Alm and Bruno’s eyes widened. To split a soul into two poles as if they were two people but still be one? Something hidden until now was starting to reveal itself to them, slowly.
"That strange woman, even though she knew how to advance the technique and had developed the ability to achieve such an effect; it was just a theory. In practice, she could never pull it off. Only someone with a divine soul could split into two poles and remain perfectly alive," the dwarf continued lightly.
"She was destined to never complete the Dao and master the Primordial Chaos item unless she advanced. That’s why I killed her... and made a spectacle of it. I completely destroyed both sides in the battle. The results of that show must still endure to this day."
The whale snorted. Indeed, the World of Absolute Beginning, where the battle took place, was still a forbidden and deadly place. Now they knew who was responsible for it; a truly impressive act that pleased both of them.
Alm and Bruno asked about the details. The Reincarnation Mirror also had a corresponding calamity called the Calamity of Life or Death.
The name was self-explanatory. Finding this calamity was like tossing a coin in the air; either you survived and were blessed, or you faced a tragic end. Whenever this calamity appeared, it manifested in one of two opposite forms.
It was either a calamity of life, where everyone who witnessed it was blessed. They say even a cultivator on the brink of death had his vitality renewed to the point of living twice his expected time.
Or, the calamity brought pure and sinister death. Nothing living remained to tell the tale; entire solar systems perished, and even a hero was destroyed. Nothing could survive.
"I used the power of death from that calamity to make all this happen. But alone, it would have been impossible. I had the help of two primordial beasts: the Yang Fire Phoenix and the Yin Ice Phoenix. Their power was minimally compatible to attract the calamity, and both sacrificed themselves completely to make it all happen," the dwarf explained, sighing with regret.
"They died, but didn’t die. Like two Phoenixes, they can be reborn with the nirvanic flames, but after burning all their primordial power, they would be reborn in a very weak state... Unfortunately, they must have been captured, just like the other beasts."
Alm and Bruno nodded, already knowing that the Yang Fire Phoenix was sealed where Almin’s sect was located. Now, they understood that the Yin Ice Phoenix had also been sealed.
"In that battle, I mobilized a large part of the immortal heroes against hundreds of immortal cultivators. I used the woman and her technique as bait to create this event," the dwarf continued seriously.
"My goal was to kill as many immortal heroes as possible. Creating an immortal hero, even for the Queen, took millions of years. Such a huge loss would delay her victory and buy us time. She would have to fight for a long time before defeating all the enemies, only then could she focus on the Primordial Chaos items."
"Okay, but what about that woman? What was the plan?" the whale asked quickly.
The dwarf nodded. "She couldn’t split her soul, but at the same time, she knew how to complete the Dao. The key to that was in the power that consciousnesses possess, something unknown to everyone, without a name…"
"I call it the Law of Origin,"
The whale interrupted the dwarf, naming it. The creator of the tattoos was right. The Taiji, the next step of the technique they created, used exactly that power. That woman and the two shared a similar mindset... Thinking about it, Alm and Bruno felt there was a much deeper answer behind all of this.
The dwarf was surprised that he knew the concept and continued: "Alright, Law of Origin seems appropriate. Even if you lose all of it upon death, the heavenly laws will automatically restore it in your reincarnation."
"There were two objectives at the same time. She needed the Law of Origin and, at the same time, a divine soul. Knowing that she would need to have knowledge of her reincarnations to have a chance of acquiring a divine soul, the plan was devised."
"She chose to die and reincarnate... countless times. With the help of some immortal cultivators, her incomplete Dao was engraved in her soul. Doing this was like circumventing the heavenly laws; no one can take something of that level from their past lives. So, her karma would become so sinister that she would probably have short and troubled lives. She would hardly be able to cultivate at all."
"As a result, she would live very little, experiencing numerous lives in just a few years. Her incomplete Dao engraved in her soul would continue to passively gather the Law of Origin, being restored with each reincarnation. Until eventually, she would be so full of power that it would awaken her, along with all the memories of what she had lived."
