Myriad Devils-Chapter 222: Otherworldly Ascension (1/5)

The Paradisical City held fewer than thirty million humans. This city had the lowest population across the six bastions of humanity.

An eternal, dreamy fog covered the entire city.

The residents of this city were always happy; there were no murders or crimes, and most importantly, these fewer than thirty million humans were content with what they had.

The Paradisical City Lord looked over her otherworldly city from the city lord’s palace. Similar to her avatar, she was shrouded in veiled, black clothing and blessed ornaments and jewelry.

Her lips trembled at times, and at other times, she pursed her lips in thought. The sight was endlessly enticing and dreamy.

"Aegon, you seem to care for your son, but at the same time, you seem to lack any care. You, why are you so... and Anon, did you not hate your father?"

"What is with your soul? Your eyes... they are so... my little golden star has changed so much, I even wonder, what do you think about your mother’s death?"

"And what do you think about the man who caused your mother’s demise...?"

She stood on the balcony, overwatching the Paradisical City; however, her gaze seemed to pierce through time and space, observing a particular duo.

.....

The city lord’s manor, like the Inverted Cathedral, appeared one way from the outside, but the space within was ever-changing.

Within the bounds of the city lord’s manor, ghostly silence permeated. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Aegon and Anon, father and son, walked through a titanic corridor. There seemed to be no end to this passageway.

The swarthy-skinned youth walked alongside his pale-skinned father, pondering, ’Dead mother must’ve been a dark-skinned beauty. Father, I know the kind of man you are.’

"Oh, is that so?" Aegon’s eyes gleamed with a strange light.

"Son, since leaving the Inverted Sky Dimension, what do you think about your mental state and the flow of your thoughts? Think carefully..."

"Mental state? Flow of thoughts?" Anon pursed his lips and grew silent, seemingly deep in thought.

Only his footsteps could be heard as they walked deeper into the corridor. Each step crossed an incomprehensible distance, and yet, the corridor seemingly contained the mysteries of infinity.

Suddenly, Anon’s footsteps came to a halt.

Aegon’s emotionless mask cracked into a slight smirk.

"My desires are strange, unlike my true self," Anon muttered with a dark tone, "For a moment, I even felt an impulse toward aunty Oneira."

"An unfathomable soul would not usually lose control over the six desires and seven emotions, unless an outside influence is at play."

"This outside influence, for you, my son, relates to the Infernal God."

Anon tilted his head doubtfully. He thought back to the meeting with the Infernal God and the process of his slaughterous salvation back then.

The incredible amount of slaughterous energy... was it not to transform his soul into the incarnation or spawn of the Infernal God?

And even then, if it was this slaughterous energy, shouldn’t he, Anon, have a higher murderous desire, rather than an increase in lustful thoughts?

Aegon easily discerned Anon’s doubts and leisurely explained.

"The Infernal God represents Chaos. Both slaughter and depravity fall within the bounds of this concept, Chaos."

Finally, they arrived at the end of the corridor, and the entrance to another, vast universal space, revealed itself before them.

"I’ve prepared this abode for you. Until your otherworldly ascension, you can stay here."

"I know that you care little about the mortals you’ve crossed paths with; however, if you so desire, at least for a final time, I can allow you to see them."

"That one of the Arcola household, and the child of Toppin, along with that Dean Rao, the girl, Elizabeth... just state your request, my child."

Anon pinched his chin, deep in thought. Glancing at his father, he pondered aloud, "I wonder, are you trying to make up for the years I’ve spent banished by you?"

"Naturally, there is nothing to make up for."

"More so, I’m giving you my time for the last moments of your life. If you did not know already, the moment you fail your otherworldly ascension, a greater scheme would commence."

"I do not wish for a scene in which a mental demon appears at a crucial moment. Though I’ve completely transcended emotions and desires, who knows what wicked power would be at play during that time."

"I’m only tying up loose ends."

