Reincarnated as an Energy with a System

Chapter 1999: Zaraxus

Ning arrived above the planet Palmar without ceremony, appearing in the darkness of space and looking down at a world he had never visited before. From this distance, there was nothing unusual about it, with broad oceans, green continents, and enough clouds drifting across the surface to make it look peaceful.

According to the System, it was anything but peaceful.

”Tell me about Zaraxus again.”

Ning looked toward the planet below.

”How malicious?”

Ning’s expression hardened slightly.

The System continued explaining how entire cities had suffered whenever rulers refused to cooperate, with government officials, nobles, military leaders, and their families often becoming the first targets. That pattern had lasted long enough that most ruling families had stopped trying to resist him entirely.

Instead, they found sacrifices.

Some chose prisoners.

Others bought people.

A few simply took whoever they could without causing enough unrest to threaten their own positions.

Ning stared down at Palmar for another moment. ”So everyone decided that sacrificing a few people was easier than dealing with him.”

”That makes this simple.”

He descended.

Zaraxus lived far from the major cities, inside an enormous forest that covered a wide portion of the continent beneath Ning. The trees themselves were not especially unusual, but the entire region carried a strange effect that interfered with direction and perception.

Anyone entering normally would eventually lose track of where they were going.

Ning ignored all of it.

The System already knew exactly where Zaraxus was.

He moved directly toward the center of the forest and soon found a massive black tower rising above the trees. The structure looked ancient, its surface made from dark stone that reflected almost no light, while the upper sections stretched high enough to remain visible from far beyond the forest canopy.

Ning entered without bothering to look for a proper path.

The inside of the tower was much larger than he expected.

Dark halls stretched through the structure, filled with strange objects, old decorations, and enough accumulated artifacts to make it obvious that Zaraxus had been collecting things for a very long time. Ning passed all of them without stopping and continued toward the presence waiting near the center.

He found Zaraxus in a vast chamber.

The Celestial did not resemble a person.

It was an enormous floating mass of black substance suspended several meters above the floor, constantly changing shape as though smoke and liquid had somehow been forced into the same body. A single glowing red eye moved across its surface, appearing in one place before sinking back into the darkness and opening somewhere else.

The eye stopped when Ning entered, but it did not have time to do anything before Ning touched it.

”System. Link.”

”What is this?” Zaraxus screamed as it realized something was happening to it.

Ning watched calmly.

Zaraxus attempted to gather power, but the energy disappeared before it could properly use any of it. The floating mass twisted through several shapes, while additional red eyes briefly appeared across its surface as panic replaced confusion.

”Who are you?” Zaraxus demanded. ”What have you done to me?”

Ning did not bother answering. The thing tried to fight back and even escape, but that did not matter to Ning. Distance could not stop the link, so it was free to do as it wished.

Ning remained where he was, looking around the place instead. With the Celestial gone, he finally paid more attention to the chamber around him.

There were objects everywhere.

A long spear rested horizontally above a stone pedestal, its golden shaft covered in markings Ning did not recognize. A large scythe stood against one wall, the curved blade giving off a strange pressure even without anyone touching it.

Farther away sat a chalice made from a pale metallic material.

Several glass jars occupied another shelf.

Each jar contained a floating eye. One red. One gray. And one blue.

There was a sword made entirely of white and blue crystal. A mantle hung at one end, black on the outside and red on the inside, smelling very much like blood. A blinding white fire burned on a torch on one side.

There were more than a few items all around for Ning to learn about and figure out what they all did.

Before he could ask the System what each one of them did, he heard movement from the entrance to the chamber.

There were human voices outside.

Several people entered through the large doors, all dressed in heavy traveling clothes and carrying weapons. They moved cautiously at first, clearly nervous about being inside Zaraxus’ tower, though their fear seemed directed toward whatever they expected to find deeper within rather than toward Ning.

Ning quickly disguised himself in a black fog.

Four of the people carried a large sack between them.

Ning’s expression changed the moment he saw the sack move. There was someone inside it.

One of the men noticed him and stopped, immediately bowing before him. The others did the same.

For several seconds, they knelt before him, unmoving. Then one of the men spoke.

”My lord, your humble servants have brought you your next sacrifice,” the man said.

Ning looked toward the sack again.

”Show me.”

One of the men quickly nudged another to open the sack. Inside was a young man about 20 years of age.

One of the older men finally spoke. ”Please accept our sacrifice.”

Ning stared at the young man for another moment before speaking silently to the System.

”Tell me everything.”

Information began pouring into his mind, telling Ning all about the young man before him. As he came to understand it, he slowly nodded to himself.

One thing fascinated him slightly more than the others.

He could do something fun here.