The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order Chapter 2390 The death of the Scarlet King (III)
Previously on The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order...
Cain soon realized the dire truth of his predicament.
In truth, how could he ever overlook the Alpha-Omega Curse—that insidious force devouring sanity and obliterating memories? It was the identical curse he'd seized from Leonidas himself.
"Now!? This couldn't strike at a more terrible moment!"
With fury and exasperation exploding from him, Cain bellowed. This situation was an absolute nightmare.
He'd long anticipated confronting the curse someday, yet it progressed with the passage of years. It wasn't supposed to touch him until he'd lived beyond a million years. Against the urgent dangers looming—threats ready to ignite in mere days—the curse had seemed a far-off worry.
A concern that could be postponed.
Beyond that, Cain trusted that upon reaching the Alpha-Omega Overgod Rank with his soul force, he'd wield the might to purge the curse completely.
But at this instant, the peril he'd pushed to tomorrow slammed into him right when it hurt the most, ignited by his accelerating decay.
"Damn it!"
Cain thundered, unleashing the seething rage and loathing churning within his chest. His cry reverberated across the shadowy metropolis, wild and untamed.
Once the eruption subsided, clarity sharpened in his eyes once more.
Strategic thoughts raced through his mind.
His available time had shrunk even further. Urgency demanded quicker action—and bolder gambles.
Resolve ignited in his stare as he balled his hands and hammered the barrier anew. The impact ripped a gap wide enough for him to squeeze through this time.
As Cain burst from the shadowed city, his gaze blazed with intensity while scanning afar. His senses heightened intensely. Although reaching his allies remained impossible, he pinpointed the path guiding him beyond the World Forge.
Regrettably, prior to advancing a single pace, golden bolts crashed down on him—bearing the universe's wrath and dominion.
Resurrección ignited without delay, transforming Cain's physique and amplifying his power. Violet fires erupted over his frame as he battled the bolts and ruin, pushing ahead bit by bit.
However, he hadn't regained his full strength.
Less than thirty seconds elapsed before Cain retreated under pressure.
He flung himself back into the shadowed city, evading the golden bolts that poured through the breach by a hair. The barrier mended itself shortly after, blocking the furious tempest beyond.
Cain dropped to one knee, gasps heaving from his lungs. Violet fires danced erratically over his form as he concentrated on mending his wounds.
"To have any shot at breaking free from here and reaching the rest of the Nine Empyrean Suns Universe," Cain grumbled, "I'll need to
return to my peak."
Drawing in a steadying breath, he compelled his thoughts to stay icy and steady. Panic at this point might prove deadly.
Restoring his peak would require several days.
No shortcut existed.
All he could manage was to start right away.
Buried deep within, Cain held firm faith that escaping this trap would bring aid from his comrades to conquer this crisis. That conviction steadied him, warding off utter hopelessness.
With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a horde of weapons and artifacts skyward. These valuables weren't designed for absorption, yet his devouring powers converted them effortlessly into raw essence. Just as he'd cultivated for five hours, the process halted abruptly.
His eyes bulged as he scanned his surroundings.
The hovering treasures, caught in mid-shift to energy, plummeted to the earth together. The clatter jolted Cain into a reflexive leap, shifting to a combat ready pose.
A wave of bewilderment and haze overwhelmed his thoughts.
He scanned frantically in all directions.
Where had he ended up?
Cain snatched a blade from the dirt, aiming to examine it—and
went rigid.
Mirrored on the sword's surface was an ancient visage.
Far too ancient.
Terror rushed through him as the disarray intensified. His cognition dragged heavily, his resolve unnaturally quiet. An overwhelming chill gripped
his core.
Striving for control, Cain started roaming the shadowed city.
He roamed for almost thirty minutes until awareness snapped back.
Horror and alarm flickered in the Scarlet King's gaze upon grasping the event.
Nightmares from realms outside the cosmos he could confront—but against his own fracturing psyche, what recourse remained?
Lowering his sight to his frame, Cain noted the decay had progressed
much deeper. His vitality ebbed ceaselessly.
Grinding his jaws, he dove back into practice.
Fresh weapons and artifacts materialized and dissolved into
essence to sustain his crumbling form.
Alas, even before five hours ticked by this round, the curse struck once more.
His reason dissolved away.
Cain drifted without purpose across the shadowed city, etching shapes into
the battered steel with his fingers. His actions moved languidly and with care, nearly tender.
In a twist of fate, serenity softened his features.
Lacking recollection or reason brought no anxieties. No burdens. No terrors.
Merely hollow tranquility.
Naturally, each passing hour amplified the peril. His physique kept decaying, his years leaking without mercy.
Far inside Cain's essence, positioned as sentinel before an enormous portal bound in fiery and electric restraints, Apex observed the chaos.
Even the timeless System Spirit couldn't conceal his worry.
The calamity engulfing Cain formed an ideal tempest of ruin. Confined within the barrier.
His form decaying at a terrifying rate.
His reason fading repeatedly.
Apex parted his lips, on the verge of voicing—
Then he stiffened.
The portal at his back shuddered.
From its fissures, a colossal orb fixed on him.
The threat in that stare was undeniable.
Interference was forbidden.
This trial belonged to Cain alone.
He must endure it solo—or perish amid it.
Apex tightened his grip, locking eyes with the orb for drawn-out moments before sighing and holding his tongue.
Following over forty-five minutes, Cain's reason resurfaced.
As his sight fell on the etchings from his lapse, sorrow briefly shadowed his eyes.
There, forged into unyielding steel with uncanny accuracy, loomed his
kin.
Impeccable.
Motionless.
Yearning.