588 Of Nature and Men

The surrounding space fell apart. Each fragment gradually shattered to dust before merging into the expanding pit of nothingness which was located right where the portal that bridged this shattered universe, to the one Daniel had fought Corrosion once was.

Despite how quickly the battle between him and Corrosion had been, having only taken about a minute in total, that encounter could not compare to what Daniel was witnessing. The expansion of the black hole was so rapid that it could keep up with the momentum of Daniel’s karmic spear, which was still dragging his body in the distance at a speed that would put light to shame.

All of the countless attempts Daniel had made of opening a new portal were fruitless, for the space was too unstable. So much so, that the sheer contact with his body was enough to further its destruction, creating a tail of collapsed space which connected him to the immense sphere of nothingness that followed him.

As Daniel’s stay in this universe reached the span of ten seconds, the black hole reached a point of no return. Its rate of expansion had already passed the speed at which Daniel ran from it, and kept growing exponentially until finally, lights out.

Shrouded in complete nothingness Daniel let the spear of pure karmic power merge into his body, then observed his surroundings.

Completely blind, Daniel expanded his consciousness through his entire body, which he waved casually into the void. An extremely odd feeling pervaded his mind as he felt the complete lack of gasses, dust, or anything that could create attrition against his skin. No ancient sound which traveled the infinity of space, no acrid aroma of welding fumes, or hot metal. As his eyes failed to catch the slightest hint of light, Daniel found himself wondering whether his eyeballs were moving, or whether his eyes were open to begin with.

Whilst experiencing this void, Daniel could not help but compare it to a state of pure dark essence.. One of the essences which he had mastered in his cultivation journey.

While similar in theory, the distinction between the two was boundless. Darkness could envelop anything, but that did not mean that something no longer existed. In a dark cave one could stand on the hardness of rock, brush their fingers on a mirror of cold water, and breath its stale and moist air.

Around Daniel, however, there was nothing.

Despite how destructively collapsed space made its appearance, Daniel found its abnormality quite calming.. Or at least, that was the case for the first few minutes. As the novelty of his odd surroundings began to die out, Daniel noticed something. His spiritual essence, his ki, and his mental power, were slowly being pulled out of his body, emanating like a person’s natural scent.. Only to be swallowed by the surrounding void.

“The extraction rate is just higher than the production rate..” Daniel thought as his powers kept abandoning his body. His attempts to store them within his body were pointless, for the harder he tried to hold on to them, the stronger the extraction was. “Is this.. Nothing.. controlled by some sort of consciousness?” he wondered after seeing the void’s suspicious behavior.pᴀɴᴅᴀ-ɴ0ᴠᴇʟ.ᴄᴏᴍ

As the three powers of cultivation slowly left his body, Daniel found solace in the fact that his karmic power, whilst also affected by this relenting absorption, was far more durable than his spirit, body and mind-to a point where its consumption was almost imperceptible.

Aware that fighting the absorption would only quicken it, Daniel hid his consciousness within layers of mental and karmic power, then closed his eyes. When he reopened them, he was standing in the middle of a busy street.

Around him, faceless people walked in a hurry-Some escorting others, some holding hands, some carrying children, boxes or bags.

This city’s details, just like the appearance of its citizens, was extremely vague, yet Daniel found no fault in them. After all, they were all but a memory. Memories of a distant past that had emerged as he first tried to find a place where his consciousness could reside.

To his memory, this city was the place he and his daughter were born in, and where he had spent his younger years. Far down the road he could see the city gates, where he would guide and swindle traveling merchants. To the right the academy where he had first learned martial and spiritual cultivation, and to his right, the mercenary and adventurers guilds where jobs and tasks could be completed in exchange for money.

These locations used to be everything Daniel knew, but now, they were no different from the memories he had seen in the mind of millions of other people. Everyone had a childhood home, a park with flowery bushes whose scent was permanently imprinted in their head, the facade of a sweetheart’s house which they had started at for far too long, never daring to knock at the door.

As he realized how little these memories mattered to him, Daniel could not help but wonder whether he could afford to call himself a human anymore.

As Daniel wandered the streets of this city looking for a proper place to stop, a pungent smell struck him. Slightly burnt bread, accompanied by the sizzle of eggs on an oiled pan. Almost energized, he followed this smell through various streets, and to a simple looking house.

