Chapter 32: The Seven Laws of Madness
The revelation cracked something deep within Damon's soul—widened his perception, deepened his hunger. Lin Feng. He needed him. The thought burned like a star in his core. But even the God of Madness required rest.
He descended into a cave, its jagged maw yawning like an invitation. Before stepping inside, he unleashed a wave of spiritual energy, letting it ripple through the cavern's depths. No unwelcome presence lurked. Satisfied, he ventured deeper, settling in a quiet alcove, crossing his legs into a lotus position.
His breath steadied. His mind drifted into meditation.
Then—
A jolt.
His two cores clashed like warring titans. The demon core surged with hunger, seeking to devour the spiritual core in its entirety. It was not a mere disturbance; it was war. A battle of dominance within his very essence.
Yet, Damon did not panic. He expected this.
One core would devour the other. That was inevitable.
The only question was which would reign supreme.
---
"Master," a familiar voice sliced through the silence. "If you do not create the Core of Madness, you will explode within two months."
Vivi.
Damon exhaled, tilting his head slightly. A chuckle escaped his lips—low, unbothered. "Why is it always bad news, Vivi?"
The air shifted. A presence materialized behind him.
Slender hands coiled around his neck. A whisper, soft and intimate, brushed against his ear.
"Have you forgotten the Seven Laws of Madness?"
Vivi's voice was cryptic, dangerous.
Damon smirked. His fingers reached up, gently cradling her face. "And that's why I have you, my dear Vivi." His voice was silk and steel. "Open my mind. Let me see the madness of this world through your eyes."
She flinched, pushing him away, her expression unreadable. "Never. I won't do that."
Her refusal only widened his smile. She turned away, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.
"You know what I lack," Damon continued, his voice soft yet insistent. "The Mind of Madness. Open a portion of it for me."
Before she could protest, he seized her wrist and pulled her close, pressing his forehead against hers.
---
A pulse of energy—
His veins darkened, writhing like ink beneath his skin. His hair swayed, lifted by unseen forces. His mind fragmented, shattered into something unrecognizable. His blood boiled, his very being teetering on the precipice of insanity.
And then—he knew.
To practice the Seven Laws of Madness, one must exchange their sanity for power.
---
The Seven Absolute Laws of Madness
First Law – The Shattered Mind (Unchained Sanity)
"Sanity is a cage. The broken mind moves free."
Madness is unpredictability, the ability to defy reason itself. Damon exists beyond logic—his movements cannot be predicted, his intentions cannot be understood. The more shattered his mind becomes, the more dangerous he is.
Second Law – Terror Embrace (The Abyss Stares Back)
"To see him is to know fear. To know fear is to invite madness."
His mere presence seeps into the minds of others, filling them with unspeakable terror. The weak convulse, freeze, or even die under the weight of his existence. The strong hear whispers, see horrors in their peripheral vision, feel their grip on reality weaken.
But something was wrong.
Damon only felt two of the laws within himself.
The Law of Shattered Mind.
The Law of Terror Embrace.
His grip tightened. A surge of rage clawed at his chest.
"Then who holds the other five?"
The thought alone sent his energy into a storm, cracks forming beneath his fingers. Someone… or something… had stripped him of what was his.
But no matter.
He would reclaim them.
And across the realms—they felt it.
---
A Distant Awakening
Across the vast, endless void of existence, five ancient beings stirred.
For millennia, they had remained unchallenged. Their pillars—the Laws they had stolen—had never shifted.
Until now.
Something, someone, had touched them. And that someone was him.
---
In a realm of molten flesh and endless rebirth, a skeletal figure trembled. Light returned to his hollow sockets. Flesh surged over bone, shaping into a warrior—not scarred, but weathered. A face of charm and terror, beauty and war.
Alric.
The one who held the Fourth Law – Mad Tyrant's Rebirth.
His newly formed lips curled into a snarl. "Impossible."
His molten throne cracked beneath him.
---
In the shattered kingdom of reflection and deceit, a woman clad in veils of liquid shadow clutched her skull.
Laughter, twisted and broken, spilled from her lips. Yet beneath it lay terror.
"The Law of Pain Transcendence… it called to him."
She ran a clawed hand over her throat, feeling the madness that once belonged to her stir.
---
Within a void where time had no meaning, a slumbering titan opened their thousand eyes.
The Fifth Law. The Nameless God Form.
Their vision rippled across the cosmos. Their many mouths whispered in unison—"He seeks what is ours."
---
In a frozen abyss where nightmares took root, a beast stirred.
Its body was a shifting mass, a prison of distorted flesh and suffering. Its domain was The Spiral Plague.
The Sixth Law – Madness is Contagious.
It growled, ancient rage bubbling forth.
"Who dares take what has been unmoved for millennia?"
---
And lastly—
A realm where even concepts feared to tread.
A throne of shattered souls.
A thing, neither dead nor alive, a wraith bound to the whispers of those who feared him.
The Seventh Law – Eternal Lunacy.
He did not move. He did not breathe.
And yet, the cosmos itself trembled as his voice echoed—low, guttural, infinite.
"He speaks in the tongue of the Forgotten."
---
A Challenge Declared
Their fury was boundless. Their fear was deeper.
For the first time in a millennium, the laws had stirred.
They turned their many gazes, their many forms, toward the one who had dared to awaken them.
And in the cave, Damon felt their rage.
He smirked, rising to his feet.
He raised his hand, his fingers crackling with unstable power. Then, he spoke.
"Alcrim lim hiac alucto imehic lama."
The entities froze.
Damon's smirk widened.
"I will claim what is mine."
Their rage became terror.
It meant only one thing.
The God of Madness had returned.