My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 1003 - 1005: Nexus Gate

"Shut up and don’t try to boss me around. I’m only going because I want to."

As he sprinted ahead, Damon voiced it aloud in a defensive tone, as though Ashcroft might detect the gap between compliance and his own decision. He had to declare it. Without that, Ashcroft would begin treating him like a underling rather than a competitor.

"Left.." Ashcroft stated calmly.

Damon’s boots screeched fiercely over the stone ground while he slid to a stop, sparks erupting from the intense friction. He spun his frame using every bit of his speed and veered left with such force that his shoulder almost grazed the wall. Still in motion, he seized the artifact and canceled its power right in his stride.

His form transformed.

Lengthy black hair whipped after him like a shredded flag in a gale. He painfully compelled the demon wings to retract inside until they disappeared under his flesh, and with a labored exhale, he forced the horns to withdraw into his head before anybody spotted him in this state.

"Naive... why hide something that would eventually be known." Ashcroft’s voice resounded in his thoughts, laced with amusement.

"Shut up," Damon snapped mentally, his jaw clenched.

"Do not fear demonization. Do not be ashamed of it either. That shame, that resistance, will only feed it. With your personality, it is a certainty you will fall into the abyss."

Damon brushed him off and pressed on running.

Priestesses clad in exquisitely forged armor charged by him from the other way, blades ready, faces set grim as they hurried to block the invaders. Damon slipped past them with care, dimming his aura, dodging their gazes, ensuring none sensed enough danger to strike at him instinctively.

"You’re here," Ashcroft announced. "The first Nexus."

Damon eased to a halt.

He scowled.

Nothing existed in this spot.

Merely a barrier of unadorned rock.

He parted his lips to talk, yet his gaze wavered.

His sight intensified beyond normal limits.

Since consuming Ashcroft’s demon eye, the realm showed no longer as one flat layer. Distortions in the void became visible to him now, subtle cracks concealed deep in existence.

He pierced the wall with his vision.

And much farther past it.

Damon advanced and traversed the rock like it was vapor.

He entered a vast hall.

A lengthy staircase ascended, crowned by a massive gateway at its peak. It bore a striking resemblance to the transport portals in Valtheron’s capital and various great cities.

Yet this felt distinct.

More aged.

Primeval.

Black rock plugged the gateway’s heart, glowing softly with ever-changing symbols. No one could just stroll through it. The symbols throbbed gently, akin to a creature inhaling shadows.

Damon reduced his speed while ascending the steps, scrutinizing its every detail.

"What is this.." he whispered softly, advancing closer.

"If you’re hoping I’ll tell you, keep dreaming," Ashcroft’s haughty tone reverberated.

Damon smirked faintly.

"So you don’t know then. Well, no surprise."

Ashcroft hesitated.

"I see what you’re doing. I won’t fall for it. However... this is also crucial to my continued existence."

Damon kept ascending steadily, his footfalls deliberate and wary.

"These are Nexus Gates. There are only a few of them in the world. They were built mostly by that madman Mugu. Their purpose was to allow interrealm travel. The first one was made in Lysithara for the purpose of summoning the Outsiders."

Ashcroft’s tone stayed icy and steady, though Damon sensed the gravity in those statements.

"It failed. The goddess had apparently sealed the world at that time, so this method of travel was not valid. But that was fine. The Unknown God didn’t need it to work. He only wanted to solidify his control."

Faint shakes from the far-off clash hummed along the hall’s barriers.

"What other purpose could they have..." Damon murmured, sensing an oddly recognizable energy emanating from the edifice.

"These things are able to protect a territory... among other uses."

Ashcroft fell silent briefly.

"Have you ever played a game of protect the flag?"

Damon blinked, gaze fixed on the Nexus.

"No. Did you make it up?"

Ashcroft let out a heavy sigh.

"Ahh, you are such a simpleton bumpkin. The idea is simple. One side protects a flag. The other tries to take it. Except here, instead of children, it is gods and demons. True beings."

Damon heard him out without a word.

"When a follower of a god marks one of these, that god gains influence over the surrounding territory. Until a follower of another god takes it over. That is how the Unknown God expanded his influence in Lysithara. It also allowed them to create the crystal tower used to summon the Outsiders. Other continents imitated it. That is how teleportation gates were eventually formed."

Damon’s stare remained locked on the Nexus.

"After departing the Path of Kings, Mugu crafted even more of these gateways. He used them to claim the whole continent for the Unknown God, transforming countless followers into demons. That explains why, beyond the native demon kin, demons from the abyss also roam this land."

Visions of balrogs and ghorus surged through Damon’s thoughts.

"Precisely those. And while I ruled this continent, these portals aided in forging lesser demons too. The Unknown God greatly admired that clever design... until our bitter split."

Damon eased his pace a touch.

Ashcroft hid far deeper knowledge than he revealed.

"So destroying this one weakens the Unknown God’s hold over the continent?" Damon inquired.

"No, it’s pointless at this stage. Far too many already worship him. Plus, Paimon could rebuild it effortlessly. However..." A sly amusement colored Ashcroft’s voice, "if a devotee of the goddess touched and claimed it, that would truly enrage him."

Damon snorted through his nostrils.

"So what’s my move? Just shatter it?"

He kept his guard up. Ashcroft remained a demon, after all.

"Yes, obliterate it. Then proceed to the rest. Three in total."

Damon advanced, potent magic surging into his palms.

Moments before his hand reached the Nexus, his danger instinct detonated wildly in his mind.

A force slashed the air near him with such velocity that it rent the atmosphere in a shrill howl.

Instinct drove him to whirl aside.

"Ohhh right," Ashcroft remarked offhandedly. "I neglected to note—these often come with a guardian."

Damon’s jaw clenched hard.

"Son of a bitch."

"I should note they’re at least Sixth Class," Ashcroft tossed in.

Cracks spiderwebbed across the stone floor ahead of the Nexus.

Something below was surging upward.

Damon ground his teeth.

"I hate you."