"W-What do you want to know?" Varian asked through gritted teeth.
With his life not in his hands anymore, he at least wanted to die a proper death. If that somehow helping the Alliance defeat the God Emperor, so be it. At least, his wives and people would be able to live in peace.
"Why have you hidden yourself instead of submitting the slivers?" Aphosis asked in a straighforward tone.
"Huh?" Varian was dumbfounded. Did this guy have a screw loose?
"The slivers will show the best effect when they're in my hands or that of Aridam. Even Equilius could be considered. But you, you are a weakling. There is nothing more you can do that we cannot. Why have you kept the slivers so shamelessly? How did you ever think you were worthy?"
Aphosis' questions were sharp but there was no doubt that he genuinely believed what he said.
Varian pursed his lips for a moment. Was he supposed to be pissed off?
Worthiness? Since he's going to die anyway, he might as well say what's on his mind.
"Let me turn the question around. With two slivers at hand, Mors and Genesis cannot defeat that man. Do you think two more slivers would make a difference? And not prompt the man to step in himself?"
Aphosis frowned. Instead of lashing out at Varian for speaking up, he carefully considered his words.
"We can keep it hidden from him until we're ready to use the slivers properly to defeat him."
"Do you think that would have worked? Hiding something from someone who's the master of time?"
"It's the best choice we have." Aphosis shook his head. "Immortal is born for this purpose. With four slivers, he has the best shot of defeating…Him. It's the most logical step to take."
Varian's expression changed and a thought flashed in his mind. Why do these guys need the slivers in the first place? Strength? Of course. But what use was strength when it couldn't protect their lives?
The look in his eyes changed and a spark of hope lit up. Perhaps he could survive.
"Logical? How about stupid? If the God Emperor is as strong as you fear he is, why wouldn't he also think of the logical steps you thought of?
There is only one truth here. If the God Emperor is to be defeated, it can only happen from my hands. I am the only chance you got. Kill me now and you'll doom the Alliance forever."
Varian forced himself to look into Aphosis' eyes despite the pain it gave and said with a defiant smile.
Aphosis frowned, showing displeasure on his face for the first time.
"You're delusional." Saying in a dismissive tone, he clenched his hand and pulled back.
The slivers embedded deep inside Varian felt a force from the outside.
"Arghhhhh!"
Varian's skin cracked open and blood gushed out.
It felt like someone had dug into his body and was pulling out his very soul. With every passing moment, it felt as if the entirety of him was being torn apart.
His vision was being split into two and so was his body. The blood curling screams of the man who used to brush off horrific pains filled the space.
Aphosis showed no trace of emotion as he watched a glow of black and white emerging from Varian.
"Graaaaa!"
The growls grew louder and louder until Varian's throat cracked and blood spilled out. Then the noise died down, leaving him spasming in the throes of unbelievable pain.
If he didn't bear a billion years of torture and hardened his soul, the horrible pain he felt in that moment might've broken him beyond any hope of normalcy.
But even with everything he went through, Varian found his thoughts vanishing and hope dying. All that remained in his mind was pain, pain and pain.
For reasons he couldn't even being to comprehend, he had a glimpse into the pain of souls he never met and the emotions they carried onto their death.
The pain of devas as they watched their civilization go extinct. The feelings that swirled in the hearts of billions as they watched aura go down bit by bit before it all disappeared to seal the slivers.
The grief of Ares tribe as they gave up their race to esacpe from the pursuit. The look on their faces as they watched themselves in the mirrors, realizing that they would never be a proper tribe again.
The sorrow of the god that the Ares worshipped when he saw the inevitable end of everything despite all his attempts. The tears in his eyes as he realized his own inevitable death.
The helpless sigh of a being so strong that he ruled a third of the universe and still couldn't stop what was destined to be. The feeling of despair that engulfed the last spark of hope.
"Arghhhh!"
Varian's soul cracked and his eyes began to lose the light of life.
Aphosis showed a strained expression as he focused on the extraction process. The fused slivers were trickier than he expected and while they weren't fighting him directly, they were clinging onto the host.
The slivers were so deeply embedded in Varinan's soul that killing him recklessly would've resulted in an unpredictable chainreaction in the slivers which would be beyond Aphosis' control.
If the slivers nothing else but made a loud demonstration of their existence, sending a signal across Eden, that itself would be dangerous enough.
From the powerhouses in Genesis and Mors all the way to the God Emperor himself, they might all descend for the pair of slivers.
So, Aphosis acted with caution from the start and decided to sever the link between the two before ending the man's life.
While he was scared of the slivers calling the God Emperor, the slivers also seemed to have considered it as the worst possible case. So, there was no action until now.
Aphosis sealed off the area as much as he could and then proceeded with the plan.
The plan was to weaken Varian's resolve and shatter his will so that the extraction could be carried out smoothly.
That's also the reason why he rendered Varian from moving and further emphasized his weakness.
No matter how weak Varian was, Aphosis, as the Demon of Order, was not so incompetent that he couldn't even calculate whether Varian was able to move or not.
The question of 'worthiness' was also brought up in an attempt to make Varian question himself and put himself in a bad mental state.
Unfortunately, this man seemed to have no shame at all. He didn't consider himself unworthy, which he definitely was.
Varian was pushed to the edge of death and the slivers were only a moment away from being detached from their host.
At this critical juncture, the slivers slammed back into Varian's body in resistance and a power of black and white pulsed through his body.
Aphosis frowned. The slivers had created an 'order', linking their stability with Varian's life.
If anything happened to him, they'd break into two.
Aphosis knew that they had a better chance of winning the God Emperor with fused slivers than otherwise. It's only logical to keep them intact.
"Give up the slivers. Sacrificing your one life for the greater good is not only logical, it is also the right thing to do."
The Demon of Order tried to persuade the man while exerting even more strength on the slivers.
If Varian agreed to give up, great. If not, then he'd have to spend at least a year carefully scooping out the slivers. It's a price he's willing to pay.
"Heh, how stupid?!" Varian's throat was broken but he used the power of soul to convey his thoughts. "Die for the greater good? Then why don't you die for the greater good and give me your powers? I reached this far in just two years and I will go far with your power.
So, please die for the greater good. Isn't that the logical thing to do? You dumbfuck!"
"…What are you saying?" Aphosis raised his head in confusion before a glint flashed in his eyes and he quickly ran his power through Varian.
He took a step back and looked at Varian with a dumbfounded expression in complete contrast to his usual indifferent self.
"The slivers have gone mad and amplified your fate to an extent that should've killed you by a thousand times in a year already. How are you still alive?"
Varian groaned in pain as the slivers were still pulled but he managed a chuckle. "Tell me about it."