Chapter 410

Grey City outskirts.

Grey City outskirts.

Luosen had never heard of the surname Lodaniell, but he firmly remembered the name Aegdelin.

But we need to keep the quotes? Not necessary. We'll just translate.

He was somewhat surprised, raised his hand and pointed at the sky: "Who are you?"

The woman slightly nodded: "That's right."

Luosen was half-believing, half-doubting.

Believing, because he indeed felt the other possessed a very strong soul, far stronger than Adela of the 21-ring. Not believing, because Aegdelin is the Empress of Suffering, the highest identity in this Abyss, appearing alone in such a remote wilderness, not very credible.

Thus: 【6】 Believing, because he indeed felt the other possessed a very strong soul, far stronger than Adela of the 21-ring. Not believing, because Aegdelin is the Empress of Suffering, the highest identity in this Abyss, appearing alone in such a remote wilderness, not very credible.

Of course, he himself is currently in a similar situation, but he does this only out of sheer necessity.

While thinking, he crossed his arms, slowly leaned back against the stone chair's back, and scrutinized the black-robed maiden before him with an inspecting gaze.

"To be honest, I don't believe it."

The black-robed maiden pondered, then thrust her hand into the nearby air; her palm sank into the air, and she pulled out a Queen's Ring from thin air.

She carefully examined the exquisite craftsmanship of this time-space artifact.

"This plane's original name is Undying Life, the birthplace of eternal civilization; our control over the space where this plane resides has already reached the mortal limit."

"As the plane's supreme ruler, I hold supreme authority over its space. For any illegal Time-Space Treasury spell, I have the right to inspect what is stored inside."

After saying that, she returned the Queen's Ring to Luosen: "The artifact is superbly crafted; even in our Eternal Empire, it is a rare masterpiece."

This move was impressive, but not silent; Luosen could clearly perceive the whole process, and if needed, he could also intervene to intercept.

He reached out to take the Queen's Ring, and as his fingertips lightly touched hers, he felt a cool, silky smooth sensation.

He silently praised in his heart: "Mm~ her skin is really smooth."

Of course, it was just a thought in his mind; his expression remained stern.

"The proof is solid, but logically speaking, in the Abyss, those capable of this are certainly not limited to the Empress alone."

While speaking, Luosen also used the newly developed time-space soul secret language to secretly contact Adela, who had returned to Yueliangcheng, to seek confirmation.

After a moment, Adela quietly replied: "No, the Empress is in the palace; we were talking just half an hour ago."

Luosen's heart gave a slight jolt, but his face remained unchanged; he then contacted Patenuoluosi to seek confirmation.

Patenuoluosi replied: "I confirm the Empress is in the palace."

"But I don't know why, I feel the Empress's recent behavior has been a bit odd; occasionally she seems absent-minded."

Luosen thought for a moment, then secretly contacted Liv: "A woman has approached me, possessing time-space abilities superior to mine, and she calls herself Empress Aegdelin, but I suspect she is a Divine Avatar from another world."

Liv immediately replied: "What does she look like?"

Luosen directly used a sensing spell to transmit the image of the black-robed maiden before him to her.

A few seconds later, Liv responded, her voice tinged with an irrepressible fear.

"She looks almost exactly like the Goddess of Annihilation, Felikesis!"

That is to say, she is likely an incarnation of the Goddess of Annihilation.

Luosen's heart tightened at once, but then he thought: after all, this is not the goddess's true form; her power is only at the 23-ring level, and she certainly does not have absolute confidence to defeat me; otherwise she would not appear and waste words with me.

Thinking this, he felt much more relaxed.

"Miss, I just asked my friends carefully, but the results I got differ somewhat from what you said."

The black-robed maiden's frost-like face showed a faint ripple.

"Your Majesty Luosen, I didn't expect your information to be so well-informed, and your time-space power has indeed reached the mortal peak."

"Even as my incarnation, I have no absolute confidence to defeat you."

After saying that, the black-robed maiden's eyes flashed with a strange black light, giving the feeling of two black holes with enormous accretion disks.

Her whole body then emanated an immense soul pressure.

This pressure was so intense, far surpassing the Joyful One and the Blood Drinker, making Luosen feel an inescapable sense of suffocation.

It was as if he had fallen into the sun; in every direction—front, back, left, right, up, down—there was nothing but boundless destructive force.

But he also knew deep down that all of this was merely a mental illusion, not actual power.

Otherwise, with such power, she could directly dominate this plane; there would be no need to be cautious, nor any need to appear and talk with him.

So, maintaining the mindset of "let him be strong, I will be strong" is enough.

"So it is the Great One Felikesis herself who has graced us with her presence."

"I pay my respects, Great Annihilator."

The black-robed maiden's "black-hole eyes" fixed on Luosen: "Mortal emperor, your courage far exceeds my expectations; I admire you."

Since you have recognized me, I will also speak frankly.

I already know about your cooperation with the Joyful One, can roughly guess your plans, and I acknowledge your abilities.

But I must say, the Joyful One is merely the Goddess of Prostitutes; though well-informed, she offers you almost no help in power.

With just the two of you, you are far from enough to stop the gods' invasion.

Luosen's heart stirred; he somewhat understood: "Great One, do you wish to ally with us?"

