Chapter 139: Chapter 108: The Circular Courtyard

Laine’s “reciprocal gift” obviously didn’t mean to send the item back, but Cronus was still very curious about what a branch from the Golden Apple Tree could do.

However, although he asked, Laine clearly had no intention of explaining.

Some things should not be given away lightly, such as the Source Power of space and time, and likewise, branches from the Golden Apple Tree.

To the former, the so-called “giving” would ultimately return to one’s own hands; as for the latter, some phenomena, which seemed commonplace to her, could actually occur in many places.

But that is how deities are, always subconsciously overlooking this point.

However, that was a matter for the future. Now, Laine had to complete the last step.

“A new life has been born, and now it is my turn,” he said.

Before coming to the Abyss, Laine had intended to retract this incarnation, but after seeing that power of Order, he changed his mind.

The three realms that belonged to him still needed his control for the time being.

Bowing gently, in the next moment, Laine’s ephemeral form as an incarnation shattered. He became the essence of Chaotic Source Force, a capricious black Mist Serpent, and with a wriggle of his body, he plunged directly into the fifth realm that was his.

From the outside, the snake looked very fine and ethereal. But as it neared the world, it doubled in size and became more tangible with each approach. Finally, when it entered the fifth realm, it was no longer an ethereal Mist Serpent but had, under the power of the realm, formed a new body just as Cronus had.

The serpentine body coiled slightly, with head and tail facing each other, already encircling the world before it.

Hiss—

The hissing sound echoed, but in the next moment, the world understood its meaning; this was its master naming it. Henceforth, the fifth realm had its own unique name, Central Court.

“Central Court is a good name, a Divine Court situated in the central world? It seems I too should give my world a fittingly illustrative name,” Cronus mused.

Feeling the power tapping lightly on the realm’s barrier, Laine opened the gateway, and thus a figure appeared, the new Lord of the Nine Realms stood before him.

“Have you thought of one?”

The giant serpent raised its head, its eyes large as stars, and looked at Cronus.

“I have.”

“This is a place beneath the earth, even below the Underworld, thus it should include ‘Hell’; it was once a prison for criminals, a place not embraced by the present world, thus it could be called a dungeon. Since that is so, let’s call it ‘Hell’.”

“Hell has nine levels. Since I cannot be the King of the Abyss, being the Lord of the Nine Hells isn’t too bad either.”

For millennia, Cronus had never felt as happy and relaxed as he did at this moment. But perhaps now, he could no longer be called Cronus.

After all, everything associated with the old gods had been washed away, and he was now a newly born deity.

Thus, he raised his head, with the authority of the Lord of the Nine Hells he ‘looked’ out upon the new life within the nine realms, proclaiming the declaration of the world:

“Come forth and behold your master, you sinful beings. I am the Lord of the Nine Hells, Asmodeus.”

Time-space passageways linked the Nine Realms, and his voice reverberated through the realms. No matter what emotions they harbored, as they felt the power from the world itself, the newly born beings stepped into the passageway, heading to the fifth realm where the World Lord was currently.

But when they arrived at ‘Central Court,’ the first thing they saw was not the Hellish Lord who had called them, but rather the giant serpent encircling the world.

With head and tail touching, circling the world, the serpent’s eyes were like two great suns, overlooking the lives that had just arrived in Central Court.

Centuries later, the devils recorded that day as follows:

“…In the very beginning, the child of Chaos tore the Abyss apart… He fashioned Order out of the void, creating a home for the devils… Henceforth, Tartarus became their eternal foe, an unending war played out between them, for they were of the same essence and could unite as one.”

“In the dark Nine Hells, devils are the world’s favored children, the Order in Chaos, the civilization amidst corruption. All this stemmed from the grace of the Monarch of Hell, no devil dared to challenge the sovereign’s majesty, all but He himself.”

“He is the Serpent of the Garden, the Earthly Python that devours all spirits, the Monarch of Hell who co-rules the Nine Hells with Asmodeus.”

Outside, Underworld.

Shortly after the souls of Silver Humanity had been transformed, the Underworld, which had remained stable for tens of thousands of years, suddenly quivered.

“Finally…”

Sensing the information that came through, although those origins had been devoured by the new world, The Dark Overlord did not care in the slightest.

