Myriad Devils-Chapter 89: Benefitting from the threat of death

What kind of person was the one called Seth?

Anon had an image of Seth in his mind.

Whether Seth was like this or not, Anon didn’t care how inaccurate the image of Seth in his mind was, because highly likely, it wouldn’t be too far off.

Would Seth, who had such an ability, refuse to use it on the other stellar geniuses?

’Of course not!’ Anon roared internally.

Since entering the Blood-Drip Jungle, there were many instances where Andrew, Felix, Melissa, Catharina, and Bolan bled.

Much recently, even Jacob bled in the battle against the one-winged monkeys.

In such a scenario, Anon was certain that Seth would’ve utilized this ability on them too.

Anon was certain that Seth knew the location of every one of the stellar geniuses that were alive, including the inheritors, and most importantly, Bolan.

’Bolan...’

’Bolan!’

That name...

A blood vessel must’ve burst, because not long after thinking of Bolan, the golden amber orb in his right eye was encompassed by a blood red sea.

His eye turned bloodshot as that hatred festering in the depths of his mind and heart churned chaotically.

Towards this violent rage, Seth’s eyes lit up.

’This...’

His thoughts swirled rapidly in his mind.

...

Stellar geniuses.

Though stellar fighters and stellar geniuses almost meant the same thing, that was about it, almost.

The experience of a stellar fighter and stellar genius varied significantly.

Any random stellar fighter might be stuck in the first world for the rest of their life, or maybe, after a decade, they might enter the second world, and yet, the act of entering the second world would’ve squandered all their potential. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Stellar fighters were destined for a life of ordinariness.

Stellar geniuses, from the beginning, anyone would be capable of noticing the differences.

Though there were all kinds of geniuses, there was one fact that remained true for stellar geniuses of all types, and that was their potential, their unimaginably huge latent talent. This potential, sleeping in the depths of their minds, eagerly awaited the day that it would be fully awakened, fully achieved.

Sleeping in the depths of a genius’s mind.

Because of death, the previous statement can be seen as the most accurate way to describe latent potential. Death is a source of fear, and in the face of it, the mind often becomes deeply unsettled. For instance, when one is asleep and an earthquake strikes, do they not jump awake, shaken to their core?

The same logic applied here.

Naturally, there are also those that feel nothing, sleeping deeply even during an earthquake. It is said that, in the soul of every sentient being lies endless, infinite power, but because the potential of ordinary men suffers from a state of deep sleep, even when an earthquake strikes the mind, it remains asleep.

And geniuses...

Just like those that jump awake during earthquakes, the potential sleeping in a genius’s mind similarly jumps awake when the mind suffers from these ’earthquakes.’ Because of death, and the fear of death, under the threat of death, the mind shakes, violently. For geniuses, with latent potential eagerly awaiting to be awakened, toward such a violent quake... One can imagine, right?

...

Thanks to Bolan’s sneak attack, even after escaping the dusty battlefield, Anon was in a horrid state. Before he could properly heal, he suffered continuous attacks over the course of two days and three nights.

Until now, he was yet to enter a state of meditation, and still, the anger he felt towards Bolan prevented his heart from settling even though he had a guide that would lead him to Bolan’s location.

On the other hand, the soul that he sought to harvest was in a state of serenity.

Like a tranquil lake under a glistening moon, there was a type of beauty in calmness, a beauty appreciated by many.

In this state of tranquility and calmness, the spiritual body, one’s perception and will, was akin to a solitude dinghy adrift in an endlessly expansive sea.

Stretching far into the horizon, this sea was as vast as one could imagine and then went even further beyond.

The waters were docile, embracing this lone wooden boat as it sailed across an infinite distance. As Bolan meditated, a refreshing coolness overcame him, submerging his mind, body, and soul.

Thanks to the Lightning Flower Bud’s nurturing just before all the chaos, Bolan’s spirit had achieved a state that only needed a slight push, a push that was achieved thanks to the one-winged monkey horde and then turned into a shove after successfully attacking Anon and escaping Jacob’s wrath.

Under the threat of death, his mind, the mind of a stellar genius, was shaken to a degree where, the potential that was sleeping whilst awaiting eagerly, was naturally unearthed.

Usually, to enter a state of deep meditation, even for a naturally calm person like Bolan, it took almost ten minutes.

After all, once closing one’s eyes and focusing on one’s own breath, all kinds of thoughts appeared in the mind whilst all kinds of temptations assaulted said mind.

From the most random thought about one’s mother’s love life back when she was twenty, to a random itch that attacked one’s nose.

