Chapter 657: Heart of Eternity (II)

"After finally exiting the Empire, I rushed out in a set direction, running frantically for seven days and seven nights, until getting completely washed out, finding myself in a valley. From that day onwards, there had not been any more light in my heart, only an endless rancor and grudge. This hatred was what kept me alive: I had to kill all those who had betrayed me and slaughtered my people.

“For some reason, at the time I lost all light, the Tortoiseshell Technique had ineffably disappeared, perhaps because it was disgusted with the hatred I had. But this didn’t matter in my eyes: that black tile I had was the inheritance of an ancient necromancer. Light and necromancy should be two totally opposite powers, but thanks to my innate gifts, I gradually fused them as one. I needed power; I needed to topple the whole Pombo Empire and destroy all the Glorious Church’s forces. I had no more relatives: everyone else in this world were my enemies. Only their blood and lives could offset the rancor in my heart. I trained day and night, increasing my strength massively, all for the sake of taking revenge one day.

“Revenge became my greatest driving force. A Scion of Light hidden in deep mountains to train at a hundred percent. Can you imagine how frightening that is? At the time I left these deep mountains, I was not the Scion of Light Elux anymore, but the Holy Necromancer, Slumbering Calamity Elux.

“I killed people at sight, turning all living beings into undead under my command. Starting from a small town, I gradually gathered my army of undeads. When I was back at the Pombo Empire, I already had a million undead by my sides. I thoroughly destroyed the Pombo Empire, and when that slut Fulo followed Pombo back to the Glorious Church, I finally brought my undead army to destroy the Church. I wanted to annihilate them thoroughly for the sake of avenging my family.”

Hearing all he said, Long Haochen couldn’t help but burst out in rage, “Haven’t you thought about these countless innocents you took with such a revenge? Your targets of revenge were the royal family of Pombo Empire and the Church. So why did you have to implicate so many people?” He sympathized with Elux’s encounters, but was utterly disgusted with his ruthless methods and his treatment of other humans.

Elux revealed an indifferent expression of sadness, “When I hesitated in the past, I came to regret it afterwards. But at that time, the three empires and the Church were just too powerful, so a single person’s strength couldn’t possibly succeed in exacting revenge. For the sake of revenge, I walked through my downfall, and headed for darkness. But at that time, I never even considered that I could be in the wrong. Slaughter was all that mattered in my eyes.”

Long Haochen did not utter a word, because he could feel a deep sadness and remorse from Elux. He regrets it? Could it be that the former Holy Necromancer who caused tremendous damage to humankind, Elux, is regretting his acts? Could it be because of Cai’er and me?

Even if Elux had a remorseful heart, Long Haochen’s impression of him wouldn’t change like that. The sin being already committed, could remorse even undo it? Just how many humans’ blood had stained on his hands?

“After I destroyed my own homeland, the Glorious Church chose to unite hands with the other two Empires to handle me, initiating a war. At that time, I had already taken over close to a third of the whole continent, and had a large amount of undead powerhouses under my hands, their soulfire being under my control, making them incomparably loyal. An army of a billion undeads was under my command, throwing themselves at the Glorious Church like a plague. Although the Glorious Church had powerful divine magic, as a Holy Necromancer, the undead under my control had an extreme resistance toward light. At the start of the war, I had a total advantage.

“But undead were after all merely undead. Even if they were even more loyal, they had lost that intelligence belonging to humans. The hearts the people united gradually in this Glorious Era, and once they steadied their troops, the counteroffense was launched under the lead of the Glorious Church. At that time, I was already exceedingly powerful, able to resist even the attacks from the pope of the Glorious Church. But I couldn’t be certain that my undead army would win on its own.

“In an ultimate decisive battle, my undead army was defeated, and although it came also at a bitter cost for the human armies, I was in the end defeated. Heavily wounded by the group of experts led by the Glorious Church’s pope, I had a malicious weakening curse inflicted by that pope. For the next millennia, I was in great pain due to that sacred curse, coming to an eternal slumber.

