‘We are very close. Don’t lose focus.’
‘…Do not lose sight of the goal.’
‘I have been waiting for this moment for a very long time.’
‘Soon, we’ll be whole!’
Several voices whispered in Sylas’s mind, his head coking left and right as his white eyes grew unfocused.
He was used to the voices.
Each voice represented a different part of him.
Sylas… wasn’t but one mere entity. He was the culmination of several entities, all trapped within one body.
One could even argue he was merely the prison holding onto the lingering spirits of the mirror dimension.
But at the same time, with all the time that had passed, Sylas started to develop his own personality. One that was more dominant and more conscious than the rest.
He was starting to become his own person.
But he wasn’t quite there yet. He was still missing several things.
‘Quickly! Don’t waste this chance!’
‘We must hurry and not let it slip away!’
Thinking about his current situation, Sylas’s neck twitched slightly.
The voices inside of him were growing excited.
After all these years, freedom was finally within reach. It had been a long time since Sylas first set out on his quest to become whole.
They couldn’t take it anymore.
They had been patient enough, but it was time for them to finally get rid of the curse that was keeping them trapped within the body.
Indeed, this was a curse.
It was a terrifying curse that had plagued them since the dawn of the Mirror Dimension.
But not for long.
Soon, all their struggle were going to pay off.
…And the half key to solving it all was standing right before him, his body frozen in place as he held onto a mirror with intricate patterns.
“Well, let’s see if it works.”
Sylas didn’t waste a second and grabbed the mirror from Lazarus’s hand. Under Xa’ruhl’s influence, Lazarus was completely helpless. His body was frozen in place, his mind the only thing that was properly functioning.
This was the difference between a mere human and the great primordial one.
He was no different than a small bug that could be squished as the primordial one wished.
“Am I supposed to inject my mana in this?”
Sylas injected his mana into the mirror and waved it around the Maw. However, he was left disappointed to see no reaction from the mirror. No, he did feel a reaction, but it was extremely small.
In fact, the reaction almost felt repulsive. As though it was trying to reject him.
This only made him smile.
“Don’t worry. I won’t be using you for long. Just help me find the scepter.”
He tried the same thing a couple of times, but yet again, no reaction.
Eventually, he turned to look at Lazarus.
“How does this work? Got any idea?”
“…..”
No words or reaction.
Lazarus couldn’t speak at all, and recalling his current predicament, Sylas chuckled.
“Sorry for that.”
Though he apologized, his words felt more sarcastic than anything else.
He turned the mirror toward himself, studying his reflection. No matter how he examined it, it looked like an ordinary mirror. Was that really all it was?
Sylas thought about it for a while before shaking his head.
‘No, that reaction I got from him felt real. I don’t think it was a lie. I just don’t know how to use it.’
“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter.”
Though the scepter was tempting, it didn’t really serve much purpose to him.
While it was indeed the relic of a Goddess, what Sylas cared more about was achieving his goal of becoming whole. Only once he achieved his goal would he get rid of the voices and have his own identity.
That was all he needed. All he wanted.
He had to have it.
Right now…
He. They. Them.
They had no identity.
It was Sylas, but at the same time wasn’t.
What could they even be considered?
‘Ah, this needs to stop.’
‘I just want to be free again.’
‘Hurry! Hurry!’
Sylas’s head started to contort as the voices in its mind started to grow more restless.
“I get it… I get it!”
Sylas bit his tongue, and he felt a sharp pain invade his mind.
The voices stopped then.
But only for a little while.
‘That hurt.’
‘It hurt a lot.’
‘Why did you do that? Why did you do that?’
Sylas quickly increased his grip on the mirror before eventually lowering his hand.
Almost..
He just had to resist for a little bit longer.
Slowly turning his head, Sylas fixed his gaze on the primordial one. Staring at Xa’hurl, Sylas raised his head to look up at the Maw. From Xa’hurl’s presence alone, he could feel several important figures had arrived to check out the situation.
However, Sylas wasn’t worried.
If they knew what was best for them, then the last thing they were going to do was come to where they were.
And in case they did show up..
A slow smirk began to form on his lips.
“It’ll be a nice way to feed my new mind.”
“It’ll be a nice way to feed my new mind.”
“It’ll be a nice way to feed my new min—”
Sylas’s words came to an abrupt halt when he felt something warm in his hand. Surprised, he lowered his head to see that the heat was coming from the mirror. His brow rose up in surprise, but before he could even understand what was happening, a blinding light shot out from the mirror.
