Shin slowly retrieved the ashes of his fallen brother and clapped his hands together for one final gesture of respect. The Blade of Death had been killed and with him, Junius' sins. Although Junius' legacy would be one of the villains, deep down, Shin knew that the man had repented. His power would forever live by Shin's side, aiding him in taking down any enemy that dared to venture into his path.
Shin's eyes were reddened, and his face completely stern. One would question why the Prince was paying this much respect for the enemy he had slain, but Shin didn't care. Junius was, by far, the most influential figure in his life. At a young age, Junius was the elder brother that Shin could count on, the man that the Prince would turn to at every single turn. After Junius turned heel, the man became Shin's fuel source and was a significant reason for the young Prince's explosive growth. Finally, as he perished under Shin's spear, Junius sacrificed his life to allow Shin to springboard through an entire realm.
There was no one else in the world that had influenced Shin more than Junius did. So, his fall from grace made Shin feel so… empty.
"..." Bingbing grabbed onto the young man's wrists, tugging the man's attention back onto herself. Curious, she asked: "Yip, yip! Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Shin beamed as he gently messed up the Kamaitachi's beautiful hair. "I can't mourn forever… There are still many battles to fight."
The Prince looked to the skies and could see the colossal Obsidian Gate in the distance. Thousands of phantom soldiers rushed towards great structure, adamant of pulling it down brick by brick. Umbras and Spirit Beasts had been obliterated by the combined force of the Lantis Republic, the Himmel Empire and the Kori Federation's Spirit Venerates. The Black Masks had been annihilated, and there was no trace of the gargantuan World Serpent that towered over the entire region. Truth to be told, there was nothing else that Shin could do, other than acting as the clean-up crew. However, before he could commit to that task, there was one thing that Shin had to finish…
The young man lovingly placed the gourd into the young girl's tender hands and whispered into her ears: "Bingbing, keep this safe. Stand behind Senior Heigui if you need to. It's going to get a little messy."
"Yip? A little messy?"
"..." Shin smiled and didn't elaborate. Instead, he tapped on the white-haired loli's back, gesturing her to move a safe distance away. Although confused, Bingbing still faithfully carried out her task. The spectators were still unaware of Shin's intentions. Still, they believed that the prodigal Prince wouldn't do something without having a valid reason. They watched silently as Shin sighed and dusted off his white dirtied pants.
His smile faded away and was replaced with a stern frown. There was a glint in his eyes that mirrored that of how a Lion would eye its prey. The Tree of Illusions had faded into the backdrop, and Junius' corpse had been disintegrated by Shin's Dragon's Tear. Technically, there shouldn't be any reason for Shin to put on his war face a safe zone such as this. However…
"Allfather, I know that you're there."
"!!!"
That statement dropped the jaws of everyone present, including the all-knowing Azure Dragon Lord who lived for thousands of years. The Allfather was present?! Does that mean that they had to fight against the world's most powerful being right after they killed off Junius? Instinctively, all of the Spirit Venerates and Tier 9 Spirit Beasts got into position. Dense spiritual particles flowed out from their pores and contaminated the misty atmosphere. Heavy spiritual pressure fell down upon the canyon as each one of the elites unleashed their maximum potential. If the Allfather was indeed present, they didn't have the luxury to hold back.
However, Shin seemed as carefree as can be. He didn't summon out the Celestial Dragon, and neither did he cast any of his spiritual abilities. Instead, the young man casually walked towards the simple blade that had pierced through the ground. Formerly a Legendary-Grade Spirit Armament, the Hofuku had lost the gem which provided its honeycomb barrier that could rival that of the Heigui Clan.
Now, it was just an above-average blade. However, there was one distinct difference. Before Junius pierced Shin's chest with his Azure Water Blade, he had transferred all of the black mist within his Spectre Soul into the Hofuku. Shin had absorbed the mana that Junius had purified, but what had happened to the excess wastage? The answer laid within the confines of the gorgeous Obsidian Odachi that protruded out from the ground.
"I know that you can hear me… Junius briefly described what your power entails… It is unlike a Rank 99 Spirit Saint to be hiding from a Rank 60 Spirit King… So, please come out, Spirit Immortal Dream's relic..."
"..." The Hofuku shook. The atmosphere around it looked like a man who had just gotten the news that his wife and two kids had just perished in an unfortunate disaster. Defeated, the pure black aura hidden within the two-metre-long Odachi slowly poured out like an open faucet and congregated right before the eyes of the elite group.
Heigui Xuegang wanted to place Shin within his barrier but was immediately stopped by the young Prince's arm. "Don't worry… That thing can't hurt us. It's just the remnant of the Allfather's will."
Being the one that absorbed the Allfather's mana, Shin was acutely aware that the dominant Rank 99 Spirit Saint wasn't truly present. All that was sealed within the Hofuku, was the remaining will that was attached to the mana that Junius had stolen. The Allfather's Spirit was unique. As long as there was a single trace of his presence, he could be at anywhere at any given time. That was what made the Black Masks so terrifying. The Allfather's voice could reach anywhere, and his eyes were far more vast than any intelligence network.
