NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 77: Nexus of Causation
Before her was Veliona, her red hair sprawled across the flowers below her. Although Seele's hair color didn't change when they switched, while within their Soul Sea, it was an obvious difference.
Veliona was wrapped by chains that ended in massive, visceral, crimson claws that were pinned to the ground. Unlike usual, she wore a short, elegant dress in shades of black and red, its dark fabric splitting at the bottom to reveal a striking red skirt adorned with intricate patterns. The material covering her chest was a soft, light grey, contrasting against the darker hues of her outfit, and just below it rested a gleaming metal ornament shaped like a pair of wings. Her forearms were wrapped in sleek black garments that extended down to her wrists, where they met a pair of vibrant red gloves that fit snugly against her hands. She also wore black boots with high heels.
Blinking in confusion, Seele wondered where the outfit and chains came from. Whenever one of them was in their Soul Sea, the other would be wearing whatever the other was wearing.
Kneeling down, Seele tried to push her awake.
"Hey. Wake up."
…There was no response.
Veliona was perfectly pinned to her position. Seele tried to pull the claws out of the ground, but nothing she tried worked.
After a few moments, Seele decided to check her runes.
***
Name: Seele.
True Name: [Final Destination].
Duality Cores: Awakened.
Rebirth Residue: [0/1000].
Death Residue: [0/1000].
***
'Huh?'
Her Death Residue counter returned to zero. If she remembered correctly, it had been around sixty the last time she checked. No wonder she felt slightly weaker.
She never figured out how to increase her Rebirth Residue, nor did she know what it was supposed to do. Now, both counters were at zero again.
Still confused, she continued to read her runes.
Attributes: [Boundary Walker], [Swift Hand], [End of All Things].
[Boundary Walker] Attribute Description: "You have faced death itself, escaping from it's grasp. You tread the fine line that separates it from life."
[Swift Hand] Attribute Description: "Your blade strikes fast and true."
[End of All Things] Attribute Description: "You ignore the law of death, bringing about the truest end to those slain by your hands."
Aspect: [End Monarch].
Aspect Rank: Sacred.
Aspect Description: [You are a butterfly that traverses between the lines of life and death. Death is your weapon, and rebirth is your blessing. With these eyes of yours, you judge what deserves to exist.]
Innate Ability: [Dual Cycle].
Ability Description: [As a being with two souls, you have two cores.]
Aspect Ability: [Compound Eyes].
Ability Description: [Your eyes can see the lines of death itself. By tracing these lines, you can kill anything.]
Aspect Ability: [Fluttering Shift].
Ability Descripion: [You can phase through space as you attack.]
Her Attributes and Aspect remained unchanged. If there was any change in her runes, then it must have been with her Flaw. After all, Veliona was born from it.
She blinked when she found a new set of runes.
Aspect Legacy: [Nexus of Causation].
Aspect Legacy Description: [The End comes for all. As the Final Destination of all things, it is up to you when it arrives.]
Choice of Hatred: [Mastered].
Choice of ???: [Unearned].
Choice of ???: [Unearned].
There were seven of these… Choices. The first one was unlocked, while the rest were a mystery to her.
'What am I even supposed to do with this?'
Before anything else, she checked her Flaw to find that there was no changes to it. As such, she assumed that the issue was came from her Aspect Legacy. She recalled that Sunny had something similar, and decided that her best option would be to ask him.
***
As Seele sat down in search of Veliona, Sunny sighed. Why did those two have to be so problematic?
He turned towards Bronya, who sent him a look of confusion.
"…I'll make her explain it later. Anyways, there's something I wanted to ask."
White light coalesced in his hands as the Vessel of Remembrance appeared. He flipped over to the page where he drew the woman from his Soul Sea. He showed it to Bronya.
"Do you recognize this person?"
She stared at the drawing for a moment, her eyes squinting. After a few seconds, she nodded.
"That's… Cyrille Rand, the eighth Supreme Guardian."
As expected, the Architect of Lost Preservation was indeed a figure who was in a high position. However, it was neither Alisa Rand nor any of the Architects from her time. Why was the Ghastly Hunger's description related to Alisa and not Cyrille?
As Bronya seemed curious about the reason for his question, he sighed before saying:
"It turns out the Fallen Terror from the orphanage was actually Cyrille Rand. Not that I know how a human could become a creature of the Fragmentum. Is that a normal occurrence?"
