Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Looking at it from afar, in a world of darkness, layers of the abyss surrounded this place in concentric circles. This was the core of the abyss.
There was no gravity, air, or matter. Apart from the consciousness of the abyss, there were only the Abyss Blood Sun and the Abyss Door Talos, the symbols of two kings of the devil orbiting the consciousness of the abyss.
The ruler of abyss revealed his enormous divine body with all the consciousness of the abyss. Lights shone from his robe onto everything around him.
“Finally here… Maria’s World, astral word, the abyss… I jumped from one chessboard to another! That’s true… heh heh… hah hah hah hah!” said Adonis.
Adonis floated in the darkness of the void, looking up at the masked ruler of the abyss, then lowered his head and laughed. It started with a smile, then Adonis lost all control, bursting into laughter. The teeth in his skull clacked when his jaw moved up and down.
Mythical beings communicated using a common divine language. One could clearly sense his bitterness and unwillingness in his laughter.
Adonis raised his head suddenly. Even in such a hopeless situation, Adonis did not lose his calm. He chose to face his destiny with grace, and asked, “Who are you? The Great Angel Faross? The creator himself? The Great Wise Anthony? Or the Ruler of the Abyss?”
Lu Zhiyu looked down at him. The devilish skeleton was thousands of miles tall but still belittled by the projection of the consciousness of the abyss. It was almost like a giant looking down at an ant. Their eyes landed on the void-like core of the abyss.
“Is there any point?” Lu Zhiyu asked.
Adonis was stunned, then broke into demented laughter. Derision filled his laughter. Maybe he was scoffing at himself, or maybe at Maria’s World and the destiny of all those living within.
“Right, that’s right, that’s absolutely right! There is no point. It is a tedious, pointless world. Everyone lives in unreal dreams, boring, hopeless dreams,” Adonis said.
Adonis laughed and trembled. His body moved and swung like a puppet, making all kinds of bizarre posture.
“Ridiculous! Heh heh heh…kekeke… hah hah hah hah! Pathetic! So… in the end… I am just a clown!” Adonis laughed.
After quite a while, Adonis finally stopped laughing. He trembled, shrugged his shoulders, opened his palms like a pantomiming clown or puppet, and asked Lu Zhiyu, “So, this world, the great and almighty creator, did we put on a good show? Did you enjoy yourself? Toying with all our fates, looking down at our births and ruins, like the openings of ridiculous operas. Placing and abandoning us as if we were nothing but pawns. Did you find this game… hah hah hah… particularly interesting?”
Lu Zhiyu took off his mask. His enormous body, which filled the entire core layer of the abyss, started to move. Divine lights shone from his. Ribbons of light flew through the air. His long, transparent fingers were illuminated with white light. His fingers alone were of the length of Adonis’s entire mythical body. Lu Zhiyu removed his mask of sun sigils and showed the smile underneath.
“Do you find it interesting?” Lu Zhiyu asked.
Adonis looked into Lu Zhiyu’s eyes. The devilish flames roaring in Adonis’ empty eyes slowly calmed down.
“So, even the creator himself shall not have redemption!” said Adonis.
Lu Zhiyu asked, “Do you still wish to be the King of the Dead?”
Adonis tilted his head and smiled like he always did, and asked in the same tone Lu Zhiyu had used before, “Do you find it interesting?”
After he said that, Adonis’ tone changed instantly, from calm to furiously hysterical.
Adonis said, “I do not accept fate or anyone’s plan! Ant, pawn, or lowly maggot, I, Adonis, shall have my will and pride! I am the star high above and I will never be the dust looking up at the sky!”
The soul flames on Adonis’ body roared to life. The pillar of fire shone bright like the sun. Lights beamed up through the bitwall, shining deep into the layers of the abyss around him.
In the fire, Adonis burned every part of himself. His mythical cells, consciousness, core, and memories, with no regret or reservation.
Lu Zhiyu looked at Adonis calmly as he burned his mythical body. They both remained silent. Only the flames of death could be heard as Adonis entered eternal annihilation.
At this moment, a call of Adonis’ true name came from afar, crossing the endless distance through ritual.
Adonis looked at Lu Zhiyu, turned his head suddenly, grabbed the floating, spinning divine personality of the master of the night, opened the entrance to the abyss, and threw the personality into it.
“Mr. Skeleton! Mr. Skeleton?”
Adonis heard the gentle voice coming from the other side of the entrance. An unusually calm expression filled his face. His jaw clenched as he looked through the other end of the entrance to the abyss. He could see her innocent cheeks and her adorable pout and knew she was angry.
“Alice!”
It took Adonis back to that day. He could see the little girl hiding in a corner in the royal palace, watching him lift up his sword, huddled up, wailing as if she had lost the entire world. Adonis, who killed his own father and brother to pursue power, suddenly softened.
“My little sister!” Adonis said.
Adonis reached out his hands as if he was going to hug the crying little girl hiding in the corner of the palace in his memory. His bony hands vanished in flames. The fire spread over his body, and Adonis turned into blackened dust in the fire.
—
On the aircraft dock of the Hollyma Kingdom, a prearranged cargo airship set off in the middle of the dark night. A few priests with green lights in their eyes escorted a young lady in a black robe onto the airship.
The airship departed. Its destination was the distant Yala continent. It was the world of wizards and fairies, the most beautiful place in Maria’s World. It had the most desirable fairyland, a warm, comfortable climate, an everlasting spring, and thriving forests.
Beautiful fairies, their unique cities, and the giant Trees of Life could be seen everywhere, along with the wizard towers and relaxing fields of the wizard kingdom.
The airship traveled through the clouds in the starry night. Mist coated the deck. It was like walking through clouds if one walked out on the deck.
The starry sky and silver moon shone above. Lands and cities peeked between the clouds below. At this moment, a special witchcraft channel array was drawn on the deck. Alice, a newcomer who had studied for almost two years under the guidance of Adonis to break from seven units of mind power and become an official wizard, was there.
Nevertheless, being able to activate this witchcraft channeling array was enough. Alice spoke divine languages. Though she had no idea of the meaning of the words, the channeling was drawn in the correct direction. The power of the abyss covered the witchcraft channeling array. She had connected to the distant, unknown, powerful being.
“Mr. Skeleton! Mr. Skeleton! Can you hear me? Mr. Skeleton!”
Alice mumbled with her eyes closed. On the channeling array, a diamond structure formed. It was the symbol of Talos, the doorkeeper of the abyss. It showed the image of its devil species and opened a door that only immaterial creatures such as devils and mythical beings could pass through. This was what was passing through the door now.
A black gem that seemed to be made of threads fell onto the deck. It was covered with countless runes and spells, which were the stereoscopic patterns of the base of the God of the Night on the model of the World Tree.
Starlight spilled from within it. Power fluctuations and lights flowed between Alice’s fingers, forming a long tail behind the airship. A simple gesture of activation could trigger its great power and alter the rules within Maria’s World.
Alice grabbed the gem. She was breathless, calling Mr. Skeleton in a trembling voice. However, the entrance to the abyss had closed.
The witchcraft channeling array on the deck turned into a cloud of black smoke as if it had never existed. Alice put away the divine personality of the master of the night and gazed into the distance.
She was about to go to the distant Yala continent, just like Adonis asked of her. It was so far away that she could never imagine it, just like visiting another world.
