When everyone entered, a distortion in space surrounded them, imrsing them in sothing mysterious. Quickly, they felt as if they were covered by an enigmatic substance reminiscent of volcanic ashes.
These ashes were dense and mysterious, floating in the air like a sinister mist, absorbing any beam of heat and life that tried to break through the darkness.
As they fixed their gaze on the horizon, Alm and Bruno realized that the realm of ashes extended uniquely, equivalent to the central area of the other four realms. From the outside, its dinsion seed to have a few dozen kiloters, but everything was completely distorted by the intense spatial laws of the place. It was as if they were witnessing an altered reality, where the area stretched unimaginably, covering hundreds of tis more territory than seed possible.
In this first glimpse, Alm imdiately furrowed his brows. ’These ashes; they are a balanced but exceptionally dense mixture of Yin and infernal laws...’
Alm then, with his soul, probed what at first glance seed like simple macabre volcanic dust; soon, a slight shock reverberated within him. ’The amount of power contained only in the thin layer of ashes before our eyes surpasses all Yin and all infernal laws we have encountered in the prison combined.’
Bruno nodded in understanding; this realm was undoubtedly the primordial source of all the abyss’s power, while the prison diverted only a fraction of what emanated from there. As Bruno closely observed the ashes, a revelation occurred to him as he murmured. ’These ashes are erging from the ground... and when that happens, I sense a faint law of the earth, which disappears shortly after.’
Alm nodded, sharing the sa perception. Then his Yin tattoo lit up as he touched a handful of these ashes. In a matter of seconds, Alm expressed understanding.
’The two powers are being employed together, intrinsically, to suppress all laws of the earth. This place is the source of the abyss’s power and the earth suppression that exists within it.’
Quickly observing these ashes, nurous different ideas sprouted in Alm’s mind. Infernal laws and Yin were very similar, to the point that Alm saw no reason to use anything other than Yin. However, he now realized that when these two powers rged, they could generate strange effects.
It took just over a minute; then, when the whale felt everyone stopped behind him, he turned to the side and checked on Ruri. Unlike the prison, she felt no suppression in this place.
All behind observed the realm of ashes tensely; that place was known to be almost certain death and, at the sa ti, inexplicable. They were close to the entrance, and the ashes hindered visibility, as well as thwarting the senses, causing a palpable sense of lancholy.
According to the records of the Soul Eater Clan, which Alm and Bruno had read before, this place was divided into three sectors, and the danger multiplied several tis in each of them. However, there was no kind of beast or life in this place, and the danger... no one knew exactly what happened; demons simply disappeared or exploded without any explanation.
Alm and Bruno then worked together, using their souls and sensing everything ahead. Soon, they sighed, confirming their old theories. Then, they turned to Ruri and spoke softly.
"Focus on studying and morizing everything here. This place is covered by high-level spatial laws."
Ruri nodded, a bit confused, and everyone behind heard it, equally stunned. No one had ever managed to give an explanation about the dangers of this place. For Every 100 demons that entered, only 10 returned. And no one could ever sense danger from anywhere.
Bruno crossed eyes with Ruri, his gaze focused, and spoke. "The sharpest weapon in the world is not a material object forged by a great blacksmith but space itself. Yin can bring death to everything, removing the Yang of life; but space is the power capable of destroying everything that is physical and even reality."
"The laws of space are elusive and epheral. Fire, water, those things can be seen and touched. If soone frequently cos into contact with these laws, with a bit of talent, they can manipulate them. But the existence of space, although it is everywhere, cannot be felt. As a result, it is sothing powerful and incomprehensible to everyone, making it even more deadly."
"You saw before how the laws of winds can be useful for your weapon technique. But space is sothing used only among the best cultivators of the divine realm; it is on another level of comparison. Now, this place is a unique opportunity to feel it clearly. Sothing that few, even in the divine realm, receive."
The whale then turned to everyone behind. "Follow closely and stay alert. This entire realm is under the effect of the first concept of space: ’distortion.’ And this first sector is under the influence of the second concept: ’division.’"
"At any mont, space can split, creating a small dinsion. Sothing erges from the void and imdiately engulfs everything nearby, taking it into a micro-dinsion that, seconds later, will collapse. The result you can imagine."
Everyone swallowed hard. Then, the sudden eternal disappearance of all demons was finally explained to them. It ca from a law that was completely beyond their senses and knowledge.
Everyone had trembling eyes in front of the sacred whale; he had infinite knowledge. He was a god, after all. Everyone simultaneously thought and nodded their heads.
Ruri took a deep breath seriously, then didn’t hesitate and jumped on the back of the whale. Her arms crossed around the fat neck, then she closed her eyes. Her entire mind and senses focused completely on all surroundings; she would make the most of this opportunity. Even if she learned the minimum, she would reap infinite rewards.
Thus, after less than five minutes of arrival, the whale moved calmly, leading three clans on its back. Everyone walked attentively, but there was no fear in their minds. The sacred being was leading them.
So, minutes passed, with everyone walking in a straight line. Suddenly, the whale stopped and quickened its steps, making a swift detour. Everyone saw that movent and ran with all their might in the sa direction. It didn’t take thirty seconds for everyone to feel a two-ter fissure opening and an infinite and deadly attraction springing forth. Then, in three seconds, everything disappeared completely.
Everyone sighed with their hearts beating violently. If they had been just a few steps closer to it, they would have been pulled into death without a chance to understand what happened.
Thus, amid the growing looks of adoration every second, Alm and Bruno continued leading and dodging the power of spatial laws.
