Death… And Me

Chapter 3624: Inside the Cocoon

”What about the others?” Elsie asked her master.

Royer looked in the direction the rest of the experts left, but none of them seemed to have come back, even after the commotion the twins’ group caused. ”They probably thought we were attacking the Dark Green Cocoon and ignored it. They don’t think anything happened at all. Besides, this Dark Green Cocoon is enormous. If something had happened to it, they would have seen.”

”Well, something has happened to it,” Rean commented. ”It’s just that it was nothing big. Forget about them. They will most likely come back at some point once they notice we haven’t caught up to them. They will soon start to think that we found something and will be too curious to ignore us. At least some will.”

”Can anyone’s Divine Sense reach Zirconio?” Elsie asked, trying to spread her Divine Sense inside the Dark Green Cocoon. Too bad that her Divine Sense couldn’t even pass the shell, let alone see what was happening inside.”

Grititi touched the Cocoon, trying to use his Soul Power Scan. The rest of the group did the same, but the results weren’t any better. The Cocoon blocked all kinds of senses. The only sense that still worked was the Natural Spatial Perception, but that only showed a dark spot in mid-space, which was Rifindio. It couldn’t be used to check things.

”Well, since he is inside our Natural Spatial Perception, then he is still alive,” Royer commented. ”It doesn’t feel like his presence in our Spatial Perception is getting weaker either.”

Everyone nodded. That probably meant Rifindio wasn’t being harmed. Or maybe whatever was happening inside was happening very slowly. Was he being used as food, perhaps? If not, then just what was happening there?

Grititi then turned to the twins’ group. ”You mentioned something about Celestial Laws. What did you mean?”

That was the same question Royer did, but they didn’t answer. Because Elsie, Royer, and Grititi didn’t have the Celestial Laws inside their souls like Rean and the others, they couldn’t feel its presence.

”Nothing much,” Rean commented. ”We just wondered if these Cocoons are so strong because they might have Celestial Laws inside. That’s all.” That was obviously a lie, but he had no reason to tell them the truth either.

Meanwhile, inside the Cocoon...

*Ugh...*

Rifindio contorted, trying to get himself free from the roots binding his body. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter how much he struggled; he simply couldn’t pull them away.

’So you are Triaglia’s choice, uh?’ It was then that a voice echoed in his mind. ’I didn’t expect my little Cocoons to take notice of you. I checked you up earlier, but now that I have a more direct contact, I can tell why they reacted. Triaglia truly did a good job, I have to say.’

Rifindio tried to speak, but he was inside some kind of liquid, so his voice couldn’t spread. Then, he switched to Divine Sense, which, surprisingly, was able to spread. It’s just that it couldn’t go beyond the shell, so he definitely couldn’t talk to the twins’ group outside.

There was a problem, though. He couldn’t see anyone or anything with his Divine Sense. If he intended to answer that voice, where exactly would he direct the Divine Sense Message? Then, he had an idea and sent his Divine Sense into the roots that were binding him. ’Who are you?’

’Oh! You noticed it pretty fast,’ the voice echoed in his mind again. ’Who am I... Hum... Even if I told you, I doubt you would believe it. Let’s just say that little bat and I have known each other for a while.’

Little bat? Rifindio wondered just what kind of expert he was dealing with. Who didn’t know Triaglia, the Universe Owner? Yet, he called her ’little bat?’ Who would dare to address Triaglia in such a manner? ’Errr... Rean and Roan probably would,’ Rifindio thought for a second.

Rifindio calmed down, asking something else. ’What do you mean Triaglia did a good job with me? I’ve never met the Universe Owner... Wait, the Triaglia you are talking about is the Universe F956’s owner, right? Or is it just someone with the same name?’

’That’s her indeed,’ the voice confirmed. ’As for you never meeting her before, that is also to be expected. Those were the rules of the chosen, after all.’

’The chosen? The chosen for what? Why did the Cocoon take me? What do you intend to do?’ Rifindio had many questions.

The voice didn’t explain everything, just some parts. ’I don’t intend to do anything, but my little Cocoon definitely does. Don’t worry, it isn’t bad. In fact, you have a lot to gain from it. So, follow my instructions. Let go of your resistance against the Cocoon and allow the liquid to enter your body. Then, use that momentum and push for a breakthrough into the Space-Time Realm.’

’What?!’ How could Rifindio do such a thing? What if he suddenly becomes someone’s puppet or such?

However, the voice continued. ’Well, regardless if you want it or not, the liquid will enter your body eventually. No one can stop it. Sigh... whatever. Let me give you a little help.’

Then, Rifindio felt an overwhelming presence taking control of his body. The fight he was putting against the Cocoon immediately stopped, and the liquid inside invaded his body nonstop. Rifindio felt his body crackle, and his bloodline seemed to react accordingly. His whole being was being transformed.

The presence only did that for a second, letting Rifindio go right after. ’There, this should do the job. This is your opportunity, and the other chosen will get similar chances, so don’t waste it. Farewell.’

The presence disappeared, but Rifindio couldn’t care about that anymore. He felt his core swelling with power as his own bloodline seemed to transform. Yet, that wasn’t all. The main thing, the thing that stood out the most, was the laws! Rifindio felt how he was being forcefully pushed towards the Space-Time Realm, and with that, he began to feel the laws around him. And, within those laws, there were two that stood out.

One of them, even though he had never felt it before, Rifindio could recognize it instinctively. It was the Blood Laws. That was a must for all Camazotz Bats, and all of them recognized it. There were countless data in the network for the Camazotz Bats to read, too.

The other law, however, was different. No, it wasn’t different. It was the same, and, at the same time, it wasn’t. It was more powerful, deeper, it made his own Blood Laws submit to it. Wait, was that submission, or was that just a return to the origin? Rifindio couldn’t tell, but he was certain of one thing. He must take it; he must not lose it. Whatever was happening didn’t matter anymore. Those laws, they were above everything else. His soul screamed towards it as nothing else existed in Rifindio’s mind anymore.

*Grab!*

Then, as if some ancient information popped right out of his own mutated Camazotz Bloodline, some words appeared in his mind. ’The Celestial Laws of Blood...’