At the Nether System.
After retrieving the soul of his beloved from the last world. The sadness and grief in his heart accumulated to something beyond what he could bear. Hei Anjing thought the origin would be bringing him to the next world after he had taken Xiajie's soul from the last world. But he was told that his first trial had ended, after taking Ye Xiajie's soul which he had retrieved successfully he was told to go to the Nether System to meet his Uncle Baojun.
In the throne room in the Nether System.
At the center of the emptied room is his uncle, Mo Baojun, his elder cousin, Hei Jue, and his lover's close friend, An Liang. They've been waiting for his arrival. Everyone could see his fatigue caused by endless sadness and heartache. It wouldn't be surprising enough if Hei Anjing had gone mad with what he had undergone. Seeing your beloved die before you numerous times is more painful than experiencing countless deaths of your own.
Mo Baojun approached his nephew and hugs him in his embrace patting his back gently, "You've done well, Jing'er~"
With the sudden warmth that came from his uncle's embrace, Hei Anjing's tears had flowed out like falls from his eyes. His expression remained dazed as he had been controlling his emotions not to be shown on his face for the longest time. He doesn't know what kind of expression he should be showing at this kind of moment. His muddled expression is more sorrowful to see than seeing his tears. They knew that Hei Anjing's feelings were almost broken beyond repair.
The God of Space, Hei Jue said, "It's okay, Jing'er. Don't cry, you have done it completely. Congratulations."
"That's right. This is a happy moment. You are on your way to bringing back A'Ye to life. A'Jing, do you want to rest first before entering the next second trial?" asked Nethergod An Liang.
"I… I want to continue. I want to see A'Xia as soon as possible. Uncle, please…" said Hei Anjing but his expression looks disastrous as if he would break anytime.
Mo Baojun nodded his head and said, "Okay. I agree. but in exchange, I will seal all your memories and your cultivations. This includes your special skills and abilities. You will enter the world at your weakest state but I would stop you if you ever had the opportunity to remove the seals I placed on you. If you agree I will allow you to enter the second trial without resting."
"I agree," answered Hei Anjing.
Frowning Hei Jue says, "Jing'er just take a rest even a year would be enough to adjust your emotions!"
"That's right. It is a bit dangerous for you right now to enter the world at your current state." said An Liang who agrees with the words of his wife.
Hei ANjing shook his head and said, "If my memories are sealed I should be able to rest on the way. I want to begin the second trial now."
The strong will within the words couldn't be moved by Hei Jue and An Liang. They could only watch as the Ruler God Mo Baojun did as he told and sealed Hei Anjing memories and cultivation. Hei Anjing had fallen into a deep sleep after that.
Mo Baojun looked at the couple beside him.
"I couldn't feel System Yang in him. Where did it go?" asked Mo Baojun.
An Liang who knew the answer replied, "Zhi Yang was lent to Gui Xiajun when he sent them to escape Inferno at that time. That child at this moment is working as a spy for us. He is trying his best to infiltrate the Ye Guis and work to find Ye Mo's real body."
"I see… Where is that other one? System Yue, is he gone too?"
"System Yue had remained here in the Nether System but for some reason, his memories were sealed by System Yang the last time drops by in this place. Should I summon him, Venerable Lord Mo?" asked An Liang.
Mo Baojun responded, "Ask him to act as Xiao Jing'er's guide through his journey. With him helping Xiao Jing'er they should be able to find that man's soul fragments faster. As for the rest, I will leave it to you too. I and the rest have to hunt down the Ye Gui and at the same time looking for something."
"Please leave it to us, Venerable Lord Mo," said Hei Jue and An Liang.
The next time Hei Anjing woke up was his encounter with System Yue in the System Space. Only the feeling of sleeping for a long time was left in his mind plus that nightmare which he would never forget in his life. The death of Ye Xiajie.
—
Back to the current timeline.
Nethergod An Liang and the God of Space, Hei Jue had told everything they had learned after the death of the Lord God. There might be missing details in their stories but what Ye Xiajie wanted to learn was given to him.