After twelve exhausting hours for everyone, the environnt finally seed to change slightly. They had walked only one-third of the first sector, and there, was where the first treasures of the realm of ashes should exist.
Fortunately, Ruri now didn’t need to sleep or eat daily. So she continued studying the environnt in ditation, without stopping for a second. After half an hour of walking, Alm and Bruno finally spotted sothing on the ground that caught their attention.
They were small stones of various sizes, but inside them, there clearly existed a strange law connected to the earth. Quickly, the records they read connected with sothing they were in possession of. All those scattered stones were the infamous lucky amulets, and they had gained one from Langrum in the past.
But it wasn’t just them. There were the lucky amulets that looked like common brownstones. But among them, deeply black stones could be seen; it was another type of item called the unlucky amulet.
The na was self-explanatory; demons didn’t have the habit of inventing mysterious nas. However, these two types of amulets were considered useless trash by everyone in the abyss. The lucky one, few realized its effect. The unlucky one was the most conspicuous; there were legends that it attracted premature death to anyone who touched it.
Unlike the demons, Alm and Bruno already knew that the lucky amulet in their hands, for so reason, had its effect magnified thousands of tis. And now, with the abundance of them, they wanted to run so tests.
"Gather everything you find; they might be useful in so way," commanded the whale, and everyone nodded slightly.
Spatial laws were calm in that region, but it was temporary; in an hour, everything would change, and they had to take advantage of this interval.
Minutes passed silently. Then, watching everyone scattered searching for these amulets, sothing caught Bruno’s attention.
’When Loeus, Almin, or Runula touch an unlucky amulet... there seems to be a connection... is this a karmic connection?’ Bruno spoke, uncertain.
Alm nodded, agreeing. These amulets could influence soone’s karma; for that to happen, there had to be this connection. The surprise was that precisely the unlucky amulet deeply connected with them. These three... definitely carried a heavy burden in their lives. All of them had difficult lives full of tribulations.
It didn’t take long for Bruno to notice the opposite happening. Runula and Deryu were helping Langrum in their small forms, and when the two touched the lucky amulets, a subtle resonance occurred. Only Alm and Bruno could feel all of this, thanks to their divine soul.
The whale then made a move and picked up both types of amulets, feeling them directly...
Mixed with the stone, they felt that strange law inside. Obviously, it was a law stolen by the queen, and they knew nothing about it. But... when the two laws were touched by their souls, sothing inside the core vibrated imdiately.
Alm and Bruno were surprised and spoke at the sa ti. ’The Law of Duality of Shadows, it’s connecting!’
They quickly moved that unique self-created law outward, confirming with a synchronized sigh.
Alm was thoughtful, but Bruno had no restraint when it ca to risks; impulsive was an understatent for him. So, without thinking too much, he activated the law and paid to see what would happen.
Alm and Bruno felt the laws inside the amulets being drawn... then they felt it rging with their Duality of Shadows Law. Soon, a single entity erged, leaving only the two with astonished eyes.
Then, as if it had always been that way, sothing strange appeared and split between the two amulets.
’The dual law remained the sa... but those two others fused...’ Bruno murmured.
Alm acted, tossing the two amulets and speaking to the other two figures nearby. "Almin, Langrum, catch!"
The two caught the two stones with doubtful looks. Then, Alm and Bruno confird: it continued to resonate the sa as before... but now... they felt their own karma lightly connected to it.
So, they asked both to switch amulets... nothing changed, it continued to resonate the sa.
When they took back the two amulets, they stared at them seriously for minutes. On the surface, they were just stones—sothing anyone could mistake for an ordinary stone.
Alm thought of sothing and moved the amulets closer to Ruri... suddenly, both of them widened their eyes as they felt sothing different resonating with her. The two amulets reacted strangely. Her karma wasn’t like that of ordinary people. Hers was like a sinister chain, bound to her by the heavenly laws.
’Is this celestial karma? How the hell does Ruri have sothing like this?’ Alm murmured.
Celestial karma was sothing special—a curse given directly by the heavenly laws to a mortal. To receive it, soone had to do sothing completely abnormal, defying all rules to an extre degree. It was a sinister thing that would persist even through countless reincarnations, turning the person’s life into a living hell.
The two sighed... Ruri had so dark secret, but even she probably wasn’t aware of it. It definitely ca from another life, and for now, they had no way of figuring it out. So, they turned their focus back to the present.
Then, Bruno had a strange idea. ’This seems to resonate differently with each person depending on their natural karma. And if... we use this to build our statues?’
Alm listened without seeing the logic in that, Bruno thought for a few seconds, and then continued.
’Now it’s linked to us, and its effect is amplified to the extre. If we make the statues with this stone, the people who worship us will be affected. Thus, those with good karma would be greatly benefited.’
Alm’s mind then clicked, and he spoke quickly. ’Those with bad karma that would eventually arise would be quickly killed by its influence.’
Bruno nodded. ’People with karma close to neutral wouldn’t have significant changes. So, if the theory is correct, this could be the biggest filter for our followers. There would be no people using our na for total evil, and over ti, the good people would rise to the heavens thanks to karma. Our religion would naturally strengthen. With the evident benefits, our followers would only increase and never decrease.’
’But... we were avoiding using the lucky amulet to avoid challenging the heavens, altering our fate. If we do this... we will be constantly ddling with the destinies of countless people...’ Bruno murmured.
’The queen and all the heavens and laws are our enemies. Let’s just be a target... maybe, astronomically more conspicuous. Screw it! If the heavens are the enemies, we’ll face them too.’ Alm said, and a villainous and malevolent smile appeared on his face.
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