Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

Chapter 807: A way forward

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Nicholas’ thoughts and heart were pounding as he returned to the HQ.

His mind replayed his conversation with Cedric, and though it’s long over, the wonder kid’s words still stuck to his brain like glue.

’Origin Laws…Origin Laws…’ Nick repeated like a mantra.

His feet subconsciously brought him to the room where he and his fellow councillors usually hang out. However, it was clear that Nicholas was preoccupied by something because he didn’t even acknowledge them as he entered the room and sat down on his usual seat.

Patricia and the rest looked at each other, confused.

“Hey, Nick. What’s up? What’s got you thinking?” Berk called out, hoping that he will be heard by his friend.

“Hm! What was that?” Nick looked up, barely catching Berk calling him out.

“What’s the matter, dude? You look distracted. Anything you want to tell us?”

“Oh, uh…” Nick hesitated. He looked at every single one of them and finally relented.

“Hear me out, yeah? What if, and I’m just putting this out there, alright? What if the mystery behind that last binding—the mid-section shackle—turns out to be Origin Laws?”

“…”

Silenced. That silenced them all.

They all look at Nick with clouded eyes as if their thoughts were consuming them.

“That…”

“Huh.”

“You know…”

They couldn’t even finish their sentences. Nick could see how fast their thoughts were spinning right now.

And frankly, he couldn’t blame them. He was like this too, just now. Mind you, it’s been a week since his conversation with Cedric concluded. He couldn’t even remember what excuse he made when he left, or if he even made one in the first place.

Understand that this was huge. Nick and the rest had been plagued by the mystery of the last shackle for so long. It’s the last thing that’s stopping them from seeing the view at the peak of Life Evolution.

“Holy shit, why have I never thought about it?” Gibson acted as if he was losing his mind.

“Let’s not be hasty now…” Urek shifted uncomfortably.

“No, because it makes so much sense!” Gibson’s eyes were practically spewing out fire now with how passionate he was.

“Concept laws—it’s always been that. Our comprehension of concept laws represents how attuned we are to this world, to the Primitive Universe. It’s quite literally the filter that sets people apart. It’s a requirement for the progression of life evolution!”

“Fundamental Laws, Planetary Laws, Grand Solar Laws, Cosmic Laws, Great Laws, Heavenly Laws, and finally, the Origin Laws!”

“Think about it! None of us elevated our understanding of concept laws to the Origin Law level! No wonder that shackle doesn’t show any reaction! It’s because we don’t qualify! Plain and simple!”

“The Binding of Ideals, Binding of Promises, Binding of Initiative, and the Binding of Legacy. These bindings tested our character and our actions as Life Evolvers, and in turn it also blindsided us from our real strength, the sheer and absolute power we wield. That’s what’s missing! That’s the last piece of the puzzle!”

Gibson’s impassioned speech completely sold this out. He sounded so sure that it’s convincing others too.

“Okay, yes. I won’t deny that what you said makes a lot of sense. But…but what if it’s not?” Berk sounded really hesitant.

“Well, we’ve tried pretty much everything, right?” Gibson calmed down as he said this. “All including brute force. We all know how that ended up. But this, Origin Laws…this isn’t something we’ve tried before.”

“All of us have reached the peak perfection of our respective law specialties at the Heavenly Law level. And that too is an angle we’ve explored during our breakthrough. Maybe it didn’t work because we just didn’t have enough, because we fell short of the qualification.”

“We all unanimously thought that we can only learn Origin Laws once we reach the Primal Origin Realm. That’s why we only perfected our comprehension at the Unstable Heavenly Domain; we didn’t push further because we thought it’s not possible.”

“But it’s not…comprehending conceptual laws has never been linear. It’s equal parts effort and fortune.”

That silenced everybody again. Nobody could really refute Gibson’s logic because it makes so much sense.

There has never been a rule that one can only comprehend a certain level of concept laws at a certain life evolution level.

Cedric is the prime example of this. He, a Universe Master, should be playing around with Great Laws at this point, not Heavenly Laws, which are certainly way above him. But the reality is right there: Cedric didn’t just comprehend a Heavenly Law, he’s extremely good at it, and his skill only grew as time passed.

