Despite knowing Neo had come to kill him, Flamejaw stared at Neo with gratitude.
His flames died.
Cracks spread through his body, and he crumbled into ashes.
“Why was he staring at me like that?” Neo muttered, pissed.
Flamejaw had regained sanity at the last second. He was supposed to have gone berserk, or cursed at Neo for killing him just after Tartarus’ control over him disappeared.
But he was thankful instead.
“Fuck, this whole place is making me feel shitty.”
He clicked his tongue, and was about to summon True Darkness when he suddenly stopped.
Blood leaked from his eyes.
“…My body’s condition is worsening.”
He had grown considerably stronger and durable thanks to devouring two Zones, but the Madness had similarly grown.
The stress, anxiety and all negative emotions it brought had started to affect his physical body.
His Blessing, Life, and Holy element were barely keeping him together.
If he stopped them for a second, he would die.
“If I devour anything more in my condition, my body will break before my mind.”
Neo needed to strengthen his time, or his body.
Strengthening his body without using True Darkness was near impossible. His Traits were nowhere breakthrough, and he was not close to breakthrough to Second Step Heavenbreaker.
“I need to do something about this.”
Neo looked down at his body. Cracks ran all over his skin. If he could do something about Time Erosion, his body would return to its peak state, and he wouldn’t need to worry about breaking down anytime soon.
The Time Erosion had slowed a lot but it was impossible to revert.
Until now, that is.
“Time Elementals are the cause of Time Erosion. These Time Elementals aren’t mine own, so they don’t listen to me and I can’t stop them with Willpower Incantations either.”
Neo decided to try something.
He summoned his World Energy, and wrapped it around himself.
This would mark his body as his territory. Foreign Time Elementals should not be able to enter his territory, unless he gave them permission.
His theory was perfect.
However, it seemed to be not working.
The layer of World Energy surrounding his body was weak. The Foreign Time Elementals pierced it easily.
He churned his Willpower to create more World Energy.
It increased his World Energy amount, but did nothing to make it stronger. He tried condensing his World Energy, only to fail.
“It seems like I need to improve the quality of World Energy, but that only happens when my Consciousness grows stronger.”
Neo frowned.
He thought about it and came to a conclusion quickly.
“How do I make my Consciousness stronger?” he questioned empty air.
A beat later, a screen appeared before him.
[Question detected]
[Question: How do I make my Consciousness stronger?]
[Would you like to use one of your free Primogenitor slot to receive the answer?]
“Yes.”
[One Slot has been used.]
[Searching for answer….]
[Answer found.]
[Answer: You need to create more Consciousnesses. Each Consciousness you create will act as a Pillar for your Cosmos. It will strengthen your Consciousness. Additionally, you need to create three Consciousnesses to have a World Energy strong enough to protect your body from Time Erosion.]
Neo looked at the answer, surprised.
It… was quite detailed.
Primogenitor never gave such detailed answers. Moreover, it answered how many Consciousnesses he needed to create to fight off Time Erosion. He never asked for that.
“The answer was tailored according to my need.”
Neo’s brows creased.
Since when did Primogenitor become so helpful?
“Something changed with the Trait, but what? It’s already at max rank. So what changed?”
Neo talked with Nyxtharion #2 about his situation.
The dragon had lived for long, so maybe it had some answers.
“So your ability came as a Trait,” Nyxtharion #2 said, then explained. “Heavenbreakers have extremely powerful Intent, and are sensitive to it.
“Thus, they can access to Sea of All Consciousness.
“That place is where a part of everyone’s Consciousness comes together to form an endless sea.
“It contains boundless knowledge, secrets untold, and truth of Universe Creation Era.
“However, the access the Heavenbreakers have to the Sea of All Consciousness is mostly limited.
“Sometimes they enter the Sea of All Consciousness through dreams. Sometimes they are sitting, and they appear in there randomly.
“Moreover, they can’t get any information just because they wish for it.
“They would have to search for it in Sea of All Consciousness, which is tough since they can’t stay in that place for long,” Nyxtharion #2 said.
“I see,” Neo nodded. “So my Trait is my way of accessing Sea of All Consciousness. I can’t enter that place myself, and I don’t have access to all information there.
“In exchange, I can get any type of information that will help me grow stronger. There is no limit on that,” Neo said.
“Indeed, it is just as you have spoke,” Nyxtharion #2 replied. “The Heavenbreakers access level to Sea of All Consciousness increases with each step they ascend.
