Chapter 277 276: First Tribulation of Hell; Eye of God
Corey's blank eyes had regained its light after he successfully passed the 9999th mirror.
Without thinking, he removed his memories of the 9999th world at a speed that was incomparable to the first time he used Cognitum Erasure on himself.
Using Cognitum Erasure was now as simple as breathing, and Corey could use the skill while performing other acts.
After Corey removed his memories of the 9999th world, he was about to take the next step out of reflex. But, then he stopped when he noticed that the objects were different from the normal mirrors he was used to.
He furrowed his brows as he glanced at the golden mirror and the ancient door with a skull at its center.
As he looked at the golden mirror and ancient door, he noticed something, and with a suprised glint, he looked behind him.
"Huh?"
A baffled expression appeared on his face when he saw that the mirrors on the glass path had disappeared.
It was extremely strange for Corey to only see the glass path without mirrors.
But what baffled him the most was the disappearance of whatever it was that was making his instincts to scream at him of an incoming danger.
His instincts were quiet, and he found nothing that he could pinpoint as the source of the danger.
'Strange.'
Corey frowned, then he looked at the golden mirror and the ancient door with a pondering expression.
He just received information on what the golden mirror and ancient door was.
Corey perused the information that mysteriously appeared in his head, and to his suprise, he learnt that he had taken 9,999 steps.
Due to him erasing his memories after every mirror world he entered, Corey did not know how many steps he had taken in the glass world.
If he was to use his current memories, he had just experienced the life in the second mirror, and was meant to be entering the third mirror world.
Although, this was what his memory was telling him, Corey knew that his memories were incomplete.
Deciding to temporarily dismiss the thoughts on his memories, Corey continued to look through the information.
"So that's how it is."
Corey murmured, and with a strange glint, he looked at the golden mirror.
The 10,000th step was the last and also very special step in the glass world.
The ancient door with a skull was the door that Corey could use to leave the glass world.
If Corey desired, he could decide to go through the ancient door and leave the glass world.
There would be no consequences if Corey decided to leave the glass world. In fact, Corey would be considered to have succesfully passed and survived the first tribulation of hell even if he left.
Though, if he did, he would lose out on a possible opportunity.
Soul Baptism.
Corey did not know what exactly the soul baptism was, but, according to the information, a soul baptism would be of immense benefit to his soul.
Though, he didn't know in what way it would benefit his soul.
Despite the golden mirror having immense benefits to an individual's soul, it also had a great degree of danger.
The information did not specify what danger he would face, and Corey did not truly care.
This was a chance for him to get stronger, and if he died as a result of his actions. Then so be it.
He wouldn't regret his actions.
Corey smiled, and with blazing determination, he walked into golden mirror, shocking the serpent-like creature, and the armored figure.
"He chose the golden mirror!"
The serpent-like hissed, and the armored figure also sighed softly.
Its gaze behind its helmet was that of calculation.
"The golden gate only appears to those who were able to reach the end of the glass path without damaging a single mirror."
The armored figure paused, and a complicated gaze appeared in its dark red pupils.
"If he's able to last for a long amount of time, he'll gain unimaginable benefits."
The armored figure said softly.
"But the dangers in it is too much for a tier 1!"
The serpent-like creature hissed once again, and its gaze was extremely solemn with a tinge of fear and horror.
The armored figure did not mock the serpent-like creature for its emotions. She too had these emotions, though she was much better at controlling her emotions.
She looked at the golden gate with a strange glint, then a thought appeared in her mind.
'If he survives the Eye of God, then he has a higher chance of becoming a being like the Defying Paragon.'
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(Corey's POV)
The instant Corey entered the golden mirror, he found himself in a space so dark that he could not even see himself.
He looked around, and although, he had the urge to use his Eyes of Omniscience or his Tri-Pupil Eyes, he had a feeling he would definitely die if he decided to do so.
Just as Corey was wondering what he was meant to do, his heart and soul involuntarily skipped a beat.
Cold sweat appeared on his forehead, and he slowly looked up.
At first, Corey saw nothing, but a second later, his breathing stilled and his pupils constricted.
At a distance which he could not fathom, an eye of a magnitude he could not even find the words to describe its size reflected in his pupils.
The size of the eye was so large that Corey felt it would most likely an entire universe, and maybe even more!
Corey was like an atom before the eye, and Corey had even temporarily forgotten how to breathe.
A golden glow appeared in the pupil of the eye, and before Corey could even blink, a golden beam of light enshrouded his figure.
"Fuuuu- FUUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!"
Corey roared in extreme agony as he felt like he was thrown in a molten magma with countless bolts of lightning striking his body, and a gravity that was so humongous he had no choice but to kneel.
"KAH!"
Corey coughed out a mouthfull of blood, and he gritted his teeth as he stayed flat on the floor.
The instant the golden beam of light landed on his body, he received a piece of information which was utterly and absolutely useless to Corey at the moment.
The information told him to survive the Eye of God for at least a minute.
The longer he stayed under the gaze of the Eye of God, the higher the benefit he would receive.
Normally, Corey would have tried to grit his teeth and withstand the pain he was going through so as to gain the most benefits, he wanted nothing more than to leave this dark space.
And surprisingly, He COULD!
Corey could leave the dark space anytime he wished.
But if he left before a minute passed, his soul would suffer damages that could not be repaired no matter what.
When Corey learnt of this, he cursed Hell for as long as he could.
He also cursed himself for being impulsive, and careless.
Due to him finding a way to clear the first tribulation of hell with ease, he had become complacent.
He had forgotten that the Paragon Ancestor told him that only tier 7s were meant to face the triblations of hell.
He was a tier 1 who had just gotten a suitable skill to survive the first tribulation of hell.
He did not have the capability nor the strength to nonchalantly face a tribulation of hell, and his carelessness and greed had gotten the better of him.
He knew it from the bottom of his heart that he could not survive the gaze of the Eye of God for a whole minute.
He could feel something in his being changing. A strange energy was inside his body, and it was positively affecting an intricate part of his being, something which he guessed was his soul.
Although, the energy was beneficial for his soul, the energy was destroying his body and his soul could not handle the immense energy that was flowing into it.
He was still a tier 1, and the energy was meant for a being with a minimum of a tier 6 strength.
His skill, Dream Healing tried to heal his injuries, but the speed of destruction was too fast for Dream Healing to even have a chance of healing his injuries.
'I guess this is the end.'
Corey exhaled a soft sigh of resignation as he could not think of a way to survive his current predicament.
Just as Corey was waiting for his death, he heard the sound of something akin to chains breaking in the depths of his mind.
He was startled, and before he could blink, his vision changed.
He appeared in a familiar space, and a baffled expression appeared on his face as he looked at the countless stars and planets around him.
"What the-?"
Kacha
Once again, Corey heard the sound of chains breaking apart, but this time around, it was much closer.
He turned around, and he saw the all too familiar white star that had chains around it.
But this time around, the chains were breaking apart one by one, and the energy the white star emitted was becoming stronger with every second that passed.
"The white star is absorbing the energy from the gaze of the Eye of God."
Corey noticed the energy that was destroying his body been absorbed by the white star, and the pain he felt reduced.
Although, Corey was glad his life was no longer in immediate danger, he still felt baffled about what this space was, and the white star.
"What is this place and this white star?"
Corey wondered, and just as he looked away from the white star, a white light filled his vision, and…
BOOOOM!
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[A/N: No second chapter today since I'm currently exhausted from all the work that was piled up on me throughout this week.
We'll go back to two chapters tomorrow if nothing comes up.]
This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om