All existences living on worlds that had already been reached by the power of the Soul Record knew perfectly well that this unknown existence which gave all living beings the opportunity to evolve and become more powerful communicated with each one of them through green messages.
However, it was not exactly correct to call what the Soul Record did a kind of communication either since from the beginning of time until now, everything that the different existences saw in their retinas were mere messages containing information from different records.
For example the properties of a weapon, the qualities of a material, the defensive power of a structure, the attack power of a cannon, the functioning of a skill, the amount of Soul Power absorbed after prevailing in a mortal combat, the points obtained after leveling up, and so on.
Now, a message as such in which the Soul Record tried to communicate with another existence was something no one had ever heard of let alone seen.
However, as the giant lightning dragon engulfed Fire Sorrow in its interior, a message containing a simple question flashed across the retina of the beautiful Seventh Order mage.
[Why?]
There was no tone of voice, it was a mere message. But that seemingly insignificant message alone actually possessed the ability to leave even the most powerful beings in the cosmos in shock.
After all, this might be the first time in the history of the universe that the Soul Record openly sought answers from another being! What did this mean then? It meant that the Soul Record was actually an existence with a consciousness of its own!
If this became known, the pattern of movement of most if not all factions of Higher Existences would change completely!
The fact that the Soul Record was a being with intelligence, regardless of whether it had gender or not, also meant that it was highly likely that the reason this being was forcing everyone to evolve was no longer as simple as it might seem! After all, the fact that the Soul Record had self-awareness and intelligence enough to ask a question pointed to the fact that it very probably also had a target it was aiming at!
The laws of the universe would tremble and the foundations of every power faction would be shaken if what had just happened became known. Such was the importance of a mere, simple word!
"I'm sorry." Fire Sorrow whispered softly with a hint of self-reproach. She seemed far from surprised by what was happening to her as she said bitterly, "I know I'm not supposed to do this, but it's necessary to get the time that's been stagnant for so long flowing again…. You understand that too, don't you?"
Fire Sorrow was an existence that along with a few others had seen the beginning of an era and the end of it and then began to live in another era that was completely new and at the same time different from the era they were born into. She was blessed with the knowledge of many things that other beings did not know and that she had no plans to share.
However, if what Lucifer had seen was real and not some sort of illusion, then it was clear to Fire Sorrow that the universe that had been frozen for so long would soon begin to change.
"We need things to change. At this rate, the beings on the other side of the Crimson Rift will destroy us completely." Fire Sorrow sighed and bathed in the mana-filled lightning. She smiled and asked the nothingness, "Although I don't know who you are or what your objective is, I believe you have been watching everything since the very beginning of the ages… You better than anyone should know that things cannot continue as they are now."
[…]
There was no reply at all and had it not been for the fact that the record of someone or something having communicated with her was still deep in her soul, Fire Sorrow might even have come to think it was a hallucination.
The lightning dragon crackled fiercely and illuminated the world in its entirety.
Fire Sorrow did not feel the ancient necklace that now hung on her chest sway gently as if someone had touched it, it was a fleeting feeling that disappeared quickly enough to go unnoticed even by someone of her caliber. At the same time, the light around her slowly began to dim.
Realizing that the terror shaking her soul and the threat of becoming nothing more than an empty shell inside slowly receded, Fire Sorrow let out a sigh of relief as she said to the nothingness, "Thank you for understanding."
Again, Fire Sorrow did not receive any reply.
In fact, from beginning to end she did not understand the reason why the Soul Record asked "Why?". All Fire Sorrow did was try to explain things from a broader point of view in which the whole universe needed change and maybe this small change could make a difference.
As for why the Soul Record decided to spare her life even though she had openly opposed the rules, Fire Sorrow didn't know…. At least, she didn't know 100% since she did have an idea.
She gently caressed the broken necklace and sighed in her heart.
This broken necklace without any apparent value was a valuable heirloom that had billions of years of history. It was not as amazing as some might think and in fact, could only attack a single time before the increasingly weakening power within it vanished without a trace. However, for Fire Sorrow and a few others, this broken necklace had a high emotional value.
It symbolized honor, pride, power, prestige, bravery, and even insanity. However, in the eyes of others, it was just a broken necklace. An heirloom was after all an heirloom since only a few could understand its true value. The rest would just pass by without even giving it a second glance.
When the multicolored lightning dragon disappeared without a trace and the black clouds that covered the dome of the sky dissipated without warning, Fire Sorrow appeared again in full view of everyone.
