Rivers of the Night-Chapter 866: Chaotic Era

Capítulo 866: Chaotic Era

Theron lay on the ground, gasping for breath. He somewhat felt his life slipping away from him.

He had given everything he had in that strike. His White Cores didn’t seem to be responding to the world around them anymore at all, his Mana was drained, his soul was tapped out, and the backlash from swinging that hard had shattered all the bones in his body.

It seemed that he wasn’t destined to be healed, and certainly not to live a long, healthy life.

Things always ended up like this, now didn’t they?

He felt his vision fading. Or maybe that was just an illusion. He was already trapped in a sea of black, his eyes having burst. Feeling was gone, sound was gone, sight was gone; he couldn’t even taste the blood in his mouth.

And yet, he still felt himself pulled into someone’s embrace, the feeling of his cheeks sliding onto something soft and a hand running through his hair feeling all too palpable.

“I’m sorry…” a familiar voice echoed.

It was more beautiful than words, enough to lull babies to sleep and pull songbirds toward it, the sort of voice that made instruments feel dull and made the Heavens sing.

And yet, he couldn’t for the life of him recall where he had heard this voice before.

“It seems that in the end, I had to be as selfish as all those who came before me.”

The hand carefully stroked his hair, pulling out the knots with a gentleness that didn’t leave him flinching in pain. It smoothed them out as though the blood, sweat, and grime didn’t bother her in the slightest.

“I have more to do,” the voice said again. “I do not know if you are still me or if you’ve become something entirely different. But regardless, I have been unfair to you. I’ve pushed you beyond reasonable limits and forced you to help carry a burden that should have been my own.

“From now on, you can walk your own path. I will carry what remains.”

Theron felt a kiss on his forehead. Not the kiss of a lover, but instead one of a senior to a child they had taken a great liking to.

Despite the fact there wasn’t the slightest hint of condescension within the kiss, he still found himself feeling uncomfortable in ways he didn’t know how to describe.

“Live your life, Theron Galethunder. Thank you.”

He could practically see the smile in the voice.

“Maybe one day I will see you on a battlefield you’ve chosen for yourself instead of one I’ve thrust upon you.”

The voice drifted away, and Theron found himself slipping forward. However, just as he was about to hit the ground, a gentle energy completely enveloped him.

His bones were quickly mended back together, his flesh sewing itself back together and healing faster than he could keep up with. His soul was nourished just as much, a gentle stream of an energy beyond what he had ever sensed before flooding into him.

‘Just what is… this? Is this… Karma…?’

Theron didn’t know, but it felt like it was beyond just Mana, and it didn’t seem like Mana that was just at the Transcendent level or beyond either.

‘Why was I so angry?’

Theron couldn’t understand.

He had heard the Tatsuya name before, but why did he hate the guy so much? How was he so sure that he embodied everything he hated so much about the world?

Theron didn’t have the answer to that question. But something told him that if this Ancestor Tatsuya followed the normal Mancy Paths, he’d definitely be a Spirit Mancer, and Theron would definitely want his head. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

A flash of controlled fury sparked in Theron’s eyes before it faded into obscurity.

“Who was that…? Why can’t I remember…? I could swear I have…”

Theron frowned.

His memory was impeccable, and yet it felt like there was one part of it that had just been… smudged.

What he didn’t know was that the fact he could recall that he was forgetting something in the first place made him an exceptional anomaly. But regardless, as his vision returned to him and he grasped his father’s short sword and his own dagger, something he didn’t remember jolted him awake.

“Ayame? Ayame!”

Theron’s head turned from side to side, desperately trying to find the woman he had carried in his arms up the mountain.

But then his eyes landed on her.

She lay on the ground in front of him, her brows pinched as though she had been woken from a sweet dream.

“Ayame, are you okay?” Theron bent forward, picking her up slowly. He held her head and inspected her as best as he could without invading too much of her privacy. But she seemed… fine?

How was that? What happened before? What had triggered her transformation?

He had so many questions and yet no answers at all.

What was going on?

The mountain suddenly trembled.

On instinct, Theron scooped Ayame up into his arms after sheathing his weapons. He was primed and ready for battle.

The sudden shift caused his cultivation to snap into a new position, pushing upward into the Fifth Tier of King Mancy.

‘Run.’

The second tremble of the mountain sent this thought like a shock of electricity through Theron’s body. He didn’t know why, but he was certain of one thing.

This place was collapsing, and he needed to go.

Theron turned around and bolted.

**

Outside the Heaven’s Gates, a standoff was still going on. Matriarch Macie didn’t seem to be in any great rush at all. She just stood there, oppressing Ameridian and Messo, her scythes still sitting on her back.

Then a crack suddenly rang through the Heaven’s Gate.

Matriarch Macie’s eyes lit up, and then a wild grin spread across her face.

It seemed, then… that the time had come.

The Chaotic Era was beginning. The world would swim with Karma. Powerful families would fall, and weak ones would rise.

Heroes would be born, and villains would become immortalized.

Yes, yes. This was what she wanted.

BOOM.

Theron burst out in a streaking line of Water, Darkness, and Chaos.

Matriarch Macie’s pupils constricted into pinholes.