LEVEL 0 IMMORTAL-Chapter 126: You Shall Call For The Echo of Madness

"It is good that your mind is particularly quick, Elias, even though I have you enough hints, you were able to figure out the core of the matter rather quickly, you would be surprised how many failed to come to this conclusion until it was too late," Commander Yseult pointed to the green dot below, "Case in point, the chief of this oasis that had brought ruin to his people."

Elias frowned; he did not want his speculations to be correct because if the impossible power he was feeling from the Commander was ultimately weak in the grand scheme of things, then where would that leave him?

"Master, if the chief of that oasis can fight for power and freedom, even with the limited resources he has, I know that you are also doing the same. Is that one of the reasons I am here?"

The Commander did not immediately reply to him, and Elias wished he could see her face in order for him to catch a glimpse of what could be going on inside her mind.

Finally, she spoke, "The stronger you become, the more restrictions bind your hands. As I told you before, these restrictions are necessary. I have known of many monsters that have slaughtered entire kingdoms and killed unknown millions just to feed their appetites. They do not care about the state of the world, but only their benefits, and if they had not been put in check, this world would not exist as you know it, and the situation would be much worse, however..."

She paused, and Elias could have sworn that the Commander was shaking with emotions that could only be from anger, as he could hear it in her voice,

"However, these restrictions had gone too far. There was a time when I served those who imposed these restrictions on the world because I saw this as a necessary step to protect this world and nurture the weak, but then, I saw what the powers that be were willing to do to ensure that everything remained the same, and I could no longer abide by their laws."

"Do you know the mistake of the chief of the tribe whose names are about to be forgotten? It was not understanding how the world truly works. There are many like him who committed great atrocities and yet are seen as saints, and their ascensions are not restricted. He left too many loopholes for his enemies to take advantage of, and this is the price. In this world, Elias, so many of us are weak, and so we battle with deception."

She stopped talking, and after waiting for a few seconds, Elias asked the question that had always been on his mind from the beginning, "And my presence here, how does it help your cause?"

He felt his skin prickling, and he knew it must be because the Commander was looking at him.

"Always straight to the point, are you not, Elias? Ah, I forgot you are just eighteen years old. If you live as long as I have, you will learn that our discussions can go on for years."

Elias smiled, "I think I would like a proper conversation that would last years, but... the Void Incursion, this thing that you seemed to be interested in, would be happening forty-five minutes from now, and you have not told me what it is or why you are interested in it."

"I did not forget about your Incursion, Elias, it is out of your hands or mine about the time it descends. But you are right, you should know what it is. Allow me to show you. First, tell me something, Elias, the name of your spiritual form, is it called a Wisp or an Echo?"

Elias shivered, feeling that this question was very important. Inside him was not just an Echo; his Status Screen had called it an Ageless Echo. Why would the Commander suddenly ask him this random question that his instinct was screaming at him to take note of?

"Ah, good. I can see the answer on your face."

Feeling a light touch on the side of his head, Elias felt his body freeze in place, and then he realized with shock that his body was literally being frozen.

He could barely speak, and his eyes could only move a bit in his sockets before ice covered his head, and the world around him grew dull, but he could still hear the voice of the Commander clearly.

"An Incursion is the final test for an Ascendant Candidate; only by conquering it would your legacy as an Angel be completed. You should know that most life inside this world falls under two broad classifications. They can either be attuned to Lumina’s Celestial light, or its Infernal hunger... Miracle or condemnation. For the average Siphon, this distinction does not affect their lives; most would never reach the Mist Phantom level their whole life, and even if they could, their foundations are too weak to ever count, but for Ascendant Candidates, this distinction is extremely important."

Elias could feel a chill beginning to bleed through his skin and enter his muscles, and he had to wonder why the Commander was doing this to him, but he had sensed no ill intent from her, and so it was possible that the answer would soon be given.

However, he quickly realized that for someone of her power to hurt him, it would not require any effort from her part, and so it would be nearly impossible to sense any killing intent from her body.

Would a man have any killing intent towards an ant he was about to crush?

And compared to an ant, Elias was even weaker in the sight of the Commander. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"When an Ascendant Candidate gets their Incursion, their Lumina draws Echoes from Lumina’s light or its hunger. This is the final test that kills more than seventy percent of all Ascendant Candidates; however, the benefits it gives the survivors are also extremely great. Elias, your Incursion is special, it does not come from Miracle or Damnation, it comes from the void, and do you know what that means?"

Elias wished he could speak, but the chill from the ice had already infiltrated past his muscles, and his heart was beginning to slow down. Elias knew that even if his heart stopped, he could still survive, but he would be in constant pain, although the ice seemed to dull this pain.

As if she knew he could not answer her question, she sighed, "This involves a secret that you are yet too weak to fully understand. You have felt the Heavenly Restriction covering the city of Stormfall; however, this restriction is merely a small copy of the true Heavenly Restriction that covers this entire world, and until you reach my level, you will understand the true tyranny of this restriction. With your intelligence, I know that you are beginning to understand where I am going with this."

Elias’ heart beat finally stopped, and so too did the last shred of uncertainty in his heart.

There had always been the question he could not stop asking himself. Even with my talent, am I not being given too much power?

Power was a costly thing, and nothing was ever given freely in this world. To be given so much power meant he had to pay a correspondingly high price to keep it, and while he knew that he was going to be paying this price in the future, it did not mean that he could not be paying some of it in the present.

He had been given too much, far more than his talent should ever warrant, and now that the other shoe was dropping, he was almost sighing in relief if he could, finally he would know the price he was going to be paying for this power.

"Your Incursion is alien to this world, and so it would not descend from anything inside of it..." and the voice of the Commander lowered, almost to a whisper, "It would be coming from above."

Then she gave a faint giggle, and for a moment, Elias believed that she was insane, but this was not strange, because he had seen the same insanity that was inside him in her eyes.

"By now, you should begin to feel it... that tug on your vein as your body calls for the Echo of madness in the darkness between the stars."