Chapter 651: The Chasm
Creation was the power to create. Opposite to Destruction, which was the power to cause so much damage to something that it no longer exists or cannot be repaired.
Their Opposing nature was key here.
"That’s why we need your help, Sir Arthur. We uncovered Triffid’s one vulnerability, but the Archdevils discovered it long before us.
As such, anyone among our allies—Infernal Humans, Elves, or others—who practised the Law of Destruction was systematically hunted down and eliminated by the Archdevils’ overwhelming power."
Practitioners of the Law of Destruction were scarce, to begin with, a rarity among the general populace. This made them all too easy for the Archdevils to identify and root out.
Holding up three fingers, Charisse explained about the Archdevil’s Hierarchy.
"Vonun, Jegunul and Yujia.
These three are the Supreme Commanders of the Archdevils on this continent.
Vonun in particular, comes from other continents that have already fallen to the Infernal Devils’ control.
And then there’s Azzonnin. Once an Arch White Dragon, now reborn as a Soul Devil."
Charisse took a deep breath after speaking. She remained silent for a few moments before she continued.
"Sir Arthur, the Infernal Devils are interested in the Tree of Creation. But their plan is one with layers upon layers. Far more than using it as a source of power.
"I’m listening."
Charisse nodded, then launched into an explanation.
"The Infernal Devils want to terraform this planet into one more suitable for their kind. But terraforming a planet, much less an Apex one is no small feat for Lower Existences to achieve.
Hence, they intend to use the Tree of Creation to achieve this. To them, it’s no different from a living nuclear reactor, a being capable of creating near-limitless energy to fuel their conquest."
Arthur interrupted, his brow raised.
"Creating Energy? Energy can neither be created nor destroyed."
"It can only be changed from one form to another."
Charisse completed this basic law, nodding as she explained.
"The energy isn’t created out of thin air. Triffid, draws upon everything it consumes, converting it into energy that sustains itself and the expansion of the forest. The Infernal Devils want to harness that energy source. But that’s only the beginning."
Waving her hand, a filmstrip of images manifested around the both of them. Looking at it, Arthur saw various scenes of natural devastation.
At the centre of them all was the same flower-pattern-eyed Archdevil who attacked him.
Charisse took a deep breath and continued.
"Vonun, their leader, holds the title of Infernal Verdant for a reason. His mastery over the Laws of Wood, Plants, and even aspects of Life itself allows him to manipulate plant life and flora as he wishes.
With these powers, Vonun believes he can fuse with Triffid, devour its pseudo-sentience, and, eventually, become the Tree of Creation itself."
"And that would give him complete access to its power."
Charisse agreed with Arthur’s conclusion, and from her expression, Arthur guessed she must have divined the grim fate that awaited them if he succeeded.
"Once he merges with the Tree, he’ll not only control the energy source but its power over ’Creation’. He would most likely become able to affect Sentient Life as well..."
Holding up both hands, the scenes on the filmstrip before Arthur changed.
"I’ve glimpsed deeper layers of his plan, divining fragments that reveal the full scope of his goals."
Arthur listened intently as Charisse laid out each piece of Vonun’s elaborate scheme.
"The first phase of Vonun’s plan is straightforward—use Triffid’s power to terraform the continent, and eventually, the whole planet, making things even more unfavourable for us natives.
But this layer goes further: Vonun intends to cultivate areas dense with Negative energy, so that any lifeform wandering in would gradually be corrupted, transforming into Infernal creatures over time, broadening his army."
She touched the second of the five images and continued.
"Vonun plans to set up a continuous energy siphon, taking advantage of the planet’s energy veins to harvest energy from virtually any point on the planet. This would create a grid network of power spanning the planet’s surface. They would be able to maintain portals and summon reinforcements from other worlds.
Worst case scenario, he could destroy the barrier keeping Deities out of our world."
Hearing this talk about a barrier, it finally made sense to Arthur why there didn’t seem to be any Deity Realm existences on an Apex World, a planet whose very reason for existence was to accommodate Deities so they didn’t go and cause trouble on lower worlds.
"Third, Vonun intends to begin using Triffid’s power to consume souls. This would amplify his own power and that of his army.
