Reborn as an Extra Chapter 577: One more Final Gamble, Both or None! Part-2.
Previously on Reborn as an Extra...
"Though it might seem compact from the exterior, this realm expands enormously within because of countless space-time influences..."
"In land area, you could compare it to the sprawling capital of the human empire..."
Rio gave a nod in response to Ellie's explanation and posed a question,
"How is it that trees, birds, and all these other elements thrive here... they don't strike me as genuine, yet they're beyond mere illusions too..."
Such an odd occurrence had never crossed Rio's path before.
The mighty purification barrier kept cleansing this domain without pause, but that alone couldn't sustain other life forms or entities in this harsh environment.
To secure her existence here, Ellie had endured tremendous loss and taken a massive risk; creatures like trees or tiny bugs simply weren't supposed to endure in such a spot.
Nevertheless, Rio spotted verdant foliage, meadows, bunnies, flying creatures, and loads of other adorable beings scattered all around.
"Oh, these things?... They're manifestations crafted from soul shards combined with puppets forged from exotic materials..."
"I maintain them as companions to ease the boredom... they're no true organisms, merely shattered soul pieces animating assorted puppets..."
"Don't you find them adorable! Hehe~"
Even with her aura of an aloof, remote, and stunning royal, Ellie came across as remarkably approachable.
When discussing her endearing puppet creations, a pleased expression lit up her features, revealing her deep joy and satisfaction in them.
"Did you craft them yourself?... I had no clue you possessed such extraordinarily advanced soul control abilities... I couldn't even spot that these beings stemmed from altered soul pieces..."
"Mastery of soul handling at this degree... I've witnessed it just once prior... it came from demon prince Alverto, bearer of the fabled skill ’Soul Resonance’!"
The techniques Rio wielded for soul control drew heavy inspiration and impact from that fellow's prowess and methods.
Prior to clashing with him, Rio lacked substantial command over souls or the consciousness ocean; during the fight, he mimicked much of it straight from Alverto.
Yet despite that, Rio remained unable to handle or alter souls with the same profound ease as Alverto; lacking the famed skill ’Soul Resonance’ held him back, after all.
The ultimate art of ’Soul Resonance’ stands as the supreme technique embodying the zenith of soul command and insight into the sea of consciousness; few possess the worthiness to grasp it.
Alverto himself devoted over a hundred years to claim that ability, even with his exceptional gifts and backing from a colossal entity of vast might.
"Indeed! That very demon prince! Ages ago, he fashioned these just for me..."
"Alverto ventured into the spirit realm once, and during that visit, I forged a reliable mind-link pathway with him... He must have employed some potent relic to link with me..."
"We bartered... He sought the mighty seal of the ultimate wager... the precise spot of that colossal gateway to the sea of miasma, for whatever motive drove him..."
Gazing toward the far-off massive portal, Ellie continued.
"I shared its position with him, and as exchange, obtained a contained gem... He'd imbued it with his essence and tailored it to fit my wishes..."
"Shattering the gem right here unveiled this landscape and spawned every one of these manifestations..."
"Throughout nearly all my days trapped in this vast prison, I'd lingered on desolate, lifeless ground devoid of any allure... Much of the time, I simply slumbered or observed my conjured images wander the realms..."
Her grin held traces of sorrow and lingering remorse, leaving Rio powerless to offer soothing phrases, for nothing could mend a scar so profound and devastating.
"I'm certain he identified my conjured image during his assault on us in Oaklum, since he'd already detected my presence years earlier through our exchange..."
At that moment, Alverto had ridiculed Ellie as the utmost disgrace to the shadow dragon lineage, claiming she'd forsaken her whole kin for personal endurance, without lifting a finger to aid them.
Alverto poured his all into advancing the demon folk, so his drives clashed utterly with Ellie's; hence his loathing for her, and the taunts that followed.
Maybe if Alverto weren't a demon but a shadow dragon instead, placed in Ellie's shoes, he wouldn't have cowered as she did—instead, he'd challenge fate head-on to preserve his people's future.
After all, such was his character.
Alverto embodied a legend, whereas Ellie did not; she chose self-preservation over the masses, and that held no fault. It merely reflected clashing principles and outlooks.
A divergence in ’Paths,’ where every ’Path’ stands equal; the traveler upon it defines its true worth.
"Then... how did you manage a deal with him while confined in this prison?... No chance he penetrated this domain... I myself resorted to unusual tactics..."
Rio commanded miasma with a finesse beyond even demons; that's how he slipped past the miasmic fissures to access this enclosure. Alverto could never pull that off.
Directly warping into this prison proved unfeasible, as Rio perceived the space-time weave here as utterly reinforced by that supreme seal.
’Likely even SS-rankers can't warp within... this zone feels anchored by countless mighty space-stabilizing devices...’
Space-stabilizing anchors artificially harden the space-time weave.
In turn, this renders the weave tough to twist or break, thereby curbing or erasing teleportation and similar spatial arts entirely.
"I'm clueless on his exact ploy, but with the location I provided, he summoned a ritual array straight to this spot..."
"He probably drew near from beyond but failed to breach physically, so he linked with me, already present, aiming to leverage that to slip in..."
"Whatever drew him to that massive gateway escapes me, but he could only dispatch his strength and essence here, never crossing over himself, departing frustrated..."
Ellie claimed her prize, transforming the stark void of the prison via Alverto's might, yet Alverto fell short of his ambitions.
’Maybe he aimed to breach the seal for deeper ties to the sea of miasma?... Or perhaps venture into the sea of miasma hunting a ’fragment’?’
Rio held two ’fragments’ personally, and he detected the broad bearing toward yet another.
Moreover, he felt there was probably a ’fragment’ concealed within the sea of miasma or along that route, at minimum.
Therefore, Alverto might have pursued it to fuel his scheme of invoking the ’Spire of Ascension’ upon this plane and reshaping the world's fundamental laws.
’Fortunately, Alverto never located the third shard he hunted before I grew potent enough, or his schemes would have triumphed without effort...’
Without Rio's interference, Alverto's scheme wouldn't have crumbled, and the realm would stand utterly transformed today.