100\% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? Chapter 573 - 2 Laws, 1 Soul

Normally, an individual soul could only fully integrate a single Law. Once a Law became complete, it served as the central axis for the soul, dictating the practitioner's entire existence around it.

To forcibly implant a second complete Law into an already established soul was essentially a suicide, albeit a more eloquently phrased one. Such an attempt would cause the Laws to repel each other, leading to the practitioner's demise under the irreconcilable contradiction.

However, Eirene's situation was an anomaly. In her previous existence, her Lunarian self had already integrated the Law of Stillness. Prior to her reincarnation, she had deliberately severed the part of her soul that contained this Law. The remaining half then underwent reincarnation.

This reincarnated fragment became the present Eirene, a Floran, who subsequently integrated the Law of Equivalence. Therefore, the two Laws had not been forced into a single, intact soul simultaneously. Instead, they had developed within two distinct halves of the same original being.

One half bore the Law of Stillness. The other carried the Law of Equivalence. When Eirene regained her memories and merged with her other soul-half in the Stillness Ruin, the two Laws did not clash as unrelated entities. They recognized their shared origin.

This was the reason she could wield both. This was why she could transform into her Lunarian form. This was why her very being had become something that defied the natural order.

She possessed a dual-axis soul. One axis originated from her past life, and the other stemmed from her current one. Now, under the scrutiny of the cosmos, the inherent danger of this situation finally made itself apparent.

There was a pause.

The universe posed a question to Eirene.

Who are you? Are you the Lunarian who embodied the Law of Stillness? Or are you the Floran who embraced the Law of Equivalence? The past that refused to vanish? Or the present that chose to flourish anew?

Eirene drifted in the expanse, bathed in ethereal silver moonlight and vibrant green radiance. Her form flickered erratically. One moment, she was the Floran Eirene; the next, she transformed into the Lunarian of her previous life. Then, she shifted back, only to flicker once more.

Her soul teetered on the brink of division. If she committed to one aspect, the other risked withering away. Should she refuse to choose, both could shatter. Even more dire, the universe might decree that such a fractured existence was unworthy of eternal record.

Eirene's balance-scale necklace pulsed with light, the artifact awakening. The power of Equivalent Exchange engaged, conjuring a luminous scale above her. One side held Stillness, the other, Equivalence.

Initially, the scale tipped dramatically toward Stillness. This was to be expected. Her past life had not merely integrated the Law of Stillness; she had embodied it as an Eternal for a considerable duration. That Law possessed immense weight, antiquity, history, and terrifying stability. Equivalence, while potent, was newer.

Eirene's eyes opened. Though her expression remained serene, her hands trembled slightly. "So, it still holds greater weight."

The scale remained silent, merely reflecting the stark reality. Eirene inhaled deeply, then began to bear the cost.

The very soul that contained Stillness began to burn. The scale shifted, infinitesimally at first. Eirene's face grew ashen. Stillness exerted its pressure, and Equivalence responded in kind. The two Laws strained against each other, their conflict intensifying the glow of her necklace as it attempted to mediate the impossible.

Eirene had anticipated this. This was another significant reason for her hesitation to advance her cultivation. She had calculated the potential price. Her belief was that by sustaining the balance between both Laws for an extended period, the universe would cease demanding a choice and acknowledge her as a complete entity.

Two halves. One soul. Two Laws. One Eirene.

However, theoretical understanding and the actual experience of a breakthrough were vastly different. No amount of calculation could truly quantify the immense pressure exerted by universal recognition.

Eirene pressed onward, enduring the strain. She had no other recourse, for this path was not chosen out of mere vanity.

She paused.

Long ago, she had chosen reincarnation for several crucial reasons. Firstly, it was a personal decision. She did not wish to encounter Lucien merely as a specter from the past. She desired to meet him again as someone entirely new—not as the Eternal of Stillness reaching back from bygone sorrow, but as Eirene, the woman who had lived anew, the woman who had chosen again.

The second reason was survival. The Eternal of Stillness needed to perish. At the very least, the world needed to believe she had met her end. Her name carried an immense historical burden, evoking profound fear and attracting numerous ancient adversaries. If the current peaceful era learned that the Eternal of Stillness still existed, countless entities would descend into panic, devotion, pursuit, manipulation, or supplication for reasons entirely disconnected from the life she now sought.

Worse still, her true enemies would act decisively. Her past proximity to the Human Ancestor's trajectory was enough to invite calamity. Eirene recalled the legends passed down by the Primordial Slime, the elaborate trap the Primordials had devised to vanquish the Human Ancestor. She remembered the lengths certain beings would go to when confronted by unpredictable possibilities.

Should those ancient enemies discover that someone connected to "him" had survived into the present era, they would spare no continent in their relentless quest to eradicate her.

So she buried the Eternal of Stillness.

