Chapter 809: Ascendant Dorye (4)
Kugugugu!!
The endlessly stretching cathedral landscape shook and crumbled without cease.
Space tore apart and fell away, even the fragments failing to hold shape as they vanished into the mist.
It was an illusion of something massive pressing down on the surrounding space, gradually crushing it under its sheer weight.
Lennok knew that all this destruction was wrought by the mere presence of a single being.
Skin as black as if dyed in ink. Hair bleached to a stark white.
He sat precariously on the edge of a massive throne, propping his chin on his hand, looking down askance at Lennok.
Even with thick chains binding his limbs, squeezing his body, his form was clear as day to Lennok.
Ascendant Dorye.
A Transcendent who, as a Berserker, had ascended to the 9th-level hierarchy and gained the right to challenge ascension.
The Infinite Void itself could not withstand his awakening, crumbling at his mere movement.
“I was worried you wouldn’t wake up. It’s not easy to open your eyes again once you lose consciousness here.”
Whatever occupied the Ascendant’s body spoke with a laugh, completely disregarding Lennok’s thoughts.
“Looking back, it took quite a while, didn’t it?”
Without waiting for Lennok’s reply, he hummed a joyful tune and asked.
“It’s the re-examination of a long, painful, useless life. Its meaning was so broken that it became unrecognizable in the end.”
“…”
“No matter how I think about it, it wasn’t something I’d want to show anyone else. I showed a shameful sight.”
He lazily opened and closed a hand, fiddling with it, and nodded his head.
His movements were so full of life, it was hard to believe that just moments ago he had been a lifeless corpse enshrined here.
But Lennok knew that the being before him was forcibly animating the Ascendant’s body, artificially generating these gestures.
“Who are you?”
Lennok asked, pressing his throbbing temples.
“Is the one moving that body a being I know?”
Who was this being staring at Lennok and speaking from that very spot?
Lennok’s incarnation that had resided in Dorye’s body. The Military Spirit Monarch who schemed to seize that body.
The Priestess who had perceived Lennok in the memories. Or perhaps it was Ascendant Dorye himself.
In any case, the causality intertwined with that body was so complex that it was difficult to guess his identity from his current appearance alone.
But instead of answering Lennok’s question, he leaned his head against the throne, arms crossed.
“Well. I don’t know either. Who am I?”
“…”
“Pondering why I’m here, or why I woke up now… doesn’t really suit me.”
He leaned his head back, thudding it against the throne’s pillar, and asked.
“Answer me, spellcaster. Body and mind. Which do you think comes first?”
“…I don’t know why you’re asking me that.”
Lennok slowly adjusted his mask, sneering.
“Do you want me to confirm your identity for you?”
There was no need to explain the long history and tradition of the debate regarding the priority of spirit versus flesh in human life, especially in this world full of mysteries.
For him to ask Lennok this now, and to seek his opinion, was utterly meaningless.
But he seemed to think differently from Lennok.
“I believe that physical matter, our bodies, takes precedence over the mind.”
“…”
“The memories you saw are the same. No matter how dangerous a secret we witness, we can only return to reality because we have a body.”
He spoke with an expressionless face.
“Otherwise, this world would have long ago been subjugated to the savior residing in the palace of memories.”
It was a vague statement, but Lennok immediately understood what he was trying to say.
The savior residing in the palace of memories.
A Transcendent who maintained his existence through the beliefs and memories of others.
He knew that both of them had constantly wandered, searching for the Priestess’s existence within those memories.
Dorye’s memories, seen and returned from with the Revelation Ability. But they were not the Priestess’s past that Lennok sought.
They were the memories of someone born human on this continent, who had built up his hierarchy as a Pugilistic Sage.
They were the memories of the Ascendant, Dorye, who had faced the Priestess in his final moments, having fulfilled an unchallengeable heavenly mandate.
