Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 853 - 794: Beneath the Black Tide

Time does not stop flowing because of sensory stagnation; it waits for no one.

The arm that once belonged to Rex had been completely enveloped by the black mire, its transformation from hard bone to loose flesh caused the lifted Lia to descend sharply in height. She curled her body up, eyes tightly shut, whispering to herself. The sole supporting palm on her back gradually softened, as the black flesh slowly submerged the last child.

As the realm of the deity barely touched the girl’s clothing hem, rough Magic Power tore open the space in front of her, and a young man dressed in a robe appeared from behind a magic portal. He picked up the girl, and facing the engulfed village, he let out a low roar from a throat that seldom shouted loudly.

"Uncle Noice," Lia slightly opened her eyes in his arms, her fatigued consciousness barely recognizing the Mage who had burst in suddenly; she clutched the robe of the person she recognized, burying her cold cheeks into his chest, and slowly sobbed.

"I’m here, don’t be afraid, Lia," as Noice’s controlling Magic Power silently dissipated upon entering this area. He sounded the alarm in his heart, comforting the girl with puffy eyes around her. It’s not advisable to stay here too long. The Mage opened the magic portal once again, intending to leave.

The man-high portal, effortlessly maintained, abruptly shrank in size as it fully formed, constricting by half like a spasm of the intestines, its smooth silvery edges turning black like the ground beneath. Before the portal collapsed, Noice unceremoniously threw the girl through it. Watching the familiar young girl disappear from sight, hearing her last scream, the man felt a tinge of relief.

In the face of this dead zone, only the Mage was left.

"Efficient rescue, Spellcaster, you resisted the infection and saved that entity from your standpoint." A sporadic applause rung out before him, and Noice watched as a corner of the black liquid surface rose, forming into a lump of black mire that continually changed shape, eventually becoming a young and handsome human figure. With soft golden hair, androgynous and beautiful features, an emotionless smile as if etched onto the lips, the brilliance reflected in those dazzling eyes lent this humanoid an eerie and malevolent aura.

Noice’s heartbeat now drowned out his breathing, as an indescribable fear completely devoured his ability to think. With fingers wanting only to tremble and legs wanting only to flee, his mind abandoned speech, obeying only the most primitive muscle memory to initiate a conversation. Noice happened to choose the method most likely to alleviate fear, which was to spout nonsensical rubbish.

"Praise is usually accompanied by flowers; perhaps you should reward me with something..." like letting me off, Noice greedily fantasized in his mind, not understanding why he instinctively placed the enemy above himself. The other’s response also brought an unexpected surprise to the Mage.

"Conjuring a form, descending before you, that is your reward. Noice, to see the form I specially created is my grace to you. This is the likeness of the first devotee who freed me from shackles; I shall use it as my only form in this descent, to commend Serio’s wisdom before all returns to the Origin."

Meeting you in person is your honor. Such a tone sparked Noice’s pride as a Mage, and his mind began operating like rusty gears lubricated with oil drops, using language to mock his adversary.

"Oh, you must be quite the big shot. It is indeed strange; how could I possibly forget the name of such an esteemed person?" So important? Never heard of you, a nobody?

Perhaps it was unnoticed, or perhaps it was disregarded.

"Names hold no significance to me; I am the all, I am the one. It was my rebellion that was named, to be distinguished from myself, using titles to separate you from me. The Sleeper, the Origin, the creator, the first and the last parent, or like Yemotar, you may call me Triton, my child."

The cruelest form of tenderness is that of divinity. In the moment when Triton expounded his definition, Noice understood His existence. The sudden pressure in his heart made the Mage involuntarily believe in Him, yet the hardest part of the Spellcaster’s frail body was his mouth.

"Is that so? But I am an orphan; my parents died long ago."

The malice in this statement was too evident, even for a god of blind foolishness unaccustomed to thought to taste the offense. Yet, Triton’s beautiful brow did not bend the slightest, his gaze upon Noice remained unchanged, calm as ever, pure like that upon an inanimate object, like a cold, indifferent machine.

"Bloodlines are a fragile connection; we have transcended such relations."

Triton meant something by that, and following His gaze, Noice didn’t notice his own situation until he looked downwards. He couldn’t feel his feet anymore; his leather boots were devoured by black mire. Noice tried to lift his legs but could only command his knees to bend slightly; his legs were solidified in the black tide, like a toy soldier fixed in place with glue. Assimilation had begun.

