What the fuck? Neraxis's brows twitched as he tried his best to remain composed.
But how could he?
As it turned out, the Eternal Night was holding the Eternal Sin's body underground in so sort of coffin.
To top it all off, Neraxis wasn't sure what to be more surprised about—
The fact that the Eternal Sin knew who he was, or the fact that the Eternal Sin was alive in the first place.
But if his body's here... then why?
"Everyone, bow," Valthor stated coldly, and as if by instinct, every single person present bowed in unison.
Neraxis had been the exception, as the pressure hadn't affected him much. However, since he realized he was sticking out like a sore thumb, he bent down on one knee and blended in with the crowd.
Soon, Valthor nodded in satisfaction and began speaking.
"Let's welco the founder of the Eternal Night, Lagus Destine," Valthor said, clapping his hands twice. "He's the main reason why so of you are alive. He's also the reason why most of you have the powers you do."
Neraxis tilted his head in confusion, but it was soon cleared up by Valthor.
"After all, if not for Lagus, then you lot wouldn't even be able to use mana."
Hmm...?
"All worlds have guardians, and it just so happened that Lagus Destine was tied down to the guardian's position against his will. As you may notice, he's a little out of it," Valthor added. "Nonetheless, he's the conduit that connects you to your systems, so be grateful."
Silence hung in the air; however, the pressure was still as high as ever.
Yet Neraxis's confusion was even higher.
What's even going on...? Neraxis pondered. I thought he was dead, and his consciousness was inside my mind. However, he's actually alive, and sohow related to the system we all have?
It didn't really make sense at first, but the more he thought of it, the more he frowned.
He was sure this wasn't the case all the ti. After all, his previous world was very weak.
Neraxis had been the strongest person at S- rank, and now, you could find an S- ranked awakened strolling through the street, walking their dogs or sothing.
So that raised an interesting theory in Neraxis's mind.
What if... after he turned back ti and destroyed the possibilities for the Dreamspire to regenerate, he also made sure to overthrow the previous guardian?
He wasn't yet sure how it worked. However, if he had to assu, the guardians' power correlated with the world's power.
His previous tiline was weak, so he likely had a weak guardian. Now that Lagus was the guardian, the world was practically boundless.
Just no one actually reached those heights—probably because of age or other limitations Neraxis had yet to figure out.
Anyway, Neraxis had finally realized the gravity of the situation.
As long as he was connected to the system—and especially to Lagus—then he'd always be tied down with him, and so would everyone else on his world.
So so worlds have literal gods acting as Guardians... that's why they can afford to send out Saints and other high-ranked individuals... and we have a guy who's sleeping in his own coffin, Neraxis thought with a sigh.
"Aside from that, we shall start with the blood ceremony," Valthor stated.
All of a sudden, a dozen knives manifested and traveled toward the necks of everyone present.
Neraxis instinctively evaded it, making it pierce the neck of the man behind him.
"Hm?" Valthor tilted his head. "Neraxis? Is sothing the matter?"
"Not feeling like piercing my neck today, I guess," Neraxis replied plainly and stood up. "Can I be excused?"
Valthor narrowed his eyes. "This isn't the first ti you've gone against my orders, Neraxis. No one's asking you for much, just your undying fealty."
"Can it still be undying if that thing pierces my neck?" Neraxis asked flatly, pointing to the people on the ground whose arteries had been pierced.
Slowly, the life was drained out of their bodies, and they simply stopped moving.
Valthor chuckled as he began walking toward Neraxis.
"Everyone is replaceable, Neraxis. Even you," he said. "For what you sacrifice here, the others will prosper. After all, Lagus Destine grows stronger with each sacrifice. And I believe we're extrely close to bringing him back. The real him."
A look of ecstasy appeared on Valthor's face as he began pacing around Neraxis slowly.
"Can you imagine? Most worlds utilize Celestials... but what if we have a guardian that's Eternal-ranked? The possibilities for our evolution are endless. We can conquer—we can practically beco the strongest race in the universe," Valthor added.
Neraxis's brows furrowed. "And what makes you think Lagus won't escape his shackles once he regains his strength? Don't you think he'll be able to find a..."
He trailed off, his eyes widening.
A replacent.
The Eternal Sin wanted a replacent.
Neraxis was simply being used—until eventually, he had sufficient power to beco the guardian in the place of the actual Eternal Sin.
All the bullshit visions, all the things the Eternal Sin had said, were nothing but lies, when in reality, his goal was this all along.
But now, another problem arose.
Valthor had ntioned that the Eternal Sin was close to being brought back, and all of this could've been averted if Neraxis had entered the Astral Tower a year ago—maybe more.
It also makes sense why the Eternal Night was barely active in my past tiline... they didn't have a purpose, Neraxis thought as his gaze traveled toward Valthor.
"Say... if everyone's replaceable, why don't you slit your own neck?" Neraxis asked.
To his surprise, Valthor simply grinned, walked over to Neraxis, and leaned in front of his face.
Then, Valthor placed both of his hands on his own head and, with full force, crushed it.
Blood and brain matter spilled on the shocked Neraxis.
However, that seed to be the least of the surprises.
All of a sudden, Valthor's body began glowing—and so did the bodies of every single person that had died.
The light traveled toward the Eternal Sin's coffin and coursed through his body.
The process continued for several minutes, until eventually, Neraxis heard a clack beneath his feet.
And as he looked down, he saw Valthor, with his head no longer crushed, staring at him with a smile.
Slowly, Valthor stood up and then pointed his finger around the room where every single person that had been killed slowly reawakened—without even a single scratch.
Valthor didn't say anything. Instead, he flashed Neraxis a smile and proceeded to walk toward Lagus's coffin.
The mont he approached, Lagus simply flashed one final glance toward Neraxis, and then, he lay back down inside the coffin.
Valthor closed it, then gently brushed the blood off the pedestal before glancing back at Neraxis with a wide grin.
"Eternal life... it sure is lovely, isn't it?"
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