Chapter 414: Divinity (22)

"Whooo~ whooo~"

The wild wind raced back and forth across the wilderness, causing the grasses and trees on the wilderness to constantly shake.

After walking back along the way she came for over a li, Gewennaweir could no longer see her companions behind her.

She stopped under a big tree, leaned against the trunk, and sat on the ground.

The ground was rough, and she had only a thin hemp cloak draped over her; stones and wild grass poked her buttocks, causing intense discomfort.

Compared to the days when she served as the Dawn Hand, the situation now had deteriorated to the extreme, yet she felt not the slightest regret.

Although materially abundant and her status high before, her heart could never find peace.

At every moment, fear, confusion, regret and other negative emotions filled her, but now, although external conditions had sunk to their lowest, her heart had attained true peace.

She knew very clearly what she was pursuing, and was willing to give everything for that goal.

Thus, fear vanished from her heart.

However, if spoken carefully, there is still a slight regret.

"I don't even know if this world can ever get better. Even if it truly does get better someday, I won't be around to see it."

But this regret quickly dissipated.

"It is likely impossible to improve; it will only get worse. Since I have already left this world, I need not worry about my soul being polluted by those filthy things."

She was a 14th-Ring Mage; although she had no magical implement on hand, her spellcraft was profound, her only regret being that time was too short, and her internal magic had recovered to less than half.

But it was enough to cast some spells.

With a thought, she consecutively cast three spells—'Thorn Wall', 'Dormant Flame', and 'Triggered Explosive Force Field'—all area-of-effect defensive counterspells, infusing them with as much magic as possible.

After the three spells were cast, the little magic she had left was completely exhausted.

Gwennaweir then patiently waited for the Shadow Assassins to come knocking.

She knew this could not attract all the Shadow Assassins.

But even if it attracted just one, it would reduce the danger for her Brothers' brethren.

Time passed second by second; the wild wind on the plain whooshed, and the small birds and beasts hidden in the grasses occasionally darted out, seemingly on a whim, to join the fun.

But the Shadow Assassins never appeared.

Waiting for the assassins, Gwennaweir herself began to falter.

She had been imprisoned for a month, enduring every kind of torture daily, her whole body covered in wounds.

Thanks to her strong vitality, most of the injuries she suffered early on had healed, but as her vitality waned, the healing speed of later injuries slowed greatly.

She felt a burning pain between her legs, her legs wet, as if fluid kept flowing out.

She lifted her cloak and saw a expanse of bright red blood.

These were the wounds inflicted by Dawn Eye Execution Officer Kageru before his death, and they were the most severe injuries on her body.

After a brief glance at the wounds, she pulled her cloak back over herself.

Her magic was exhausted, she had prepared herself to die, and this injury mattered not at all.

But the immense physical pain made her feel extremely agitated.

"Are these Shadow Assassins lame? Why haven't they come yet?"

Just then, a unfamiliar gentle voice reached her ears: 'Madam, they cannot come.'

"Who? Who is speaking?"

Gwennaweir's spirit tensed, the agitation on her face instantly fading; her deep-blue eyes darted left and right seeking the source of the voice, filled with icy killing intent.

Soon, she spotted the target.

A tall, well-built young man, with sturdy features and a gaze that was gentle yet showed resolve.

This demeanor was utterly unlike that of Dawn Eye members, rather resembling a Brotherhood member.

Yet he emanated a power as deep as an abyssal sea.

Such an aura, Gwennaweir had never seen in anyone else, not even in the high-ranking consultants who came from Yueliangcheng.

"Who are you?"

Gwennaweir's hostility eased slightly, but she remained fully on guard.

Luosen ignored the defensive spells she had set up and walked straight in.

Having reached her side, he lowered his head to look down at the distressed woman.

She was extremely exhausted, yet her gaze was very resolute; her soul was a 14th-Ring, not exceptionally strong but extremely pure, unlike most Abyssals, who are mixed with much negative emotion and desire.

"Your injuries are not light."

He answered off the point.

Gwennaweir unknowingly entered Luosen's frame of reference, instinctively nodding.

"They tortured me for a full month; if I were still unharmed, that would be strange."

Luosen nodded, naturally raising his hand and gently stroking the scar on her fair forehead.

