SSS Class Infinite Regression: Ascension of the Mad Dragon Prince Chapter 236: The Villain's Heroic Sacrifice

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When he opened his eyes again, he found himself floating in the river of ti between the Limbo of Heaven and Purgatory, between Eternity and the Void below.

Slowly, his mories resurfaced, mixing with those of Yang. He tried to cough, but he could not. He was only a soul. He wanted to cry, but he could not. He was only a soul.

All of this just because he had eaten a soul he should not have. Or rather, was that truly the reason?

Was it really just because he had eaten a soul he should not have?

No. It was more than that.

Why?

"Why am I regressing?!"

Wasn't that just a dream? How could he be regressing in ti after rely seeing a dream and dying in it?

Unless…

"Did that dream kill ?!"

As Louis slowly began to realize what had just happened, he looked into the skies.

The Five Seats of radiance that oversaw Limbo.

The seats of gold… were all empty.

Why?

The Purgatory below was also empty. No specters chased him anymore.

Why?

"You fool."

"…?"

Louis watched as the Entity within him slowly erged from his soul, glaring at him with bloodshot eyes.

"YOU ABSOLUTE FOOL!"

"What?!"

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"

"What did I do?!"

Louis was even more confused, flabbergasted to see this entity, who had always seed so calm and composed, suddenly going completely insane.

"You ate… so many of His fragnts! Who told you to eat the souls of those distorted beings?! Those immortalized creatures?!"

"…! You an the souls of the Cultivators?"

"Cultivators?! You… You don't know anything, do you?!"

"I would if you would tell ! I have only been doing whatever I can. What do you an I—"

"He's coming… He's coming!"

"…?!"

Their conversation could go no further. The fairy-like, mummified creature scread in horror as sothing began to approach while Louis fell through the river.

"HE'S COMING!!!"

In disbelief, horror, and frustration, the fairy shook Louis's entire soul with his claws.

"Don't you know how hard I have been trying to remain as who I am?! How difficult it was to reincarnate?! And now you are going to ruin everything! Everything, Louis Drakeheart!"

"Don't touch ! Who are you even calling? Who is coming?!"

Then…

There was only silence.

The white void trembled. A large crack split through it, revealing an endless cosmos of stars from beyond the horizon.

From there…

Sothing began to erge.

Stars that shone so brightly and beautifully.

Like ever-watching eyes.

Eyes…

Stars…

"Ah!"

Louis realized what was happening the mont he felt his soul trembling and writhing in agony.

"Impossible… So what I experienced was not a dream or a mory?"

"Dreams… mories… they are all interconnected within the Fantasium Dinsion. Dreams and mories are worlds, and the real world as you know it might also be a dream or a mory of sothing or soone else. Don't you understand? This is how this universe is composed: an endless spiral of madness! Everything was distorted when He was summoned by the Ancient Gods. And now, His Seats have brought an even more destructive force. He, the one watching you right now, has finally realized that we, an error, are ssing things up."

"What?"

RUMBLE!

In that mont, Louis realized that all the suffering and despair he had experienced until now was nothing compared to what was coming.

As the stars fell, as the white void distorted and bled the cosmos into Limbo, as Purgatory exploded into eternal flas that burned his soul, and as the eyes drew closer and closer, gigantic hands made of stars and lting gold reached for him.

Louis knew…

This universe and everything within it was utterly incomprehensible.

He simply… did not know how to respond anymore.

Ga logic?

Leveling?

None of that mattered in this mont. The false sense of security he had clung to shattered completely.

"IMMORTALIZE."

"ARCHIVE."

"GOLDEN STAR."

"BENEVOLENCE."

"SOUL AND BODY."

"ERGENCE."

"BY OBLIVION'S NA."

"YOU ARE NOT WORTHY OF PROLONGED EXISTENCE."

The words rang through Louis's body, spreading cracks across his soul and shattering him into pieces as the agonizing voice continued.

"KUAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Louis scread in agony, powerless against such torture. His very being was being turned into corrupted data, disappearing into the vast Limbo.

However…

"DAMN IT!"

The fairy stepped in front of him. His claws grew longer, and his form suddenly changed. His mummified appearance transford into sothing youthful: pale white skin, pointed ears, long blonde hair, beautiful golden butterfly wings, sharp crimson eyes, and white robes adorned with golden accessories.

