Chapter 1043 Oblivion And Truth

Whisker entered the room in his disheveled state, pale and exhausted. He paid no mind to the unusual situation of Arthur and Seraphine discussing matters while one of them was naked and simply threw himself onto the bed. His arm was still bleeding, staining the sheets.

Seraphine, ever unapologetic, immediately expressed her disdain. "Don"t taint my mattress, feline. Go and bleed elsewhere."

Whisker, panting heavily and covered in sweat, wasn"t in the mood to tolerate her indifference. "He was shot by the G.o.ddess," Arthur explained calmly as he rose from his chair. Seraphine, while still interested, crouched beside the bed as well, her curiosity piqued. Arthur cast his healing spell on Whisker, and the wound began to mend.

"A divine wound isn"t this easy to heal," Seraphine remarked, studying the healing process with keen interest. "Your mana seems to possess a higher quality than divine mana."

"I appreciate the comment, but that doesn"t necessarily mean anything," Arthur replied as he ceased the healing spell once the wound was fully healed. Whisker seemed to be in better shape now, opening his eyes and sitting up. "Are you alright now, Whisker?"

"I am," Whisker confirmed, moving his arm to check his wounds. He then turned his attention to Seraphine, who had been crouching next to the bed. As he observed her naked form rising from the ground, he couldn"t hide his disgust. "Your hairless skin makes me sick. Put on some fur or clothes, demon!"

Seraphine, despite her previous indifference, decided to heed Whisker"s request and walked toward her wardrobe to don some clothing. "Caring about appearances is a sign of weakness, feline."

"All humans look like naked monkeys in our eyes," Whisker remarked with a scowl. "Our fur is a sign of dignity and modesty."

"Am I just a naked monkey in your eyes, Whisker?" Arthur quipped, causing both the demon and the feline to look at him awkwardly. They seemed hesitant to break the news to him, but Arthur"s insistence demanded an explanation. "I have a human body! Run the genetic tests!" Arthur protested.

"A body is one thing, but your capabilities say otherwise," Whisker responded candidly. "No human can defy the G.o.ds; their ancestors signed a bloodline treaty with them. You can even negate their powers, not to mention defy them."

"An unusual human, then?" Arthur suggested hopefully.

"Your capabilities place you far beyond the realm of a typical human," Whisker clarified, shaking his head.

Arthur sighed, choosing to preserve his beliefs for the time being. "What are we going to do about Artemis?"

"Artemis?" Seraphine muttered in surprise. "She"s not a lesser G.o.d, Seika. Artemis is one of the higher G.o.ds, also known as celestials. Watchman is just an ant compared to her."

"A higher G.o.d," Arthur repeated with a furrowed brow. "I already met Astraeus, the G.o.d of Order. He was powerful but nothing I couldn"t handle. Are you sure we"d have a tough time against her?"

"Astraeus didn"t attack my world, so I don"t know his powers. However, no higher G.o.d would be easy to defeat," Seraphine explained. "Taking down one is as difficult as destroying an entire world."

"I"ve fought both Artemis and Watchman," Whisker added. "While Watchman"s time-stopping ability was troublesome, his physical strength was meager. Artemis, on the other hand, had no flaws."

Arthur contemplated their words and came to a decision. "Then, the plan is to hide. If she"s here after Watchman, we must proceed with caution in the days to come."

Whisker raised another concern. "Is Haldor the spy? I don"t want to accuse a man who"s helped us so much, but it"s difficult to explain otherwise. With Artemis joining the Huntsmen Clan, we could be in danger."

"We have to deceive them regardless," Arthur said firmly. "Tell Haldor that you all are leaving Xeloria to go to Crestview City. In reality, I"ll provide you with different locations to visit."

"What are we supposed to do?" Seraphine asked, now fully clothed. "I"m tired of these mindless tasks. I want battles that get the blood pumping, Seika."

"I need you to gather artifacts for me," Arthur explained, taking out maps he had obtained from Lord Marshal. "These are the locations of items that will bolster our forces in the upcoming war. Find these artifacts for our plan. We"ll meet back in Xeloria one day before the war begins."

In the dimly lit chamber, Whisker"s eyes gleamed with curiosity as he accepted the maps and doc.u.ments, his feline features sharp and attentive. "What about you, Seika?" he inquired, leaning in. "Will you continue to collaborate with the Xelorian Army?"

Arthur, his countenance cloaked in a wry smile, didn"t hesitate. "It"s the swiftest route to vanquishing every lord," he replied, his voice laced with conviction. "I"ve stumbled upon a brilliant mind to manage affairs in our absence. But I admit that his arrogance is insufferable."