Gwennaweir instinctively wanted to retreat, but she held back.

Instead of the expected sting, a soothing numbness accompanied the healing of her wound, along with a faint warmth.

When he withdrew his hand, she immediately lifted hers to check her forehead wound, finding that not only had the sting disappeared, but the wound was fully healed, leaving no scar.

She herself knew healing arts and could close a wound in a few hours, but his mere touch made the wound completely heal painlessly—nothing short of miraculous.

"Who exactly are you?" she asked again, unconsciously using an honorific.

Luosen said nothing, his hand continued downward, feeling the injury on her neck.

This wound was a deep ligature mark, purple in color, with many tiny puncture holes from thorns—clearly the torture of being strangled with thorns.

His palm gently stroked the wound, restoring it to smooth, fair skin, and then Luosen spoke again.

"You must have already guessed in your heart; I'll say it—you are right."

Ge Wenna Weir again raised her hand to touch the scar on her neck, her deep blue eyes showing intense shock.

"Are you the Sun War God Luosen?"

Luosen nodded, raised his hand and lightly lifted his cloak, intending to treat the whip marks on his back that were as dense as a spiderweb.

But this time, the other party refused, tightly wrapping the cloak: "Sir, I don't need your pity!"

Luosen also didn't insist, withdrawing his hand: "I want to correct your mistake; I help you not out of pity, nor to gain loyal followers, but to gain an ally."

"No, 'ally' isn't precise enough; it should be called companions sharing the same aspiration, short for 'comrades', or brothers and sisters also works."

Ge Wenna Weir shuddered: "Companions sharing the same aspiration like someone as powerful as you also need companions?"

Luosen stepped to the side and sat on the muddy ground beside Ge Wenna Weir.

"Compared to ordinary people, I indeed possess greater power and more profound knowledge."

"But compared to Yueliangcheng overhead, or even the entire starry sky above, all life on earth is tiny and humble."

"Humble life, yet wanting to change this world; the only way is to find a group sharing the same ideal, gathering each insignificant drop into rivers and seas."

Ge Wenna Weir understood, and her resistance lessened considerably.

"I'm very curious—who exactly are you, and where do you come from?"

Luosen laughed: "My real name is Luosen, full name Luosen Saksan; I come from a plane outside the Abyss, which we outside call the Abyss of Pain—have you heard of this?"

Ge Wenna Weir nodded: "I've heard, because occasionally some unlucky souls enter this damned place, bringing news from other planes—so which plane exactly do you come from?"

"The Natural Plane."

"I haven't heard of it."

"It was formerly called the De Rui Tan Plane."

"I've heard of it—why did the plane change its name?"

"Because I gathered the power of countless mortals, forged a mighty empire, and utterly defeated De Rui Tan."

Saying this, Luosen added: "It's called the Natural Empire, and I am its founding emperor."

Ge Wenna Weir gasped: "As emperor, why have you come to the Abyss of Pain? Aren't you afraid you can't return?"

"Of course I'm afraid."

"To return to my empire, I will do my utmost to defeat Yueliangcheng; that is my fundamental purpose in coming to the Abyss of Pain."

Ge Wenna Weir was even more surprised: "Why must we defeat Yueliangcheng?"

"The reasons are extremely complex, and I don't want to lie to you."

"I can only say it involves the gods of another world, the rebellion of the nightmare tyrant Antoine Ji, and the future strategy of the Natural Empire—I can't explain it clearly right now."

"I think you should be able to somewhat understand the complexity of national interests, right?"

Ge Wenna Weir nodded in agreement.

Luosen continued: "Setting aside national interests, personally I also feel Yueliangcheng's decadence and am deeply shocked by the chaos and disorder of the Abyss of Pain. In my governed empire, even commoners' pets eat meat daily, and petty theft is already village headline news, whereas here you actually eat people."

Ge Wenna Weir's attention, however, was captured by Luosen's description of the empire, and a hint of longing appeared on her face.

"Is your empire really that prosperous?"

Luosen didn't speak, merely raised his hand and pointed at the air before her.

A clear water mirror appeared in the air, showing an ordinary village's daily scene.

The village was under construction and renovation, bustling with activity; villagers walking the roads had ruddy complexions, loud voices, smiling faces, sturdy bodies—a picture of healthy vigor.

