Drops of tears trickled down the Heavenly Demon's face as his eyes reflected the field of white daffodils.
He weakly turned away and gazed at the sky. Golden waterfall cascaded from the heavens, illuminating the beautiful scene of white flowers blooming on black, shattered land.
"Those were mother's favourite," he gently whispered into the wind.
At the sa ti, Adam's mana reserves finally depleted. His face twisted and churned, as though countless tiny tendrils were squirming underneath the flesh, until he wore his own face again.
Crushing ntal fatigue struck him with the weight of a mountain, and he collapsed to his knees. Blood seeped out from his facial orifices as he continued to endure the agonizing pain.
The field of white flowers dissipated, leaving behind only two heavily injured individuals on the brink of death.
Adam also lost his connection with the serpents of war. With no mana to sustain their summoning, the surviving serpents had returned to the Coil.
The silver lining in all of this was… the undead army had also returned to the Underworld now that the lich was no more.
"Can she even be called my mother?"
The Heavenly Demon's frail voice broke through the silence.
"I'm not Adam Constantine… I'm not Marden Benton…" he murmured as he felt the cold hands of death reach toward him. "In the end… who am I?"
"What are you babbling about?" Adam crawled toward him.
As he examined his avatar's injuries, he knew for certain that he wouldn't make it out alive. The consequences of constant destruction and regeneration of the Heavenly Demon's body had finally caught up to him.
Adam's heart churned with sadness and regret. The avatar was a part of him, and to see him die truly hurt.
"Hey." The Heavenly Demon clasped Adam's hand.
He looked the youth in the eye and said solemnly, "You know he isn't truly dead yet, right? His phylactery… he…"
Adam gently interrupted him. He placed his hand on his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I know, buddy," he said with a soft smile. "I know where it is."
The Heavenly Demon's eyes flickered with surprise. But very quickly, he sighed in relief. "That's good then. Rember… you must destroy his soul. He's made a deal with the devil. If you don't destroy his soul… he will be reborn in Hell."
Adam's expression turned solemn. He nodded. "I understand."
He thought of sothing and couldn't help but say, "What about you? Aren't you going to be reborn in Hell?"
The Heavenly Demon's lips curled into a bitter smile. "Such is the fate of every mber of the Cult of Bones. That despicable Wagner dood us all simply by association. Everyone except Winter, maybe. That bastard truly loved him, I suppose."
He paused for a mont, then said weakly, "But will I even rember my past life when I am reborn there? Will I rember who I am?"
Adam remained silent.
He didn't know the answer.
Death and the afterlife. These were things that had always been a mystery to even the most powerful of existences in this universe.
Adam's eyes flickered with a peculiar light.
"Death is not the end for you," he murmured in a daze. "Maybe… maybe there is a way for you to retain your mories. Or at least, the essence of who you are."
"How?" The Heavenly Demon's eyes slowly widened. Then, he ventured a guess. "Could it be… the Lotus?"
Adam nodded ever so slightly. "I don't know, but it's worth a try," he said as he gently placed a hand on his avatar's head.
In the depths of his spirit sea, the Eternal Soul Lotus humd.
The first thing Adam did was erase every mory, piece of knowledge, and secret related to himself inside the Heavenly Demon's soul.
Then he erased most of Marden Benton's mories as well.
The only thing he left behind was the Heavenly Demon's true essence — that he was Adam Contantine's avatar.
Everything from the mont the soul parasite had latched onto Marden up until the present was left intact.
Only a few fragnted mories from Marden Benton's childhood remained, serving as a foundation for a new identity to erge.
Lastly, Adam implanted everything he knew about the Nine Hells of Inferno and the devils. He also passed on several precious mana extraction techniques, believing they would greatly benefit the avatar's blood magic.
In addition, he imparted the Astral Tyrant Manual.
In short, Adam gave him everything he believed would be necessary to survive in the ruthless and cutthroat environnt of Hell.
The avatar slowly opened his eyes. A trace of confusion flickered in them. But when his gaze settled on Adam, he felt a sense of familiarity, safety and… fraternity.
Adam could feel the life slowly seeping away from his avatar's murky eyes. He smiled warmly and said from the bottom of his heart:
"Thank you… Without you, I wouldn't have been able to defeat him. Now, leave the rest to ."
The avatar remained silent. He, too, could feel that he didn't have much ti left. But deep within his heart, he also knew that death wasn't the end.
"Who… am I?" the avatar weakly muttered.
"Please… bestow upon … a na."
Adam looked deeply at his avatar, his heart churning with tumultuous emotions. He thought for a brief mont, then smiled.
"Amon," he said. "You shall be called Amon."
"Thank… you…" Amon softly murmured as he finally breathed his last.
And as expected, the soul did not enter the mysterious space within the Lotus.
Adam gently closed his eyes and said with a sorrowful smile:
"If fate wills it, we shall et again… in the Greater Universe."
He sat beside Amon's corpse for a long ti. Silently, he circulated the Five Elental Codex and gathered enough mana to open a portal to the spirit world.
When he opened his eyes again, they had hardened with fierce determination.
He dipped his hands in the blood of his avatar and began carving a giant runic formation on the ground. His fingers danced across the earth as mysterious crimson characters were brought to life.
Soon, the runic formation was ready.
Adam unsteadily rose to his feet and retrieved the Blades of Fulgrim. Then he walked to the center of the runic formation and slowly began weaving a set of hand seals.
Several years ago, when he had uncovered the truth about Aldo Wagner on Coral Island, he had secretly left behind a similar runic formation there. It was ant to serve as an anchoring port. All in preparation for this day.
Adam's mana rapidly drained once again, falling to rock bottom. But he had achieved his goal. An arched gate materialized above the runic formation. He inhaled deeply, tightened his grip on the blades, and stepped inside.
It was ti to finish this.
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