"The magic power of space and time can’t eternally prevent my erosion, your brush with fate was just a fluke, and clearly, you haven’t treasured it." Triton "moved" closer, and Noice, unable to move, was now a sitting duck, noticing the Spellcaster’s panicked fear. The Sleeper blandly explained the situation unfolding in his body.

"Everything on this planet is a degenerate branch of mine, my child, do not fear. You are merely returning to the primal darkness, which is far easier than dying or being born."

In response was a rigid tendril piercing through Serio’s skull. Noice looked at his own handiwork, somewhat surprised.

"Can I actually control your powers?" The Spellcaster intended to summon the magic power of space and time to make an opening for the Sleeper, but using familiar Spells and gestures, he called forth tendrils lurking in the black mire, albeit with the same desired effect. The physical assimilation began, Noice’s gradual fusion with Triton allowed the weak Spellcaster to taste the mystery of dominating flesh and blood.

"Not only your body but also your power, your thoughts, your soul, will return to the Origin." The punctured head was no significant harm; Triton reformed the tentacles connected to the brain into new flesh. This entity was merely a puppet, and it was inconsequential if it was torn apart by its own power.

"Magic Power is like blood flowing outside the body; we are now even closer."

Noice felt the anomaly in his body; the more he stirred Magic Power, the quicker the distortion of his body progressed. Triton shared a portion of His power only to allow Noice to squander it and accelerate the merging. His lower limbs dissolved into mush, Noice could no longer feel his intestines, and in his breathing, he felt foreign substances rising through his trachea, gradually filling his eyes with fear.

His face, falling deeper into despair, reflected in the bright starlike eyes.

Triton held his face and spoke slowly, "Noice Harvey, a child born of this land." Noice’s mind began to dull, the deity was neutralizing his memories.

"It is... indeed..."

"Godwin Harvey, your elder brother."

Hearing that familiar name, there was a sudden jolt in his nerves.

"Bro... brother..."

That handsome face suddenly acquired a human touch, with pity showing in his indifferent eyes.

"Godwin was one of my followers. It was he who summoned me here. He loathed the village that raised him, envious of his more talented younger brother. He prayed night and day in the darkness, beseeching me to destroy this place. Even at the last moment of assimilation with me, your brother still bore hate towards you, who had taken the righteous path."

The head positioned atop the flesh pillar had a vacant gaze, devoid of any spark of intelligence. The alienated windpipe protruded from the mouth, and the soul named Noice would soon be plunged into darkness.

"I... respected... him..."

Memories formed a link, and the interwoven memories provided Noice with a fleeting moment of clarity. He answered slowly, like a shattered hourglass releasing its last grains of gold.

"I am aware of what he has done... I understand how he raised me... I’ve seen the bruises concealed beneath his clothes... as well as heard the villagers’ spiteful words..."

"[That Harvey’s stray dog has ruined my fields again]..."

"[That little brat is a thief deserving to be hanged]..."

"He kept it from me... thinking I was unaware of the bad company he kept... he refused my help... because he didn’t want me involved with those..."

"I could even recognize the muddy coins that funded my education... I knew whose pockets they came from... but he never intended to tell me..."

"As for talent... if it weren’t for me being a burden, my brother wouldn’t have wasted time on petty theft... there would be no envy..."

"I became a mage, helping the villagers. It wasn’t to show those mud-legged dogs how magnanimous I was but rather to stand tall and say, ’The debts of the Harvey family will be repaid by the Harvey family, my brother is not a born scoundrel.’

"He had left long ago, perhaps with his full resentment. I guarded this village, wishing to preserve a place for his return..."

"He hated me to his dying breath..."

"Heh, just as he never explained his misdeeds to me, I too will never tell him..."

"I’ve always loved him..."

Triton removed Noice’s head, bringing that melting face close to his own, and fused them together completely.

"Emotions, the direct expression of separate entities longing for a connection, a fatal flaw."

"Separation brings about misunderstandings, barriers, envy, hatred. Your suffering stems from your own deficiencies."

"But there’s no need anymore. Everything, just like the entwined love and hatred of the Harvey Brothers, desires of kin, crisscrossing emotions, will be sustained within my flesh. There will be no more fear, no more loneliness, as all of you will unite, in my eternal form." Triton’s voice grew increasingly strident, a black tide surged in waves, and the overlapping, accelerating proclamation was like a song.

"This era has regressed you to the point of slaughtering one another."

"I will consume all the bitter fruits of this deformity."

"Return to the black tide, children of the wave."

"Children, return to the embrace of your creator."