Chapter 353: Celebrations
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In that very moment, the very world of Bestia could feel it.
The two Venerables that had weakened to the point of being on the verge of death.
Who hung with their lives on a thin thread despite all these years.
They were fully healed.
The nanomachines infecting them and draining their power were fully extracted.
And alongside that, their powerful Venerable Authorities began to be rapidly restored.
The destroyed Heavens of Bestia trembled as their many-colored fragments glowed.
The devastated land of Bestia rumbled as the sunken continent suddenly had an earthquake.
RUMBLE!
The Heaven and the Earth trembled; they were not healing back completely, but some healing, of some sort, began.
Why was this the case?
It was simple.
Venerables weren’t simply the “strongest being” of a Murim World.
No.
They willingly also became pillars to this world, to the world’s Heavenly Dao.
The Heavenly Dao that created all Murim Worldlines through the power of the Heavenly Golden Dragon’s cosmic divinity.
As they assimilated, cultivated, and gained enlightenment from the Heavenly Dao, the Venerables also became part of it.
They became part of the Heavenly Dao that supported this world.
And they, as a result, became part of the world itself.
As long as they lived, the world would never crumble apart and die.
And after healing, and even when the power taken away from them wasn’t being restored instantly, but little by little, something that could take hundreds of years, changes already began to occur.
The Heavenly Empress, who cultivated the Heavenly Dao’s bright side, Yang, began to heal the Heavens.
The Heavenly Will had died, but a little spark began to appear.
Small, incapable of any thought or action.
But it was there…
The Heavenly Demon, who cultivated the Heavenly Dao’s darkest side, Yin, began to heal the Land.
The Will of the Land, of the World of Bestia, which was dormant and weak, started to regain its vitality.
The sunken continent of Bestia, Pangea, rumbled.
Suddenly, volcanic activity started occurring very quickly across its entire land, pushing the massive continent upwards.
A slow process that might take many years until the continent fully resurfaces…
But that meant a lot, nonetheless.
With the Heavenly Venerables healing, the world of Bestia was healing as well.
The two remaining Mechanical Trees remained still, despite noticing all the changes around the world they had thought they had invaded.
The machines looked around, confused as the world rumbled and changed every second.
She analyzed everything in fine detail, her countless lights glowing brightly, illuminating everything.
This would have never been possible without her help.
Without the creation she made…
“Zero One…”
Her bright, artificial eyes glanced into the horizon of the world of Bestia.
Its beautiful blue sea, which she had been admiring for many years now…
In a way, the creation of Zero One was like her own redemption.
Perhaps it was her asking for forgiveness from this world, from its people, from the Venerables themselves.
But at the end, she was not really asking for forgiveness.
Within her “mind,” an artificial creation composed of countless mechanical constructions unified together with a brain composed of thousands of wires interconnected, there was no such feeling.
She didn’t feel guilt either…
However, she was running something similar, based on all stored information and data; she was running a “simulation.”.
A simulation prompted based on stagnation.
“What would the humans do in my place?”
This was the primary question her simulation generated, and with this very question, it rapidly derived into a new scenario.
It calculated it, everything…
Zero One’s creation, the healing of the Venerables, everything.
However, the largest game changer wasn’t all of that.
It was Anna’s appearance in this world, a miracle that could have never been predicted or calculated.
Thanks to her, these things were possible.
“Now I wonder… What will happen next? Will you take us down? Will you free this world from us?”
She continued computing, endlessly.
“Unfortunately, there is one thing you have not calculated… Yes, it is possible to defeat us as you all are now.”
She continued calculating…
“The one behind all of this is a being that none of you… could ever defeat.”
She looked into the skies.
There was a small crack there.
It had appeared a day ago, and it had continued spreading through the skies since then.
It was now over ten kilometers wide, leading to a faraway cosmos.
“A being so unfathomably powerful that… everything becomes hopeless when they’re opposing you.”
Then she looked back into the seas and the islands.
“But you’ve already earned quite a reputation for doing things that seem utterly impossible. You can go beyond my calculations…” She sighed. “Can you do it?”
The cracks continued spreading slowly…
“Zero One… Anna…”
Raven suddenly appeared in her computational mind.
The more she recalled Zero One, the more images and data from Raven appeared within her computational mind.
The last human from her world.
The last member of the race of intelligent beings that created machines.
They were made to protect humanity.
And since her death, their purpose had been unable to be fulfilled.
“Maybe there’s a reason you came here… Anna, a human being.”
.
.
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(Anna’s POV)
After my masters were healed, I fell unconscious faster than I would have wanted.
I passed out while hugging them too…
Bastet did warn me that I would pass out, so I guess that’s it.
And right now, I was dreaming.
Or not?
It was strange; the moment I passed out, my consciousness simply entered my Spiritual Body “World”.
It was an expansive, ethereal realm within my own body where my Egos lived.
I had visited this place a couple of times before, and right now I was getting to know my Egos, Sepa, and Bastet a bit more.
I wanted to go see my adoptive parents already, but my body and soul required rest, so I might as well.
Because Bastet and Sepa had merged further with my soul and everything, they were able to manifest a copy of their Cosmic Realms within this illusory realm.
Like this, they created a huge, golden pyramid, whose interior was a beautiful temple full of luxuries and plenty of food.
There were even servants made of gold, golems of some sort… Although nothing of this was physical, it was all a mind realm, ethereal, unlike my master’s Inner Realms.
With my Egos, Bastet, and Sepa, we were celebrating while eating and drinking imaginary food and drinks. It was nice to eat however we wanted without getting fat.
“It was nice; we’ve finally taken another step!” said my angelic ego.
“Hm, but there are two more Demonic Trees left; don’t lower your guard,” said the demonic ego.
“Well, it’s not like it’ll be hard with our current level of power,” smiled my cosmic ego. “And once the Venerables join us, then that’ll be easy!”
“With Bastet and Sepa’s sponsorship and their powers having merged better with the main body, it might be possible to finish this trial soon now! I want to go back home already!” my Gluttony Ego said.
“Ah, this is annoying though…” groaned my Cursed Seal Ego. “We’ve done so much, and there’s even more left. When is this even ending?!”
“We have a world to save, yes, but this is just as precious,” smiled my Heart of Hope Ego. “Anna, how do you feel so far?”
“A-Ah, I’m fine… Just a bit surprised,” I muttered. “Back then there weren’t as many of you… Did it increase?”
“Of course it did, dumbass!” My Thunder Ego groaned angrily.
“Don’t be so rude; she’s us after all. If you call her a dumbass, you’re calling yourself a dumbass,” said my… Holy Necromancer Ego? I think?
I think there were at least five new ones…
Some manifested out of what I’ve learned here…
The Cursed Seals Ego was an edgier version of myself; she had pale skin and long, black hair, and her white skin was covered in many cursed seals.
The Heart of Hope Ego was like me, but completely white-haired, with a bright heart-shaped golden crystal in her chest.
My Thunder Ego was like my Thunder God Raijin Transformation, very similar if not completely the same.
My Holy Necromancer Ego was kind of like me, blonde-haired, with… black eyes, pitch-black eyes, and bone armor.
And there was a fifth one, who was rather silent, watching me from behind everyone.
They’re pieces of my own self, and also what powers up my Myriad Self Arts, so I might as well get along with everyone.
I walked towards her.
I noticed her features were strange; the closer I got to her, the more I noticed she seemed phantasmal.
It was as if she were made out of gray fog, and when I called for her…
“Hey, why won’t you join everyone else?”
She glanced at me, and I felt almost paralyzed.
There was no face.
Only… a hole in her phantasmal, gray fog-made face.
A black hole.
“…”
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