Hei Jue spoke, "I didn't know the details of what Jing'er had seen in those worlds where he stood as an observer in your lives. He had gone to more than a hundred worlds just to recover your soul wisps and each soul wisps were so weak that your lives in those worlds were so short and miserable. I heard from the Venerable Lord Mo that unlike in the current situation where you both could change each other's fate, in those worlds he came from he could only watch you die and do nothing about it."
"When he was allowed to return to the Nether System by the Origin, he looked so depressed and was beyond mad. He was dazed as if he lost his soul. He couldn't even express the right emotion when asked. He was almost broken. We haven't seen it ourselves but his appearance alone at that time makes him look too pitiful. This is why when I saw him differently without his memories sealed, I never informed him about his situation and acted like I didn't know anything about it.
The A'Jing at that time was so painful to look at. He couldn't even bear to be away from you for too long. Without resting he began his second trial which is what you guys are undergoing now. A'Ye, A'Jing had sacrificed too much for you, you cannot waste his effort and destroy it. Please look into the future. That vessel is his original one but we all know that his body is cultivated by the Mo Family through science. They could rebuild a new and healthy one for him. Are you still going to kill your vessel?" said Nethergod An Liang.
In what the couple had told him, his wife had encountered his death countless times and he had almost gone insane because of it. Then the reason for that corpse of his wife used to nourish his vessel. He could feel his heart being pricked by endless needles. Extremely painful, unbearable as if he would lose his mind. Sadly, he couldn't do anything about the situation. He could only cover his face.
Ye Xiajie said with his voice hoarse, evidently enduring anguish he had never experienced before. "Leave… for now. I want… to be… alone."
Hei Jue and An Liang didn't ask what was wrong and stood up preparing to leave. They had brought the two former quantum beasts out of the throne room with them leaving Ye Xiajie alone sitting on his throne with his face covered by his palms.
Silence ascended in the throne room. There are no sounds and even breathing cannot be heard. The atmosphere in the throne room was depressing. Ye Xiajie kept covering his face for a long time until he took a deep breath and revealed his bloodshot eyes. One could see how much he is trying to stop his tears, his anger, the anguish in his heart, and everything which could overtake his calmness. Now is not the right time to feel guilt. But the heartache he feels for his wife is real. Unfortunately, there is no one to bear his rage.
Ye Xiajie mumbled, "Not yet… I can't move just yet. This soul is still incomplete that I could barely protect Jing'er. I need to find my remaining soul fragments as soon as possible."
Trying to stabilize his outraging emotions, Ye Xiajie closed his eyes in the darkness for a moment. Only within the darkness could Ye Xiajie clear up his thoughts. In the darkness, he felt that he could see Xia Jieye, the soul fragment who possessed his soul core. As if a huge monitor appeared in front of his eyes, he could watch whatever Xia Jieye is doing at the moment. He watched him go from world to world. Took over some soul fragments and strengthened himself at the same time, he killed anyone related to the Ye Mo.
All outsiders or destroyers that entered the world were killed. He feeds his darkness with their flesh and soul. The God of Void watches such a scene with nothing but coldness all over him and his indifferent and apathetic crimson eyes watch at the death of others nonchalantly. His demeanor is completely that of an Evil God. He spares no one regardless of age or gender. As long as they were deemed as his enemies he would end all of them without question.
Of course, he wasn't the only one who could use darkness to observe. Darkness is one of the strongest elements in all realms. This is because as long there is light there will always be darkness around.
Xia Jieye appeared in the dimensional domain they own, it was called Abyss. The world of pure darkness with no light. But for Xia Jieye and Ye Xiajie who were born in this kind of place, nothing could hinder them from seeing even in such a dark place. To them, this is their sanctuary.
Xia Jieye said, "You don't look good, Main. Is it because you found out what your vessel had used to extend our lives?" as he also appeared within the darkness they had full control over.
Red-eyed and glaring fiercely at his other self, "Shut up! Don't talk about that!" bellowed Ye Xiajie.
But Xia Jieye didn't move away and showed no fear as always. He casually shrugs his shoulders and stares at that face that is completely the same as his. They are the same person who would be scared of themselves.
"Even if you yell at me, what is done cannot be undone. Well, you could but… It would be the little one who would suffer in the end."
"I stopped."
"So that thought had passed through your head. Foolish!"
