Sword God in a World of Magic Chapter 1030 - - Empathy

CRKSH!

A massive black rift ripped through Lucius's body, obliterating it and hurling fragments across the hall.

"That's what I'm going to do," Shang said with a chuckle.

Indeed, that was exactly it.

The God...

Lucius...

Was dead.

Just like that.

Lucius had revealed all the information Shang required, leaving no purpose in sparing his life.

Thus, Shang simply ended him.

In the following instant, the will over Aterium dissipated.

No one controlled Aterium any longer.

"Wait," Shang sent to the far-off Abaddon. "Don't seize control of the world yet."

Abaddon sensed Shang's location and just nodded.

"Of course."

"I'm heading out of the world briefly to verify something," Shang explained. "I'll return within six months."

"Six months?" Abaddon asked, surprised.

Why would it take Shang so much time?

"Yes," Shang replied, "Aterium is encircled by a vast void brimming with Entropy, and I must journey to its boundary to check something. The round trip will take roughly six months."

Abaddon knitted his brows.

This didn't sound good.

After all, a shroud of Entropy around Aterium could make passage treacherous.

Hopefully, Shang could navigate them through.

"Of course," Abaddon responded.

Shang severed the link and opened a portal.

Floating through the portal, Shang emerged into an endless void saturated with Entropy.

Behind him loomed a colossal silver sphere.

That was Aterium.

Shang grew to his maximum size and sped off in one direction.

Instantly, a seemingly ordinary beast in Aterium gained Affinities for Fire, Ice, Light, and Darkness.

The previous Child of Calamity had departed, and Entropy had forged a new one.

Yet, this wouldn't pose a problem anytime soon.

Shang pressed on for an exceedingly long duration.

Wherever he gazed, only an endless Entropy-filled void stretched out.

At last, Shang arrived at the boundary of the vast void.

'That proves it,' Shang mused, eyeing the colossal forces of Destruction ahead. 'Lucius spoke the truth.'

Shang scanned the surroundings further, but ultimately returned to Aterium.

Shang reentered Aterium effortlessly and materialized where the Judgment Palace had stood.

Abaddon, Kali, and Gregorio rushed to the site, gazing anxiously at Shang.

Could they escape at last?

Could they behold the outside world?

What lay beyond?

"There are complications," Shang stated, eyeing the trio.

Nervousness gripped the three.

Then, Shang recounted the endless Entropy void and the terrifying Destruction forces encircling it.

Shang omitted Lucius, avoiding the full explanation.

Hearing of the Destruction forces filled them with dread.

They were trapped?!

"A way out might exist," Shang said. "But I'll need about a day."

The trio remained uneasy, yet powerless to act, so they nodded.

Shang departed once more, reappearing in Lucius's space castle.

As Shang drifted through the hall, various thoughts raced through his mind.

When Shang discovered he could reshape his mind using Entropy, a notion had occurred to him.

Should he excise the part enabling empathy?

Ultimately, he chose not to.

What if it proved necessary someday?

And now, in a way, it was.

'From Gregorio's account, Lucius was mostly kind and supportive, though a sinister core occasionally surfaced.'

'I'm the reverse in some sense. Utterly self-serving, yet I spared Kali, Abaddon, Gregorio, and the Archivist.'

'Did keeping those four serve any purpose?'

'Would they prove useful?'

'No.'

'Still, I let them live.'

'I honored my vow to Gregorio.'

'I repaid Abaddon's aid.'

'Some shred of humanity lingers in me.'

Silence.

...

...

'Time to alter that,' Shang thought, smirking.

Suddenly, Shang examined the numbers composing his essence.

'Lucius wielded his Godly power to cleanse his being.'

'He banished impure urges, turning serene and benevolent.'

'Yet, such gentleness invites exploitation and doom.'

'Lucius perished from his own folly.'

'I won't repeat that error.'

Immediately, Shang started shredding his own essence. Agonizing torment assaulted him, but he ignored it completely.

Pain was familiar territory for Shang; he endured any torment conceivable.

WHOOOOM!

Simultaneously, a figure with dark hair and a dark saber materialized in the hall.

However, the figure dissolved into Mana and Entropy in a mere instant.

It had been an Abomination God.

What level of power did an Abomination God possess?

No one knew.

Shang had zero desire to find out and had just immediately divided it into Entropy and Mana before it could act.

For one straightforward reason, Shang had summoned the Abomination God.

Mana.

A gateway materialized before Shang, and the dark sphere of Entropy passed through it.

Shang seized the Abomination God's Entropy and hurled it into the endless void of Entropy.

Only the Mana remained now.

'That's sufficient,' Shang mused with a chuckle. 'A complete body isn't required.'

In the following instant, Shang's will seized Aterium with brutal force and thrust a fragment of himself into it.

Pain wracked the procedure, yet as it advanced further, Shang's laughter grew ever louder.

"Weakness!" Shang bellowed.

"My weakness is departing my body!"

Shang's laughter echoed louder and louder.

Gradually, the final remnants of empathy faded from his soul.

About an hour afterward, the ordeal concluded.

BANG!

A blond-haired man slammed onto the castle's floor.

This man bore a striking resemblance to Shang's human form.

The mere distinctions lay in his pure humanity and differing hair color.

Furthermore, not the tiniest trace of Entropy lingered within him.

He stood as a complete human.

Sprawled on the floor, the man gradually parted his eyes, which then bulged in horror.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Shang roared in laughter while gazing at the pitiful human before him.

Endless fury and loathing ignited in the human facing Shang.

CRAAAACK!

Right then, a horrifying black rift slashed across the black orb that formed Shang.

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

Still, Shang's laughter persisted.

"Oh, foolish human," Shang taunted in a derisive voice.

"Do you truly believe I would give you the power to hurt me? I'm not as naive as Lucius."

BANG!

Additional black rifts ripped through Shang, but they inflicted no harm whatsoever.

"Die!" the man roared.

"I want you to die!"

"You're a monster!"

"I hate you!"

BANG!

Suddenly, a tendril burst from the black sphere and slammed the man to the ground.

The man couldn't resist even slightly.

"Why so angry?" Shang questioned with a laugh. "After all, I've freed you."

"You're finally able to do whatever you want to do."

"You should be thankful to me..."

"Alex."