Seeing her body intact as her purple hair waved gently in the company of the breeze that caressed her face tenderly, Lucifer let out a sigh of relief in his heart while the rest looked on in disbelief.
"Wh- What… What's this all about?" Crow asked the same question they all had in mind.
Wasn't Soul Punishment supposed to be the cruelest punishment in the universe which was sent by the Soul Record itself to penalize the offender who had broken a rule within its system? An attack that could not be evaded and which no one could survive after being hit by it.
But then what about Fire Sorrow?
Of course, Crow was relieved that Fire Sorrow was unharmed. She was no different than a precious mentor to Crow since he had received her guidance in the past so he naturally did not wish for anything bad to happen to her. However, this didn't mean that seeing her unharmed didn't shock him.
Lilith didn't understand what was going on either. According to the overwhelming power she felt from the lightning dragon, Fire Sorrow's soul should have been completely crushed and probably even her body should have been turned into mortal spoils. However, far from what it should have been, she was perfectly fine and looked like a graceful goddess standing in the void.
Only a few seemed to understand what was happening and they all belonged to either the Demonic Army or the Army of Heaven.
The Demonic Army and the Army of Heaven were the two oldest known factions of Higher Existences since when faction number three was born these two were already there. No one knew how old Lucifer or Medes were but it was clear that both beings knew things about the universe that even after millions of years the other leaders had not been able to decipher.
No one gave explanations regarding what had just happened, therefore, everyone's doubts could only remain in their hearts since if the leaders did not speak then the pawns had no place to give their opinion on the matter.
Fire Sorrow turned around and stared Thannath out of the sky before calmly asking, "Now, can you explain a bit about what happened here?"
Only then would the Higher Existences be able to better understand the situation and judge whether what Lucifer had seen was real or not. Even Lucifer himself was doubtful of his eyes let alone the others.
"Y- Yes! Of course." The emperor of the asura race did not dare to delay and quickly began to explain what happened from the start.
First, Thannath explained the reason why the Soul Record abandoned the asura race and all the original residents of Oblon World since, after the ancestors of the asura race committed taboo, the Soul Record not only scattered their souls but also decided to punish the generations to come.
Then, Thannath proceeded to explain the functioning of the Cosmos Gate and its use. Of course, Emperor Thananth was not a genius in arrays or runes so he could only repeat the same thing the history books said and the words the previous emperor passed on to him before he perished of old age.
"The Cosmos Gate was supposed to open in another 10 years. However, while this emperor…. While I was on my throne, I noticed how the magic array seemed to resonate with another world whose laws were weaker than the Oblon World. Moreover, this unknown world even seemed to receive internal damage as the spatial barrier or whatever it was exposed it. So, after discussing it with my trusted commanders, we decided that it wouldn't hurt to speed up the plans a bit."
Thannath sighed and shook his head as he said in a bitter voice, "It was supposed to be a simple hunt but who would expect…. Who would ever expect that this world that was barely in its First Evolutionary Stage would give birth to not just one monster but two monsters-"
"Wait. Stop right there." Michael of the Army of Heaven abruptly interrupted. His brows furrowed inward as he said slowly, "Focus on the war. None of us here care about the reason you were abandoned by the Soul Record nor do we care about the kind of life you've been leading so far."
Thannath froze and his eyes trembled with fear as he sensed the clear discomfort in the voice of the being hovering in the sky. He knew that a mistake meant his death so he had been trying to be as descriptive as possible, but apparently, that too was a mistake.
Uriel looked at Michael and sighed in her heart. She shook her head before looking at Thannath and saying in her soft natural voice, "I apologize on Michael's behalf. He is too blunt at times but he is not actually evil, as you can see by his wings….. However, it is true that what is in the best interest of all of us here is to know as much as possible regarding the identity of these two beings you refer to as 'monsters'."
"As if having pigeon wings means you're good…" Hellscar muttered under his breath just like a child throwing tantrums over something he disagreed with.
Everyone ignored Hellscar as most of those present were aware of his personality.
On the other hand, the fear in Thannath's heart diminished tremendously after hearing Uriel's soft angelic voice and seeing her beauty, he even felt that it would not be wrong to die for her. In fact, even Thannath himself did not seem to be aware that the pain he felt in his heart for the death of his wife was beginning to disappear without a trace.
This was the charm of the woman who was universally known as the most beautiful of all and who had been unrivaled until Lilith made her appearance.
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