While simple in appearance, this house was the most detailed building within the city. In it, a table with three chairs, one kept neatly, while the others were pulled out, left displaced by the two individuals who had used them. A plate with fresh and toasted slices of bread next to a burning stove, and two doors.. One locked, and one leading to a poorly illuminated room.

Daniel walked into the house, then past the table. For a moment, he found himself reaching for the stove’s cover-an action he had performed hundreds of times after the one time his sister had forgotten to turn it off, almost burning the whole house down, and which had become a sort of a habit for him. Immediately he corrected his action, then continued walking until he reached the small open room. pᴀɴᴅᴀ ɴ0ᴠᴇʟ

As he opened the door all the way, a simple wooden frame with a hay filled mattress covered in a handwoven blanket appeared in front of him.

Daniel did not bother with the state of the room, nor did he care for the extinguished candle which rested on top of the bedside table, or the papers on top of the small ruined desk.. He simply walked up to the bed, and sat on it.

The familiar rough feeling of hay piercing the fabric and poking at his skin threatened to pull the corner of his lips into a faint smile, but that reaction faded as quickly as it had appeared. He knew that these emotions were simple feelings of wonder, and not of attachment. After all, while Daniel had cut his connections to his mortal life, he still had feelings-Only, more self centered. The place he was currently in was one Daniel had felt safe in the past, and that feeling had not disappeared.

Almost as if having unloaded a massive weight off his shoulder, Daniel let his upper body fall back, until the back of his head hit the mattress.. He could feel clearly that, in the distance, the vast forests which encircled the city had started to disappear, eroding at the same rate the pure void which surrounded his physical body was eroding his mental power.

Behind this blurry sight was a darkness that, given enough time, would erase him from existence. No underworld for his consciousness, no spiritual realm from which his spirit could be reincarnated, no dirt to lay his body at rest under. Just, nothing.

Too tired to think so far in the future, Daniel closed his eyes, and for the first time in over a thousand year, he fell asleep.

—–

Planet To’han, Blue galaxy, unclaimed universe.

“My Lord, our time is running out. The expansion of the cultivators has been relentless, and we have lost half of the galaxy. If we must fall back, now is the time.” Said a middle aged woman completely covered in black robes, to a vast hall filled with individuals clad in similar attires. As she spoke, her silvery voice gently traveled through her surroundings, almost as if lulled by a faint wind.

The dark hall was not made out of stone, but seemingly carved into the trunk of an immense tree, and currently housed a hundred of such entities. All hidden in what bit of their appearance their baggy dark robes could not cover. Not all robes, however, were the same, but all possessed a specific mark. Fire, wind, earth, metal, air, lightning, and more. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀ ꪶ

These individuals were all left standing, and facing a throne of thick roots occupied by the being whom they all revered as a god, treated as a savior, and proudly called lord.

Contrary to this large group, the man who sat on the throne was enjoying the most of the natural light present within the room. A light which revealed a healthy and youthful hand which glowed with a dozen of different vibrant colors. His only other visible feature, a pair of ever changing kaleidoscopic eyes which bore into the souls of those they landed on.

“Lord, we can still take over this universe. But we need to go on the offensive!” A hooded man uttered with fervor while taking a step forward, leaving behind a trail of burnt wood where he previously stood. As he spoke, sparks of orange light illuminated his rugged face for a few brief moments.

This sentiment appeared to be shared by a large portion of those present.

“My Lord, were you to order us to assault our enemy, my kin will throw their lives with joy.” A second man exclaimed from underneath a puffed up robe, from whose holes emerged faint gusts of wind whenever the being moved.

Just as it appeared that many others were ready to join in on inciting their lord to take action, a screechy voice interrupted this shared sentiment. “We are to bring life to the graves of the forgotten, and that is when we will prosper. With time, Nature inevitably prevails. This is our most important rule.” An enormous gray-skinned man clad in tattered robes retorted.

“We have lost so many in just a few hundred years! At this rate, we won’t outlive anyone!”

“Then we stop fighting!”

“You!..”

The once quiet and united group of black robed entities turned into a loud crowd. The atmosphere appeared to change depending on who spoke the loudest, as the room temperature fluctuated, sudden gusts carried extreme heath, fine sand, and even ice shards, adding up to the chaos voice alone had created.

