Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The decaying swamp forests in the Andromeda Mountain were darker and wetter than they had been a few years ago. Legend had it that, in the depths of the Andromeda Mountain, there was a demon that could control death and manipulate souls.
Specifically, he dealt with human souls that fell into his hands. These specific souls belonged to those who could not rest peacefully in the underworld.
There was also a black horrible Death Dragon, along with headless Death Knights who were riding incubuses and countless ghosts that were unwilling to leave. These creatures all wandered among the dark swamp forests, taking the lives of the living.
Every night, the voices of the undead could be heard. They were singing songs in the decaying swamps.
All those who entered the depths of the Andromeda Mountain could not return, so it had become a forbidden place. If one crossed the swamps into the snow-covered northern region, they could see that the dragon cave above the snow mountain had changed a lot over the years.
Originally a shallow and broad cave, due to continuous excavating, it now had a labyrinth-like basement. Adenos, who had inherited Li Weisi’s knowledge system, seemed to have also inherited Li Weisi’s love for underground mazes as well.
At the bottom of the cave, a demon was digging. Its body was covered with scales, and its claws were sharply drilling deep into the ground.
Several stories below, a square hall had been formed. Steam lamps that were commonly used by wizards were hung on the walls, illuminating the entire hall.
“It’s wonderful!” Adenos stood on the steps, above which was a throne made entirely of bones.
A giant dragon dozed under the steps, as Adenos laid his palm on the head of a pale young man who was tied up tightly, trembling and howling. Adenos carried a blood-red crystal in his hand. With a flash, which was emitted by the blood-red stone, the young man lost his breath and collapsed onto the ground.
The flame in Adenos’ skull became hotter, as if someone had added a handful of firewood to it. Adenos held his head high and had a happy smile on his skeleton face, which was made only of bones, not flesh.
“Yes, that’s it. I want more power!” Adenos became frantic, as if he were possessed.
As he weaved towards the hall, the awarenesses of more than a dozen young men, who were shackled under the stage, were instantly transformed into soul fires and floated up into the air. They then flew into Adenos’ skull, like birds returning to the nest.
This feeling, which was almost like he was high on drugs, made Adenos unable to stop. It was at this time that he looked down at a lady in a gorgeous red dress. A green light popped out of his eyes, revealing his hunger for her!
The lady panicked and fell to the ground. He could now see that she had a cotton-wrapped baby in her arms.
Even though she was terrified, she still held the child tightly, keeping it safe by her side. She then cried out, “You said that I only have to offer sacrifices to you, then you would grant my wishes!”
Adenos laughed wildly and said, “Of course, there is a contract between us!”
Adenos then went down the high steps and picked up the child in the lady’s hands. The child was just over two years old, and his face was as pale as a corpse.
The lady knelt before Adenos and said, “Please, save my child. I will do anything you want!”
The child had died of an illness, and it was impossible to revive the dead once their awarenesses had dissipated.
However, Adenos could replace the child’s awareness with a soul fire. As one’s brain was the storage of all memory, as long as the memory was the same, the child’s essence would at least remain the same once it had been revived with the soul fire method.
“Yes, this is a great form of redemption!” she said, greatly relieved.
The lady in front of him was the wife of a great lord in the Kingdom of Mara. Since his last failure, Adenos had become more cautious, especially now that he was questioning his own strength.
However, to further increase his strength, Adenos needed constant sacrifices, and this lady and her son seemed a very good option at the moment. So, Adenos put the child on the altar and applied the Healing and Body Modification Technique.
The child’s face turned red, so he brushed the child’s face with his palm. As he did so, flames arose within his ring, and the child’s pupils immediately ignited a miserable green flame within them! After a strange laugh burst forth from his tiny body, the light in the child’s eyes was instantly extinguished!
Then the child stood up slowly. The lady looked both surprised and happy.
She then took his hand and the two went out together. Adenos waited until they left, then suddenly became furious. He smashed the table and lights on the walls, screaming all the while!
“Da*n it, it’s happening again?” Adenos was trembling.
His skeleton body was shaking constantly and his head kept twisting from front to back. His arms flailed about in a haphazard manner. In total, he seemed crazy!
Who am I?
I’m Adenos!
No, no, no, I’m Black Dragon Giscar!
I am Asia! No, I’m Bashir! I’m Marseille! I’m…
Adenos covered his head with his hands and constantly fell into self-doubt. Even his voice and facial expressions kept changing, as if a large number of personalities were taking taking over his body.
After a long time, Adenos managed to suppress a large number of the personalities in his awareness, then went to sit on the throne that was made of bones. Adenos had found this awful side effect to his ability when he began to devour other people’s awarenesses. Every time one awareness was swallowed up, it would be integrated into his own soul fire.
The stronger the awareness, the more it interfered with Adenos’ own awareness and soul fire.Thus, Adenos’ personality had now become crazily twisted to the point that he couldn’t control it anymore. In fact, it was only getting worse!
Adenos knew that, should this continue, he would gradually be swallowed up by thousands of other personalities, thus becoming a collective mess of innumerable personalities. He would become a complete crazy monster!
What a cruel choice!
He felt stuck in a hopeless situation. If he didn’t devour others, he would die. But, if he did devour others, he would become a monster! Adenos decided that he would rather be a monster than sit and wait for death to come!
After all, engulfing awarenesses was addictive. The growth of power was extremely satisfying to Adenos, so his desire for it only expanded. Even thinking of devouring a new awareness made Adenos tremble with excitement!