"Shin Iofiel..."
And that voice… was now calling out Shin's name. Shin's back was pouring down sweat, and his palms had turned sticky. Yes, the dark smoke that was billowing out from the Hofuku had no way of hurting Shin, but that didn't stop Shin from feeling fear. The person speaking was the world's most notorious criminal, the sole person responsible for pushing the world into this dark age. It would be shocking if Shin didn't feel nervous.
The smoke collapsed on itself and congregated into a single point. It mushed around like a dough being kneaded until finally, it took a form that Shin was familiar with. A hooded man morphed out from the remnant Allfather's will and landed his two feet on the moist soil. He was about Shin's height, probably by design. His face was hidden by an endless amount of Darkness-Elements, and all four of his limbs were wrapped in black bandages. Although the Allfather's avatar didn't boast the same intimidating mana that could bring down ten Spirit Saints with ease, there was still a thick layer of dread when feeling the man's aura for the very first time.
Shin gulped as every single one of his senses screamed at him to run away. If not for the Celestial Dragon's aura and his recent promotion into the Spirit King realm, the young man was certain that he would be grovelling on the floor. That was how scary the Allfather's presence was, even without mana. If the real Allfather was present… Shin couldn't fathom such a frightening thought.
'So this is the Allfather… The leader of the Black Masks and… the man that corrupted Junius...' Clenching his fists, Shin had to push down the desire to thoroughly tackle the Allfather to the ground.
"Shin Iofiel… You really are a treat to behold..." The Allfather's raspy voice reverberated through the canyon and shook the souls of those present. "I was a fool to trust Junius. Betraying me for his younger brother that sought to kill him… Humans really are an odd bunch."
"Hmph! You speak as if you weren't a human to begin with," Shin kept his emotions in check before interjecting with his own facts. "Junius had told me everything, you ancient dinosaur. You're trying to open Heaven's Gate because you're not capable of breaking through into the Spirit Immortal Realm on your own! How disgraceful!"
"..." The Allfather didn't reply. Instead, the cloaked shadow kept his hands behind his back and directed its attention solely on the young man's body.
Naturally, shouldering the attention of the world's most powerful being was a reach. Shin felt his chest contract and his heart beating ever-so wildly. However, Shin didn't stop the slightest bit. "You're not fit to carry on the will of Spirit Immortal Dream! You're just a fake that wants to use human souls to feed your eventual failure of a gate!"
"Was that what Junius told you? That I wanted to create a gate using the souls of those that I'd reaped?"
"..." This time, it was Shin's turn to be silent. Junius hadn't explicitly said that to him, and Shin simply inferred it from the information that he'd got. Alas, it looked like the young genius had missed the mark altogether.
"Looks like you really don't understand my plans at all, huh?" The Allfather snickered. He wasn't affected by Shin's taunts in the slightest. Junius wasn't able to fully transfer everything that he knew about the Allfather to Shin as there were many gaps in his knowledge. Therefore, Shin sought to piss off the Allfather to the extent that he would willingly reveal everything to him. Alas, what was a juvenile plan to someone who possessed centuries of experience?
"Oh, child… You still have much to learn..." The cloaked figure demeaned Shin quite openly. "But, you know what… You have bested me time and time again… I should give you some sort of reward for that, so I'll willingly play along to your tune. My plan was never about opening Heaven's Gate in the first place."
"Huh?"
The Allfather's aura calmed down, and the shadow let out a slight chuckle. Shin couldn't see the expression that lay within the hood, so he could only imagine the monstrous face of the Allfather in a smile. And that wasn't a pleasant sight.
"See, I've attempted to create the doorway to the Immortal Realm, just like how my Master tried to do in the past..." The shadow looked right at the Obsidian Gate that was being brutally destroyed by the Himmel Ancestor's Phantom Army. Always keen on the verbal cues, Shin assumed that the Allfather was a protege of Spirit Immortal Dream before she ascended into the heavens.
"However, after centuries of trying… It became quite clear that it was impossible." At that moment, the Allfather seemed so… lonely. He held all the power in the world, but he looked like a defeated man with nowhere left to go.
"Shin Iofiel… You must be curious about my real objective then… The real reason why I created the Black Masks and brought my mana out of hiding. Why I killed thousands with a snap of my fingers? Why I brought my Master's inventions back to the forefront of the mortal world? Why I collected talents from all over the world and bathed them with my mana?"
The Allfather pointed out all of the questions that Shin wanted to ask with relative ease. The Allfather was by far, the most secretive entity that existed. No one knew who he was, what Spirit he possessed and most importantly… Why he was annihilating populations and creating mayhem. So, Shin peeled his ears ardently as he listened in on the man made from the darkness.
"Why did I do what I did?" The Allfather paused as his 'face' moved right towards the rooted Prince. Shin couldn't see his expression, but he could have sworn that the Allfather was smiling. With one single breath, the Allfather relayed the answer that every single soul in the world has been seeking.
"Because of you."
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