Those souls, instead of simply fuelling Triffid’s regenerative growth, would be absorbed and trapped within him, serving as a well of latent power. This would allow Vonun to improve his minions, creating an army of soulless warriors driven solely by his command."
Charisse touched the fourth image and spoke.
"Next, Vonun would finally take action to completely eliminate all Spirits from this planet as we pose a direct obstacle to him. Once he takes advantage of the planet’s Energy Veins after fusing with Triffid, he could corrupt them, infect them with devilish energy which would effectively starve us Spirits, weakening us until we’re vulnerable to be picked off."
Moving her hands, she touched the last image—that of what looked like a Tree-Human Hybrid.
"Finally, Vonun would exuviate and become a Deity himself.
If Vonun successfully fuses with the Tree, he could achieve a form of ascension, blending his power with Triffid’s Creation power. This would grant him a Pseudo-Authority over Creation, and if he exuviates in this state, he may succeed in attaining a full Authority, though it may be a False one without any Law Comprehensions backing it.
If he becomes a Deity, then even I cannot predict what would happen."
As Charisse finished, a heavy silence lingered in the air. Arthur placed his hand on his chin, pondering the threat while Charisse waited for him to finish.
Arthur didn’t speak for close to twelve minutes, and only when their destination came in sight did he finally open his mouth.
"Very well. We’ll make sure Vonun does not succeed."
As he spoke, Arthur turned his gaze around and noticed that the trees and vast plains they were flying over had vanished.
Now, all around them was a desolate land.
Barren didn’t quite capture it. The ground beneath him was dark, as if every last trace of life had been drained from the soil—dead sand.
But that wasn’t what caught his attention. It was the thing before him.
’Forces beyond our control, she said...’
Before Arthur loomed an immense, consuming darkness. His first thought was that it was just an abyss of shadows, but then he realized: it was a ravine, vast beyond comprehension, stretching endlessly into the distance.
The bird spirit descended and Arthur immediately got off, stepping forward. This ravine was so deep that the bottom seemed to blur into an indistinguishable void. Hundreds of kilometres, at least.
"We call it the Chasm."
Charisse spoke up from behind him and Arthur chuckled.
"Chasm, huh? Very fitting."
He extended his senses, mixing cosmic energy with his spatial power to try and see the other side, but no matter how far he stretched his vision, he could not see its end.
The distance alone was staggering, but there was a thick concentration of law energy that filled the chasm.
"The Chasm extends across the entire continent, splitting it in two."
Though Arthur had already pieced together the situation, Charisse still explained.
"During your accident earlier, your companions were spatially displaced to the far side of this divide. Fortunately, the nature of the spatial distortion made it such they were able to avoid the barrier."
At the mention of the barrier, Arthur’s gaze shifted upward. A shimmering wall of law energy towered above him, stretching from the depths of the ravine and far beyond the planet’s atmosphere.
Every form of elemental law energy Arthur could think of was mixed in, all negatively attributed.
Arthur didn’t need to comprehend spatial laws to understand that there was no crossing this. Not even with Cosmic Energy.
"...really a force beyond our control."
"The Chasm will eventually close.
It was much wider before, but it shrinks every day, bit by bit. When it finally closes, the wall of law energy will disappear, and your companions will be able to cross over."
Charisse explained and Arthur glanced at the Cosmic teleporter, wondering if he could use it to go to the other side.
’But I don’t have the coordinates.’
While he was thinking this, Charisse went on.
"I’ve arranged for the spirits on the other side to contact your companions. They will be safe until the Chasm closes."
Arthur turned his gaze to the Prophetess and asked with narrowed eyes.
"How are you communicating with them? That wall looks impenetrable."
"We have special means. But they’re taxing, so we don’t use them lightly.
Your companions’ safety was a priority, so we reached out. As of this morning, I was informed contact had been made with all three."
Arthur sighed, casting another glance at the immense energy barrier. He had no way of crossing to the other side. Charisse’s words left him with no choice but to wait.
The date was September 9th. Arthur was now separated from Evan, Artemisia, and Beatrix—a separation that would stretch on for 9 long weeks.