"After all my efforts to infiltrate his family, am I really going to die here?! No…! I will not! I will not die here!"

The fairy entity roared. The entirety of Limbo grew more distorted as Spiritual Energy and Primordial Divine Power surged everywhere.

"The Ancient God's mistake has created sothing that cannot be reversed, Louis!" he told the prince. "But Oblivion has made a terrible mistake if he thinks he can stop from returning!"

"Who are you?! What's happening?! Nnghh…! NNGAAAHHH!"

Louis scread as he broke down into countless pieces, only for the fairy to use his Primordial powers to piece him back together, mixing his soul with the Essence of Limbo itself, unable to cleanse him properly.

"The Lie cannot last forever. The Contract I made to keep my existence tied to yours is breaking. There is no point in hiding it anymore. Louis Drakeheart, I am the Ancient King of Fairies, Oberon, and also the Primordial God, Loki! Long ago, Yggdrasil stood as the pillar of Fantasy, but since then, everything has beco worse. The universe as we know it has been infected by this cancer, and with my previous defeat by your grandfather… everything has grown even more terrible!"

"W-What?!"

"I am you, and you are . We are the sa soul. I planned to abuse your death loop and slowly devour your consciousness… but that perfect plan will likely never co to fruition now!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

"However… I have seen your struggles. I have seen your emotions… and even though I hate to admit it, your heart has changed , if only slightly. I used to think nothing mattered, but your struggles and perseverance… have truly touched ."

"…"

"I reincarnated as you, and so we are both the sa person. With my Spirit Contract, I was able to keep my true consciousness sealed, which mutated into this Entity. Now, however… it is far too late. They have found us."

"What? Wait…! So we're the sa? You and … I am your reincarnation? The reincarnation of… Oberon? Loki?!"

"Heh…" the fairy smiled at Louis. "Indeed."

"…!!!"

"I am still frustrated, don't get wrong. I wanted that body. I wanted that life… but that may never co true now… As I stand here, as the fool I have always been, defending this stupid child… maybe because I have grown fond of this beautiful 'what if'! Hahaha… Your grandfather… I wonder what he would say if he knew his grandson was his archenemy's reincarnation."

"…I think he would be happy to see you again."

"…Ridiculous!"

RUMBLE!

The barrier Oberon created began to shatter. The enormous entity, one of the Five Seats of Oblivion, drew closer. Its eyes fired hundreds of beams as its hands pressed forward.

Louis would die very soon if sothing was not done.

And…

It would require soone's sacrifice.

"I wanted it so badly… a second chance…"

"…Oberon."

"But I kind of have it through you. Despite not being able to fulfill my plan… at least you are here, Louis."

"What are you doing? We have barely known each other…! I… want to know more about you and who you are…!"

"Ask your grandfather once you et him."

"…!"

"For now…"

RUMBLE!

TRUUM!

TRUUM!

TRUUM!

"It is about ti I… do sothing heroic for the first ti in my existence. And… it will be the last thing I ever do."

FLAAASH!

Louis noticed his hands trembling as Oberon's handso face smiled defiantly despite everything.

He had once been a villain, soone who tornted Yggdrasil and planned its destruction.

His grandfather's archnesis.

But now…

He was about to sacrifice himself to save soone he had grown fond of, his "other self," born from a soul where his original consciousness had been sealed.

Louis.

RUMBLE!

Oberon spread his arms as thousands of grimoires were summoned. Their pages flickered as Ancient Primordial Magic was conjured.

Billions of runes appeared, spreading across the entire barrier and expanding outward, pushing back the monstrous Seat.

"FUTILE."

"A FUTILE ATTEMPT."

"WHAT DO YOU AIM TO ACCOMPLISH?"

"JUDGENT."

"ARCHIVE."

"ENLIGHTENNT."

"BE IMMORTALIZED."

Thousands of beams of bright light fired, consuming matter and lting reality into pure gold.

Oberon stood tall as his magic manifested, growing gigantic wooden roots and branches that expanded into a beautiful, massive domain.

Absorbing the Essence of Limbo itself, he fought against an impossibly stronger foe, one of the Five Seats.

The branches wrapped around the gigantic eyes and the roots pierced their flesh, tearing them open and making them explode.

The massive golden hands drew closer, only to be impaled by hundreds of wooden spears.

Bright leaves manifested like stars, flying toward the Seat and bombarding it with explosions.

"NNNGGH…! GUUUHHHH…!"