"…"
"Enough with this talk. I'm quite busy looking for soul fragments. You've seen the little ones state, don't you? His soul is too injured. He could only wake up inside the worlds lower than Vearth. Bring him with you when you look for the soul fragment. He would only wake up in the Nether System once the last trial of marriage is completed."
"You said before. You are the one to complete the last trial of marriage with Jing'er. Why is that?"
"Because you already completed two, if you even do the last one, I would become a completely independent entity when that happens our souls can never be merged. If that did happen your soul would never be complete making it unstable that you would go crazy in the end. Though I don't mind you ending like that, I do not wish for the little one to cry his heart out for you. He had done such a thing multiple times already in the first trial from the origin."
"I know. That trial was the source of trauma Jing'er has. I don't wish for him to feel those anymore."
"That's also good. I will stop the Ye Gui's from interfering with the next few worlds you would enter. At the last world only I would enter, wait in the Nether System when that time comes. I will merge with you at that time."
"You are willing to merge with me?" asked Ye Xiajie in distrust. He knew himself well. He is never going to compromise with sharing his wife with other men even if that person is himself.
Xia Jieye squinted his eyes on him before snorting, "Heh~ You know us too well. Then you should know that we only compromise for one person. Are you going to make Jing'er who had sacrificed everything for us to pick between you and me? Are you willing to make him unhappy due to our selfishness? At the very least, I am not, and when you remember everything you wouldn't even ask me such a question."
Ye Xiajie was rendered speechless by those words. "…"
"Anyway, even if you don't have your memories I can say one thing for you. Shen Siwang, the Supreme God of Light is our alter ego. He is our brother not by blood but by origin. So if you really need some help you can ask him. Go back! You need to enter the next world with the little one. Do not let him use his abilities as God. His current soul could no longer bear it."
Their conversation was cut off when Ye Xiajie once again opened his eyes in the throne room. His whole being excluded from an aura of danger and darkness, anyone who saw him would feel like they were meeting an Evil God who could control their life and death.
Ye Xiajie called, "Zhi Yue."
His voice was low but for a System that had a direct connection with him, System Yue can hear his summons no matter how far he is. At this moment Yue was in his boss's office waiting for the Lord God to call upon them. Now that he heard their Lord God's summoning he could only come over.
Following behind him is An Liang while Hei Jue had gone to the Central Region of the Nether System to check on his younger sibling. System Yue appeared in his human form with Nethergod An Liang at the throne room. They've lowered their heads in greeting.
"Greetings to the Lord God!"
"Um."
"My lord called for this subordinate?" asked Zhi Yue.
"Transfer your system space and merge with the Central Region. The transit point for world-hopping would be done there instead," said Lord God Ye Xiajie then he moved his gaze to An Liang, his friend. "Liang, I will leave this place for you to protect for a while. Soon I would be able to come back. Until then… Protect the central region with your life."
"Sigh* Leave it to me!" said Nethergod An.
Ye Xiajie stood from his throne and the two former quantum beasts followed after him who was walking in the direction of the Central area. At the center of the huge space, a towering white tree was swaying as if it was alive. There is no wind in this area. It is impossible for it to move because of the wind.
Just under the tree, Ye Xiajie could see his vessel sleeping beside Hei Anjing's soul. The latter was even wrapping his hand around the waist area of the body of Ye Xiajie. Standing not far from them is Hei Jue. He was carefully covering Hei Anjing some blanket totally ignoring the vessel of the Lord God as if he could not see him.
Hei Jue gently caressed the pale complexion of his younger cousin. Everyone can see him gripping his palms until it bleeds. He obviously knew that his younger brother's current state is not good.
"You haven't rested at all for a few millennia. But I know that even with your eyes closed at this moment you have to fight against the nightmares you haven't gotten over at all. Only when you had successfully brought him back to life that all your nightmares would disappear. Bear with it for a bit more. Once you've completed your second trial you should be able to rest, Jing'er~" whispered Hei Jue to the sleeping Hei Anjing.
Once he turned around the tenderness within his eyes faded like a dulling light. His face when looking at Ye Xiajie was deadpan. There is an obvious dislike within those similar silver eyes of his.
Hei Jue spoke, "You are finally here ha."