Suddenly, the darkness that embraced the surroundings faded for a brief moment as even Xa’hurl was affected by the mirror.
“What—!?”
It was only for a mere second, but that was enough.
By the time the light faded and everything returned to normal, he was shocked to see that Lazarus was no longer where he once was.
Instead…
In the exact spot where he should’ve been was a large statue.
Sylas stopped in that moment, his head shaking as he sighed.
“When will they learn?”
He lowered the mirror in his hands.
“…There is no escaping.”
The eye behind him shook, closing as the world began to tremble.
Rumble!
“Now you’ve gone and done it.”
Sylas shook his head, a smile blooming across his face.
“….You’ve angered the one thing that shouldn’t have been angered.”
***
Rumble! Rumble—!
The changes were quite abrupt and unexpected. In one moment, the area around the Maw was calm, and in the next moment, a terrifying and ancient energy began to sprout from deep within the Maw, covering the surroundings.
The boats docked outside of the Maw began to rock back and forth while the faces of a few people paled considerably, some even passing out on the spot.
Only a certain few were able to remain calm.
“Hmm.”
Staring deep into the Maw, the Living Saint’s brows furrowed as he raised his hand and cast a large, bright shield around the boat.
The ship began to settle down almost immediately, while the overwhelming pressure in the surroundings slowly began to ease.
He did so much with such ease that it almost looked effortless.
But was it really effortless?
Anne turned her attention towards the Living Saint as he stood at the bow of the ship with his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed towards the Maw in the distance. Although he was trying his best not to show it, Anne could see the subtle trembling of his fingers.
‘…Just what in the world is happening?’
Her confusion merely lasted a few seconds.
Thump!
Right as the barrier formed around the ship, a figure appeared not far from where she was, his entire face pale.
“…..!”
She didn’t even have the time to be surprised or make a sound as she stopped the moment she saw how pale his face was. However, by the time she recovered, she saw him head directly from the Living Saint.
“Wha… Why are you here? What happened down there? Wha—”
“The primordial one is here.”
Lazarus answered, his voice oddly calm despite the situation.
“We need to quickly leave the place.”
Even now, he was trembling. Just one look at the primordial one was enough to completely freeze him in place and render him helpless.
Thankfully, he was aware of such a possibility occurring.
It was for that reason that he had set up different statues. On any normal occasion, he wouldn’t have been able to escape, but thankfully, he had the mirror with him.
This was no regular relic.
It was one of the four sacred relics. So, when Sylas touched it and attempted to wield its power, it instinctively tried to reject him.
Not everyone could use the relics as they pleased.
Even Lazarus was the same.
There were specific requirements for one to use the relics. In Lazarus’s case, he had a special identity that allowed him to use the mirror.
The same couldn’t be said for Sylas.
Aware of this, Lazarus took the chance to teleport back into the ship.
Even so, he was well aware of the fact that he was far from free from the primordial one’s clutches.
In fact…
This was merely the start.
Swoooosh!
Suddenly, massive boulders of water began to rise from the depths, breaking the surface of the water and producing several large crimson waves half the size of the ships. A suffocating pressure washed over the area, its weight crushing down on everything around it.
It was as though the air itself had thickened, pressing down on every chest, making each breath a struggle.
Lazarus froze, his eyes locked on the unfolding chaos. From the heart of the Maw, the gargantuan form of a monster began to rise, its enormous frame emerging slowly from the depths of the Maw.
“What’s happening?!”
“Be careful!”
As its massive body pulled free from the water, it sent shockwaves through the sea, creating monstrous waves that battered the ship with each passing second.
“W-what the hell is that?”
The sheer size of the creature was overwhelming, its silhouette barely discernible in the mist of rising water and darkened skies.
The ship groaned under the pressure, causing several people to stumble over.
Only a few were able to remain standing, and of those few, none were able to formulate a single thought as they stared at the massive silhouette that loomed before them.
The entire process took mere seconds. As its enormous frame emerged from the water, the waves that had surged through the area began to settle, fading almost as quickly as they had come.
All noise ceased.
Then—
“He’s here.”
Nobody knew who it was, but the words echoed the thoughts of all those present.
“Xa’hurl is here.”
For the first time in a very long time, the great primordial one had made its appearance.
The moment it did.
The Remnant South shook.
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