"The empire is developing rapidly, and this is merely a remote mountain village."

"Of course, there are also big cities."

As he spoke, the image shifted to Dawn City: "This is a coastal metropolis of the empire, with a permanent population of about five million, still rapidly increasing."

Ge Wenna Weir gazed intently, the longing on her face growing stronger.

"The Abyss of Pain once looked like this, even more prosperous than what you showed, but after that war everything changed."

Her face was full of loss.

Luosen nodded: "You're right; the former Eternal Empire was the strongest high-energy empire in our solar star realm, while my empire has only just begun in the high-energy domain."

Ge Wenna Weir showed deep envy: "Just beginning—oh~~ this is the best time for an empire, every day brings new changes, and everyone's heart is full of hope for the future!"

Upon hearing this, Luosen knew this woman was extremely insightful, worth his deep thought.

He put away the water mirror and spoke gently: "Miss, if I invite you to become my companion, would you accept?"

These words brought Ge Wenna Weir back to clarity.

Her expression returned to calm as she turned to gaze at Luosen: "But you say you are the Sun War God, a true god, and I indeed feel an immensely powerful aura, possibly stronger than the Empress of Yueliangcheng."

"But you just said your empire has only just begun in the high-energy domain."

"This is obviously contradictory; how do you explain it?"

Luosen didn't hide it, speaking softly: "Because of some fortunate coincidences, I obtained power exceeding the 23rd ring, and this is also my greatest confidence in venturing into the Abyss of Pain."

Ge Wenna Weir exclaimed in shock: "How could power beyond the 23rd ring be possible?"

Luosen smiled: "It is possible."

"I regard myself as a pioneer; I also deeply feel that even if one already possesses power beyond the 23rd ring, they remain weak and few, so I still need as many companions as possible."

Ge Wenna Weir grew wary: "Companions? I think they're slaves."

Luosen earnestly rebutted: "They are companions, for I not only need their help, I will also aid as many talented mortals as possible to gain power beyond the 23rd ring."

"Because my ultimate goal is, within the Solar God Ring, to build a glorious divine nation founded by countless true gods!"

These words shocked Ge Wenna Weir greatly; she immediately asked: "Why?"

"Because someone told me the world's ultimate fate is annihilating nothingness, so all efforts are meaningless."

"But I do not believe it."

"I believe that relying on countless sages, through unceasing effort across endless ages, we will surely break this ultimate fate."

Even if the future world truly will be annihilated, we can still rebuild a new world in the ruins of annihilation.

Just like now, even if the eternal empire's order is almost completely collapsed, as long as the will is not extinguished, we can certainly rebuild glory in the ruins.

These words were somewhat profound; Gwennaweier half-understood them, but it did not prevent her from sensing Luosen's grand ambition.

Although the other party is clearly the emperor of the empire, his personal act of venturing into the Abyss of Pain also let her clearly feel the great difference between him and those hypocritical politicians of Yueliangcheng.

What those politicians like to do most is sit in a warm, comfortable position and, by moving their lips, decide the fate of countless ordinary people.

Not to mention letting them risk their lives; even going to the site to conduct an investigation is absolutely out of the question, because the mud would dirty their boots.

Luosen felt the timing was about right, and said: "The pain of the wounds will affect judgment of will; let me heal your injuries so you can think more focused."

While speaking, he again lifted the woman's cloak from behind, covered her back's whip marks with his hand, and began treating them one by one.

At this moment, Gwennaweier did not refuse, allowing Luosen to treat her injuries: "Your Majesty, why do you value me?"

"I value every person who shares a common ideal."

"What if someone has opinions that differ from yours?"

"The world is complex, and disagreement is bound to exist. As long as the ideals are consistent, disagreement can be resolved through discussion."

While speaking, he gently turned the woman's body so her back faced him, then reached his hands from under her armpits to treat her chest wounds; she was slightly unaccustomed, her body stiffened, but ultimately she did not resist.

"Your Majesty, I... Your Majesty, no, this place does not need treatment for now."

Luosen smiled, then draped her cloak over her again, and afterwards a hand slipped through the cloak's seam, lightly pressing on her most severe wound.

Her body instantly tensed, her heart pounded violently, and her breathing stopped.