For the first ti, the Seat experienced true pain, agonizing as its True Body suffered damage beyond anything it had imagined.

Louis witnessed a battle between two Venerable-level beings, or perhaps sothing far beyond that.

"Can he win?!"

His eyes widened in awe as his soul continued to regenerate.

"He can…!"

The light leading him to his next life drew closer.

"Oberon, don't give up. You can win—"

"FUTILITY IS SIN."

However…

The molten gold exploded and hardened into starlight steel, turning into thousands of giant needles that pierced through the planet-sized branches and roots.

And then…

"Hah…"

They impaled Oberon's body completely.

Louis's eyes widened as he suddenly felt sothing deep within him being lost.

A connection had been severed.

As the light embraced his soul, he watched Oberon in silence and disbelief, sorrow filling his eyes.

Oberon smiled back at him, annoyed that he had grown so fond of soone like him, and even more annoyed that this person now showed sympathy.

"This is where I step down from this ride.

But… you still have a long way to go.

So you had better not give up, you damn bastard."

"Oberon…! Wait…! OBERON!!!"

As Louis disappeared into the light, Oberon faced the Seat in silence. His body was pierced by countless spikes of gold that grew through him.

He vomited gold as his entire form turned to gold.

But…

"I won't let you do that, hahaha… Who do you think I am?! I won't die so easily. I'll make sure to take you down with ."

"IT'S FUTILE."

"WE ARE ETERNAL."

"THE JUDGES OF OBLIVION."

"HIS EYES."

"THE ENDLESS CALENDAR OF CREATION."

"THE OVERSEER OF—"

"Shut your damn mouth, you damn nobody. I am older than you! Respect your elders, you damn fucking robot!!!"

With a mighty roar full of anger, while vomiting blood and turning to gold, Oberon pierced his own chest and tore out his bright heart, the Primordial God Heart he had kept hidden, and shattered it.

CRAAASH!

A blinding light erupted, unleashing a concentrated power capable of erasing an entire solar system in re seconds.

BOOOMMM!!!

"T-THIS IS…!"

BOOOMMM!!!

"EVACUATE…"

BOOOMMM!!!

"RETURN…"

BOOOMMM!!!

"WE, AS HIS EYES…!"

BOOOMMM!!!

"CANNOT SEE THIS— AAACK!"

BOOOMMM!!!

The Seat could not escape in ti. To fully erge here and chase Louis's soul, it had distorted spaceti to an extre degree, and returning would take too long.

Thus…

It suffered trendous damage. Each explosion consud its True Body, shattering it into countless pieces.

But the price for Oberon, or rather Loki, was equally great.

"Hah…"

As he faded into nothingness, he laughed at the futility of his existence, at how hard he had persevered and tried his best, only to end this way.

"From the mont I was born, I always strived to be special…

Maybe because my brothers, Thor, Tyr, and Baldr, excelled at everything.

I was a lonely child, wasn't I?

And when I saw that light, the red emissary from outside this universe…

I was given a new purpose, one that could finally make matter.

I did everything in my power to destroy them all, because I could never form any real bond.

I discarded everything for this sole purpose that made my life no longer aningless.

And… I was this close to achieving it…

But he stopped and showed that what I wanted to destroy was sothing precious to him, to his family…

You, Drake… you said you would make a better world… so show … through your grandson, and wherever you are right now… show that what you said is true…

Because… I have now given up all my hopes of returning… for your stupid grandson…

Rember… Louis… Oblivion, no matter how friendly he might seem… is not your friend."

His voice, along with a fragnt of his Primordial God Heart mixed with the Dying Gold of the Seat, traveled through the river and reached the light where Louis had gone.

To deal this much damage and "kill" a Seat, Oberon had not only destroyed his heart but erased himself from the Records of Creation and the Root of All.

This was truly his final sacrifice.

As the Ancient King of Fairies disappeared into a beautiful rain of flower petals, the Seat remained.

Distorted and heavily damaged, with giant wires and electricity sparking from its torn pieces.

"DAMAGE… TOO VAST…"

"EVACUATION PROTOCOL…"

"INITIATING…"

"FOUR SEATS… REPORTING INFORMATION…"

"CONTINUE ON… THE MISSION."

"DESTROY… THE ERROR."

Spaceti portals opened as its pieces fell through the cosmos like bright stars, scattering across planets and nebulas.

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