fantasy novels Chapter 1516 - 1516: [Karmic Connection Array]
Chapter 1516 - 1516: [Karmic Connection Array]
In the curators' study in the [Library of Nowhere], a scene resembling an arcane ritual was playing out.Logos and Pathos were flitting about the room, adjusting various parts of an elaborate array that Zhen Liu was the centerpiece of.
"Zzz...zzz..."
Correction, Zhen Liu was sleeping in the center of this strange-looking array.
However, this snoring state of being wasn't going to last much longer.
"Zzz...nnn...huh? What the..."
Eventually, Zhen Liu woke up and realized that he was lying on a medical table and that he was in the center of a giant array of some kind.
"..."
If Zhen Liu hadn't immediately noticed that Logos and Pathos were the ones fiddling with the array, as well as how he was staring at the ceiling of the [Library of Nowhere], he would've reenacted the opening scene to an incredibly violent action movie where the main character just kills a whole bunch of people with a bunch of random household objects.
Since this wasn't the case, though, Zhen Liu just immediately skipped straight to asking Logos and Pathos what was going on while cursing for most of the time.
"Logos, Pathos. What the fuck is that, and why am I lying on a surgical table? Have you guys finally lost it and plan to implant me with a chip or something? Wait, can you guys even make those?"
"Weird events? What do you mean by that?"
Zhen Liu actually had a fairly good idea as to what Logos and Pathos were referring to, but he wanted to hear them say it.
=This isn't really a secret, but every Kaijin Lord up until you has always been in the epicenter of events that drastically changed the face of the world in one way or another, = Pathos explained. =Or at the very least, changed the course of history in ways that could best be described as cataclysmic to any given civilization. =
"That seems a bit overdramatic. Wait, Is that why every single Kaijin Lord has an 'End Ballad' associated with them?"
"I…wait, is that why I never heard any End Ballads in relation to Anton, the Damned Drunkard?" Zhen Liu asked once he put two and two together.
=He is actually the reason why the Sacred Spirit Empire of the Umbral Spider continent exists in the first place," Logos answered.
The Sacred Spirit Empire was one of the few places in the world that had figured out some of the more benevolent ways to make use of death-aligned aether. However, that was a story for another day, and Zhen Liu would probably have to visit that place anyways given the sheer amount of treasures and weapons he had on hand that were associated with death aether.
That, and there were quite a number of kaijin in his life that had past lives that he really needed to address at some point in a straightforward manner, as opposed to pretending said issue didn't exist.
Regardless, once this example was shared with Zhen Liu, Logos continued to explain what the hell they were planning on doing to him.
=Now, all of these aforementioned lords had their shares of troubles and opponents that would regularly challenge them, but not all of their opponents were as…ominously powerful and deranged as yours,= Logos elaborated.
To better prove this point, Logos snapped his fingers and summoned multiple portraits of enemies that both Zhen Liu and his predecessor had gathered over their respective lifetimes. From what Zhen Liu could see, his predecessors had a…slightly less colorful cast.
"I…really do not like the implication of that observation," Zhen Liu commented, while understanding what was probably going to be revealed to him soon enough.
=The Damned Drunkard, as we previously discussed, actually fought against his own old country, the Shadowlead Empire. They were your fairly typical evil empire, with an expansionist kink,= Logos added as he highlighted several portraits in a black aura. =Well, I suppose it was mildly unusual for Emperor Shadowleaf to make use of a ritual that would've allowed him to absorb the souls of every single marked person in his empire, but that's neither here nor there. =
"I feel like I should probably ask this now rather than later, but do you guys have a copy of that ritual somewhere in this library?"
"Okay, that's…incredibly ominous."
=And our last example is actually someone who might be from your world, the Devout Heretic,= Logos continued, highlighting several dozen portraits with a white aura. =He was actually one of the few kaijin lords that had to commit a crime against the universe. You ever wondered why the Omni-aether aetherii are considered critically endangered to extinct? He was why. =
"What the fuck…"
"Still though…"
= Either way, you can see that a majority of your predecessor's opponents were just fairly run-of-the-mill warriors. Some specialty type of aether warriors, a few anima wielders sure, but nothing that would cause alarm, = Logos continued. =You, on the other hand…=
With a snap of their fingers, Logos dismissed the portraits and displayed several video displays showcasing Zhen Liu's past opponents.
In this highlight reel, Zhen Liu once saw the faces of the Bloody Boiler gang, Leech, the Wolfe Family, and the members of the Fallen. However, they weren't the highlights of these displays.
That particular honor went to Grub, the Abomination that resided in Insect Hell; the crazy bitch from Pearl Tusk Harbor, who apparently had the power of [Fate] on her side; several dozen Grafted warriors and their mysterious benefactor; that knock-off Kaijin Lord that Zhen Liu knocked into the stratosphere; and that fragment of Smoking Mirror turned criminal underlord.
"Huh…"
Now that Zhen Liu had a chance to look over all of his previous foes at once, he could now fully comprehend that his journey as a warrior was filled with obstacles and opponents that were anything but typical.
Pathos said, whilst noticing Zhen Liu had more or less put the pieces together for himself.
=Don't put that into the universe,= Logos chided Pathos as they added the finishing touches to the array surroundings Zhen Liu. =Anyways...aside from all the opponents being absurd, your fortune on finding all of these high tiered treasures, aether arts,quality [Cores] and even the cursed treasures are all points of interest. We're convinced that if you played the lottery, you'd somehow win the jackpot twice while getting attacked by a ninth tiered dragon.=
"Wait, what?"
Instead of answering Zhen Liu outright, Logos and Pathos simply activated the array and allow the energy to start washing over Zhen Liu's being.
"Ey yo what the fuck?"
The energy flowing over Zhen Liu at this time felt as if it was going over hair and molecule in his body, checking for faults, flaws, and everything in-between.
He wasn't sure if he liked it or hated it.
<=Now hold still, this might tingle.=>
"Of course..."