Myriad Devils-Chapter 213: Beyond true mastery

Every Empyrean had experienced hundreds, if not thousands, of death battles to finally nurture an Empyrean Cloud.

Now, before his very gaze, there was one who did not even experience a dozen slaughters.

The Empyrean clouds locked in place, transforming into a vast battle cloud of nearly four hundred thousand meters!

Thrum!

A deep hum spread across the battle cloud.

The moment it sounded, Anon felt the weight of mountains crushing down onto him. The two blades on Eclipse’s back trembled and slowly clicked out of place before lightly falling into his grip.

Empyrean Eclipse, armed, looked toward his opponent.

This was a swarthy-skinned youth, an anomaly capable of devouring everything other soul clouds had to offer, and nurturing his own at the fastest theoretical speed.

He looked at the space behind the youth’s head to see what kind of aura his grimoire held, but what he saw was an empty space.

Empyrean Eclipse quickly darted his gaze toward Anon’s hands, but he saw nothing.

"Where is it?!" Eclipse frowned, beckoning for an answer.

Anon’s expression became strange.

He looked at Eclipse and stated, matter-of-factly, "Those bastardly grimoires are traps, nothing but demonic schemes."

Empyrean Eclipse visibly trembled upon hearing this.

He stumbled a step back, and the pressure crushing down on Anon also dispersed.

"Y-You, you, you..."

He began uttering incoherent words, not directed toward Anon, but seemingly toward the rest of the world, or more accurately, the dimension’s consciousness.

Anon squinted his eyes and furrowed his brows, rubbing his chin in thought.

Sigh...

Empyrean Eclipse slowly returned to silence, calmly gazing toward Anon. His lips slowly curled upwards into a complex smile.

Seeing this smile, Anon felt an intense sense of familiarity, and Eclipse’s next words confirmed this sudden, inexplicable sense.

"Good, good, not at all wasted on you!" Eclipse beamed and let go of his dual blades.

They trembled, seemingly with excitement and happiness, running towards Anon’s direction.

The latter sensed no threat, nor did his subconscious. He continued to observe as the dual blades appeared before him and began circling him, seemingly intrigued.

Anon closely inspected these dual blades, feeling a strangeness in his heart.

It wasn’t directed toward these dual blades themselves, but toward the idea of wielding dual blades.

At some point, Empyrean Eclipse appeared before Anon, slamming his left palm onto Anon’s shoulder and cackling.

"Haha... well done, my boy!" Empyrean Eclipse said with radiance.

"The dimension’s consciousness had done the same thing to me back then, and now that it has come to this, I’ll use you to rid the karma weighing on my heart." The moment he said this, his expression darkened.

At the same time, the crimson seas trembled, seemingly in rage, whereas an aura of slaughterous energy swallowed the entire battle cloud.

Scoffing with disgust, Empyrean Eclipse harrumphed, "Hmph!"

There was a light hum that followed, and the entire dome of slaughterous energy was instantly cleaved, solidifying before shattering into crimson particles.

Anon was still confused.

The Empyrean before him appeared all imposing, seemingly itching to battle.

He asked strange questions that appeared no more than excuses to begin fighting to the death, and when the battle cloud was created, his fighting intent completely disappeared.

What a madman...!

Seemingly perceiving Anon’s doubt and confusion, Empyrean Eclipse sighed and retracted his hand, turning his back to the former, appearing not worried in the slightest.

"There aren’t many things in this world that can please me. Well, take a look at this world; there isn’t much of anything in the first place. Where I’ve stepped on, no other has reached. For the current I, even slaughter, the endless battles, have become a drag..."

Empyrean Eclipse’s voice brimmed with a sense of melancholy.

"Back then, I had disdained the idea of touching that despicable daemonic force. Even to this day, I’ve not once fathomed the idea, I know not any magic spell, and I’ve touched the highest stage this world has. Anything beyond me is the so-called Primordial; however, that is the world’s jest, and the senility of the Empyreans from the past."

"Empyreans from the past?" Anon chimed in, questioning, "Aren’t you a native of this world?"

Eclipse’s eyes flashed with a light of understanding.

"It seems that you aren’t of this world," Eclipse lightly sighed, and continued, "The crimson sea, the blood heaven, is the birthplace of all native humans of this new world. As for the Empyreans from the past..."

Eclipse squinted his eyes and pointed toward the earth above and asked Anon, "Have you not visited the spiritual city?"

Ah?!

So it was a real place.