“This war ended with my defeat, but my revenge was still a success. Although I suffered unredeemable heavy wounds, those ones who harmed my kin were all killed, including the Pope, Pelo, and Fulo. I still remember clearly that the instant I broke Fulo’s heart in pieces, her eyes were filled with pain and struggle. I had taken out her heart to see whether it was still colored red. Pero was turned into an undead by the most painful means. Keeping him by my side, I slowly boiled his soulfire over the course of a thousand years, finally annihilating it completely and eternally stopping him from reincarnating.

“Back then, this Tower of Eternity was created to nurture my physical body. But unfortunately, I finally didn’t manage to surmount that hateful curse. Otherwise, given my cultivation of that time, I wouldn’t die even after living a thousand, no, ten thousand years. But in reality, what caused my eternal slumber was not the wounds on my body, but in my heart.

“After I had killed all my foes, I found out that there was nothing left to keep me attached to this world. My loves ones were dead, my hated ones as well. My heart became empty, with no more care for living, so I finally chose to let myself die out. Then I put myself into deep slumber here, because I was unwilling to recall about the war of that time, and to ponder about whether I was in the right or in the wrong. Now it looks that I was in the wrong. I was really in the wrong, no matter whether I had slaughtered them or not, my kin still wouldn’t be brought back. Moreover, I have taken so many innocent lives… My guilt is already beyond redemption. I am the worst human sinner. ”

Reaching this point, Elux’s sad look carried a sincere disappointment and frustration when looking at Long Haochen and Cai’er, “I need to thank the two of you for waking me up, and for freeing me of my former rancor. I don’t know for how long I have been asleep, but after all of it passed and I finally calmed down for real, I can see the evil crimes I have commited. As you said, my power is not fitting for you two to inherit. This inheritance belonging to necromancy should rather disappear forever, to avoid the possibility of another such disaster.

“I originally believed that all the humans in this world were despicable and shameless creatures, all beyond redemption. But seeing the feelings between the two of you, I realize that I was in the wrong. Of the two of you, one was all willing to renounce her own life for the sake of the other one, paying with no hesitation the cost of her own heart. And the other one chose to rather give up on his holy convictions as the Scion of Light for his beloved one. You two have finally shown me what true devotion is, what a true couple united until death parts them is. Thank you: upon finally witnessing the feelings between you two, I have finally understood that love really exists in this world, that not all humans are despicable creatures. So it really was a heartless urge I had to slaughter everything in my way.

“There is already no more meaning in regretting since long ago, but, after telling all this to you, I feel much more comfortable. The evil tendencies that filled my heart are also getting purified, and although I won’t ever possibly return to the embrace of light, at least this evil body can make a contribution with its holy origins.”

Saying that, Elux pointed his right hand at the coffin in front of them. The previously spilling death energy immediately gushed out. His left hand made a gesture at Long Haochen and Cai’er, and their bodies immediately got surrounded in a golden barrier, therefore rendering them unaffected by any of the death energy.

One could clearly see that the death energy pulsing violently was all turned white, and although Long Haochen and Cai’er only had the time to sense a glimpse of that previous gush of death energy, they perceived an astonishing purity in that death energy.

A death energy of such purity was already beyond the scope of a Holy Necromancer’s level. That was all the accumulation Elux did throughout several thousand years! Such terrifying might could be called the totality of Elux’s attainments in life beyond holy light.

A white stream of air gathered as Elux slowly lifted his hand, causing strips of white light to revolve around his right arm. As his fingertips turned more and more glistening, that dazzling luster turned all the seventh floor of the Tower of Eternity completely white.

Elux declared impassively, “Cai’er, you have gone through a great torment, and when you finally walked past the final path, I had already decided to take you as my inheritor. You have certainly purified my heart and soul, making me realize how filthy this inheritance of mine is, thus I want to offer you something unrelated to holy necromancy. In my several past years of slumber, I had condensed the purest kind of death energy. As you have the Body of Samsara, you innately possess the power of purification. This death energy of mine will make a perfect synergy with you. Although I cannot offer my power for you to inherit, you can treat this as a gift for you. No need to consider rejecting it, or even try. What I, Elux, decided upon will necessarily take place. Unless you want to leave Long Haochen to kill himself, just gradually absorb all this death force of mine.”

The surrounding white light gradually vanished, and a peach-sized white, sparkling, translucent bead appeared in front of Elux.