"Soul Mantle." Sli#47 controlled the soul essence, shaping it into a large barrier.
A white barrier, a few ters wide, stood in front of the large golden blade.
Boom!
The barrier shattered upon impact. The blade still held so power even after the collision.
"Crap!" he yelled as the blade rushed straight to his soul.
'There's no soul essence left,' he mused with a scowl.
"Damn it." He clenched his fists, muttering, "I can only lose a golden barrier."
The blade connected with the golden barrier, which was already cracked.
Crack!
The barrier shattered into pieces as a new golden barrier appeared in its place, holding against the blade.
Crack!
Cracks spread across the new barrier, and after a few monts, the blade disappeared, running out of energy.
'Only one barrier is lost,' he sighed in relief. 'I expected a few more.'
He narrowed his eyes. "Dragon… I'll get revenge soday."
"I cannot lose more barriers like this." He clenched his fists. "They must stay intact to stop soul leakage."
He closed his eyes and relaxed for a mont.
He opened his status slowly.
[ Ding! Barriers remaining: 12! ]
He nodded, glancing at the shimring panel in his vision.
He turned to his soul. His will barrier was exactly the sa—full of cracks.
"Cracks… any attacks can directly land on my soul," he muttered, recalling how the golden blades had twice entered through cracks.
It was the golden barrier that stopped them.
"Will—the first and last defense of the soul," he muttered, then sighed. "Now it's lost almost all its purpose for ."
---
"I acquired Soul Mantle skill… so why is Will called the first and last defense?" Young Sli asked, bouncing near Elder Sli.
Wob!
"Because it's a fact…" Old Sli replied, folding his hands behind his body. "Will is the first and last defense for weak people. But for strong people… It's only the last defense."
'Not many can acquire soul-defense skills or items...hence first,' Sli#47 nodded. 'And the last defense… because everything else fails, even the strong have to depend on Will.'
---
"What's this?" Remora muttered as his senses spread inside Young Sli's soul dinsion. "A divine-level sealing spell… a soul that tried to devour…"
He narrowed his eyes.
He cancelled his Soul Protection Restoration spell as the white magic rune dispersed.
"&*###," he muttered, as his eyes glowed with transparent white energy.
---
Lady and the Ti God glanced at the fainted Young Sli.
"Is there no—" The lady stopped when she sensed a presence.
The Ti God turned his gaze toward the new presence, muttering, "Watching from the future?"
"Remora…" the lady said softly. She narrowed her eyes.
She asked, not caring about the Demon King, "So, is there no way?"
"No…" the Ti God replied flatly.
---
"So, that's how it is…" Remora muttered as his eyes turned normal.
"A sealed artifact tried to devour his soul…" He sighed. "Even gods couldn't solve it...much less ."
His eyes glowed with a transparent white light for a mont. "But you'll succeed… I've seen it… at least in one tiline."
"Take care, Young Sli…" His tone was bitter, his eyes dim. "My tiline… will perish… since you'll not succeed in this."
Even as powerful as he is, he cannot save his world on his own. He closed his eyes as all his close ones' faces flashed.
---
"Ahhh." Sli#47 scratched his body and glanced around.
"Whoa... so much ice…" he muttered, tilting his head. "What happened... and where's that dragon?"
He spotted no presence in the forest except himself.
In the next mont, he felt his vision blur, and found himself standing in front of the tall shadow.
"You have passed the Trial of Combat," Shadow clapped. "Next is Trial of Order—the last one."
"Trial of Order?" Sli#47 asked.
---
Bang!
Bang!
Remora thrashed the dragon left and right on the ground.
"Stop… ahhh… it hurts!" the dragon yelled, holding his head.
"Why didn't you interfere before?" he asked. "I wouldn't have taken a beating from you… If you did."
"Because I wasn't the protector of that kid," Remora replied plainly. "But you broke the rules bluntly, so I had to intervene."
'If I intervened… he wouldn't grow up,' he mused, sighing. 'My alternate version also didn't interfere, letting him die to re Dragon Breath.'
"There's hope… a spark," he whispered, while still slamming the bleeding dragon.
His eyes glowed with transparent white.
---
"How long is the ti limit?" Young Sli asked, glancing at Shadow.
'I hope it's not shortened,' he mused. After inquiry, he'd found his ti for each trial was so little compared to others.
"You have one life," Shadow replied, raising his index finger.
"One life?" Sli#47 asked back, tilting his head.
"The ti of one lifespan…" Shadow explained. "In this trial… you'll be a lord of a race—"
He was cut off as Young Sli asked, "One lifespan, lord, and Trial of Order… is it ruling?"
"Yes… Rule," Shadow replied, nodding. "In this trial, you'll need to live and rule as you desire."
"And…?" Sli#47 narrowed his eyes, expecting a condition.
"That's it," Shadow said, folding his hands behind his back. "You'll be judged on your rule."
"Okay." Young Sli nodded. "Let's start."
In the next mont, he felt dizzy.
He fainted.
---
"A baby," a raspy voice sounded, making him open his eyes.
He was held aloft by huge, firm hands.
'I'm so weak,' he thought, as he couldn't sense mana, aura, and much less demonic force.
His vision was blurry. It took a few minutes to adjust.
A big green, grotesque face appeared in his vision.
"What the!" he yelled in shock.
"Wait…" he muttered, as he glanced at his tiny green palms.
He noticed his voice was off.
"Hi…" he tried, but the sound was weak and different from what he expected.
"&*#
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