Compared to that loss, he was far more concerned with the harvest he had long awaited. He examined the content within the information bit by bit. Though it was somewhat vague due to Tartarus’s interference, it was still enough to let him see the most crucial part.

What constitutes a world, and what kind of existence can create it.

“So that’s how it is, the prerequisite for opening a world is to strip away all of one’s past self, and then use a power that is beyond the control of the current world as the foundation, huh?”

“Yes, the initial foundation of the present world was Gaia. It was after her that the sky, the oceans, and even further differentiation into the stars and the Underworld came into being. The reason Laine was able to transcend was probably because he was born early enough and was weak enough, so he easily washed away the present world’s influence on him, then used the power that belonged to him before Gaia’s birth to open the Spirit Realm!”

His expression was somewhat surprised. Although there were still some things he didn’t understand, such as the methods Laine and Cronus used to cleanse themselves of the traces of the present world, and why, when both were creating worlds, Laine’s Spirit Realm triggered Chaos’s ‘wanted’ notice, while Cronus—Asmodeus’s Hell did not, that no longer mattered.

Perhaps the first must suffer some hardships, but subsequent beings will have it easier; in any case, the process was already complete. The key issue now was how to complete the first step.

Strictly speaking, the Realm of Lightlessness and the Land of Eternal Night, although heavily influenced by the present world, are not entirely under its control, but at the same time, they are far from being an assembly of Chaos like the Abyss, entirely independent of the present world.

They are influenced by both, just that the side of order has a deeper effect, so calling the Realm of Lightlessness ‘the Outworld’ isn’t really a problem.

Therefore, under such circumstances, the Twin Gods of the Dark Night maintain neither the essence of the completely chaotic Abyss nor the fully personified character of Gaia, which is entirely orderly.

The previous time Laine entered the Land of Eternal Night, he discovered life influenced by chaotic forces within it for the very same reason.

Thus, for Erebus, a power outside the present world is actually quite easy to obtain since he possesses it himself. In the Realm of Lightlessness, remnants from the dawn of creation are scattered throughout, and he had never cared for them before.

Although these powers were weak, as long as they could open a world, Erebus could completely swallow his old body with the new world. His own essence would not resist himself. Once done, this would not only not affect his power, but it would also free him from the shackles of the present world.

By then, the reborn Realm of Lightlessness, like the Abyss, would become one of the main entities of the other side of Chaos, but he would maintain his own consciousness.

Moreover, Erebus had even contemplated a further direction. He planned to bring every place outside the present world under his control, with the Abyss among his targets. If he could be successful, then he would become another sovereign of Chaos, a being equal in stature to the will of the present world.

After all, the will of the present world is the only existence he could see that was half a step higher than the Great Divine Power.

“So how do I complete the first step?”

“Stripping away everything of myself… with my magnitude, it will be countless times more difficult than them.”

Frowning slightly, although the idea was good, taking the first step to start everything, to cleanse the past, turned out to be The Dark Overlord’s most difficult task.

Without even thinking, one could tell that the difficulty of shedding all of the Great Divine Power is not comparable to shedding the power of the former Divine King, and even Laine himself might not have the ability to do it. Even if he had the ability, Erebus had not been pushed to the edge of the cliff like Cronus; why would he pay such a heavy price and pin his hopes on an enemy that had just been established?

And for other methods, Erebus really couldn’t think of any at the moment.

“Forget it, I’ll think about these matters later. For now, it’s time I took action.”

“The gods of the present world are not a concern, but if I can cause him more trouble, that’s good, too.”

Raising his gaze toward the land, Erebus was well aware that by now, Laine had probably sensed his covert move and would know of his small actions. So from this moment on, they were enemies.

Since they were enemies, then whatever the other side wanted to do, he had to oppose; whatever the other side opposed, he had to support.

Of course, distinguishing whether the other side’s attitude was genuine rather than being deceived by appearances was the time to test both parties’ wisdom.

“Come, let me witness the power of the Lord of the Spirit Realm.”

With a thought, the Realm of Lightlessness expanded. Almost instantly, it crossed the boundary delineated by the light of the Nether Moon, traversing the division between the present world and the Outworld.

In this moment, The Dark Overlord clearly felt the present world’s laws’ subtle resistance against him, but he was unconcerned.

Just this once, the price was nothing to worry about.