Chapter 597: Fate? Or a Trap?
"You say one person caused all of this?"
Bewússtsein’s voice was low, carrying an undertone of incredulity at the sight before ’him’.
The demon general, still kneeling, gave a slight nod. His voice, empty and mechanical, responded.
"Yes."
There was no hesitation, no resistance, only submission. His mind, trapped in Bewússtsein’s control, could do nothing else. His body had long since stopped fighting the chains, as had his spirit.
Bewússtsein’s eyes narrowed as ’he’ took in the enormity of what lay before ’him’.
The devastation, the lingering power of a cosmic artifact’s destruction, the spatial tears that even now threatened to consume anything foolish enough to approach them.
’His’ gaze swept over the scars in space, lingering on the places where Lostvayne’s edge had bitten into the fabric of reality.
Narrowing ’his’ eyes slightly, ’he’ considered the implications.
’One person, a mere mortal boy not even at Transcendence, caused all of this?’
The thought intrigued ’him’. ’He’ wouldn’t deny that ’he’ was flummoxed at the sight.
As a planetary consciousness, Bewússtsein was intimately familiar with the energy that all planetary consciousnesses use for sustained activities. Activities like healing wounds done to the planet itself, like these jagged scars marring its fabric of space, shimmering with a glow that refused to fade.
Cosmic Energy.
Bewússtsein could use cosmic energy, and ’he’ could use it as proficiently as a Complete Cosmic Being would.
In fact, Bewússtsein was essentially a Complete Cosmic Being. After all, ’his’ Existence Realm had reached the minimum requirement for Complete Cosmic Superiority.
Having been told what ’he’ was looking at was caused by one person, Bewússtsein pressed two fingers to ’his’ temple, closing ’his’ eyes for a moment before opening them again, trying to make sense of the overwhelming scene.
’He’ turned to the demon kneeling at ’his’ feet, tugging on the cosmic energy chains as ’he’ asked.
"Does he have any special weapons"
The demon, his eyes vacant and lifeless from whatever control Bewússtsein had imposed on him, replied without hesitation.
"Yes. He is the descendant of ’Devil King’ Lucifer and wields the Devil King’s Destruction Sword."
At this, Bewússtsein’s lips twisted into a thoughtful frown.
"A Devil King’s sword."
’He’ muttered to himself, the words turning over in ’his’ mind.
"That explains some of it."
It was starting to make sense. A weapon wielded by a being as powerful as Lucifer could explain the damage to a degree.
But it wasn’t the full answer.
Weapons of that calibre weren’t something a mere mortal could wield—not without paying a heavy price. The energy required to sustain such a weapon would drain any mortal person dry, taking their life along with it.
Even the children of deities didn’t casually walk around wielding their parents’ weapons that could slice planets in two for this very reason. It took an extraordinary amount of power just to hold the weapons, let alone wield them effectively in battle.
"Most of the sword’s power must be sealed. That would explain how he can manage to use it without burning himself out completely. But even then..."
Bewússtsein trailed off, ’his’ gaze drifting back to the spatial ruptures, remnants of Arthur’s attacks. The sealed power of a Deity’s weapon shouldn’t have been enough to cause this kind of destruction.
’No, there has to be something more. Something unique about the boy himself. His ability to wield the sword this proficiently can’t just be explained by lineage alone.’
Bewússtsein’s eyes narrowed as ’he’ focused on the faint silvery aura lingering in the air. It mixed strangely with the ambient cosmic energy, a curious signature that caught his attention.
’He’ turned back to the demon, his voice quiet but sharp.
"Does the boy have any connection to the colour ’silver’?"
The demon paused for a moment, as if searching for the answer within his fogged mind, then spoke.
"Yes. He has silver hair. It’s rumoured... that he bleeds silver blood."
Bewússtsein raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"Silver blood?"
’He’ had seen gods bleed gold before, divine ichor flowing through their veins like molten metal, but silver? That was new.
’Silver blood, wielding a weapon used by that Devil King and the ability to use it without tearing himself apart...He definitely has some unique power.’
Bewússtsein was not wrong. Arthur’s Null that returned things to nothing was the reason he could draw so much of Lostvayne’s power in its sealed state.
Special powers aside, Bewússtsein was now 100% sure that the residual crimson silver destruction aura ’he’ could sense belonged to the boy, and not the sword.
"What’s his name again?"
’He’ asked and the demon responded in a monotone voice.
"Arthur Vaughn."
"Arthur Vaughn, huh? I suppose it’s him I’ll be chasing for ’Destruction’."
Bewússtsein mused, rubbing ’his’ chin thoughtfully as ’he’ made up ’his’ mind.
"Where can I find him? What planet is he on?"
"Prime World Aramis. He is known to move between Prime Worlds Aramis and Gozon. Recently, he’s been seen on Olrerth, Hollora, and Toverus."
