John stared up at the creature before him with great shock, and even slight fear. Its power was completely overwhelming, and if it wanted to, it could kill him in an instant without him being able to resist. John couldn't tell its cultivation level, but could tell that it was far beyond his current realm.
The creature was nearly fifty yards tall, and had the body of a large ape. Its head was not that of an ape, but of a tiger. Massive wings spread out from its back, stretching far to each side. It was black in color, with hints of blue. Its eyes glowed with incredible power and profundity, as if it could see through John and into his very soul.
It was a creature unlike anything John had read about or heard about.
However, his shock and fear was quickly replaced with slight displease at having been called stupid.
"What the hell do you mean stupid?" John asked in a displeased tone.
The creature gazed down on John as if he was beneath him, and scoffed at his question.
"I mean you're stupid. You could have passed the final portion of this trial in a much easier fashion," the creature responded in a low and ancient sounding voice. Its voice reverberated loudly through the area, shaking John with its power. He had to use some strength just to withstand its voice.
John thought about the trial, and how he had passed the last portion. He used his Immortal Asura Transformation Art to get through, and didn't know of any other way that he could have accomplished that.
John continued to think about it, and the creature realized his confusion. It shook its head once more at John's ignorance, and spoke up again.
"It matters not. You've passed the second trial of the Divine Trial's, and have reached the third." The creature paused for a moment, and lowered its head down towards John.
John took a step backwards instinctually, as the creature was nearly eye to eye with him. Its eyes tried to peer through all his secrets, as it spoke up once more.
"But before that, why do you possess their power?" the creature asked, its voice getting slightly colder. At the distance it was from John, its voice nearly overwhelmed John.
John braced himself as best he could.
"Them? Who the hell are 'they'? Be more specific," John replied with gritted teeth.
"Do not lie to me," the creature said in a raised voice. "The power that you used to break through the final portion of the trial. Where did you obtain it?"
John finally understood what the creature was referring to. The Immortal Asura Transformation Art.
'Does this creature know something about the origins of this art?'
John thought for a moment to ask more about it, but remembered his last encounter with Karma. He was sure this was still far beyond his means to handle.
'How should I explain this.'
John didn't want to reveal too much, but could also tell that the creature was not in the mood for lies and games.
'I can't say it's an inheritance that I found, or who knows if he will desire it. I also can't say its natural to me, as it seems as if he does not like the source of this power. Maybe he has enmity with whoever made this transformation art, or the source of this power. Either way, I'm fucked right now.'
Just as John was about to respond, the creature scoffed and stood up straight. It peered down at John with cold eyes.
"No matter. All traces of them must be eradicated. Despite your talent, you must die."
Shock and panic appeared on John's face at these words. Without hesitation, he sent his divine sense into his spatial realm, and took out his spatial talisman. He crushed his hand instantly to break it, seeking to leave this place immediately.
He didn't know if it would work, but it was his only option. The talisman was crushed, instantly wrapping him with its spatial powers.
"Hmph, insignificant,"
The creature waved its hand, instantly shattering the spatial power of the talisman. John returned to normal once again, now completely out of options. The creature raised its hands above John, ready to slam down on him, killing him for good.
"Wait," John yelled out. He wanted to try to reason with the beast.
"Nothing you can say will change my mind. All traces must be eliminated." The creature began to slam its hand down towards John. John could not move, and all he could see was the end of his life fast approaching.
Flash!
A bright flash of light appeared between the creature and John, and the creature instantly stopped its hand. While confused at first, the creature's eyes opened wide in surprise as it saw what the flash of light was.
John's eyes also widened slightly, as he saw an ethereal soul form of a man float in the air between him and the creature. John instantly recognized both the aura, and the face.
'Its the holy aura, and not only that, but he has the same appearance as the statue of the man in the palace!'
John had always wondered who the man and women were who were depicted in the statues within his palace. Now he knew who the man was, at least partially. The holy aura!
It was the first time the holy aura had taken a solid form. When he spoke to Celestial Soulrend, it had only been his aura present, and not this current form of his.
"You dare lay a hand on my chess piece?" the man suddenly spoke. His voice seemed to cleanse John of any fear, and instilled calmness and peace within him instead.
The creature was yet to come to its senses, but eventually managed to do so.
