Cosmic Ruler - Chapter 239

Chapter 239: Mayhem

After Aiden seized the Serpent, he knew staying any longer would be a grave mistake. He was fully aware that the leader among these people was powerful enough to obliterate him. While Aiden might not die permanently, he couldn’t justify wasting another four years rebuilding his strength. Additionally, his current luck had granted him a Timeless Flame and an environment perfectly suited for cultivating both his body and the remnants of his immortal energy.

So, he made the wise decision to bail out.

His timing couldn’t have been better. Shortly after he left, Alberto emerged from the water, seething with anger and visibly injured. The spatial crack whirlpool that Aiden and the Serpent left behind had done its job, leaving Alberto wounded. He had entered with around a thousand people, hoping that if he couldn’t tame the Skyfire himself, one of his disciples or elders might be compatible enough to do so. But the moment they entered, they were met with a massive whirlpool filled with spatial cracks. No matter what abilities or skills his disciples used, they were shredded to pieces. The death toll was catastrophic.

Alberto and only a few others managed to escape with their lives after countless struggles.

“Grand Elder, what do we do now?” one of the remaining survivors asked, his voice trembling.

“Our entire branch has been wiped out. What should we do?” another elder added, his tone heavy with despair.

The survivors were on the verge of breaking down. Many of the disciples who perished were like children to them, having been taken under their wings at a young age. The bond between master and disciple had been deep, and now, all of them were dead.

“We… sigh,” Alberto began, but no words could truly convey the devastation he felt. He sighed deeply in resignation, his thoughts shifting. ‘At least I had captured one of the culprits…’ He looked towards the injured Serpent, but what greeted him was an empty space. The Serpent, the remaining two disciples, and even the guards he left to watch over them were gone. His face contorted in rage as if he had swallowed a bitter pill.

‘Not only did that Serpent manage to escape the trap, but it also killed the guards and fled,’ he thought, eyeing the now-opened cage with growing frustration. ‘A creature like that Serpent shouldn’t have been able to open such a complex formation box.’ His mind raced. ‘A high-level formation master must have done it… Good, at least I have a clue.’ His thoughts turned cold, and he remembered the strange figure with the gilded tail. ‘Who was he? Was he even human?’

“He looked like one of those Atlanteans,” Alberto thought as he began piecing everything together. The more he considered it, the more it made sense. ‘It seems he was the one who left that Spatial Oceanic Whirlpool behind… but why?’

His mind raced as he tried to make sense of the situation. ‘Atlanteans shouldn’t have any business here. Or could he have been after the Skyfire as well?’ The possibility struck him like a bolt of lightning, and with it came a wave of horror.

“No… no!” Alberto’s voice rose in a crescendo of despair. “I lost everything, only for it to be stolen!” he shouted, his frustration boiling over. The thought of all his efforts and sacrifices, the lives lost, all for nothing, consumed him. It was too much to bear, the realization that everything had been for naught, stolen right out from under him.

In a fit of rage, Alberto punched a nearby tree, the force of his blow not only obliterating the tree but creating a fan-shaped area of destruction that extended for a kilometer.

“We lost it,” he muttered, his voice filled with bitterness. The remaining survivors looked at him, then at the open cage.

“It’s okay, Master. We don’t think the Guardian of the Timeless Flame was even necessary,” one of them said, trying to console him.

“Not just the Guardian, but the Skyfire itself. We lost it,” Alberto repeated, gritting his teeth as the weight of their failure sank in.

As Alberto’s voice echoed with fury, the impact of his words was immediate. The world seemed to slip away from those around him. One of the survivors even collapsed to the ground, a hopeless expression overtaking his face.

Alberto turned back, his gaze sweeping over the devastated faces of his companions. Seeing their despair, he sighed deeply. “Let’s return. There is nothing left here,” he thought, trying to muster some sense of leadership. But the weight of loss bore down on him, and a tear slipped down his cheek as the memory of a beautiful teenage girl flashed before his eyes.

“Meriam, my beautiful daughter,” he whispered, his heart breaking anew. He could still see her face, hear her laugh. But all of that had been ripped away as he watched helplessly while the whirlpool shredded her to pieces. His tear-streaked face hardened as he looked up at the sky with a determined expression. “I will find the one responsible for this,” he vowed silently.

His resolve solidified into a powerful oath. “I will take this oath: either I will kill him, or I will die trying!” he shouted, his voice carrying with all the strength he could muster.

His words resonated far and wide, shaking the very heavens. Thunder cracked across the sky, as if responding to his rage, a celestial acknowledgment that his vow had been heard and sealed. This was no ordinary vow; it was a sacred ritual, invoked only by those with an unwavering conviction or those in the deepest stages of grief.

“Meriam, I will avenge your unjust death,” he swore silently, clenching his fist so tightly that the very space around it began to crack, his grief and anger bending reality itself.

Far away, Aiden, flying at light speed, suddenly sneezed, a chill creeping up his spine. “Why do I feel like I’m in extreme danger?” he wondered, but he continued flying, pushing forward despite the unease gnawing at him.

In Aiden’s Spirit Beast Paradise, the scene was dramatically different from the chaos unfolding outside. Selene, the enchanting fox born from the egg, had taken her place on an elaborate throne. The throne was adorned with intricate carvings that shimmered with an otherworldly light, reflecting the divine aura of the place.

The spirit beasts, a diverse assembly of creatures ranging from fearsome predators to delicate, ethereal beings, knelt before her in a display of utter subservience. Their eyes were wide with a mix of awe and apprehension. They were not just paying respect; they were terrified of the tiny fox’s newfound authority. Each of them was acutely aware of the power she wielded, despite her small size.

In the midst of this unusual court, the Destiny Goblin, who had initially appeared confident and self-assured, was now clearly anxious. His task was to tend to Selene, ensuring her comfort and grooming her beautifully lush tails. As the only humanoid in the room, he had been assigned this responsibility, and it was clear he was struggling under the pressure.

“Whinny, whinny!” Selene commanded with a tone that brooked no argument. (Do it properly!)

The Destiny Goblin, trembling and wide-eyed, responded with an “Eeee?!” (Ah!) He was clearly flustered by the demands.

“Eeeh, eeehhh, eeeeeee!” he stammered. (I will do it properly, please forgive me!)

Seeing Selene’s playful giggle, the goblin’s anxiety momentarily eased, but he knew he had to do a perfect job to avoid further displeasure. He continued his work with renewed fervor, determined not to make any more mistakes.

Meanwhile, a serpent, one of the more resentful spirit beasts, was fuming silently. Its scales twitched with irritation as it glared at the goblin and the fox. “Humans… never believe… truly… deceptive… beings,” the serpent thought angrily. It resented the human for what it saw as a betrayal of trust, and it didn’t understand why the creatures around it were so submissive to this seemingly insignificant fox.

If Aiden had been present, he would have felt unjustly accused. He had never ordered Selene to assume such a position of power or demand such lavish attention. It was entirely her own decision to behave this way. Aiden was unaware of the tension brewing in his paradise; his focus was elsewhere, dealing with the complications and dangers that had arisen outside.

Aiden’s focus had shifted to collecting shards of power. The experience with the insignificant-looking serpent had revealed to him the immense potential hidden within seemingly ordinary objects. The serpent’s remarkable evolution and the danger it posed had shown him that even small artifacts could hold extraordinary power, enough to make him reconsider his approach.

With this newfound awareness, Aiden was determined to gather as many of these potent shards as possible. The small stone that had unleashed the serpent’s power had nearly made him flee from the immense threat it posed. This incident ignited his curiosity about what other treasures might be hidden out there, potentially possessing even greater power.