Chapter 346: The Adversary And The Ever-Growing Cloud Of Darkness

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Deep within Riven’s soul, the three Heavenly Kings continued living within that Dreamscape, while watching beyond what even Riven could perceive, the ever-growing black cloud that seemed to be expanding above Earth, a cloud that represented "Genesis" true form and power, spreading farther each day as if testing the limits of the world itself.

The Ten Thousand Poison Master noticed that "She" was regenerating at an incredibly high speed, it seemed that the acceleration of her regeneration had improved a lot in the last few days, the rate climbing higher than any of them had expected, and despite everything, he noted that her physical remains seem to be being used for some kind of genetic experiments by humans, from what he’s learned from Riven, pieces of her body taken and twisted in ways that went against the natural order.

Hearing such things, the Asura Blood Sea Emperor sighed and shook his head, finding what humans could do of incredibly bad taste and, for a lack of a better term, awful, the kind of work that left even him unsettled after all he had seen. However, he admitted that that was the very reason Riven had received her cells, setting up to become what they called as "The Adversary", the one meant to stand against what was coming.

The Divine King of the Cold Star shook his head at the Asura Blood Sea Emperor words though, believing Riven was even more special than those who had been injected with her dormant cells, something deeper in him that set him apart from every other attempt the humans had made.

His mother had them injected when she was a fetus, apparently, and then as she grew up, she had him, someone who naturally inherited them without anything artificially made, the cells settling into him from the very start of his life in a way that no lab could ever match.

Thus, he deduced that he’s been perfected, even more than Viviane, who ended up with a very short lifespan because her own body couldn’t take the cells completely, despite managing to purify them, the strain of it wearing her down year after year until little time remained.

In response, the Ten Thousand Poison Master nodded while drinking another cup of wine, he knew deep down that things were about to get way crazier regardless, and that they had better be prepared as her influence was beginning to awaken further, and that "her shadows" might also awaken in response, rising up in places they had not expected and forcing them to move faster than any of them liked.

The Asura Blood Sea Emperor though, knew that it all depended on Riven and his decision, and the memories of the future he’s trying to keep hidden from them, the weight of those visions sitting heavy on the boy even if he never spoke of them.

"I do wonder though, what does his existence mean? Who sent him to the past? And how...?" he wondered, rubbing his chin as the questions turned over in his mind without any clear answers coming to him.

The Ten Thousand Poison Master smirked. "Who cares? What matters is that he’s here, and he’ll change that awful future. Humanity, as awful as it is, is our last bet against The End of All, and Genesis and the Authorities. We have to do everything in our power to help him grow stronger... and also maybe those around him, the ones who stand closest and might tip the scales when the time comes."

The Divine King of the Cold Star nodded. "Elisa’s been rejected by Skadi, the one who inherited one of my powers because she became crippled... but perhaps I can do something to help her, though it’ll all be dependent on Riven, she is my connection to him after all, through the Authority of Love, the one thread that still ties me to the living world and gives me a chance to act."

"What is this Authority of Love you’re talking about? It’s Lust," the Asura Blood Sea Emperor said, his voice sharp as he corrected the name without hesitation.

"Love sounds better..." sighed the Divine King of the Cold Star with a condensing smile, clearly preferring the softer term even if it was not accurate.

"It’s Lust!!!" the Asura Blood Sea Emperor roared.

"You’ve always had such a severe lack of taste," sighed the Divine King of the Cold Star. "No wonder she tore your heart out... You’re incapable of understanding romance."

"What?!" the Asura Blood Sea Emperor almost lost it.

The Ten Thousand Poison Master rolled his eyes while listening to these two arguing once again, looking at the starry night in silence and letting their voices fade into the background of the Dreamscape. "Can the planet really hold for much longer...?" he wondered in silence, thinking about the black cloud they had all seen and how little time might remain before it covered everything.

...

RUMBLE!

A blinding line of golden light streaked past the purple grasslands and red trees of the first floor of the "Macabre Forest" Dungeon, a C Rank Gate located in the outer ruins of Central City, usually barely visited due to its high concentration of Curse and Poisonous Monsters that made most hunters avoid the place, but that also possess a massive underground mine of Mana Stones on the second floor, where a Mana Reactor has been placed to keep the energy flowing for the city above.

BOOOMMM!!!

A massive, blinding explosion greeted a large group of Cursed Dreamcaster Imps, C Rank demon-type monsters of small statue capable of conjuring deadly curses that put their targets into endless dreams, allowing them to toy with their bodies or kill them slowly once the victims could no longer fight back. The blast tore through their ranks before most of them even had time to raise their hands and cast.

"Gyyyaaaeerrggh!"

Of course, they were completely powerless against the blinding light of Cagliostro Bifrost, the almighty L- Rank Relic capable of even more destruction than it had even been allowed to do lately, cutting them down in a single sweep that left only smoke and broken ground behind.

"I can’t believe I am being used to kill low ranked demons."

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