My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 937 - 938: Why Do You Defy

He survived yet again, emerging alive and whole, a stroke of luck indeed. Rexagon's fury kept shaking the earth, with far-off blasts surging across the ground like the final throbs of a weakening heart, but how did that concern Damon? He was already far away.

He looked up and saw Seras rubbing her temple with her fingers, her eyes squeezed shut as though battling a fierce migraine.

"You really are a trouble magnet."

Damon felt deeply wronged. He had warned her that this would occur. She simply hadn't trusted him. He started to open his mouth in protest, but then reconsidered.

Seras let out a sharp breath from her nostrils, then spun abruptly toward the group concealed amid the skeletal remains. She scanned each one carefully, making sure they were composed, before gesturing with her wrist in a wordless order.

"Move. Stay alert. We don't know what lurks in this area."

All of them nodded in agreement. Fists clenched tighter on their weapons. Postures grew more rigid. The fear from before had transformed into sharp vigilance.

Damon drew in a deep breath and trailed after her, his boots quietly grinding against shattered bone pieces. His eyes wandered over the whitish walls, then fixed on an inscription etched into the arch of a huge rib bone.

Why do you defy?

The phrase appeared in runic script, Soul Tongue. The tongue known to everyone.

This suggested it wasn't penned by anyone from this realm.

Damon slowed his pace, then halted completely. He extended his hand and traced his fingers over the indentations. The bone felt icy.

A subtle but intense aura clung to the engraving, reminiscent of a lightning's lingering flash. It seemed as though some higher being had inscribed the query there. A hint of shapeless intent remained, weighing on his awareness.

He bowed his head.

’Why do I defy.’

He echoed the query in his mind while continuing forward, his boots crossing a skull partially embedded in the cave's surface.

’Why do I defy.’

It posed a fascinating query. He hadn't pondered it lately. Defiance came because no alternative existed.

But was that the full truth?

He crossed his arms over his torso as they ventured further into the bone formation. The faint glow from the entry point scarcely penetrated this depth. Darkness deepened. The atmosphere turned denser.

Lazarak rebelled for tranquility.

Mugu rebelled for affection.

Ashcroft rebelled for control.

Defiance.

What signified true defiance?

Lazarak had once urged him to rebel against his own self.

Could that be the essence? To oppose not divine forces, but one's inner nature?

Damon's jaw clenched a bit.

Lazarak had further said that every person harbored a deity inside.

The deity within surpasses the colossal foe before us.

So why did he rebel?

He descended from a slanted skull, his boots rasping over bone.

"Some defy for love. Some defy for hate. Some for vengeance. Some defy for their dreams. I defy for defiance’s sake. I stand where I know I will fall. There is no other reason. Defiance is the means and the end. I shall spit in the face of god as I am damned. Even in defeat I will rot in hell with those who dared to overcome impossible odds."

His fingers flexed faintly as he advanced.

That formed his response.

His act of defiance required no justification save his own decision.

As that realization took hold, the bone ridge quivered.

A deep hum coursed through the cavern's surfaces. Fine dust sifted from overhead. The inscribed words started to shimmer softly, ghostly radiance emerging from the cuts. Fresh symbols carved themselves into the bone, as if traced by an unseen edge.

Damon raised his head gradually.

A voice resounded, remote yet personal, as though whispered straight into their minds.

"Which god do you serve?"

Seras froze in place. Her tachi appeared in her grasp with fluid grace, the edge held downward while her vision pierced the gloom. Her feet spread apart, balance shifting forward.

Nothing came into view.

The query startled her mildly, but just that.

"Who are you? Reveal yourself."

Quiet stretched a moment too far.

Then the voice came back.

"Forgive my rudeness. Regrettably, I cannot appear. I am confined in a space that exists and does not here."

Seras kept her blade raised. Her hold grew firmer.

Countless perils existed in this world. Certain ones couldn't be slain, merely bound. Her eyes darted to the luminous writing, then to the empty void amid the ribs. She wouldn't be shocked if this being aimed to trick some naive person into releasing it.

"Who are you?" she asked again, her tone icier.

The voice hesitated.

"Answer my query first. Which god do you serve?"

Damon squinted his eyes. He allowed his shadow sense to extend, touching the shining text. Under its glow, he detected a force, faint yet overwhelming. An enormous entity probing their boundaries.

Seras couldn't fathom its motive for asking. The voice lacked malice.

This heightened her wariness.

Such was their method of luring victims.

"We are worshippers of the goddess of doom," she stated calmly.

"Ohh, I see. So you are of Doom’s faith. I am relieved. Though we do not share the same faith, we are still worshippers of god."

Seras creased her brow lightly but stayed silent.

The voice went on, nearly affectionately.

"I am Morticai the Pure. I am the servant of a true god from beyond your realm."

Damon’s gaze intensified.

From beyond your realm.

An intruder from outside.

He moved a step ahead, raising his chin.

"Which god do you serve?"

A short pause followed.

Then Morticai replied in a serene, devout manner.

"Though you may not know my god’s glorious name, I shall speak it so you may be of the light. I am the lowly servant of the true god Obamion god of souls, emotions, and will."

"Obamion," Seras echoed.

As the name escaped her mouth, her tongue grew leaden.

Her inhale faltered.

Her essence quaked as if hammered by an invisible force. A wave swept over her frame. Her digits spasmed on the tachi's grip.

Then it struck her.

An entity remote.

An entity immense.

It had noticed.

Her skull turned deliberately, drawn by unseen strings. For one stifling instant, she sensed vulnerability, stripped naked under an boundless scrutiny. No shield. No hidden truths. No barriers.

Motion eluded her.

Her legs gave way.

The aura faded abruptly, just as it arrived.

Seras collapsed to her knees, one palm striking the bone ground to brace. Perspiration beaded on her forehead. Her breaths came ragged.

Damon moved toward her on reflex, his eyes tightening.

"My god has sensed you call his name. Fear not, he means you no harm. I am envious of your fortune. To be in the sights of the god of souls even for a moment is a great honor," Morticai intoned with awe.

Damon detected nothing.

He perceived no stare. No aura.

Everything he observed was Seras on her knees, shaking, felled by a mere name.