Chapter 643 Unraveling the Threads of A Cosmic Catastrophe
The moment that I closed my eyes, they were ripped back open. Pressure like I had never felt before crushed me to the ground which was a rock floating in the astral sea. I had figured that something like this would happen, but I didn't care.
"What do you think that you have done?" Truth asked me in a flat voice, his voice coming from all angles.
"The only thing that I could think of. I actually have to thank you for this," I replied as I slowly forced myself off the ground. The pressure intensified, but I refused to be beaten by this deceptive entity.
"Thank me?" Truth sounded surprised, and though I couldn't see him, I imagined the smokey figure confused. It was a nice thought.
"If you had never sent me into that memory, I never would have thought to make a pact with the Queen," I responded with as much daring as possible through the crushing pressure.
"You have no idea what you have done, do you? Do you know who this creature is, or why she was forced into a place outside of reality?" Truth asked me, and when I lifted my head a copy of myself stood before me.
"I assume it has something to do with the reason why you are stuck here, right?" I asked, the pressure disappearing, allowing me to stand and face my doppelganger.
"While you are not wrong, the simplicity of your knowledge is a fault of my own. I could have never imagined that you would do something so foolish, but," Truth said, and then smiled broadly. "I didn't see this coming! Hahaha!"
As I watched myself burst into laughter so hard it brought tears to Truth's face, I mentally sighed. I wanted to hate this creature. I had every reason to, but I was slowly starting to see the pattern in my own actions. While I had been forced to draw out Akasha, the Queen of Darkness, and then kill her, there was reason for it. On top of that, Truth must have known that she would be reborn into the new reality because she was linked to me.
"Ah, you finally seem to grasp but a thread of the grand tapestry that is your life. Your life is your own making, but I did guide you to places that needed your help. All I could see was the end of your last lifetime, but I knew that reality was going to change again. I could have told you this, but you still would not have understood what makes you so weak," Truth explained, and then the landscape shifted to a grassy landscape at dusk.
"Now that we understand each other better, I think it is time for me to explain your purpose in life," Truth continued and then waved his hand.
As he did, two people appeared with their backs to us. It was a man and a woman, and the two of them were holding hands. I knew this was Truth and Akasha, but I also knew they were just normal humans at this current moment.
"We were lovers, but much more. A normal couple that was given the offer of power just like Matthias and you were. The being that gave us power was known as the Eldritch, a cruel and sadistic entity from beyond time and space. It delighted in chaos and suffering and offered us gifts of power in exchange for our service. We accepted, but only because of the offer that we could be together for all time," Truth explained as the sky in front of us tore in a long black rent.
Reality itself started to pull apart and distort as the sky opened and a massive figure leaned out. The Eldritch was horrifying, a chaotic mix of dimensions clashing together in a form too large and bizarre for the human mind to comprehend. Shrieks of terror and gibbering madness echoed through the land as the Eldritch manifested, driving the populace of the surrounding lands insane with a mere glance.
"Then, we were tricked. The Eldritch didn't grant us immortality in the way we thought," Truth continued, his eyes distant. "Instead of living eternally with Akasha, she was infected with the same kind of malice and hate that Matthias was. I am sure that you can guess what happened next, but I will let you see so you can understand everything better."
I watched in horror as Akasha started to glow with red and black energy, Truth in blue and white. It was exactly the same way it had happened with Matthias, but Akasha was so much different.
"Unlike what I did, the Eldritch twisted the overwhelming love that Akasha had for me. When this gift is given, and the Pact is formed, reality must balance. The overwhelming love that Akasha had for me was twisted into a hatred for all things and denied the balance of life and death. Unlike Matthias, she destroyed our world instantly, and then bolted to find more," Truth explained, and I watched the horrific scene play out in front of me.
Akasha's transformation was far more horrifying. Her once-human body corrupted, morphing into a monstrous entity of colossal proportions, leaving devastation in its wake. The world was engulfed in a sea of flames, life extinguished as demons rose from the ashes. The heart-wrenching screams of the dying echoed through the air, a symphony of despair and destruction.
It was as if I could feel the very soul of the world screaming out in agony, shattering into a million pieces. The sight was too much to bear. The sheer magnitude of the destruction, the despair, and the pain, it was all too much. I felt a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach.
The memory of Matthias's transformation was painful, but watching Akasha... it was as if I was witnessing the birth of the universe's greatest nightmare. I could only imagine Truth's horror and the crushing guilt he must have felt. As I watched the grisly scene unfold before my eyes, I couldn't help but compare this to my own actions. I could see now why Truth had me kill Akasha, why he held so much power over me. He didn't want the world to suffer the same fate as his.
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