’My madness probably drew the gazes of some Empyrean who kicked me out of the city,’ Anon felt an inexplicable sense of shame and chuckled softly.

Seeing this, who knew what Eclipse came up with. He smiled faintly and commented, "If you’re kicked out, then the chances of sensing the city again are low."

"Is that so?" Anon mused.

The sense of shame being labeled as the Mad Ancestor had brought him quickly dissipated, and he pinched his chin, seemingly lost in thought.

He stole several glances at the Empyrean with black hair whilst lost in this session of thoughts.

"You’re wondering why I’m so talkative? Why has my intent to battle dissipated?" Accurately, Eclipse guessed Anon’s thoughts.

He replied to his own questions a moment after, "As I said, I’ve not touched daemonic magic. The moment I became an Empyrean, the dimension targeted me and sent the strongest Empyrean known to those in the spiritual city, and likely, the strongest in the world."

"I was still young, still bloodthirsty..." A pained expression appeared on his face, "I could’ve accepted his proposal to suppress the resonance. But, anyway, the dimension would’ve sent another Empyrean my way."

"I had used such a logic to slay the so-called strongest, spreading my name throughout the spiritual city, and claiming the title of strongest."

Anon raised an eyebrow, questioning internally, ’What’s the problem with that?’

"But I regret it, regret it so much. He had given himself away to the daemons, wielding their power, so I saw nothing wrong with slaying him, but in the end, I was not representing humanity. I only used such an excuse to prove my superiority, for petty pride."

Empyrean Eclipse’s eyes showed an even deeper layer of darkness than before.

Anon, though, internally shook his head.

"I am powerful, but due to this, my mind was corrupted. Real power is not to suppress others. Real power is to have the ability to choose, but to be capable of suppressing the demons within, otherwise, to be swayed by pride and arrogance..."

"Doesn’t this resemble the pathetic daemons more than anything?"

"I wonder, maybe this is why I can’t attain supremacy. My blades... I stated that, for transcendence, my blades would cut through all obstacles."

"I stated that, for vengeance, my blades would cut through all confusion."

"I stated that, for eternity, my blades would cleave!"

"And yet, I’ve surpassed true mastery, groping in the dark because no one else has achieved anything near my level, but that single step remains in sight, and yet, every time I grasp at it, my hands can not hold it due to its elusive nature."

Eclipse began mumbling to himself once more.

Anon pinched his chin, deep in thought, ’Is it because he has been nurtured by this dimension? The dimension itself must be influencing him, limiting his potential as well.’

Wait!

"What did you say?!" Anon exclaimed.

Beyond true mastery!

Empyrean Eclipse shifted his gaze toward Anon. This child... he did not seem to bat an eye toward his previous words, but it resembled even more his past self.

Images overlapped, and he couldn’t suppress the itch in his heart.

What anomaly?

He, Eclipse, only saw a confused child.

Anon frowned at the Empyrean’s silence. He slowly and steadily questioned, "I asked, What did you say? What do you mean, surpassed true mastery?"

"What I meant...?"

Empyrean Eclipse closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

The blades that circled Anon’s figure released a gentle hum; however, such a hum weighed down on Anon, attempting to crush him into a paste.

"I meant this!"

What was Supreme mastery?

Empyrean Eclipse did not attack Anon, but only with such an intention, a divine power pressed down with crushing might.

If he, Empyrean Eclipse, were to strike with his dual blades, how scary would that be?

Anon felt the world close in on him, mountains stacked by the hand of god, crushing down on him.

"True mastery is achieved by nurturing the true soul, but what is a soul with emotions and desires, but lacking a will?"

"They are no more than lifeforms slaving away to desire, and susceptible to corruption. So I shaped my blade’s soul, and in the process of nurturing it, I realized its true purpose."

"My blade will cleave, because for eternity, for transcendence, and for revenge against those who transformed this world, my blade will not break."

No wonder...

Anon was being crushed under the weight of Empyrean Eclipse’s intention; however, he still had the mood to lose himself in thought.

’I was slightly perplexed. Unless actively being cared for and protected, during a battle between Ancestors, a peerless-grade divine weapon might shatter, like my sword.’

So, for Anon, it was confusing how a peerless-grade divine weapon was still without even a single crack in an Empyrean’s hands.

To crack such a blade, not because of the blade itself, but due to the nature of its will, one would need to shatter the Empyrean’s will.

’He states that he has not reached Supreme mastery; however, even this, pseudo-Supreme mastery, is so...’