And allowed herself to be reborn into a different race, a different body, and a different Law.

The third reason was that she was too proud.

She had felt Stillness was insufficient on its own.

Stillness could not mend every kind of loss.

Thus, she pursued another Law.

Equivalence.

If Stillness protected that which must endure, Equivalence could settle the cost for what preservation demanded.

If Stillness could maintain the front, Equivalence could make the expense manageable.

With both Laws in hand, she conceived she might safeguard what one Law couldn't protect alone.

Safeguarding the world. Protecting the one person she cherished. Shielding the future she once failed to reach in time.

It had appeared rational.

Even brilliant.

Now, as her soul quaked under the dominion of two Laws, Eirene finally grasped it.

She had been excessively desirous.

And perhaps a touch too proud.

She had convinced herself that since the path was attainable, she could tread it.

She had overlooked that possibility did not equate to leniency.

•••

The scale above her descended slowly.

Stillness receded.

Equivalence ascended.

For a fleeting moment, the two sides drew near to equilibrium.

Eirene’s eyes gleamed.

She was on the precipice.

So agonizingly close.

The Floran and Lunarian forms ceased their violent fluctuations.

The two aspects began to merge rather than oscillate.

Eirene sensed the cosmos pause.

Acknowledgment was imminent.

It was at this critical juncture that it occurred

The balance-scale pendant... fractured.

The sound was minuscule.

Within the void, it should have been imperceptible.

Eirene perceived it nonetheless.

Her eyes widened in alarm.

A crack marred the artifact's surface.

Then another followed.

The scale suspended above her quaked.

Equivalent Exchange faltered.

"No."

The artifact shattered completely.

The equilibrium vanished.

And Stillness plunged once more, wielding the might of an ancient Law reclaiming its long-held domain.

Eirene’s Floran manifestation flickered erratically.

Its verdant radiance waned.

The living blossoms adorning her hair began to turn a somber silver.

Her Lunarian aspect surged, attempting to preserve the very self that had already demonstrated its capacity for eternal endurance.

The current Eirene was being subsumed by her past.

Her soul commenced its fragmentation anew.

Eirene balled her hands into fists.

The instinct for self-preservation asserted itself.

If she remained passive, both aspects might be extinguished.

If she relinquished herself entirely to Stillness, the Floran Eirene risked fading away.

If she clung fiercely to Equivalence without succour, the Law itself might buckle under Stillness’s immense pressure, dragging her soul down with it.

Her lips trembled slightly.

"So close."

She had been so incredibly close.

•••

Lucien materialized before her, akin to a path spontaneously cleaving through the emptiness.

The essence of Creation coalesced beneath him, compressing distance into potential.

Upon beholding Eirene, his eyes widened dramatically.

She flickered unstably between two distinct existences.

The Eirene he recognized.

And another presence.

A Lunarian woman veiled in ethereal moonlight and ancient quietude.

Possessing a beauty that bore sorrow like a regal mantle.

Lucien’s heart constricted with an unknown emotion.

"So my conjectures hold true."

Eirene possessed a previous incarnation. And he had witnessed this very manifestation within the Stillness Ruin.

Furthermore...

His gaze intensified, becoming sharp and penetrating.

Two distinct Laws were at play.

Stillness.

Equivalence.

Lucien comprehended the situation in an instant.

The universe was compelling the soul to make a definitive choice regarding which fundamental principle would achieve eternal status.

And Eirene was faltering because both principles were intrinsically valid for her.

Lucien's expression shifted, revealing a deep concern.

He could not permit the universe to obliterate one truth merely to uphold another.

Lucien moved nearer, but an invisible force repelled him.

It was not an act of aggression.

It was a potent rejection directed at his attempt to interfere during a critical breakthrough.

The universe was performing a meticulous assessment.

The governing Laws were in the process of dividing.

Her very soul was being forcibly torn asunder.

Lucien closed his eyes, his mind racing to devise a resolution.

Perfect Calculation initiated. Perfect Loop commenced its function.

Thousands of potential branching pathways unfurled within his consciousness.

And these branching paths rapidly disintegrated, one after another.

Lucien activated the predictive capabilities of Perfect Calculation and allowed Perfect Loop to rigorously test each projected outcome.

He delved deeper into the complex analysis.

There had to exist a viable solution.

He did not need to definitively define Eirene for herself.

To do so would guarantee her demise.

He needed to provide her with a stable bedrock, an unshakable foundation upon which she could forge her own identity.

Something that would facilitate the growth of two disparate truths from a singular existence, preventing one from annihilating the other.

At that precise moment...

A singular pathway presented itself within his mental landscape.

He had unearthed the answer.

Lucien's eyes snapped open.

The Tree of Creation within him stirred with newfound vigor.

Hovering above his Divine Energy Core, the nascent fruits trembled in anticipation.

Indeed.

The Fruit of Creation.