“MY LORD!” Screamed a woman as she rushed into the hall. “The main camp has been found!”

This report sent a shiver down everyone’s back. For a moment, the group of individuals stopped arguing. “This universe is lost. We need to retreat.” The large man said with a screechy, almost unbearable voice.

A second woman, originally part of the group of robed individuals, stepped forward. With a flick of her wrist she revealed a thin and elegant arm, human in shape, yet not in appearance. Invisible, almost as if made out of glass. “The surrounding universes are part of War’s domain.” She said with a matter of fact tone, “I can open a portal to a shattered universe, but we might find ourselves trapped. I suggest-“

Her proposal was quickly interrupted. For the first time, the lord moved.

With human mannerism, the lord’s pair of colorful hands tightened around the throne’s armrests. His back moved forward, shifting his weight on his legs, then smoothly stood up on his feet.

Once standing, the lord walked past the hundreds of followers, which quietly and respectfully made way for him, stepped towards the hall’s entrance, then through a short corridor made of thick intertwined roots. Behind him, the group of robed beings followed almost religiously.

The light at the end of the short corridor became stronger, shining brightly on the simple robe the lord was wearing, as well as on his glowing arms, neck, and chin.

In a moment, he was out.

pᴀɴᴅᴀ-ɴ0ᴠᴇʟ The scenery that appeared as he and his followers emerged from the hideout was breathtaking. Uncountable square miles of untouched nature. Luscious forests, deep seas, volcanic ashes and dust dragged alongside the clouds by powerful gusts of wind. Every speck of this world appeared to be a living representation of nature, perfect, stable, dangerous, and alive.

In contrast to this scenery, were the uncountable ships that hovered beyond the atmosphere. Enormous freights and dreadnaughts which carried millions of cultivators. Each eager to set fire to every tree, extract every bit of ore, and eradicate any form of life they could find.

The sight of these ships was not a first for the lord, for he had seen the same scenery for the past several hundred years. His attempts to take over a universe where nature could flourish undisturbed.. Where his people could live in peace, had been ruined by relentless greed. This was the thought that had burrowed in his mind.. A mind that, just like his nature, only aimed at creating a place where exploitation of nature did not exist, and where nature could make its course undisturbed.

This time, however, something was different. As he saw these ships’ cannons being aimed at his world’s surface, threatening the lives of so many of his followers.. A human emotion surfaced.

Like poison, this emotion grew, taking over any contrasting feeling of righteous peace and hope.. Until suddenly, his shoulders dropped. Without uttering a word, the lord raised his colorful hands, then aimed them at the sky.

The surrounding essences, almost as if heeding to their God’s will, gathered in between his palms, forming a fist-sized sphere of pure energy. Then, as quickly as it appeared, this sphere shot forward with unbelievable momentum.

Quiet as wind, yet faster than lightning, this sphere crossed the sky and pierced the atmosphere.. Only stopping once it approached the fleet of ships.

Thousands of cultivators approached the sphere. In its uniqueness, they could feel the peculiar essence of every element. All merged together into a perfect and stable bead. “A gift?” One of the cultivators muttered to himself, unsure of how close he should get.

“If it is a gift, then we will bring it to the high commander..” A second cultivator said before turning to look at the planet with eyes filled with contempt. “But first, burn that planet to the gro-” Before the cultivator could finish speaking, however, the sphere’s surface suddenly cracked.

“TAKE COVER!!” The first cultivator screamed, aware that something was wrong.. But, alas, it was too late. They could only witness their lives flash in front of their eyes as the bead cut their lives short with a big bang.

The blast advanced unstopped. Cultivators, ships, asteroids, artifacts made of the strongest materials in existence.. Everything within light years was vaporized. Not even the closest stars could survive the blast, and fell apart under the immense energy.

In a fraction of a moment, the threat was no more.

Back on the planet, the lord looked at the blast of energy wash past the planet, leaving it completely untouched. As the light produced by the explosion began to dim, he once again lowered his arms. “Perhaps I was wrong.. Sometimes nature just takes.” he muttered as his shoulders rotated, and his robe came undone.

Soon after, the hood that covered his face began to puff up and move back, revealing to his amazed followers a head of black hair. As the hood fell past his shoulders, its motion dragged down the rest of the robe, uncovering a human’s back embedded with spheres of the purest elemental essence.

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