.....
BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions of blood shot off like the spray of a machine gun, only adding to the mountain of guts stacked in a corner of the Infinite World.
However, in the midst of these explosions, Azmodeus suddenly came to aplete stop. With the explosions not going off anymore, he looked in a certain direction and said, "Nao Long, I thought I told you I wanted to cultivate by myself-"
That was when he stopped the utterance of those words.
His crimson eyes flickered a little bit before following an illusory trail of blue silhouettes.
They gathered around his Cave Abode and stared at him with varying gazes. However, in spite of their contrasting expressions, one thing remained the same for all of them.
Their deep love for Azmodeus…
They always wanted to be by his side, but in death, they were forced to part ways with him.
Nobody was beside Azmodeus Crimson.
He was alone. Since the very beginning, he had always been alone.
What he had with Nao Long, Yang Hua, and the other girls. Well, that was just his way of coping…
"Coping… Was that truly all it was?"
Azmodeus''s eyes closed for but a split second, and when he reopened them again, the adorable dragon woman was no longer leaning against hisp.
Yang Hua faded away with that loving smile stered across her beautiful face.
Chi Wu and Bing Nu Shen shed motherly smiles before vanishing all the same.
''Pan Nu and Rou Tian…''
They made little shows of movements that they likely just learned from their master''s teachings.
''Li Na and You Mei…''
They were thest to go, and with the creation of two floating ice hearts, they left the world with content smiles.
"They left… Once again, they left me… They didn''t even say goodbye… How cruel is that?"
Azmodeus incoherently mumbled to himself, recalling all the memories he made with those adorable couch potatoes…
"So this is another form of pain—one outside of both physical and mental pain…"
He seemed to understand something essential to his future in that moment.
From the very beginning, Azmodeus was alone…
That may be the truth, but there was something else that had always been by his side.
"The Path to Infinite Evolution—one riddled with every form of pain there is. To tread the Path of Infinity, one must understand what true pain is. Just like a bodybuilder tempers his body with more weight, I must temper my existence with pain."
Following this self-enlightenment, Azmodeus felt the gap between the ck Hole and Supermassive Voider Realms start to loosen up.
Even though there would always be a gaping hole in his chest, there would also be another step forward—one that brings him ever closer to the Path of Infinity!
"With time, all wounds will heal. I do wonder if this saying has a chance of holding me together until I reach Infinity…"
As Azmodeus''s thoughts stirred and his cultivation increased, the other half of him neared the Gctic Castle of Gctus, the Gctic Lord.
****
Within a cosmically dazzling ce, there stood hundreds of splendiferously shining Gctic Senators. Above these Senators, there sat a man beyond effulgent. From the gxy-shaped crown floating on his head all the way down to the star-filled robe that covered his body, absolutely everything about this man was exterrestrial!
He would most definitely be an exceptionally imposing man!
At least, that would be the case if not for the violent tremors urring throughout his body. Slowly, the Gctic Lord devolved into a state ofplete and utter…
Fear.
"Sire! The Crimson Usurper is less than a few light years away! If our spections are correct, then he definitely ns to attack this Gctic Castle! And in his path of destruction, everything that you have built up in your term will perish…"
This Gctic Senator was the oldest one among all those present. Considering that he had been around since the very first moment Gctus took the throne, everyone heeded his words.
"What do you suggest I do, Garmoth…?"
The Gctic Lord''s despondent voice dripped into the ears of all those present. None knew if they had ever heard such fear in their Lord''s words, but they knew that if even the strongest among them was in this state, then…
''We''re so fucked…''
Everyone seemed to think the same thing at the exact same time. Then, with rapt attention, they waited for the oldest Gctic Senator to speak up.
Upon feeling the heated gazes of everyone present in the starry room, the oldest Senator looked toward his Lord and knelt on the ground.
Thud!
His fist hit the ground, causing slight vibrations to reverberate. Then,pletely out of everyone''s expectations, he shouted, "My Lord, I think the wisest course of action in this situation would be to retreat into the allied gxies under the rule of your father, The Great Warlord! The Crimson Usurper would not dare to do anything to us if we''re in the presence of your father!"
RUMBLE!
The High-Gctic Senator''s rmendation pushed the fear to the back of the Gctic Lord''s mind. Instead, it was reced by an iparably intense hatred!
"I will never do such a thing! My father, he would put me through hell if he ever found me running back to him for a safe haven! I would rather die than make a shameful retreat like that!!"
With the Gctic Lord''s intentions clearly stated, there was no hope for the High-Gctic Senator to change his mind, so he simply returned to his seat on the second highest pir in the room.
The expansive room was filled to the brim with starry pirs. They acted as both ways to improve infrastructure and a method for which to differentiate between the higher-ranking members of the Gctic Senate.
Being the High-Senator and the only other Low-Gctic Traverser Realm Expert in the Neverdye Gxy, it was only natural that he took the second highest pir as his seat.
However, even with his high standing, if the Gctic Lord adamantly refused to do something, then there was nothing he could do to change that oue.
In the process of thinking and speaking among themselves, every single one of them failed to notice a shadowy figure lurking in a discreet spot of their assembly area.
.....