Here, there is no material, which is also what the world looked like at its inception. And now, standing in the void, about to destroy a world by his own hands, Laine had gained a deeper understanding of the creation of the universe.
He did not know why the world was born, or how the first concept had erged from absolute "nothingness," just as humans in later generations did not understand how the heavens and the universe had appeared at the beginning. They could only make every effort to guess the initial state of all things, but in the end, they could not explain how this beginning ca to be.
It was like the physical laws of the world, which are objectively existing things. If there had to be a reason, then it was "everything was naturally so."
Therefore, if one really had to na this "original driving force," then Laine thought "the Way" might be more suitable to describe It. And the first "one" that "the Way" gave birth to was the void that carries the world.
It was "sothing" with respect to absolute "nothingness," but it was nonexistent to all things within the world. It was on its foundation that "one" gave birth to "two," and together, matter and Spirituality were born, in both opposition and unity, and from their intersection, all things began.
Now, the collapse of the world was also following such a process. As the scope of the Underworld beca smaller and more matter disintegrated, Laine could feel that its part of Spirituality was also dissipating. When everything ended, this place would return to the environnt it was in at the beginning of creation, empty except for the void.
"In that case, I ca to this world at the latest ti, probably even before the ’two’ were born."
Making a silent judgnt, although Laine did not know what use it was, it did not prevent him from keeping it in mind. He had always been attentive to the years when he had been without consciousness at first.
Crack—
"Hm?"
With a change in expression, Laine slightly lifted his head. Following the sound, it turned out that just a short distance below him, a tiny crack had appeared on the black chains that locked an invisible mass.
The Divine Body of Hades had long since crumbled, completely incinerated and destroyed under the blaze of the Sun. But the chains of Death could lock not just tangible existence, so Hades still had no chance of escaping.
As for the chains that were now breaking apart... It was not because they could not hold him anymore. On the contrary, this signified his end.
The black chains of Death would only bind the living. When Hades irrevocably entered his end, the chains that had lost their purpose naturally also lost their value to exist.
When the chains completely disintegrated, it would be the mont Hades died. However, at that mont, Laine unexpectedly discovered that the consciousness of Hades appeared to still be very lucid. Although he could no longer make out a form, he could be sure that the other was "looking" at him, even "speaking" sothing to him.
The task at hand was completed, and the arrangents with Athena were all made. So when this place ended, Laine planned to cleanly finish this world. Therefore, after realizing this, he didn’t mind listening to what the other was thinking.
Compared to the Underworld, completely destroying this world would take even less ti. As he had said before, the reason he waited these seven days was basically to verify the process of world disintegration, otherwise, without the world’s restrictions on his power taking effect, Laine could very easily end it all.
After all, the gap between these gods in the Fantasy World and their real selves was as vast as the difference between a strand of power that composed this world and the complete Chaos, their strength largely only existing in "settings." The "tricks" Laine prepared were to deal with Henu, and were simply unnecessary for this world alone.
"..."
"...Outsider?"
At the convergence of the black chains, a certain concept subtly stirred. It could not emit sound, but when Laine wanted to "listen," he could still hear it.
So he nodded his head, acknowledging this title.
"Yes."
Perhaps as a form of self-rescue, in these seven days, Hades’s will had an unprecedented close bond with the gradually disintegrating Underworld, and it was for this reason that he saw many things that he should not have seen.
The "Outsider" he spoke of was one of them. Although Hades still could not realize his own false essence, he had still discerned that Laine did not belong to this world.
"..."
"...You... are going to destroy the entire world?"
"Yes."
Laine nodded again, his expression unchanged.
"..."
"..."
A longer silence followed, and with it ca the sounds of chains snapping one after another.
The Underworld below had shrunk to less than a square mile, which was practically non-existent for an entire realm. Just when Laine thought Hades was about to et his end, he heard a third inquiry.
"Why... do you wish to destroy us?"
Turning his head, Laine looked at the concept that was about to completely dissipate. He had considered whether to say sothing, but ultimately decided against it.
This was rely a Fantasy World... So in the end, he simply stated indifferently,
"If there must be a reason..."
"I suppose, that’s the reason."
...
"He... has arrived!"
Boom—
The last bits of residue vanished completely, and the tremors of the Illusory Primordial Sea coupled with the final warning of Hades echoed between the worlds, but Laine paid no heed to these.
The dissolution of the Underworld confird his theory, although there were so unsatisfactory aspects; for example, in his perception, the destruction of the Underworld didn’t cause much impact on this world.
For the ecosystems of the mortal realm, it might have been near-total annihilation, but the world itself only montarily weakened. Laine could even see that, without further interference, the Origin forces that invaded the human world could be expelled through the world’s cycles over long eras, and then they would reassemble and form a new Underworld in this void.
Even though it was bound to be a lengthy era, it was sothing that would inevitably happen. The power of the Underworld is, after all, part of this world. It would be damaged due to the collapse of certain structures, but as long as these ’materials’ persist, everything can be repaired.
"But this is already enough... After all, for that world, Chaos is the enemy that even now, it is still fighting against."
"When external pressures are imnse, even the smallest of internal injuries can be amplified a millionfold."
With a flick of his sleeve, he gathered all that remained here. After completing the final cleanup, Laine slightly raised his head.
Standing in the void, above the ’top’ of the concept, he could see the ground rising slowly. Soone was pulling it up, and that was the power of Thunder; Laine identified it with ease.
Perhaps it was a display of power, or maybe using the earth as a ’shield,’ or more likely not wanting to venture into the unknown peril; in any case, under Zeus’s force, the ground truly was rising slowly.
But now, he had no intention of wasting any more ti. So without waiting, Laine extended his finger and drew lightly in the air.
Great sounds signify silence, great images are formless; it was a noise that should’ve shaken heaven and earth, yet at this mont, it seed so inconsequential. The next instant, the earth above the void of the Underworld split in two, revealing The Sky and the Sun, as well as the Divine King standing on Mount Olympus.
"...Is it you?"
When Laine saw Zeus, the latter also saw him. And instantly, the Divine King recognized him as the owner of the phantom from a few days ago.
"You are that Outsider... What have you done to the Underworld!"
A questioning roar bood like Thunder, yet Laine didn’t respond. He looked towards Zeus, and he also gazed upon the primordial seas connected by the Divine Authority. They appeared so mighty, yet so hollow.
"It’s over."
His figure vanished on the spot like a bubble, and in the next mont, an indescribable colossal shadow lood over the world. It reached out, grasping both the earth and The Sky.
A gentle squeeze, as though breaking an eggshell... As for Zeus’s questioning, he didn’t need to explain.
After all, what did the Destruction of this world have to do with them?
Reviews
All reviews (0)