Chapter 499: Terrarim, Empyrean of Earth

With Silver unconscious, I had Mei Gui and Amane tie him up with Chaos-forged handcuffs. Now, I don’t know where Mei Gui got that from, but she said it was similar to her spear, born from the heart, so that was that. I decided not to question why she had handcuffs in her heart—I didn’t want to go there.

In any case, I now have obtained a new power. I didn’t know how good it was, but from what I did know, it was clear this power was the inheritance left behind by the Empyrean of Earth, Terrarim, and it possessed the power of constant healing and regeneration so long as my feet were on the ground. Whether ‘ground’ here meant nature only or simply floors of any sort such as an apartment floor was a mystery, but either way, this wasn’t all too useful to me.

Of course, I wasn’t denying this was a powerful ability, but… considering I already have both vampire blood and angel blood within me, both of which provided insane healing and regeneration as well as damage resist and raw physical strength plus agility, I couldn’t really say this helped me out a lot.

You would think the inheritance of one of the four gods who made this world would provide a power much stronger than just this, but… oh well. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing to have, per se. As they say, skills don’t weigh you down.

“What time is it?” I asked aloud all of a sudden, turning to the girls, who were busy studying the map in that other room. The unconscious Silver, with his armor completely stripped from him, lay bond by unbreakable handcuffs that constantly drained his mana and energy as a result of the Chaos power’s devouring effect.

“I… didn’t bring my phone,” Amane admitted awkwardly, scratching her cheek. “Sorry… I didn’t realize we would be needing it.”

“The time is 1:32 AM, master,” Mei Gui said without even looking at her phone. I blinked.

“How’d you know?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“I am constantly keeping track of time in my head.”

“You what?” Amane’s eyes widened. “That’s… that’s just unfair! How do you fight so well while also constantly counting numbers in your head? Teach me… uwu…”

She pouted a bit, which was just like her. She had matured by a great margin, yes, and could now be about as cold as Lin Luo or Obsidia, but when alone with people she knew, she could still let a glimpse of her childish side show. I didn’t mind at all, and neither did Mei Gui, it seemed.

“In any case… 1:32, huh?” I folded my arms, then sighed and sat down on the ground in between the two. “Well, looks like we’ll be spending the night here.”

There was some sort of barrier around this place restricting Space Magic, just like that Ice Elf village I had been to on the way back from the Death Realm, so we couldn’t teleport away, unfortunately. Besides, even if we could, waking the village with the commotion would’ve been troublesome. This place wasn’t half bad—it was warm thanks to being deep inside the mountain, and was quite comfortable as shelter. There was plenty of light from the torches on the walls, and if we ever needed to escape, I could always, y’know, bust a hole in the mountain.

“Mei Gui, can I count on you to watch him?” I asked, nudging my chin towards the unconscious Silver in the opposite corner.

“Yes, Master,” Mei Gui said with a firm nod. “Those handcuffs will prevent him from doing anything even if he does wake up, but I will alert you the moment he does. However, due to how much power you sucked out of him with the Forbidden Spell, it should be a long time until it he regains consciousness.”

“I see… well, I’ll be sleeping, then,” I said, relaxing my shoulders and letting out a deep breath. My eyelids grew heavy, and I slowly drifted off to sleep.

That fight hadn’t been taxing physically thanks to my vampire and angelic blood—both of which gave constant energy/stamina regeneration—but mentally, it sure was. That was one of the few fights I’ve had in which I couldn’t kill the enemy party and had to subdue them, which was something I wasn’t used to. It was certainly more difficult than outright killing, that was for sure.

*****

– Within Xuan Kai’s dreams –

“At last… a worthy host.”

My eyes snapped back open at the voice, and I found myself in a gassy realm filled with air. The fog and clouds all around me were white, but the horizon was… yellow.

“Ugh… what’s with all the visitors in my dreams lately?” I asked aloud, rolling my eyes. “I’d like to have a normal dream or no dream at all for once…”

“Haha… I am sorry, kiddo,” the voice said, deep and echoing all around me. Whoever was responsible for mixing this, they need to really turn down the reverb. “If you like, we can speak another time. However, I wish to talk as soon as possible.”

I sighed. “Well, since I’m already here, we might as well talk. But first… where even is this place? I know it’s inside my mind, but still…”

“This place… has no name. Just think of it as the home to the Four Empyreans, three of which are still dormant in their sleep. Upon awakening me, you have subconsciously connected your soul to this place, thus we are able to speak at this very moment.”

“Hold up,” I interrupted, holding my hand out in a ‘stop’ gesture. “I… awoke you? How?”

“Ahaha, yes… perhaps a self-introduction ought to be in place,” the deep male voice said with a laugh, reminding me of a kind-hearted old man by the name of Song Qian Lo-

… Never mind. Bad memories.

“My name is Terrarim, Empyrean of the Earth,” the voice said, booming yet calming at the same time. “You meet the requirements I set in place for my host, and therefore you have unlocked the full potential of the power I left behind in the human world. In turn, that roused me from my eons of sleep, leading to where we are now.”

“Uh… actually, I kinda stole the power with… never mind.”

“Chaos, yes?” Terrarim asked with a hearty laugh. I tensed up.

“… You know?”

“I do not mean to brag, but I am a god, kiddo. You cannot hide your thoughts from me. I have already explored the deepest parts of your soul, which I deeply apologize for, but it was not of my own volition. When you connected yourself with this place, everything about you entered my knowledge.”

“So you know everything, huh?” I muttered. “From Chaos to the Library of Infinite Beginnings, to my past…”

“… And much more,” Terrarim finished. “But worry not, I have no intention of telling anything to anyone, nor do I have the power to do so.”

“Right,” I chuckled. “You, a literal god, doesn’t have the power to spill a secret of mine. Very believable.”

“Haha, I know how you feel,” Terrarim said with laughter that warmed my heart. “But while I may still be a god in name, my power is far from what I once had. Without anyone to remember us, without anyone praying for us, we gods become weak. Feeble. You, kiddo, are the only one who truly remembers us by inheriting this power. Our names may be written in certain books, but that is not truly knowing. Only seeing, believing, will help us grow strong once more.”

“Is that your goal? To grow ‘strong’ once more?” I arched an eyebrow. “Because, uh, if your goal here is to make me into some kind of Pope, spreading your religion, then sorry, but no. I do have a Pope I need to take down, though.”

“Oh, no, no, no,” Terrarim said, and I swear I could almost see him shaking his head even though there was nothing around me but white fog. “I do not have any intention of returning to my former self, nor do any of the other Empyreans. I am happy as I am now, living within a host that is you. After all, technically speaking, you are one of our creations—our child, in theory. This planet gave birth to you, and we gave birth to the planet.”

“So… you just want to watch over me? Gee, thanks, but I don’t believe you. You want something from me. Spit it out.”

“Mm… a sharp young man indeed,” Terrarim murmured, as if pleased with himself. “You truly do have the talent to inherit all of our powers… but yes. That aside, you are correct—I do humbly request something of you. However, allow me to make one thing clear—you are free to deny this offer, and I will not ask you again. You are also free to choose to accept this offer whenever you wish.”

“Allow me to make one thing clear as well, then,” I said, folding my arms. “I accept any offer in which the reward outweighs the risk. So, if you have something to ask of me, I’m expecting a good reward. You’re a god, after all.”

“Haha, no worries there,” Terrarim said with a happy laugh. “I promise you, the rewards will be worth it… for the request I have for you is… to awaken my brother and sisters as well.”