Chapter 1156: The Battle of Consciousness |
Taking advantage of the malevolent dragon's scattered consciousness and unformed spirit, Lumian, who had just engaged in battle using the ritual and The Fool Klein's reality-bending ability, rapidly expanded his figure, 'summoning' his physical body from within the protected zone.
Almost simultaneously, Klein in the astral world created an opening in the grayish-white fog that blanketed the Western Continent.
With the Mother Goddess of Depravity fully accommodating the Brood Hive, even if the seal on the Western Continent were completely lifted, She would not currently destroy the continent. However, Her symbolic influence and natural power would still radiate outward, so Klein maintained the seal, merely opening a 'door' that connected the interior to the outside for Lumian.
Lumian, now three-headed and six-armed, shot out of the protected zone and Teleported himself to the depths of the grayish-white fog, appearing above the dragon-sealing well.
He dove in, arriving beside his consciousness and spirit.
The two instantly overlapped.
Lumian grew immensely large, his three heads gazing in different directions while all six arms were raised.
Leaping out of the now-unsealed dragon-sealing well, he hovered above the bustling metropolis. Stretching his hands downward, he pulled at something heavy from a distance.
The people within the city suddenly felt the sky darken, and the ground trembled noticeably.
This was originally intertwined with the actual metropolis, with secret doors and intersecting timelines connecting the two—
the City of Calamity!
Lumian's massive body sank abruptly, plunging into the extracted image of the city.
The City of Calamity shrank rapidly and bizarrely, entering Lumian's body and swiftly moving toward his brow.
Lumian intended to seize the moment, before the malevolent dragon's consciousness was fully reborn, to forcibly accommodate the City of Calamity—and then confront and merge with it!
The next second, the city's image froze at Lumian's brow.
His consciousness and spirit were immediately drawn into it.
He saw a staircase ascending to infinite heights, at the end of which lay a divine throne stained with dark red blood. On the steps, the dragon's body quickly took form, coiling to block his path forward.
…
In the real world.
Deep within the blood-red full moon, the pounding heartbeat grew intense again.
The nest-like peaks seemed to resonate, their sinking accelerating.
The accomodation of the Mother Goddess of Depravity with the Brood Hive progressed further, showing no signs of slowing.
Within the grayish-white fog directly beneath the blood-red moon, the 'Madames' and 'Ladies' under the core power of the Mother Goddess of Depravity stood one after another, turning their gaze toward their leader.
This figure, a beautiful woman with a full-moon-like face radiating maternal glory, spoke to her companions,
'We must return to the embrace of the Mother.
'She has mobilized more of the Chaos Primogenitor's power to accelerate Her fusion with the Brood Hive. We must return to Her embrace, restore Her power, and help alleviate Her burden.'
Seeing confusion on their faces, the woman added,
'The Chaos Primogenitor is the Original Sin of the universe. Although merely Sequence 0 of the Valley God pathway, It carries significant symbolism.
'That symbolism represents the nascent, Original Creator of the next universe. Nurturing It is one of the Mother's most vital symbols and a key reason She remains a Pillar even after the Brood Hive's separation.
'Even as a Mother, She cannot overly wield Its symbolic powers without risking instability or further complications.'
Understanding dawned on the Ladies and Madames, their expressions reflecting varying degrees of reverence born of the knowledge imparted.
Together, they chanted in unison,
'Praise be to you, Mother of All Things!
'Praise be to you, Eternal Evil!
'Praise be to you, the True Great Mother Goddess!'
Amidst their praises, these bestowed and Beyonders transformed into beams of red, black, or brown light, streaming one after another into the blood-red moon and merging with it.
…
A hidden corner of the World of Ruins' South Continent.
The bizarrely shaped Rose School of Thought Beyonders and Mother Tree of Desire followers flocked densely near an altar, their numbers overwhelming.
Atop the yellow, pyramid-like altar, a figure wrapped in bandages, thorns, and roses hung motionlessly, appearing to bind all curses and desires—on the verge of erupting.
Chained God Tolzna.
Following the Vortex incident and the descent of the crimson moon, this deity had effectively perished. His body, consciousness, and spirit were entirely corrupted by the Mother Tree of Desire, acting as Her proxy.