“Good catch, Nick! This is huge. This might really be it, the last piece of the puzzle. All you and Pat need is to confirm it after you elevate your understanding to the Origin Law level,” Gibson praised, excited for the future, especially now that they’ve found a way forward.

“It’s not me,” Nick softly admitted.

“Hm?”

“I said it’s not me who thought about this.” He shook his head. “It’s Cedric—you know, the wonder kid, the genius who won the last tournament, the Sector Lord of the Rising Sun Domain? Him. Not me.”

“Dude…” Gibson was rendered speechless, and so was the rest. “How did it happen?”

Nick sighed and proceeded to tell them everything. Him going out for a walk to decompress and somehow ending up at the Rising Sun Domain. He told them how, despite hiding well enough, Cedric still found him and about the conversation they shared afterwards.

“How very straightforward of him.” Berk nodded. “Indeed, at his level, comprehension of conceptual laws was the path forward.”

“And his edge has always been that he’s ahead of the curve. It’s his philosophy to overachieve.” Gibson added, “Both of his Fire and Sword Laws were already at the Great Law level when he joined the tournament. And he uses both extremely well, meaning that he’s had them for a while.”

“What a scary kid, honestly.” Urek sighed in admiration.

“Indeed.” Patricia nodded. “And who would’ve thought that he, of all people, would shine the path forward? Although it’s not confirmed yet, it’s still a way forward nonetheless.”

“Please tell me you rewarded him; he deserves that much at least,” Berk asked.

Nick smiles wryly. “I don’t even remember how I left. I was too dumbstruck by the revelation that I hurried back here. He has my communication line though, and he’s not going anywhere. We can always make up for it later.”

“True.”

“Oh, and Urek?”

“Yes?”

“Can you check this out for me?”

Nick brought out a thin book, unassuming and quite new. Urek raised a brow but held his questions.

Upon receiving the book, he started reading its contents. At first, he was indifferent, but upon finishing the first page, his expression turned serious. He leaned in and became immersed in the contents.

He read each word, each sentence, and each paragraph with utmost sincerity and nigh-obsession.

His reaction caused the others to be intrigued, but they stayed silent, letting the man finish reading it.

“This…holy shit, Nick! This is…where the hell did you get this!?” Urek looked up to Nick briefly before returning his gaze to the book.

He’s now holding it reverently, like it’s the most sacred and precious treasure he’s ever held.

“Is it viable?” Nick asked with cautious optimism.

“Viable!?” Urek nearly screamed in protest, as if he’d been completely offended with the way Nick doubted the contents of the book.

“Nick, this is…this is a game changer! It’s not just viable! It’s the real deal! This is…this is Divine, Nick! Do you hear me? This is a Divine Art!”

“With this, we don’t need to be afraid of the Bug Empress anymore! Hell! We could even start occupying the other Chaos Realms with this, Nick! Holy shit!”

“Wait, wait! Hold on! What’s going on? What’s that book about? Hello? Context, please!” Gibson protested, feeling left out. The others felt the same too.

“Here, you read it. Tell me what you think.” Urek then passed the book, reluctantly, to Gibson.

Five minutes later, Gibson was breathing heavily. Like Urek, he now held the book reverently, as if it were the most precious treasure he had ever held in his entire life.

He then passed it to Berk, who read it with Patricia. And five minutes later, they too were doing the same.

“Holy shit! I never knew Avatars could be created in this way.” Berk sounded as if he was high.

“This is huge! I mean, they’re no different from puppets, really. But the formula checks out. It’s more than viable; it will certainly work!”

“A clone/avatar/puppet that has at least 90-90% of the main body’s total strength? One that could be controlled using stray thoughts and feels no different from the real one? Heavens, this is a Divine Art!”

“Not only that, you can make multiple ones, and there’s practically no diminishing returns. It just costs a little bit of your soul, but psh! Who cares! We don’t lack resources to cure that tiny injury!”

“Nick, where the hell did you get this?”

“Uh…Cedric gave it to me.”

“What!?”