"Arrogance," Seraphine mused, her gaze unwavering. "Arrogance is best remedied through force. Teach him humility, each time he dares to flaunt it. That"s how I raised my own sister."

A ghost of a smirk played upon Arthur"s lips. "He"s currently unconscious," he confessed, the grin vanishing as swiftly as it had appeared. "There"s something else, Seraphine, something crucial. Have you ever heard of Nameless?"

The name seemed to draw a blank expression from Seraphine, her brow furrowing thoughtfully. "Nameless?" she repeated, shaking her head. "No, that name doesn"t ring a bell. Should it?"

Arthur"s face darkened with a trace of uncertainty. "Not a "who"," he clarified, his voice dropping to a hushed tone. "A "what". As I understand it, Nameless is an ent.i.ty of pure nothingness, a malignant force spanning time and s.p.a.ce. It possesses the power to corrupt humans, to turn them into vessels of evil. And it has four harbingers of doom."

Seraphine"s eyes narrowed as she recalled a distant memory. "I once traversed a realm plagued by famine and a mysterious malady," she recounted, her brow furrowing. "People afflicted with a strange disease, their bodies wasting away, their minds descending into madness."

"I"ve heard that Nameless may be a creation of the G.o.ds themselves," Arthur confessed, his uncertainty evident. "I need to uncover the truth behind it."

Whisker, his gaze piercing and unwavering, posed a question of his own. "And what, Seika, would knowing the truth change?"

The transformation in Arthur was sudden and shocking. His once calm demeanor crumbled into one of seething rage, leaving Seraphine and Whisker taken aback. Flames of anger flickered in his eyes as he locked onto the feline"s gaze. "My enemy," he replied, his voice hoa.r.s.e and trembling, "my enemy would change."

The room fell into a heavy silence as the gravity of Arthur"s words hung in the air. The flames on his chest flickered and danced, reflecting his inner turmoil. He took a deep breath to regain control, his voice steadier as he extinguished the blaze. "Nameless," he continued, "tore my world apart, rending it in two and robbing me of those I held dear. And it was through its horseman, Death, that I was cast into another world, where I lost the love of my life."

Whisker nodded in understanding, his own eyes now filled with empathy. "That clarifies much," he admitted. "I was already aware of your connection to this, Seika, but I kept it concealed until we had left this tower. You mentioned it briefly once, but it seemed you hadn"t attached such importance to it then."

"I had believed it to be merely a disease to be cured," Arthur confessed, his face a mask of impa.s.sivity. "But the possibility of G.o.ds being behind it changes everything. Tell me the truth, Whisker."

"Nameless," Whisker began, his voice grave, "is not the name we give it. Its other name is Oblivion. It has haunted our world for countless ages, pushing us to the brink of extinction. I entered this tower with the hope of gaining the strength to protect my family."

Arthur"s eyes met Whisker"s, understanding pa.s.sing between them. "And now your aspiration is to escape it," he said with a sigh. "If we can defeat Oblivion, a single ent.i.ty, then all worlds may be saved. But that still doesn"t answer my question, Whisker."

The air grew heavy as Whisker continued, his words laden with sorrow. "Lucius, my closest friend and mentor, waged a relentless battle against Oblivion, saving countless lives in the process. Yet, in one fateful encounter, he unearthed a horrifying secret—a secret that marked him as a target of the G.o.ds. You see, the creator of Oblivion is... a G.o.d."

The revelation hung like a dark cloud over the chamber. Arthur sat there, his face blank, his gaze lowered to the ground. Black lightning crackled around him, and his teeth gnashed together with an eerie squeak. Then, in a voice thick with turmoil, he whispered, "A G.o.d chose my world to perish?"

"As did mine, Seika," Seraphine responded, her voice carrying the weight of shared suffering. "G.o.ds descended upon my world to bring about its annihilation. In your case, they used subtler means, leaving no direct trace of their involvement."

Arthur struggled to regain control, attempting to close his eyes and calm the tempest within, but the lightning only intensified. "I must unleash this rage," he admitted, his voice a mere whisper.

Whisker approached him, his eyes filled with determination. "Your rage is not yours alone," he declared solemnly. "It is the collective fury of every race that has suffered at the hands of Nameless and the G.o.ds. You carry their yearning for freedom, Seika."

"Long ago," Arthur recounted, his teeth still gnashing, "my world had nine guardians, protectors of humanity against the gravest of calamities. But they betrayed us, aligning themselves with Nameless. I never comprehended their treachery."

Whisker"s voice dripped with disdain. "Those guardians knew the truth about Oblivion and willingly bowed to the G.o.ds, sacrificing the rest of the world. In my eyes, they are even more loathsome than Oblivion itself."