And yet, his first session of meditation after escaping from the battlefield was unlike any other. In less than thirty seconds, he had entered a state of thoughtlessness.

The passage of time had become illusory and unimportant.

The noise that polluted the outside world had suddenly disappeared.

The metallic smell of blood that was omnipresent in the Blood-Drip Jungle had now become nonexistent.

To accurately describe what he felt, it was as if his worldly flesh was peeled away, layer by layer. And with the disappearance of every layer, his spiritual body felt clearer, freer.

The precise time for when it happened was unclear to Bolan, but it did happen.

Unknowingly, this spiritual body that he had now become, successfully wriggled out of, before then severing the illusory connection that held it within his worldly flesh.

It happened.

And Bolan knew it happened.

In this moment, he had touched upon, before breaching the boundaries of the second world.

Very genuinely, and naturally, he had entered the second world.

Unlike Catharina, he needed no treasure to grasp hold of the second world’s power.

Unlike Andrew, he had no need to strain his spirit just to grasp hold of the second world’s power.

Upon opening his eyes, his black, abyss-like pupils were nowhere to be seen.

Or more accurately, these two abysses had corrupted the whiteness that surrounded it, seeing to it that his entire eyes were black.

Such a pair of eyes truly had a demonic appearance.

But, once he blinked, his eyes returned to normal, almost as if nothing had changed.

Although he had entered the second world, Bolan’s expressions remained as indifferent as usual. His pair of black eyes lacked any kind of emotion, very much like the bottomless abyss.

"It really is different," Bolan said coolly. "It’s like an entirely new world unfolding before your eyes. The contrast is so striking that only now do I realize how fortunate I was." He shook his head, adding, "I was indeed mad."

Sitting in a meditative posture, Bolan found himself in the depths of a completely light-deprived cave. But this was only for a moment, as with a blinding flash of light, a pair of ankle bracelets appeared in the air before his eyes, adrift.

A pair of silvery wings were attached to each of the ankle bracelets, slowly, they descended onto his open palms.

"Without a Sky-grade magical item like this, I’d be in deep shit, wouldn’t I?" A subtle smirk forced its way onto his stiffly indifferent face. It didn’t help that his eyes remained as dead as they had always been.

It painted a peculiar and disturbing image.

Closing his eyes once again, the subtle smirk was quickly erased as he focused on manipulating stellar cosmic energy.

Whether it be Divine Weapons, or Magical Items, both these mystical treasures underwent a state of refinement, or branding, by their owners, before use.

It was this branding that allowed Anon’s staff to whizz through the air before returning to him, and to extend several meters, basically bending to his every whim.

Utilizing these mystical treasures without branding them was very much possible, but it made their usage very inflexible, and simple.

But most importantly, if one’s treasure was stolen, then it could similarly be used by those that stole it. On the other hand, once alive, even if one’s mystical treasure was stolen, it was practically impossible for the thief to utilize it.

Evidently, a stellar fighter in the first world could only brand Lesser Divine Weapons, or Earth-grade Magical Items.

A level higher were Sky-grade treasures, and indeed, these treasures could be branded only by second world stellar fighters or higher.

With one’s principle being unique to them, through it, and only through one’s principle, can one form a connection with these mystical treasures.

The amount of power that needed to be drawn out of one’s principle in order to brand a Sky-grade magical item could not be bared by a spirit in the first world.

Said spirit could not manipulate enough stellar cosmic energy to draw out this power in the first place.

As Bolan branded this pair of Sky-grade magical items, the light that it radiated began to slowly be corrupted by an unsuspecting darkness which seeped into every nook and cranny of the ankle bracelet. The pair of silvery white wings on either bracelet transformed into a pair of dark wings, the wings of a demonic creature.

The branding did not take long.

Upon opening his eyes, what welcomed him was a world of darkness. The light that these ankle bracelets shone was swallowed by darkness... No, the Sky-grade magical items did not shine light anymore.

Now, it was truly his.

"Originally, it was a single-use item. But now..." As he said this, his left brow rose in surprise. His words were forcefully cut short.

"Hmm?" Bolan hummed with puzzlement.

Tilting his head, he scrutinized the pair of ankle bracelets that had now become fully his. He could not perceive this oddity before, but now, he could clearly feel it trembling in his hands.

"What’s this?"

Its movements were so subtle that if not for his perception, which had now entered the second world, even if he held onto it for days, he’d not feel anything amiss.

Closing his eyes, the connection between it and him became clearer.

Right after, the stiffness that had his expressions frozen seemingly melted away as a wide smile etched itself across his face.