Now, He would serve as the primary sacrifice for this ritual, forcibly opening a passage with the Mother Goddess of Depravity's aid to allow the Mother Tree of Desire to descend within the barrier. Of course, if the barrier shattered under the Mother Goddess's assault, It would simply return directly to the great existence, the Mother Tree of Desire.
When the sacrifices were ready, the thoughts of Suah and Tirié radiated outward from in front of the Chained God.
'The ritual!
'Begin the ritual!'
…
Within the consciousness space corresponding to the City of Calamity.
Seeing the malevolent dragon's body rapidly forming, the three-headed, six-armed Lumian suddenly disassembled.
He split into six consciousnesses and six figures.
These included his primary consciousness, Aurore's consciousness, Jenna's consciousness, the dull and unresponsive chaotic vortex consciousness, Primordial Demoness Cheek's consciousness, and Blood Emperor Alista Tudor's consciousness.
Though not entirely fused, they had partially merged, cooperating, conflicting, or entangling to form a fragile balance—while portions corresponding to Omebella and Zedus had fully integrated with Cheek and Tudor, becoming indistinguishable.
In the real world, Lumian could not break this balance or separate these distinct consciousnesses. However, in this space, where they had a degree of independence, they could unite or divide.
If Lumian succeeded in accommodating the City of Calamity, his consciousness would eventually form a unified whole—indivisible, even under similar circumstances.
This was the distinction between dual-pathway true gods and great existences.
The six consciousnesses coalesced instantly. Lumian pulled the statue-like chaotic vortex face consciousness, along with Aurore's and Jenna's consciousnesses, a step back, disappearing from the dragon's impending attack. This left only Primordial Demoness Cheek and Blood Emperor Alista Tudor in place.
Cheek gazed deeply into the Blood Emperor's eyes, then fixated longingly on the dragon, as if saying: Finally, this moment has come.
Behind Her appeared a figure clad in a black skeletal dress—the mirrored Oldest One's feminine aspect.
Similarly, behind Blood Emperor Alista Tudor, the mirrored Oldest One's masculine aspect emerged, clad in white armor.
In the real world, these figures were forbidden from meeting or merging. But in the consciousness space, Cheek and Tudor could briefly reunite, provided Lumian withdrew the chaotic vortex consciousness.
This reunion could only occur once, as it would severely wound both Cheek and Tudor. Left unchecked, it could lead to the true birth of the mirrored Oldest One's consciousness.
Lumian was now gambling on this symbolism to counter the dragon's consciousness, seizing every moment!
Instantly, the malevolent dragon's consciousness transformed the space into an infinite, dark cosmos filled with scattered calamities.
Cheek and Tudor drew close, accompanied by their mirrored forms.
The entire 'universe' froze, all calamities losing their vitality, their light and heat extinguished, plunging into total silence.
Then, the most violent explosion erupted. Massive amounts of matter scattered outward, forming stars, suns, seas, and various lifeforms.
The malevolent dragon's consciousness dissolved in the prior 'freeze' and was shattered amidst the current 'creation,' reforming into disparate entities.
Once again, It dissipated, reconstituting within the City of Calamity, where It would recover before long.
The figures of Cheek and Tudor merged into a single sphere, twisting and writhing as They struggled to fully integrate.
At this moment, a chaotic vortex face emerged from within, separating Them into four positions—north, south, east, and west.
Annihilation and creation became unstable.
The next second, Lumian, Aurore, and Jenna returned, towering as giants. They forcibly dragged the weakly reborn malevolent dragon's consciousness close to them.
Under these circumstances, the chaotic head of the malevolent dragon and the chaotic vortex face became strongly attracted, exerting a powerful pull toward convergence.
They originated from the same place—they were one to begin with!
The chaotic vortex face and chaotic head merged, drawing each other to a central point to fully unite.
This act separated Cheek and Tudor, including Their mirrored forms.
The instability of annihilation and creation ceased abruptly.
Having finally prevented the true birth of the mirrored Original Creator's consciousness, Lumian, Aurore, and Jenna were forced to return to the body containing the chaotic vortex face.
In doing so, they and the malevolent dragon were now inseparably close, breathing audible, forms distinct.
Neither could evade. Neither could retreat!
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