“The Priestess…”
The records of the Priestess seen beyond the memories were merely the Pugilistic Sage’s illusions that Dorye had faced throughout his life.
But Lennok couldn’t hide his disturbed feelings just by recalling the Pugilistic Sage’s form.
Because he felt he understood, even if only a little, what kind of emotions he had harbored when he first arrived in this world, how he had trained and cultivated his talent.
What kind of hopelessness and despair he had held as he stood in that position.
“…”
Indeed, his beginning must not have been smooth or easy.
Like Lennok, he might have been focused on surviving day by day, perhaps in even harsher environments and circumstances.
How he must have viewed his Pugilistic Sage talent when he first opened his eyes in the first world.
What feelings the Priestess must have held when she reached the third world through two ascensions and grasped Dorye’s vessel.
Just as Lennok was thinking this, silently gazing into the darkness beyond the great cathedral, at that very moment.
Pa-at!!
The Shrine Maiden’s spirit body, ejected from the edge of the throne, finally managed to stop beside Lennok, a moment too late.
She must have realized that something was wrong later than Lennok and forcibly stopped the Revelation Ability.
[…Your Excellency. I’m sorry. It seems I couldn’t prevent it after all.]
The Ascendant’s gaze, calm even while his entire body was bound by chains, watched them.
The Shrine Maiden’s spirit body, having grasped the situation, spoke beside Lennok with a look of dismay.
[If the vessel has been taken, they will surely seek revenge on the cult. You must escape.]
“…”
[The bridge of souls remains outside the Infinite Void. If you exit through the reverse gate, leaving Yorta won’t be difficult—]
“No, the vessel wasn’t taken. Rather… it should be said it was recovered.”
[…Eh?]
He had used the Revelation Ability to peek into memories, to prevent the Military Spirit Monarch’s spirit, which sought to seize Dorye’s body, from succeeding.
But in the depths of Dorye’s memories that Lennok observed, there was no sign of a being presumed to be the Monarch’s spirit.
Was it because he had already completely taken over Dorye’s body?
Had he fully synchronized with the vessel’s memories in that short time and seized control of the body?
Lennok instinctively knew that wasn’t the case.
The ambiguous messages he had given Lennok since the moment he opened his eyes.
His mighty will, confident in his power even while unsure of his own existence.
The common view shared by monsters who transcend reason, who impose their judgment and will across the entire world.
“That’s not the Monarch’s spirit, nor an incarnation that has gone awry. Rather…”
Lennok said, looking at Dorye’s expressionless face.
“It’s more accurate to say it’s a being closer to Dorye himself, the original owner of the body before it became the Priestess’s vessel.”
What was moving Dorye’s body now was neither the enraged Monarch’s soul nor Lennok’s incarnation that had resided in the body.
It wasn’t the Monarch who had wanted to reclaim the Night Parade from the Priestess, but the true owner of this body.
The very individual who had shown Lennok his memories from when he was alive, re-examining their meaning.
Ascendant Dorye himself had awakened and reclaimed his body.
Dorye, instead of answering Lennok’s words, whispered quietly.
“Even though I woke up like this, what I was waiting for you to tell me was… what I had realized.”
“…You wanted to tell me?”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“At the end of the endlessly repeating memories, the moment the Priestess perceived and looked at you… I also understood.”
His eyes, as he leaned obliquely against the edge of the throne, gradually began to focus on Lennok.
“That I am the owner of these memories.”
“…”
“That this body, long ago, was definitely my own.”
A quietly uttered message. But the will contained within those words held an unshakable power.
Chwaaak!!
Instinctively, Lennok drew upon his mana, layering shields over his entire body, and quickly spun mana threads, setting them up all around him.
But Dorye’s corpse, oblivious to the veil of mana threads settling around him, spoke again.
“It began with a very trivial coincidence.”
The moment he lightly extended a finger, the misty chains coiling around his body surged dramatically.
Thump!!