Exactly, I acknowledge you as my allies, and in this new world we shall form a new pantheon of annihilation.

In this pantheon, I will be the chief god, while you and the Joyful One will be my subordinate gods.

Hearing these words, Luosen felt no joy; instead, he fell into deep contemplation.

If considered purely from a standpoint of benefit, this choice seems not bad.

But since deciding to ignite the divine fire, Luosen has continually pondered his future path—what kind of god he will become.

And with what mindset will he gather the faith of mortals?

Will he twist his nature, becoming a vine that bends with the wind? Or will he follow his nature, growing into a towering tree for mortals to follow and worship? After much thought, he believes that eternal gods are different from mortals.

Is it to twist one's own nature, becoming a vine that changes with circumstances? Or to follow one's own nature, growing into a towering tree for mortals to follow and worship? After thinking it over, he believed that eternal gods and mortals are different.

Gods cannot go against their nature, for a fickle god would leave mortal believers without direction.

Naturally, there could be no talk of firm faith; once a better option appears, followers will immediately abandon the god.

So, whether or not to accept the alliance proposal put forth by the Annihilation Goddess Feliricise, the biggest core does not lie in current interests and circumstances, but in whether he and the Annihilation Goddess see eye to eye.

If the two sides' concepts are completely opposed, then the result of forcing an alliance will inevitably be a tragedy.

Considering the Annihilation Goddess is a five-ring Supreme True God, the tragic outcome will most likely be borne by him and the Joyful One.

Having figured it out, Luosen asked, "Great One, I'd like to ask you a few questions."

"Please go ahead."

"What do you think of the current state of Grey City?"

"I think this place is utterly terrible; it would be best to completely destroy it and then rebuild a new world full of order."

That answer is good, showing that the other party is a god who pursues order.

But that is far from enough.

Luosen asked again, "There are many kinds of order; what kind of order does the Great One want?"

"Pure order without any impurity, where sin is punished and merit rewarded; the whole world is like a precisely running gear set, in which every individual can find the position most suited to them and also has a predictable path of advancement."

"Just steadily reach the endpoint."

That answer won't do, because the other party pursues absolute order.

Luosen had served as mortal emperor for many years, and he was very clear about the nature of mortals.

Mortals are absolutely incapable of achieving absolute order; even the world itself is not absolutely ordered, always filled with all kinds of unexpected events.

The Annihilation Goddess saw Luosen's different thoughts:

"I know my pursuit is overly ideal, but the world's ultimate fate is to annihilate into nothingness."

"Since the endpoint is already determined, the question is how to steadily resist the endpoint."

Luosen understood and asked further, "So, steadily reaching the endpoint is the Great One's ultimate ideal?"

"Exactly."

"Tsk~"

Luosen clicked his tongue slightly: "Great One, this ideal is truly bleak."

The Annihilation Goddess nodded slightly: "Indeed bleak, I don't like it much either, but this is the world's fate, which does not change according to life's preferences, even for an eternal god."

Luosen shook his head: "Great One, my view is not really the same as yours."

"Go ahead and speak."

"I believe that the emergence of life is a challenge to the cold fate."

"Even if the world's ultimate fate is to head toward annihilating nothingness, as long as life continually pursues higher levels, it may be possible to break through this fate."

"Even if nothingness descends, we have the ability to recreate a new world within nothingness."

On the Annihilation Goddess's frost-like face, a faint expression finally appeared, visible to the naked eye—it was a mockery.

"Mortal, I can understand your ignorance. Given your current perspective, you naturally don't know how terrifying the world's ultimate fate is."

"But once you successfully ignite the divine fire and see the ultimate future of spacetime, you will agree with my view."

"This is also the view of every true god in our world."

"The world's end is the nothingness of annihilation. Precisely because of this, I, who possess the Annihilation Divinity, am able to ascend to Supreme!"

Luosen understood the implicit meaning of these words.

In other words, if he firmly believes that life can break through the world's ultimate fate, that constitutes a substantive challenge to the Annihilation Divinity.

But to make him accept the ultimate fate, acknowledge the Annihilation Goddess's concept, and proceed toward the world's end with absolute order in a steady manner—he would absolutely not be willing.

So, the two might possibly form a temporary alliance due to the current situation, but in the end, they will inevitably be mortal enemies.

The Annihilation Goddess also sensed Luosen's hesitation, and she let out a soft sigh.

"Indeed, fate is fate; even if I want to make some breakthroughs, I will ultimately still fail."

Luosen raised his eyebrows: "Great One, you have actually already seen the future, and in that future we are fate's mortal enemies, right?"

The Annihilation Goddess nodded slightly: "Exactly; in the vision of time, my power and my status will be greatly weakened by you."

"What a pity~~ what a pity~~~~"

She shook her head repeatedly, and the frost on her face, which had been somewhat loose, completely solidified.

"Mortal emperor, this is a good place for battle."

"I admire your fighting spirit, so I give you the chance to strike first."

Luosen took a deep breath: "No room for negotiation, Great One?"

"No negotiation! Between us, we must determine superiority!"

Luosen's heart stirred slightly: "Not a matter of life and death?"

"Then it depends on your abilities!"

(End of chapter)