The man at the center stood in the air and looked at everyone on the ground and said...
"Your souls are mine!"
The runic symbols that made the formations all around us began to glow brighter and brighter.
At the same time, many began to scream. Screams filled with so much agony that I couldn't fathom how much pain that they were going through.
"You...you're forcefully extracting our souls! Argh!"
Now, everyone began to scream, and with a quick thought, I bent over and began to scream like the rest to avoid getting attention.
Doing that I also wondered, 'Why is nothing happening to me?'
' Is it the soul gem? I'm being protected...yes!'
'Who said I didn't have plot armor!'
"Argh!..." I kept on screaming as I looked around I found out that glowing transparent figures began to show forth from every one of the clones.
The Golden Armored man noticed this and laughed, "Hahaha! 999,998 Divine Souls...such power, I can't even imagine how powerful I would be when I assimilate with you all!"
Many struggled and many shouted in defiance of the process, but in the end, it was all futile.
Their souls were being refined and their memories were erased, leaving just the purity of their souls and their understanding and knowledge of the Dao.
After that, they were absorbed by the man at the center of the formation. And as he did so, his aura grew, and his presence became heavier that even with the protection of the Soul Gem, I felt it.
'Is this the aura of a God?' I wondered.
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"Ah! And that was the last of them...hm?"
The man opened his eyes as an unfathomable deep gaze was revealed. One that caused fear to arise in me.
"There is still one more?"
"No, I absorbed all 999,998 souls. Which means..."
*Swoosh!*
The man disappeared and appeared before me in an instant, and then I found my neck held by his hand as he lifted me.
"You are Arthur Nightingale, the original!" He said in surprise, and a bit of shock.
"Or I might be someone else who just happens to look like him, and also just so happens to be transported here at the same time," I said, hoping he buys it.
But that only made him tighten his grip on my neck giving me less access to air.
"Do you take me for a fool?"
"Although, you have no cultivation and I sense no power from you. I can sense it, and I know that you can too."
"The sense of being a part of your soul."
I knew I couldn't lie my way out of this one. So I tried another approach.
"See, I know you might find this hard to believe but, I assure you I have no plans to absorb anyone. In fact, after almost dying from entering the wormhole, I lost most of my memories!"
"Hmmm, that seems true. As your personality doesn't match with what I know of you."
"See...I am telling you the truth. So can you just let me go?"
"Nah," He disagreed, and my heart stopped beating for a second there.
Then I remembered the Gems in me and gained hope, and a little confidence.
"Sigh...I know how this will end..." I said with a look of pity.
'Yeah, with what I know so far about myself. I can be likened to the main character. And this man is just a mob that will only help me get stronger.'
'Or maybe I'm just tripping, and will get absorbed in an instant!'
Meanwhile, the man became silent and thought, 'He might have some hidden cards. He is still the legendary Arthur Nightingale, the Immortal Invincible.'
'I would have spent all my millions of years in vain if I underestimate him, and give him the chance to turn things around!'
"Normally, I would have given you the chance to complete what you wanted to say out of curiosity. After all, I have nothing to fear from an ant."
"But, I can't underestimate the Immortal Invincible!"
"What do you..?!"
"Godly Soul Refining Formation...activate...full force!"
A dangerous feeling welled up in me within an instant. The formation was changed and the one that appeared was much more powerful than before.
'He had a stronger one?'
'Damn, it!'
I closed my eyes expecting pain and agony. But then, nothing happened after a few seconds passed.
'Did the formation run out of wifi?' I thought jokingly.
I suddenly recalled the robbery that happened back on earth and hoped that time got stopped once more. As I opened my eyes, my expectations were not met...again.
"Nine Heavens Palace, what are you doing?!"
"You should be refining him instead!"
The man shouted as our positions were changed and I found myself at the throne he previously sat. Seated there, I suddenly felt being in control of everything in the palace.
'This feels right...maybe I am the protagonist!' I thought in glee.
Then I heard a voice say, "Welcome back, Master. I knew you would return. Please allow this servant to serve you once more!"
The voice sounded strange and familiar at the same time. It was the voice of the Artifact Spirit of the Nine Heavens Palace itself.
A transparent figure appeared in the hall. It was that of a man dressed in a silky white robe.
I couldn't recognize him though. It was part of the memories that I lost. But at the same time, I felt a sense of familiarity with him.
"You can't do this, I am your master now!"
"I Emperor Damon, was the one who helped you recover!" The other man said in anger.
The spirit of the palace turned to him and sighed, "I am sorry but my true loyalty lies with him."
The artifact spirit of the Nine Heavens Palace waved his hand and the formation activated, trapping Emperor Damon within.
"Argh...I won't let you!"
A resisting force arose from his soul as he fought back. And surprisingly he was able to resist the power of the formation.
"His soul...it has reached such a level. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to resist."
"It seems that I have to pay a huge price for this..."
The artifact spirit turned to me and smiled at me.
"Master, I won't be able to accompany you for a while. Please after you reincarnate and have enough strength. Help me recover. The treasures you left with me are still well kept," he said before suddenly increasing the power of the formation.
"I promise to help you recover as soon as I can," I said to him.
With that cracks began to appear all around the palace. That let me know that he was damaging himself to refine the other man's soul.
I felt bad seeing him sacrifice himself. But then I remembered he won't get destroyed.
"Arghh!!"
Emperor Damon fought back more intensely, causing a tremble all around the hall. Even where I was seated was shaking.
"It's not enough! I haven't fully recovered. Master, please summon the soul gem!"
"I can't control it...I...!"
A blue light suddenly flew out my forehead, surprising me.
'It came out on its own, nice!' I thought.
With the appearance of the soul gem, the artifact spirit suddenly had the advantage.
"Arggh!!"
"You won't get away with this!"
"I will take you down with me...?!.."
"You sealed my dantian too...when..."
Emperor Damon couldn't complete his sentence as his soul got drawn out.
"What in the world?" I asked in shock as I saw Damon's soul.
Which unlike any other was incredibly huge and shined in golden light. He struggled but in vain. And then he got drawn into the soul gem.
"Nooooo..."
Silence reigned for a moment before flashes of light began to leave the Soul Gem and dived right into the depths of my soul.
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--------End of Chapter---------------
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A/N: That's it for today guys. Please leave a comment down below with your thoughts so far. Also, a review would be appreciated!