She seemed to be strangely disturbed by this information.
"What…? No, that shouldn't be possible. She died hundreds of years ago after being thrown off a cliff far north of Belobog. Not only should she be dead, creatures born from the Fragmentum don't have a tendency to leave their areas. If she truly did become one, then she wouldn't have been in the Underworld."
Sunny tilted his head.
"But it wasn't the average Fragmentum creature. Instead of Fallen, they are usually Ascended, right?"
After a moment, Bronya nodded.
"I've never slain one myself, but records for previous battles show that they are considered to be Ascended by the Spell."
At her confirmation, Sunny said:
"It was called a Fallen Terror, not an Ascended one. While monsters from the Fragmentum don't leave their spots, Nightmare Creatures will move anywhere to consume human souls. Not only that, but didn't Seele say that Natasha used to run that orphanage? They tend to be drawn to Awakened more than mundane humans…"
Her eyes widened in understanding.
"…Even so, how would she have become an abomination in the first place?"
As for that, Sunny wasn't sure. Maybe it was an effect of the Fragmentum. Since it encapsulated almost the entirety of Jarilo-VI, wouldn't that technically mean that Cyrille Rand died in the Fragmentum?
"…Bronya, is there a tendency for increased activity in the Fragmentum after a large amount of casualties? Or a decrease when casualties are low?"
She seemed to think for a moment, before answering.
"Yes to both. More monsters tend to appear when large amounts of Silvermane Guards die, while the Fragmentum becomes more tame otherwise."
She paused.
"Some theorize that the Fragmentum grows stronger through the consumption of human souls. There isn't any proof to confirm it…"
'…So that's how it is.'
Just like the Memory he had recieved from the Doomsday Beast, the Fragmentum uses souls to empower itself. It made sense, as both were created by the Destruction. It seemed like that Path had a trend of using death as a fuel for power.
In the case of the Fragmentum, it was a little different.
Sunny thought for a moment to find any discrepancies, but the only one he thought of was how the Architect of Lost Preservation wasn't always corrupted — according to Seele's recollection at least. Was it in the process of corrupting, and had certain traits of a Nightmare Creature before completely becoming a Fallen Terror?
He stayed silent for a moment.
"…To be more specific, when people die in the Fragmentum, their souls are used to birth one of the monsters."
However, Sunny specifically remembered seeing the Fragmentum monsters within his Soul Sea, not humans like Cyrille. They all seemed mundane…
"Was Cyrille Rand an Awakened?"
Bronya simply nodded.
"A Master, actually. Not all Supreme Guardians are Awakened, but the few that are become Ascended so that they aren't forced to enter the Dream Realm when they sleep."
That made sense. How could one manage Belobog if they were always missing at night?
…Didn't that mean that Bronya was going to challenge the Second Nightmare when she becomes Supreme Guardian?
After a moment, Sunny scratched the back of his head.
"Maybe Cyrille's identity wasn't erased because she was an Ascended. Although she became a Fallen Terror, her being wasn't erased by the Fragmentum."
That would explain why the other monsters didn't become humans after entering his Soul Sea. Unlike Cyrille, they must have been Dormant or Awakened, and simply became one of the horde of creatures. Although Cyrille didn't retain her qualities, her origin as a human was still registered by his Soul Sea, imprinting her shadow in it's purest state.
Why was she a Fallen Terror instead of an Ascended Terror?
What was corruption?
Bronya held a hand over her mouth, ingraining this newfound information into her mind.
Sunny shifted, uncomfortable with the silence.
Then, she looked at him, sending him a soft smile.
"I think I understand now. Thank you. Without you bringing all of this to my attention, I doubt anyone would have figured this out for another couple centuries. Before this, it would take at least half a dozen mundane soldiers to take down a single Awakened Beast. This completely changes how Fragmentum warfare should operate."
After killing one, they would have six more to deal with. It would have been more optimal to only send Awakened soldiers. Then, even if they were to die within the Fragmentum, then the enemy forces wouldn't become much stronger.
Sunny's cheeks reddened, averting his gaze to the stairs Seele was sitting on. How did Bronya find it so easy to innocently say such things? Didn't she now that praise and gratitude were his weakness?
…Probably not.