Duality of Shadows-Chapter 956: Chaotic Virtues (2)

Alm and Bruno were surprised when they heard that. What could possibly be trying to devour them?

"Could the Queen make it here?" Bruno asked.

Ciceya answered seriously, "No, let’s start from the beginning..."

That area was exactly as Alm and Bruno had seen; the cultivators called it the river of reincarnations. But, at that moment, they weren’t actually in the river—it was like they were a boat floating above the waters. They couldn’t penetrate them.

This place only existed in the underworld, and it was as if the entire underworld was covered by countless invisible lines of that river. They were in something the others called the void.

"The beastly spear of the void has the exact capacity to pierce and create these channels. It’s a weapon made by the laws that expands and gives birth to the river of reincarnations," Ciceya explained, sighing. "My Dao can sense the flow and move by mimicking the spear, on a smaller scale."

They had already received her complete Dao, but hadn’t delved deeper into it, only reading the basics. Now, she gave a more detailed explanation. Her Dao had the ability to pierce and move through the void, creating a path between universes or using the ones already existing in the underworld.

Coltia’s law had the power to settle in the void. The law of the dream of the void, which they had received earlier, could create a region where souls could exist. Both laws were created to be close to the spear’s power; together with the Dao, the three had smaller facets of that spear.

"How did you create this area?" Alm asked, the key question. After all, she shouldn’t have this power.

"I used the spear’s own power. In the past, even before the total war broke out, I managed to absorb a bit of it. My Dao was created based on the power of that spear, and, like me, many deities created something based on the items of the Primordial Chaos. But they all chose to die completely, destroying themselves forever, rather than eventually be captured and hand it over to that greedy woman."

Ciceya spoke with clear pain before answering their question. "The last time I managed to get a bit of the spear’s power was before Caipora came and helped the heroes seal it within that universe. Right now, it’s less than 5%. Because of that, cracks have appeared in the world. And through these openings, evil souls invade this place."

She explained seriously. All the souls that died and were taken by the laws arrived there. However, they didn’t reincarnate quickly. In fact, this river was just the surface. The souls they saw in the river were being slowly purified, erasing memories, and preparing to reincarnate.

But inside... there was a place below the river, about which very little was known. That was the true world of souls, where they stayed until, eventually, the laws forced them to enter the river already unconscious to return to the physical world.

"The invaders come from that place. We shouldn’t be here; that’s why we’re always attacked. In this place, there’s no Qi or laws. To be here, we had to remove everything... But you came normally, which is strange."

She explained, and Alm and Bruno understood. Their bodies were one with the will of the heavens, and they were probably the only ones who could come like this. In the epic, Caipora was schemed against, and she only remembered when she was inside without any Qi or power. Not even the Queen could make it here if that was really the case.

Ciceya continued, "All those evil figures who died and were taken are still alive in that place, and they haven’t changed. But they’re trapped and can’t leave... although they’ve found a way to escape. We saw it. If they can invade this place, they think there’s a chance they can escape the void..."

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She mentioned that she briefly spoke with one of them. In that place, there was a power that divided everyone. Where they lived was like a prison, where only people like them were. From time to time, people tried to take them to another place, but they had to accept abandoning everything they had and changing who they were.

Alm and Bruno sighed heavily. Surely, it wasn’t just the evil souls that went to this place; the good ones did too. So... even after life, no one changed and kept having the same problems, causing the same conflicts for a long time.

The laws separated them into the bad and the good. Perhaps the true heaven and hell in the afterlife were exactly that: not a place, but an individual state. Everyone was taken to where their equals were. There, they would have to resolve things, suffering against their kind, until they decided to change.

It was the ultimate rule, which Alm and Bruno had already heard on Earth, and now, after living three very different types of lives, they saw it firsthand: like attracts like.

When they were villains, only evil figures appeared in their lives. And even when someone good showed up, they quickly got rid of that person, not looking back. But now, wherever they went, good figures appeared in droves.

This rule even applied after death. So, what would be the point of giving up on life, thinking something would change? If you lived through hell, you were surely surrounded by people like you.

If you didn’t like it, get out and change with your own hands. The only option for everyone was to keep fighting and improving until they became different. Seeing this reality, they understood that after death, life just continued in another form.

"So, how can’t you fight back?" Alm asked, curious.

"That’s because that place is where the Immortal Chaos Fragment is generated. What emerges in the underworld is a minimal remnant that ends up coming out of there. That’s why it’s random and almost nonexistent. At the same time, because it comes from that place, it’s a power capable of elevating an immortal."

"All the evil souls attack us using this power; for some reason, even without divine souls, they gain the ability to use it. But they use it differently, not converting it into Qi and laws. They merge it into their souls, then convert and attack only with a violent and strange power."

For the people in this world to live there, it was necessary not to have Qi or laws in their bodies. That way, no one could cultivate, and everyone was mortal. Ciceya was the only immortal who escaped and brought only her relatives. She was worshipped as a deity, and with her Dao, she could go to some planet in the underworld and bring resources for mortals to live.

In the end, everyone kept multiplying and living for millennia, until the power that sustained the place began to crumble, allowing the invaders to emerge.

Alm and Bruno’s eyes gleamed. Ciceya, noticing this, thought something was off and added, "From the conversations I’ve had, they can only use this power within this world I created. There, in their area, it’s impossible."

"So, you had to fight to protect this place. But why did I feel that strange power in people from outside?"

The whale asked, and Ciceya nodded, replying, "After destroying those souls that attack us, part of the strange power within them is released. Then, the survivors absorb that power and get stronger. Their souls gain the ability to attack and release it, but... the cost of getting it is high, and after using it completely, it’s over. The enemies are endless. Even with that, we’re just delaying the inevitable."

Alm and Bruno got excited. They had stumbled upon a treasure. The source of the Immortal Chaos Fragment was on the other side, and these evil souls could come to them and deliver it? Excellent.

Ciceya added, snorting, "About that young man named Venjio... he came as a broken soul, but in my world, souls can stay without being taken. So, even as a fragile, powerless fragment... he began to fight and won. Then he kept absorbing the power from the invaders nonstop. Right now... he’s on the front lines, and he’s the one who’s kept the whole place safe. Without him, I feel like we wouldn’t have lasted much longer, and I would have been forced to take everyone to the underworld, risking being found."

The whale nodded. Venjio was Kaiyka’s husband and certainly cultivated his soul too. He grew up in the whale’s city on the Pristine planet during that war. Ruri was the one who helped raise and train him. After going through so many battles, he stood out and created his own Dao; enough that they brought him to stay by their side. Against these evil souls, Venjio should be like a wolf among sheep.

’As expected, all our allies learned to wait and trust that we’d come. So they focus on doing their best in the situation they’re in; he found a way to elevate himself and get ready,’ Bruno reflected.

Alm turned to Ciceya: "You don’t need to stay here anymore. But we’re not going to miss this opportunity. The invaders want to enter? Great, open the doors for them."