Bewússtsein ignored the majority of the demon’s response and focused on just the first three words.
"Prime World Aramis?"
’He’ repeated it with a raised brow. Then, without another word, he raised ’his’ hand and conjured a cosmic gate that tore open the space in front of ’him’.
Grabbing the demon by the collar, ’he’ stepped through, warping them both to a different part of the planet.
The moment they arrived, Bewússtsein looked out toward the sea. Floating on the water was what looked like an island, but on closer inspection, it was nothing more than a mass of swirling radiant flames.
Prismatic colours shimmered in the air, casting a strange, hypnotic light across the horizon. The heat from the flames was intense, though Bewússtsein barely noticed.
’He’ pointed toward the fiery mass.
"Who’s responsible for that?"
’He’ asked, though ’he’ already knew the answer.
"The ’Masked Rogue Hero’ of Aramis."
The demon replied, and at this, Bewússtsein’s expression twisted.
"Both of them are on Aramis?"
’He’ muttered to ’himself’, now even more intrigued. What were the odds? Arthur Vaughn and the Masked Rogue Hero in the same place—it felt too deliberate to be a coincidence.
Though ’he’ asked ’himself’ this question, the mentally subjugated demon took Bewússtsein’s muttering as a question, responding in his blank tone.
"The Masked Rogue Hero of Aramis is an aide to Arthur Vaughn, the Progenitor godslayer, who holds a Lieutenant General position in Gozon’s demon army on Aramis."
Bewússtsein’s eyes flashed with understanding.
"Ah, so that’s why they’re both there. The Masked Rogue is his aide. Makes sense now."
Looking down at the floating mass of flames that was once an island, now half destroyed and engulfed in shimmering prismatic fire that refused to die out even after ten days had passed, ’he’ spoke.
"They say opposites attract, but this is definitely not the case. They’re the same—both destroyers."
’He’ couldn’t help but laugh at the irony, amused by the mere thought.
Even after ten days, the prismatic fires still burned with undiminished fury. Evan’s flames had ravaged this place, and it was clear they wouldn’t die out on their own.
What’s more, the island itself was a mere shadow of its former size—more than half of it had been shattered, obliterated by the raw power of the Masked Rogue Hero’s attacks.
Bewússtsein’s gaze lingered on the flames, a quiet admiration stirring within ’him’ as ’he’ watched the prismatic flames flicker and shift.
’His’ thoughts drifted to Aramis, a world ’he’ knew all too well. He recalled its current state—a planet embroiled in war, teetering on the brink of conquest by the demons of Gozon. Soon, it would fall under their vast Interstellar Empire.
"Aramis..."
The Rogue Consciousness muttered to ’himself’, feeling a strange sense of anticipation.
It wasn’t just any world; it was where ’his’ most desired targets now gathered.
The Progenitor godslayer, the one whose destruction energy lingered in the air, Arthur Vaughn. And the Masked Rogue Hero, whose flames still scorched the landscape beneath ’his’ feet.
Within those flames, Bewússtsein could see the seed for something greater and ’he’ coveted them.
Those two teenagers alone held powers Bewússtsein craved—powerful forces ’he’ intended to claim for ’himself’.
But they weren’t the only ones. No, there were others.
The young goddess with a Unique Space-Time skill never seen before, and the last one—a goddess with abilities tied to Evolution.
Bewússtsein’s lips curled into a satisfied smile as ’he’ considered the potential of such a power. With it, ’he’ could unlock the true potential of everything ’he’ had gathered—destruction, time, space, fire, slaughter, and seamlessly integrate them into ’himself’.
’He’ would be able to control ’his’ own evolution and become a higher life form at will.
Most importantly, if ’he’ succeeded, ’he’ would be able to sever ’his’ last bond to Cruotis Prime, the planet that was still ’his’ true body.
Though ’he’ was here in this humanoid form, ’his’ existence was still tied to that distant world, ’his’ range of activity limited by it, and its destruction would be ’his’ end.
That was a risk he’ could no longer afford. Breaking that final bond was ’his’ only path to true freedom, and these powers were the key.
"All four of them, all on Aramis."
Was it fate that they had all converged there? Or was it some elaborate trap?
’He’ wasn’t sure, but it didn’t matter. Either way, ’he’ would face whatever lay ahead. Tossing the demon general aside like a discarded toy, Bewússtsein looked away as the subjugated demon fell into the ocean with a splash.
Whether the demon sank or survived was of no consequence to ’him’.
"Fate or a trap?"
’He’ repeated, grinning to ’himself’.
"I’ll find out soon enough."
With those words, ’he’ conjured another Cosmic gate leading out of Toverus.
The time for speculation was over. ’He’ had the locations of ’his’ targets, and now it was time to prepare.