"It was a risky gamble; there was no way to know if it would really give her a divine soul. But it was all we had. If everything went wrong, in the future, a competent missionary could still arise to help her. So, I created an extra layer, meant to help you, with everything related to the worshipers of the God of Wealth."
The dwarf concluded, and Alm and Bruno reflected on everything calmly.
Thanks to the actions of that dwarf, the heroes and the Queen lost the chance to possess the first Primordial Chaos item. Today, they even abandoned their attempts with the Reincarnation Mirror and were focused on another item, the Cauldron of Chaos and Order, which they were very close to conquering at present.
Everything seemed to fit together, but there was a discrepancy. Bruno thought seriously: ’We’ve always been incredibly compatible with the tattoo technique, and the system practically directed us to it from the start. Could it be that it wasn’t the Heaven’s Will that split us?’
’We only got the technique after coming to this universe, and we were already divided. Something feels off, but we also never had concrete proof that it was the Heaven’s Will that did this. Besides, everything indicates that it can’t interfere directly and was, at that time, increasingly powerless.’ Alm reflected coldly.
The two realized they wouldn’t get anywhere alone; there were unknown pieces in this puzzle. But they felt that this will coming from the God of Forging was the only one that could answer correctly.
The whale snorted, and then, from within its sturdy body, two opposing souls gently emerged. At that moment, the dwarf’s eyes went wide, stunned. Before he could say anything, the whale waved, and two tattoos glowed on its fists; this left the dwarf completely unbelieving.
"As you can see, we’re strangely her target... but…" Bruno began to speak. He explained that he had learned this technique from the Heaven’s Will only after they had already been divided; maybe it was just a coincidence.
But the dwarf interrupted, exclaiming: "This is not a coincidence! Immortal cultivators always said: those who have a divine soul are almost untouched by the Heaven’s Will. It’s like you’re challenging the heavens and escaping their restrictions. The Heaven’s Will cannot, by law, interfere directly with you. A missionary only receives things; the Heaven’s Will doesn’t act for you; dividing the soul would be too direct. If it did, the Queen would feel it immediately, because that would cause a serious disturbance."
Alm and Bruno listened, stunned. They had always believed they had been divided by the Heaven’s Will. But was it something else? When did this happen?
The dwarf continued: "There’s no doubt. She never had a disciple, nor did she pass her technique on to anyone. It’s understandable that the Heaven’s Will has that technique recorded and can grant it. But to perfectly divide you before... it can only have been her."
"We weren’t exactly sociable, that’s impossible..."
Bruno cut off his words midway, in shock. He felt Alm’s thoughts and immediately understood his suspicions.
"A woman who couldn’t cultivate... who seemed to have sinister karma and would inevitably die early... Fuck…" Alm murmured.
Bruno countered: "No, I know Isla fits this. But there’s no way this could have happened. She was a simple peasant, just like we were…"
Bruno tried to say that, but he didn’t feel firm in his own words. Then, he turned to the dwarf, the only one who could confirm or deny this suspicion.
Without hesitation, Bruno waved and sent a part of his memories to the dwarf. The being accepted and read. He saw the image of Isla, the wife they had lost. Isla had had a gestational problem, and her body had a defect that prevented her from cultivating.
At the time, Alm, after giving up on cultivating upon realizing he would die quickly, returned to his small village in the countryside and married his childhood friend, who had always loved him.
The marriage didn’t last long. A year later, she got pregnant. And before the child was born, due to the heavenly laws imposed by the Queen, because she couldn’t cultivate, she had to die. Isla seemed to have been possessed and lost all her autonomy; the result was a suicide. That was the spark that birthed the villain who would annihilate the universe.
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The dwarf saw only a few images of Isla, but her fluctuations, especially of the soul, were clear.
Suddenly, that will trembled slightly. "This... yes, it’s her! She did all this! Heavens... what are the chances of her marrying someone with a divine soul, being just a mortal? Is such a coincidence possible?"
At that moment, Alm and Bruno were completely catatonic with this revelation.