As Varian's aura vanished, the eyes of a pale man resting in darkness shot open.
His eyes were flames of blue, their brilliance briefly overshadowing the glow of a star itself.
Those eyes turned to Genesis and blinked. Bits of blue flame danced in those eye sockets, vague phantoms of dead souls forming in those flames.
"Varian." The King of Dead, Hades, clutched the armrest of his throne.
A wave of red exploded under him, starting with his throne as the center and expanding outward.
Anything touched by the red waves was changed beyond measure.
The few living beings living as slaves in nearby kingdoms turned int Undead. The dead lost all their memories, sense of self and evolved into another self entirely.
Mors Empire itself shook for a brief moment before stabilizing. Then, they all prostrated in the direction of their ruler and praised his blessing.
King Hades, a pale man with blue eyes, silver hair and slender build, looked nothing scary at a first glance.
But if someone stared into his eyes for more than a few seconds, even if it's a sub-standard projection, their soul would start to crumble and crack.
The damaged soul would be sucked into the flickering blue flames and burn for eternity, atoning for the great sin of starting the King of Death in his eyes.
Billions of souls were still paying the price since millions of years and would continue to do so for millions of years to come.
"Varian has reached rank 2. Unexpected. But his actions now…"
His offense was too grand for it to be about just beating down Asherah. It was a warning to Nexus and Mors.
'Behave or you too will be crushed.'
If the warning came from another mid rank 2, even Asherah or Ophion, it would've only elicied a disdainful sneer from Hades.
But coming from Varian, the nature of it changed entirely.
"If Aur Deus is really dead, then Varian…"
Yami too had her ideals as an Undead, wishing to convert the entire world and make it one large Undead empire.
But she was restrained in her actions, partly because of Keman's pushback but mostly because of the God Emperor's presence.
God Emperor looked down equally on both the living and dead empires.
But his existence meant something. A living being at the pinnacle of Eden suggested that perhaps the right way of existence was as a living creature, not an Undead.
Such a thought was scandalous, for it suggested that Undead were perhaps a mistake.
It would undermine the empire of Undead and push them down a very dangerous path.
But the God Emperor died.
King Hades wasn't sure how or why. He was in a deep seclusion that year and only awakened when his link with Yami vanished.
In all the past wars, he witnessed God Emperor's avatar barely overpowering the rulers.
So, perhaps they came up with a strategy to defeat his real body?
Maybe the avatar was only a little weaker than the real being and the fight ended up in mutual destruction. This was the only plausible explanation for the existing situation.
Yet his years of experience cautioned him to confirm the status of God Emperor had to be confirmed before he took any further action before he took action.
Even if he shaped the world to his ideals and built a perfect Undead empire stretching throughout Eden, if it all got destroyed by the God Emperor who suddenly popped up, what's the point?
King Hades considered himself indifferent against most things but he knew he wouldn't be able to bear the sight of his dream empire's destruction.
If God Emperor was still alive, he would simply give up. There's no need to dream anymore.
But if he's dead—if the man who stood at the pinnacle of Eden really fell—then it's time to be decisive.
"Varian must be killed before he becomes a threat." King Hades muttered, the blue flames flickering in his eyes turning slightly red.
Varian reaching rank 2 was already alarming enough. But thankfully, he was only comparable to Asherah.
The woman made too many sacrifices to step into mid rank 2 and her strength was only somewhat better than a newbie who just stepped into the sub-rank.
Compared to her, he and Ophion were both at the edge of mid rank 2. There's a vast power difference between them.
"Even Varian, despite his talent, should take time to catch up to me." Hades muttered and tapped the armrest. "But he grows too fast. Something has to be done."
He could've tried attacking Varian when he and Asherah were engaged. But after the recent battle against Ophion, both of them were still somewhat injured and were leaking out their aura.
There was no way they could've sneaked up to Varian. And Hades knew how despicable living beings were. If they're weak, they'd flee without hesitation.
"At least the slivers must be snatched."
It didn't matter if they're just Order and Chaos slivers. King Hades had a plan to utilize them perfectly.
He would subdue a Nexus powerhouse, build a special body from the slivers akin to Immortal. Then, after converting that body into an Undead, he could be reborn into that body and start over again.
"A confederation? No. There can only be one ruler."
The man closed his eyes and the surroundings fell dark.
Far away from Mors, a reptilian eye far larger than a star burst open. A giant snake whose body stretched far beyond entire solar systems slitered in patterns before turning into a man.
"Varian…" Ophion muttered with a complicated expression.
If the God Emperor was still alive, if Nexus was still under the threat of destruction any moment, then the 'Savior' was desperately needed.
But without a great evil to fight against, what need did a Savior fill?
"The slivers of my tribe are in your hands." Ophion hissed, ardent desire lighting up his eyes. "My tribe's slivers…my slivers…are in your hands!"