"You? How is this possible?" the creature asked in surprise.
"That is not important," the man replied quickly. "All you need to know is that he is not to be touched by you. As for this trial, continue with it as normal. If he cannot pass, then it was never destined to be," the man said to the creature.
He suddenly peered up into the sky, as if seeing something far beyond in the void. A frown appeared on the man's face, as if he had seen something displeasing. He suddenly turned to look at John, and their eyes met.
John instantly felt as if he was being stared at by the universe itself. He had never felt so exposed, or powerless. It was as if he was being stared at by a god.
The man carefully stared at John, as if inspecting every detail of him. He suddenly raised his hand, and a small portion of his power landed on John's forehead, carving a rune into it.
"Gahhh!"
John cried out in pain from the rune being carved. It felt as if his skin was being flayed and seared, while his soul was being destroyed. The pain lasted for a few seconds, until the rune was completely carved. The pain suddenly stopped.
John quickly inspected his forehead with his divine sense. A complex circle, innately detailed, surrounded a symbol he had seen before, the symbol of infinity. The rune was complex and simple at the same time, and emanated an incredible power, similar to that of the holy aura.
"This is the last time I can aid you."
The man suddenly peered up into the sky again, and his frown deepened. He suddenly disappeared, returning to the holy gate once more, his aura completely vanishing. His lingering voice echoed through the air.
"Explain it to him."
Confusion washed over John at what had just happened, and he noticed the bright white rune on his forehead instantly fade. His forehead returned to normal, as if there was never a rune carved into his flesh in the first place.
He stared at the creature, who had just been about to kill him. The creature stood there with a dazed expression, also stunned at the events that had just unfolded. It snapped out of its daze and peered at John, its expression quite amusing.
"Explain what?" John asked.
…
A seemingly endless distance away, a large planet hovered in the void. It was so large as to nearly be a star, and contained countless lives on it. Numerous cities, filled with temples and palaces so large that they dwarfed mountains, covered much of the planet.
Within the most regal and grand of those cities, a central palace towered high into the sky. It was the most grand and awe inspiring building on the entire planet, hinting at its importance.
On one of the highest floors within the palace, several men and women, clad in luxurious robes fit for the most heavenly of kings, stood around a glowing object. Incredibly detailed formation runes glowed on the surface of the object.
They each emanated incredible power, as if a wave of their hands could shatter planets and extinguish stars.
The object before them suddenly faded, causing frowns to appear on all their faces.
"The connection was lost before we could identify its location, but we can now be certain of it. His inheritance still exists, and so does a trace of his spirit. We must locate it, and obtain it," one of the men spoke out. His voice was ancient sounding, but just listening to it was as one was listening to the heavens itself speak.
He paused for a moment before continuing. "Our search has failed, as he noticed the search quickly. He will not appear out in the open again, and will return to whatever place obscures our vision of him. However, we have narrowed the search to a corner of this universe."
The man looked towards one of the other men in the room, who appeared to be much younger. He appeared to be in his late teens or early twenties, and his face was incredibly handsome. Long black hair flowed down his head to his shoulders, and he wore an incredible gold and blue suit of armor, making him look even more impressive.
His cultivation was lower than everyone else in the room, but he was allowed to stand equal to them, signifying his incredible status.
"Haruth!" The ancient man spoke out.
The young man stepped forward and fell to one knee before the leader.
"I am at your service, Patriarch!" the young man replied.
"With your recent ascension, I believe the time has come to give you a trial to prove your worthiness as my successor. Travel to the area we have narrowed our search down to, and find the inheritance. If you do this, you will have proved your worth," the Patriarch said.
"It will be done!" Haruth bowed once more, and quickly turned around. His face was lit with determination and anticipation, as he strode out of the grand chamber.
A woman within the group watched the young man stride out of the room, before she turned back towards the Patriarch.
"You're sending him out alone?" The woman asked in a slightly concerned voice.
"The area where Haruth is going is low in power. He will be far stronger than any threat he runs into there. Besides, if he cannot even accomplish this much, then he was never destined to succeed me," the Patriarch spoke out in an unfazed tone.
His gaze shifted to a certain direction, and pierced out into the endless expanse of space. A slight hint of anticipation appeared on his usually emotionless face.