Aegon’s words echoed in the corridor, causing Anon to frown.

"What occurs when I succeed in my ascension?"

"In the unlikely case you do, then countless cycles of schemes would be reduced to ash, and in rage, who knows what torments would be designed for you, by beings incomprehensible even to that version of you."

"At that time, I will not go out of my way to protect you. After all, you likely would not need it, and more importantly, that version of you would be a growing threat."

"Potentially, a more complex threat than the Celestial Supreme and the Infernal God."

Anon did not know whether to laugh or cry.

He looked toward the miniature universe prepared for him and wondered aloud, "How much time do I have?"

"A few days at best. Your otherworldly ascension will be displayed for the mortal and otherworldly Victorious Fighting Armies, Human Generals, and Human Emperors."

’Ah, so my life and death will be viewed as your entertainment?’ Anon internally mused.

"Not my entertainment, but the army’s, and Human Generals. The Human Emperors, though, will likely be wishing for your success, because they know very well what’s at stake."

’They know what’s at stake, and I... I barely know the surface of anything.’ Anon showed a self-deprecating smile.

Glancing at Aegon, he thoughtfully questioned in his mind, ’And what about you, dear dad. Do you wish for your son’s success? Of course not, I’m sure.’

"You’re right, I don’t..." Aegon said with a monotone voice. He gently exhaled, and Anon was picked up by an unknown power and sent into the miniature universe.

"But in a sense, I do."

Aegon lightly chuckled and disappeared.

.....

"Hah..."

Anon sat atop an imposing celestial body that drifted across the miniature universe.

There were ruined planets and shattered stars that still radiated unimaginable amounts of stellar cosmic radiance.

However, there were also planets showing the scenes of existing civilizations.

Some were small worlds holding humans, showing scenes of a modern-day world of ’superheroes and supervillains’, and others were of a more ancient time, showing scenes of cultivators flying on magic swords and splitting mountains and rivers.

There were also small worlds that showed foreign races with horns and tails, and other races with wings and divine markings on their bodies.

Notably, no existence in any of these civilizations had an aura of longevity. These were closer to illusions or projections, rather than actual lifeforms.

Anon pondered whilst gazing at the many worlds.

He was given two choices; however, choosing the first would’ve gone against his code of conduct.

There was no way he would accept going back in time and losing his memories of the future. It did not matter that this was merely a few minutes into the future.

The information he had acquired was already very eye-opening.

"The second choice..."

As had already been stated, it was practically a grand spectacle. In this grand spectacle, Anon would die, no doubt; however, whether he could return from death or not, this was the greatest question.

So many inconceivable existences had manipulated fate, destiny, and inevitability. Future time was rarely reliable, and now, it was completely skewed; there was no way of possibly deriving or divining for those who originally had the means to.

Only now did he begin to understand the true extent to which these incomprehensible beings were willing to go to manipulate his destiny.

"For fuck’s sake."

This was the first time in a while that he cursed.

For an unfathomable soul to feel even a tinge of anger, the reasoning behind that anger needed to be equally unfathomable and as complex as the soul itself.

Anon was truly irked.

"The more I get to know, the more I dislike you, the devil. But besides you, more and more individuals have become distasteful. Worse of all, I know not who they are..."

A joke, it was a joke.

After some hundreds of years, what distaste he had for his father, besides already being a seed planted in his heart by said father, had already dissipated anyway.

However, his distaste towards his father dramatically skyrocketed since returning to the city lord’s manor.

Was this a false emotion planted into his heart to manipulate him again?

What a joke.

His emotions...

What was his, and what was a seed of manipulation?

"That version of me that can threaten my father..."

For the first time in his existence, Anon sought out the power to grasp the knowledge of the unknown rather than the knowledge of the unknown and the power that came with it.

Sitting on the drifting celestial body, he slammed his palms together and made up his mind.

"I’ve transcended dimensions before... It’s decided."

"I, Anon Xerxes, will transcend death now."