spears made of blood thrust deep into each of them, then violently exploded.

He used that wave of heat to block the hammer of another one, which died after he dashed around it, onto its back, and tore off its head.

”Alchemy?” The 12th ancestor guessed, seemingly no longer caring about his babies being massacred. ”Oh no, your control over your fire is only directed at killing, not creating. Rune master? No, you didn’t react when you saw the magnificent runes of my constructs. That means you know nothing about them. Then Architect, maybe? Same, your hands know nothing but to clench into a fist and punch and kill. What a shame. What a disappointment. Am I passing my legacy to an illiterate?”

”Why does it matter?” Cassius bellowed, his mind focused on both killing and talking.

It was harder.

Some of them managed to touch him.

”Very important.” The ancestor insisted. ”A profession teaches you something that fighting never will. Even the 333rd, the most problematic of our circle, was a renowned Alchemist. The best I’ve seen after the 3rd and 78th. How do you think she was able to create a Refining Process for a dragon species?”

Now that Cassius thought about it, his ancestor was quite right.

However...

”I’m not particularly passionate about them, ancestor.” He said, snapping his fingers, causing the ground to explode into flames and swallow them all. ”Do you really think I should take one up?”

”You definitely must. I doubt you’ll reach my level of skill, but you can still seek greatness.”

His lips twitched.

”You know what, ancestor? I’ll choose the Path of Architect and become better than you.”

Albert laughed hard and loud, as if he had heard the most absurd thing ever. Then he changed the subject, as if he had already gotten what he wanted.

”What do you think of Amate, Last Born? You can be honest with me. I won’t tell her anything.”

”Why are you talking as if I’m going to say something bad about her?”

”Well, why not? Everyone does. But I’ll have you know that no one ever said anything bad about me.”

”They called you mad.”

”That was a compliment, Last Born. You have to be really mad to be given that title by that annoying System.”

Cassius fell silent, unwilling to waste time answering. He continued his fights, treating them as a little training to get used to his new skills.

”Your answer?”

”She gave me her left eye.” Cassius said.

”I can see that.” He replied. ”So she already gave you half of her Legacy. Did she like you that much?”

”Like? I don’t think so. She called me little shit.”

”Oh, she definitely likes you. Hahahah! Amate never calls people she doesn’t like anything other than ’hey!’ or ’you!’” He chuckled. ”Of course, she calls me with respect. I’m just different from the rest of you.”

Cassius rolled his eyes, ducking down and touching the shadow of a construct.

He felt as if he had grasped something tangible yet slippery.

Following his instinct, he pulled out the shadow, making it look like a wide splash of ink in the air.

The construct became visibly weaker.

Cassius went further, transforming the dancing shadow into a long needle that he drove straight into the construct’s eye.

It let out a painful mechanical sound and fell.

Cassius frowned subtly, looking at his hand, realizing he had wasted more essence than necessary.

Albert was still talking.

”Oh, yes! I was also told by the 3rd that you went through some funny things on Earth. How was it? I was the one who created and mapped out the entire technology of that place, you know. From beginning to end. And I did it in six days. Praise me, descendant!”

”What?” Cassius froze, and a punch landed square on his cheek.

He didn’t even flinch, only grunting as he grabbed the construct’s arm and ripped it from the rest of its body with overwhelming strength.

From the ground, blood spikes erupted and impaled it.

Not many were left by now.

But Cassius’s mind was still on his ancestor’s last words.

”You know Earth?” He blurted out, still dazed.

”What a stupid question.” Albert replied. ”We created Earth, Last Born. Of course I know it.”

Dead silence.

”...I beg your pardon?” Cassius asked, his eyes dilating. ”You... did what?”

”Oh, did no one tell you?” Albert whispered. ”Earth, my dear boy, was one of our greatest projects.”

—End of Chapter 222—