Luosen calmly soothed: "Before becoming emperor, I was still a very professional doctor. I possess superb medical skill and have seen all kinds of strange injuries."

"So, don't be shy, miss."

Gwennaweier had endured the most brutal torture; of course she was not pretentious, so she quickly relaxed her body: "Your Majesty's medical skill is indeed superb, but... do the fingers also need to go in?"

Luosen nodded: "Because your internal organs also suffered considerable injury, relax, don't be tense."

About a quarter of an hour later, he withdrew his hand from the cloak, then condensed a mass of clear water and began to clean the bloodstains on his hand.

"Miss, the shadow assassins hunting you have already been cleared by me, your wounds are completely healed, and you can now go meet up with your companions of the Dragon Mountain Brotherhood."

"Think it over well, don't rush to give me an answer, because what I need is a true companion, not a follower out of gratitude or forced by circumstances."

He also took out food and clear water from the Time-Space Treasury, as well as some ill-fitting leather armor and undershirt: "These are all I have on me right now; just make do with wearing them."

Then he rose to leave.

He had just taken a step after standing up when he heard Gwennaweier's voice: "Wait!"

She stood up, gazed at Luosen again, and said word by word: "No need to think anymore, for I have already figured it out."

"I am willing to follow your footsteps."

Luosen corrected: "No, not follow, but fight side by side."

Gwennaweier shook her head: "No, Your Majesty, I am not qualified to fight side by side with you; I have sufficient self-awareness."

"I am fully aware that my wisdom, my will, and my strength are all far inferior to yours; I can only stand behind you to support your cause."

"Have you figured it out clearly?"

Gwennaweier nodded firmly: "I have figured it out very clearly, Sun War God Luosen, Your Majesty!"

With these words, her soul seemed to cross a certain threshold, instantly forming a strong soul bond with Luosen.

At the same time, a large amount of source substance flowed into Luosen's divine fire along this bond.

The amount of source substance was enormous, nearly five times more than what Aoliangde had previously provided, and this source substance did not escape, almost entirely remaining within Luosen's soul.

Luosen carefully experienced this process, and a clear realization arose in his mind.

"Oh~ The cause of the source substance gathering is not due to followers' faith, but due to the resonance of ideals!"

That is to say, for lives sharing the same ideal, after their souls form a link, the source substance deep within their souls will automatically gather toward the strongest soul.

With this realization, Luosen immediately understood how to condense the divine godhead.

"First, the divine godhead is condensed from ideals; I want to condense a divine godhead, so I must first understand what kind of god I wish to become."

On this point, Luosen already had a very clear idea.

"My ultimate ideal is to break the world's final destiny. Therefore, my core divine godhead is to 'create the world'!"

"But this ideal of creation is truly too grand; once stated, it immediately puts one in direct opposition to the goddess of annihilation. Therefore, this core needs to be wrapped in several layers of shell to conceal it, so as not to be too glaring."

"The first layer is 'battle': to fight to change fate, to fight for a better world."

"The second layer is 'sun': sunlight illuminates the world, dispels darkness, warms the world."

Thus, using the Sun War God as a disguise to soften conflict is still quite good.

And the creation divine godhead is the true core; whenever reaching a crossroads of fate, this core is the highest standard for judging the path forward.

After figuring this out, Luosen felt some gratitude toward Gwennaweier in his heart.

He turned around and gave this resolute woman a heavy hug: "Ms. Deng Bo, may I never change my original intention, never disappoint your expectations."

Gwennaweier heard this and her heart was even more shaken; she once again deeply felt the difference of this powerful person before her.

Unable to contain her excitement, she exclaimed in a solemn voice: "Great Sun War God, may you, like the true sun, forever guide my steps."

With these words, almost all of the source substance deep within her soul surged toward Luosen, also almost entirely remaining within Luosen's soul.

That is to say, this resolute woman has entrusted all of her future ideals to Luosen.

Luosen fully understood: "The divine godhead of a true god is similar to an emperor's throne; it does not wholly belong to the true god."

"If a true god falls from grace, the divine godhead will also shatter, and the source substance will drift away from the true god."

Therefore, the greatness of a god lies in the number of core followers it gathers, and even more in the ideals it upholds.

(End of chapter)