“Your Trait gave you a more detailed answer, as you have finally ascended to First Step properly after opening your Cosmos.”
“Got it. Thanks for answering me.”
“It was the Great I’s pleasure.”
After receiving his answer, Neo looked back at the answer he received.
[Answer: You need to create more Consciousnesses. Each Consciousness you create will act as a Pillar for your Cosmos. It will strengthen your Consciousness. Additionally, you need to create three Consciousnesses to have a World Energy strong enough to protect your body from Time Erosion.]
“It says three new Consciousness. I already have one, Death Sword Firmament, so I only need to create two more.”
Neo tried to think what kind of energy type would he need in the future.
It needed to be something he used often, and was capable of being improved.
Actually, it didn’t need to be capable of being improved.
He could use a combination of True Darkness, Kane’s Transfer Technique, and Abyss Mirror to rank up any technique, or Spell.
The only requirement was it needed to be something he used often—
An idea suddenly came to him.
“Can I turn my Concepts into Consciousness?”
Neo decided to try it.
He used World Energy to power his Concept of Eternal Death.
Red Lightning began to materialize in his Cosmos.
He used Void to corrupt it.
When it turned into Chaos, he would dismiss it.
He had to keep its original properties same as he mutated.
…
Zone 8, Floor 3, Layer 4
The tent was quiet, lit only by the flicker of a single red lantern.
Neo, Zera, and Vlad sat around a round obsidian table. The air smelled faintly of old blood.
Vlad’s crimson eyes glinted as he leaned back in his chair, arms folded.
“Two Neos. That means something’s gone wrong with the Grand Expedition.”
Neo blinked, confused. Zera was no different.
“What are you talking about?” Neo asked.
Vlad exhaled slowly.
“The real Neo must’ve woken up on Layer 3, then entered Layer 4. That means he knows what the Abyss really is…
“A nightmare. Alive and watching.”
Zera narrowed her eyes.
“What do you mean *real* Neo?”
Vlad turned his gaze toward them.
“You two… were created by Tartarus’ Nightmare. You were never real,” he said. “Fakes. To fool the Grand Expedition.”
The tent trembled.
Neo looked down at his hands—already flickering. Zera gasped as her own arm phased into light.
“What the hell is—?!”
“Now that you know the truth,” Vlad said quietly, “you’re being erased.”
Neo reached toward Vlad, but his hand passed through him.
Then, Zera and Neo vanished.
Vlad looked at the empty air where they had been moments ago, and sighed.
“Since Zera did not come with Neo, I suppose she was eliminated.”
He pushed the chair back without a sound and stepped outside the tent.
The plains stretched before him.
Millions of soldiers moved across the camp. Some cooked. Some trained. Some trained.
All unaware of the truth of Layers.
Vlad stared.
Then he shook his head.
“I didn’t want this,” he murmured. “But blame yourselves… for being evil.
“If you hadn’t fallen, you wouldn’t have been caught by Sire Tartarus.
“Now that your existence threatens His, I, Second Apostle of Tartarus… will erase you.”
No one heard him.
But he didn’t care.
He raised his hand.
Blood Ascension: Crimson Verdict
The sky turned red.
A massive sigil bloomed above the camp.
Blood rained. Each drop was sharp as a dagger. Screams rose as the first line of sentries were shredded to ribbons.
Soldiers panicked. Mages raised barriers. Blades were drawn.
But they could not do anything. They were no different than ants in front of Vlad.
Vlad stepped forward, every stride shaking the earth.
A blood halo formed around him. Dozens of glowing red spears spun into orbit behind him.
“Defensive Formation!” someone shouted. “Dragon Clan Leader Vlad has gone rogue! I repeat Clan Leader of Blood Dragon Clan has gone rogue! Apprehend him!”
A line of knights rushed in.
Blood Lance: Execution Path
The lances fired.
Each one pierced through twenty men in a blink. The air erupted. Red geysers burst from the ground.
Casters launched spells—light, lightning, stone—but they dissolved before touching Vlad.
His aura rejected them. It unmade them.
“Why is he doing this?!”
“Sir, Vlad! Come to your senses!”
Blood Chain Collapse
Crimson chains tore out of the ground, dragging soldiers into the air before exploding into showers of meat and steel.
Vlad stood in the storm of blood.
Untouched. Calm.
He raised his hand again.
“Die in silence,” he said. “For Sire Tartarus watches.”
The sigil in the sky expanded.