The chains trembled and writhed as if unable to endure the power contained within, even from a simple gesture.
Lennok slowly shifted his gaze, watching the cracks instantly appearing on the chains binding Dorye’s corpse.
“I’ve regretted that choice for a very long time.”
The Ascendant’s lips moved faintly.
“Time passed, and I’ve replayed that moment countless times.”
“…”
“This body I yielded to him, this mind driven mad by the price of challenging ascension. Even my very existence, left here as a contingency…”
With his eyes closed, the Ascendant’s corpse continued to murmur.
“Everything went awry; even its broken, unwanted form was merely an unavoidable choice.”
Kuguguguung!!
The Ascendant’s helplessly dangling fingers slowly relaxed their rigid forms and began to move.
Like waking from a long slumber and regaining sensation, they pulsed faintly from the fingertips, adding movement.
Very slowly, sluggishly, the tilted hand of Dorye fully clenched into a fist, at that moment.
Paahhhng!!!
The seal binding Dorye’s left arm shattered on the spot, scattering throughout the great cathedral.
Kwagwaga!!!
The fragments of the shattered chains, unleashed by the broken seal, swept across the candleholders throughout the cathedral, extinguishing their flames.
Hundreds of curses, observed within the Infinite Void, tumbled, crumbled, and vanished with a single gesture.
Even Lennok instinctively raised an arm to shield his face in that brief moment.
Dorye shattered all other seals and rose from his seat.
Kwajik, Kwajijijik!!!
Pweooong!!
Just the dead Ascendant’s body balancing and rising twisted and compressed the surrounding space.
The slowly emanating shockwave extinguished countless candles around them, robbing the space of light.
The Shrine Maiden’s spirit body, still clinging to Dorye’s corpse, was flung away.
[…!!]
The Shrine Maiden’s soul tumbled painfully, unable to even scream.
Though she had lost her physical body and only her spirit remained, Dorye’s emanating will was so immense that it affected even her.
Kwagwagaaaga!!!!
At the center of the vast cathedral, where tens of thousands of candles once shone,
The ancient Ascendant, his entire body shrouded in black mana, began to move again.
With both arms wide open, a massive storm revolved, responding violently to its belatedly awakened master.
The Berserker’s fierce aura stung Lennok’s skin, lunging to violently seize his life.
Dadadadak!!
“You perceived your own existence within the reflecting memories and reclaimed your body.”
Lennok slowly brushed away Dorye’s mana raining down on him, and instead asked him.
“But do you truly believe you can call that ‘yourself’?”
“…”
“Are you, standing here now, Dorye himself, who offered his body to the Priestess?”
Lennok now understood why Dorye had said that the body precedes the mind.
The memories of a past life imprinted on the body. A being who awakened to self-awareness within those memories.
Was it Dorye himself, or merely the remnant of will left within the Ascendant’s corpse?
Dorye, who had awakened in this place, was also unsure of it.
Neither Lennok’s incarnation, slumbering beneath that body, nor the Military Spirit Monarch’s spirit, whose whereabouts were unknown.
“…I told you. It’s not me who knows that, but the Priestess who manifested in this body.”
Dorye’s corpse slowly flexed his hand, confirming his senses, and mumbled with an expressionless face.
“Then, I must now reclaim everything I gave to the Priestess.”
“…”
“That will be… the only answer I can give to the failed savior.”
[Your Excellency!]
The Shrine Maiden, sensing the chilling aura, cried out urgently.
[I will buy you time. Although it’s before the Ascendant, if you use your ability—]
Wooong!!
At that moment, Lennok retrieved the Shrine Maiden’s spirit body and moved immediately.
He spared no expense, stacking the Blink spellcraft charged in the Papyrus Argenteus five times.
Instantly, he traversed dozens of meters, hiding his body among the countless forest of candles, at that moment.
Ninefold Dorye Martial Arts, Eight Forms Pugilistic Wave Technique, Sixth Form Calamity’s Arrival
Hwoooong!!
