Myriad Spontaneity is a Venerated Dao made solely to exert control over causality. It could track down anything Shi Tian desired—down to existences outside immortal cultivation. It could also seal heavenly secrets, making it difficult for other Aeons to glean upon their information. It possessed as many possibilities as the Small Universe and the World-Destroying Millstone.
‘As expected.’
The countless karmic lines converged into one line connected to the skies. It led to the main perpetrator of Mars’ abnormality. Its desperate attempts to fight against Shi Tian’s Venerated Dao all ended in failure. It was as if he was facing an immortal cultivator who didn’t even know of their strengths and powers.
The pale blue flame was reflected in his eyes. It was none other than his Small Universe. It could take on myriad forms not limited by others’ understanding. Taking the form of an unassuming spiritual flame gives greater chances of it not being taken seriously. At the very least, the perpetrator wouldn’t do so given her current skillset.
‘A power as strong as the Dao Integration Realm, yet she is led on by us.’ A thought entered his mind. ‘Could it be a trap?’
He thought for a while before making a choice.
‘No matter if it is a trap or not, I will need to confront her. All that remains is to keep guard and see what she wants.'
*****
At first, Mars remained ‘normal’ in everyone’s senses. Their mind was suppressed, but it did not hinder the rest of their capabilities. There wasn’t any spatial lockdown or the likes, much less traces of beings with extremely high statuses like the Aeons. Aside from Leylah’s elusive hiding place, there was nothing out of the norm.
“..?!”
Kiana’s eyes widened the moment her surroundings changed. The planetary atmosphere filled with faint red mist changed into vast space. Countless white stars dotted the void.
She cautiously retracted her mind back to herself. Facing this strange space, a familiar sensation swept over her mind—one she had encountered before.
It didn’t take long for these memories to resurface.
‘The Sea of Suffering.’
The void gave off a faint sense of dislocation. It shouldn’t have appeared at this time, yet it did. An extremely high status suppressed the backlash of space and time, descending upon the presence overbearingly.
Just as Kiana had thought of these things, the perpetrator revealed herself. She looked exactly like Kiana, but with her casual white orange jacket outfit. She did not have the ethereal air carried by the Herrscher of Finality, nor did she have the blinding spirit carried by the Herrscher of Flamescion.
She was simply Kiana, the girl dubbed as K-423.
“We were told to trust everyone… but we cannot bring ourselves to do nothing.” Kiana paused, her eyes holding a look of longing and regret. “I don’t want you to suffer the same thing as me. My experience… is more than enough.”
Kiana inadvertently recalled the words she gave to Sirin back when they ‘reconciled’. Kiana’s words are the exact same as that.
“He had already honed everyone’s mental states. It is redundant to test you again with it. So, we will do the things we were accustomed to in the past.”
Kiana’s words triggered a series of changes to the tranquil void. Her echoes reached every corner of the space.
Buzz-!
Sharp purple lines streaked across everywhere. They turned into fissures, churning out waves of energy that couldn't have been more familiar to Kiana.
‘Honkai energy?!’
Her star-like irises trembled in shock. She found minute differences between it and the Honkai energy produced by the Cocoon of Finality. It was extremely volatile, erratic, and destructive.
This ‘Honkai energy’ doesn't seek any form of embrace.
It finds civilizations and destroys them thoroughly!
‘Was this the great enemy my future self encountered?’
It wasn't just Kiana who faced her troubles.
Seele looked at the girl identical to her appearance. Her deep-blue irises carried a hint of weariness, and at the same time, boundless wisdom. Everything born out of life flashed within them—plants, animals, humans, and demons.
The secrets of samsara built upon this incomplete world lay in her grasp!
“The Alchemy Dao proposes to refine all things to suit oneself. However, harmony alone results in a deficit.”
Her unconventional take in regards to Alchemy went through most of Seele’s learnings. Still, her eyes never left Seele's figure.
“There are times when conflict is necessary… such as now.”
Pitter-!
Patter-!
A murky water droplet condensed midair before falling to the ground, turning its surface similar to a mirror. Seele looked down and met her reflection’s gaze, only to see the familiar crimson-red irises staring back at her. Murky water flowed freely across the sky, floating in a bizarre manner. An extremely tall inverted mountain was also present above. Its summit pierced through the river composed of murky water, emanating boundless weight once seen.
Finally, there were rows of ancient eastern architecture across the mirror's surface. Each character was unknown to Earth's language—an entirely new one composed to hold this realm's might.
Seele scanned the other shore’s layout before arriving at one possibility.
‘Is this the Underworld?’
This universe did not have the concept of reincarnation. Everyone who dies gets obliterated by the Imaginary Tree’s overwhelming status. This is a constant of the universe.
Seele and Veliona possessed the Dao of Eternal Samsara. The feat they would utilize to ascend to the Dao Integration Realm is the creation of the Underworld. It was, to some extent, as difficult as Shi Tian's feat. It did not involve the creation of a brand new world. Instead, it is the modification of the pre-existing universe. They would make it so that the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta would proactively support this new ‘section’ of the universe.
In short, they are borrowing the power of this universe to establish an extra dimension designed to improve its circulation.
Seeing the Underworld's actualization was enough to answer Seele's question.
“Other me… no.” She paused as she corrected herself. “You are the future me.”
Seele responded not by words, but by actions. A long black scythe manifested in her grasp. It was embroidered with white flower patterns. They emitted a soft white glow, showing phantoms of living beings dancing around her.
Swoosh-!
Its curved blade tore a rift on the surface they stood on. The River of Styx gushed forth from the gap, containing all the Daos related to the Underworld. Its weight was extremely heavy, bearing onto the enemies the Underworld Queen had set her eyes in.
Closing her eyes, Seele recalled everything she knew about this future of hers. Before, the future Seele could not answer where Veliona was. Her cold and indifferent attitude doubled-down on the depressing feeling on her chest. The mere thought of that ‘bad ending’ made her feel breathless.
‘This future will not come to pass… never.’