Chapter 1105: The King of Keys
"The king of keys, as a fragment of the will of the third realm, was on the level of a superior king from birth," the king of chaos explained. "He's been working hard to try to build a new realm. This was the goal set by the will of the realm—though how he's supposed to do it is unclear."
Zhang Lie asked, "Is swallowing these worlds something he came up with independently, then?"
Nightdemon shook his head. "Very long ago, after the will of the realm shattered, one fragment was commanded to combine all the shattered worlds and forge the will of the realm anew."
This was why the king of keys was known as the most ancient superior king, because he had been birthed by that incident. The three thousand worlds arose only afterwards. It was as though the king of keys had been present ever since the Big Bang, and all the worlds that were birthed came after him—including the superior kings to follow.
The king of keys was the most ancient superior king not because all the kings before him had perished, but because he truly was a figure that transcended history. From the very beginning, the king of keys had had the strength of a superior king, and it wouldn't be inaccurate to call him the first superior king.
"Consuming these worlds does make the king of keys stronger, but no matter how many he consumes, he can't elevate his status as a lifeform. It might even dilute his own consciousness and distort his objectives."
After consuming a large quantity of worlds, the king of keys realized that consuming more worlds could cause him to lose his sense of self.
"Ever since then, the king of keys has had some semblance of consciousness. After that, he no longer single-mindedly sought to obey the commands that he had been left with. He began to think just how he would be able to preserve his own consciousness while becoming the new will of the realm."
Zhang Lie considered the king of keys' condition. "Is that when he began to continuously destroy the older worlds and birth newer ones within his body?"
Nightdemon nodded. "That's right. Afterwards, the king of keys thought of a method to grow stronger even without devouring any worlds."
Zhang Lie asked, "Did the king of keys lean into his nascent humanity and develop a stronger will?"
Nightdemon nodded. "Through this method, the king of keys was able to grow significantly stronger. He realized that he was slowly approaching the threshold of power that this realm had once possessed—or perhaps more accurately, it was slowly birthing a new realm of its own within its body. In our terminology, it grew strong enough to touch the door."
Although the king of keys was successful in reconfiguring his own body, that alone wouldn't be sufficient for it to become the new realm. Ever since then, the king of keys had stagnated.
"As it watched more and more superior kings appear and how quickly they grew, the king of keys began to grow envious of biological lifeforms."
Zhang Lie rolled his eyes. "For such an ancient existence to grow envious of biological life... it truly is funny."
The king of keys was an ancient existence; biological life was fleeting.
Nightdemon shrugged. "As a result, he's been trying to get closer to becoming a biological lifeform and emulating their thoughts. After that, the king of keys had a qualitative breakthrough."
Zhang Lie wasn't surprised. "After all, the will of the realm should possess a shred of will or humanity of its own."
Nightdemon nodded. "Thanks to this approach, the king of keys was able to push open the door."
The members of Team Zenith listened attentively as Nightdemon discussed the king of keys' origin and transformation.
"After emulating human behavior, the king of keys really did grow more despicable, didn't he?" Zhang Lie commented.
"However, the king of keys went too far down this path. It's no longer mere emulation—or rather, he's becoming even more like a biological lifeform than an actual biological lifeform."
"What's the problem with that?" Yang Ze asked.
After all, the king of keys had employed that emulation to great effect in gaining more power.
Nightdemon sighed. "You're probably thinking what the king of keys thought—that this would be a fruitful path. However, fundamentally speaking, the king of keys isn't a biological lifeform, but rather a fragment of the will of the realm. He can have his own thoughts, and even some fraction of humanity, but if he tries to become a lifeform in totality..."
The members of Team Zenith didn't completely understand why that was a bad thing.
Zhang Lie said, "If you're hoping that we'll help course-correct the king of keys, I'm afraid that's not our goal. My intention is to kill the king of keys for what he's done."
Nightdemon shrugged. "I'm not so foolish as to think you'd spare him."
Zhang Lie frowned. "Then why tell us all this? It's a bit much if it's just to make us understand the king of keys better, isn't it?"
Nightdemon didn't mind Zhang Lie's questions.
"I'm rather fond of you. You wanted to get the king of keys' current location from me, so I felt the need to explain everything," Nightdemon replied.
Zhang Lie sighed. "In that case, please continue."
"I hope all of you will understand that, the reason the king of keys participated in this scheme against you isn't for energy. As the most ancient king, it's hardly lacking in this resource. All he wants to accomplish is to take the next step along his evolution."
This was all part of the king of keys' attempt to forge a more advanced humanity.
Zhang Lie waved a hand. "I think that's sufficient background. Can you tell us where the king of keys is now?"
Nightdemon dipped his head. "Very well. The king of keys is currently in the territory of the world of blazing sun, and he's swallowing up some worlds there."
Zhang Lie's eyes widened. "You should have told us earlier! Hold on, didn't you say that the king of keys would dilute his consciousness by consuming more worlds?"
Nightdemon replied, "Even so, he's doing it in preparation for the upcoming fight. He's learned that the four superior worlds of antiquity have been no match for you, so he's trying to strengthen himself as much as he can before he has to fight all of you."
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