A jarring, inky black wave erupted, sweeping away the very spot where Lennok had stood.
Kwaaaang!!!!
Shattered candleholder fragments scattered everywhere, and the Infinite Void itself was pulverised and dispersed.
A formidable ultimate technique, powered by will-thought, capable of twisting and pulverizing an entire space.
The Shrine Maiden’s soul, belatedly reappearing from within the ring, lost her words at the sight.
[This is…]
“Buy time, you say? Do you truly think that’s possible?”
Lennok said, looking at Dorye’s corpse, standing blankly beyond the Infinite Void.
“That thing only intends to erase all of us from this place. We should have moved to escape long ago.”
[…]
A murderous aura, openly shattering the Infinite Void’s space, aimed to kill Lennok.
If they tried to clumsily escape, they would immediately be caught and their souls and bodies would be torn to shreds.
Therefore, instead of retreating the Shrine Maiden’s spirit body, Lennok drew out mana threads with both hands.
Chwaaak!!
Hundreds of mana threads extended from his arms, legs, shoulders, and waist, and their ends were intricately attached to all sides of the Infinite Void’s sanctuary.
Lennok, who had instantly tied the mana threads around his body and pulled them taut, put his hands together and spoke.
“Don’t say useless things, just be ready.”
[Ready… you mean?]
“The Revelation Ability. You can use it one more time, right?”
[…]
The Revelation Ability had been used to glimpse Dorye’s memories, with the Shrine Maiden prepared for her own demise.
But because the ritual was interrupted mid-way, she still had just enough residual power.
While it would be difficult to summon a more powerful miracle now, using the Revelation Ability once more, as Lennok suggested, should be possible.
Lennok read the answer in the Shrine Maiden’s reaction and nodded.
“I have a method in mind. One Revelation will be enough.”
Click!!
He filled an ampoule with liquid medicine and injected it directly into his abdomen.
Along with a stinging pain, he felt his senses, fatigued from continuous battles, sharpen abruptly.
He injected a mix of stimulants and painkillers, then applied an anesthetic patch over his veins to forcibly numb his senses.
Chwaaak!!
Lennok gripped the mana threads with both hands and began to walk, attaching them to the walls and ceiling of the great cathedral.
“I’ll buy us time to prepare the ability.”
At the edge of the Infinite Void’s sanctuary.
Yorta, the Military Spirit City, had hidden its most fatal secret here.
But Lennok had thought that this might happen someday, ever since he first glimpsed Dorye’s corpse beyond the Infinite Void.
The body of a 9th-level Ascendant, and the owner of the memories who had reawakened within that body.
Whether this was truly Dorye himself, or an entity that merely mistook itself for Dorye.
In either case, it would be impossible to resolve without a direct confrontation here.
Kuguguguung!!
Amidst the rain of crumbling chain fragments, the Ascendant and the wizard faced each other simultaneously.
The black-skinned, muscular warrior and the spellcaster, rising wreathed in silver threads.
At the powerful, sharp clash of will-thoughts that split the Infinite Void’s sanctuary, Dorye smirked.
“Excellent spirit. Do you intend to challenge me, a mere mortal?”
“I’m not one to pick and choose my opponents like that.”
Lennok replied, clenching the mana threads tightly.
The situations always changed, but what needed to be done remained constant.
Parallel lines that would never intersect at the end of their dialogue.
Ultimately, unless he changed things with his own hands, he would never be able to properly face anything.
He was here to see what could not be seen, and hear what could not be heard.
To conclude everything before means and ends were swapped, and their essence forgotten.
To avoid meeting the same end as those who had found answers in this world before him.
Had he not been dissecting and pondering their failures for this very reason?
“Let’s begin, Ascendant.”
Lennok said, slowly tilting his head back.
“Because it seems I won’t have enough time to find the Priestess after getting past your corpse.”