LEVEL 0 IMMORTAL-Chapter 128: You Begin To Understand

"What is the shelter of the weak?... What is the shelter of the weak?..."

The last sentence of the Commander kept playing inside Elias’s head when he heard something like the crack of thunder, but the sound was deeper, as if it was coming from a place that was so distant that it did not make any sense that he was able to hear it, but he still did because of the sheer power that this sound carried.

He could not turn his head to look at the sky because he was frozen in ice, but he could feel darkness begin to cover him. At this time of the night, there should be two moons overhead, and the hint of the third moon should be coming, making this period one of the brightest at night, and so despite not been able to see very well outside the ice, Elias could still sense that an unnatural darkness had covered the surrounding, and the presence of the Commander that he could feel beside him was gone.

Elias was alone.

Previously, he could still hear the sound of the wind, then there was nothing, only silence and darkness, almost as if he had been dropped inside the void and was experiencing the power of Paradox Vessel that he had used on the unlucky Flesh Mauler.

Then he heard a cracking sound behind him that was steadily growing stronger. It seemed that there was something behind him that was drilling into the ice, and Elias could not tell what it was or even its capabilities; he could only hear the sound of the cracking ice.

This was a unique form of torture that Elias never wanted to experience again in his life, as he stood in the sky, frozen in place inside a world of darkness while something drilled its way through the ice. Then he felt pain at the center of his back, just above his heart, where something cold and sharp had just touched his skin.

The Incursion was here with him, and although Elias expected the creature to stab him as he was helpless, it did not; instead, the pain was gradually growing as whatever was being stabbed into his back was being inserted slowly.

He knew when someone was playing a cruel game, and everything happening here told him that whatever this Incursion was, it was trying to torture him.

Even with all of his strength, he could not break through the ice, he could not summon his Ascendant Swarm, or any of the power of his Legacies, there was no way what he was encased in was just ice, and this Incursion had barely taken two seconds to drill through the ice, meaning its strength or its weapon was capable of treating Elias flesh like it was paper.

There was also the fact that it appeared behind him and had made no sound, which was clearly a play for psychological dominance. Maybe this would have broken the mind of someone else, but not Elias, and at this point, most of his focus was on the last sentence the Commander had said to him.

"What is the shelter of the weak?!"

For so long has Elias lived, surrounded by wonders he could not perceive. His powerful mind yearns to understand the mysteries of Lumina, but the door was closed to him, and inside his head was the voice of a monster, tearing at his sanity while his body decayed if he did not kill. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

He had survived all of these tribulations because he had hope, and most especially, it was because he had a plan. He kept his head down, and he did everything that was expected of him, just because he knew how easy it was to lose everything you dreamed of in a single bad moment.

What he had learned was that life was not how he had read in the fictional books. It did not hand you victories just because you willed it, or were stubborn enough to keep pushing your head into the wall, hoping that the stone would break first... You could achieve miracles, but first, there needed to be a plan.

The moment whatever was piercing through his back reached his heart, Elias’s eyes glowed as he finally understood the plans of the Commander.

As it turned out, she had already given him the tools for victory; he only needed to use them.

Whatever enlightenment he had gained was not acknowledged by whatever was behind him, as the creature seemed to have become annoyed by Elias’s lack of response, and even frozen inside the ice, Elias felt a wave of power erupt from behind him, but the ice only cracked and was not shattered.

A deep and slow growl emerged from behind, and another wave of power slammed into the ice, but the cracks only deepened; it did not shatter.

The growl deepened, and Elias could feel a cold rage building behind him, and then the sound of metal cutting through flesh as whatever was stabbing him from behind pushed into his heart and burst out of his chest.

He could not even look down to see what it was, but from the dull response he was feeling from the surrounding muscles of his back and chest, it appeared to be some kind of spear.

For several moment there was no movement, and Elias was keenly aware that whatever was behind him was growing frustrated. An Ascendant Candidate should not be able to survive a destroyed heart, even if they were able to somehow reach the Mist Phantom level in the twenty-four-hour period that it took an Incursion to descend.

Elias felt a sharp and lingering pain as whatever he had been stabbed with was removed, and he was stabbed, more viciously, in the other side of his chest, ensuring that both of his lungs were essentially destroyed, and then several stabs through his back that shattered his spine and thoroughly destroyed his stomach and whatever organs were inside them.

He was only standing and in one piece because of the ice, although the ice seemed to have locked down his healing, and he was not regenerating from all the damage he had suffered.

Despite all of this damage that technically should have killed him, Elias did not die. Even before his body had been reforged by Lumina and all three legacies, Elias’s lifeforce was more tenacious than a cockroach, and the only thing that he believed could truly kill him was to crush his head.

As if the creature was reading his mind, a powerful tremor emerged from behind him, but for once, whatever it was using to stab through Elias’s body could not penetrate the ice.

If Elias could grin, he would be wearing a wide one, because the final confirmation he needed to be assured that he truly understood the plans of the Commander had been confirmed, and he was not just leaping to a foolish conclusion because of desperation.

Now, there was only one place this battle could happen, where this Incursion could kill and rob him of the fragment of his divinity... and that would be inside his Lumina Space!

He was weak, and in many ways, even the powerful Commander was also weak, but they had a way to go around their weaknesses.

The oasis was not just a test, but a lesson. The great genius had not just failed and perished, but had dragged his entire tribe down with him... There was a lesson there, and Elias had learned it.

"What is the shelter of the weak?... The shelter of the weak is the lie that power is given freely!"

A cold voice suddenly spoke behind Elias, and a feeling as if a hand had entered his head and squeezed his brain caused him to black out, but the words remained stuck in his consciousness.

"Vuul’gath kwe vadis neth’lyss..."