Chapter 166 - History Of the Cosmos

Cale’s eyes snapped open the very second consciousness returned to him, his awareness sharpening back into focus like a blade being drawn from its sheath.

He found himself standing in a desolate expanse of stone and shadow, the ground beneath his feet barren and ancient, stretching out into an oppressive gloom that seemed to swallow light itself.

And dominating the landscape in front of him was a massive stone door — colossal and impossibly old, covered entirely in intricate carvings that seemed to shift in the dim light, patterns stacked upon patterns, maze-like engravings radiating an aura of forgotten weight and oppressive age.

The gate towered over his tiny figure like the entrance to some elder god’s tomb.

Sesrir materialized just behind him a moment later, his eyes taking in the same scene and arriving at the same conclusion of bewilderment. "What kind of door is this... no wait, can we even open this?"

Cale laughed, though there was an undercurrent of uncertainty beneath it that he tried to mask.

"Of course... I can."

’To be honest, I’m not too sure myself. All I can really depend on are techniques like Analyze and Override. But let’s see what we’re actually dealing with here before admitting that.’

"Sigh, well, let’s just do it," Cale said, moving forward with more confidence than he actually felt.

He activated his Analyze function and pressed his palm against the imposing stone surface, beginning to pour his divine consciousness steadily into the ancient mechanism.

Two hours passed in what felt like no time at all; it was a grueling stretch of mental exertion as he worked his way through the intricate locks and seals woven into the gate’s very structure.

’Oh... it’s like this...’

Understanding bloomed in his mind like a flower opening to sunlight.

They parted slowly, opening just enough to reveal his focused gaze peering through the narrow vertical rift into the unknown beyond.

What lay beyond was almost beautiful in its ancient desolation.

A sprawling corridor stretched out before them, its stone walls weathered and temple-like, framing what looked like an endless passage that descended into shadow and mystery.

A haunting, luminescent teal glow emanated from the walls themselves, pulsing silently with a heavy, long-forgotten magic.

Thick, blocky pillars rose at intervals, their surfaces carved with the same mysterious patterns as the gate, and the overall effect was of stepping into the tomb of some dead civilization, some culture that had built wonders and then vanished, leaving only these monuments behind.

Cale could feel the mana emanating from the stones themselves — pure and potent, layered thick enough that it almost felt like drowning in power.

The qi here was equally strong, carrying a weight that suggested this place had been soaking in raw cosmic energy for eons.

They walked deeper into the corridor, unable to resist reaching out to touch and observe the structures as they passed, running their hands along stone that still thrummed with barely dormant power.

The exploratory instinct in both of them was overwhelming; this was history a new kind of knowledge.

This was the kind of discovery that made archaeologists and adventurers willing to risk their lives; for money and fame of course.

"Hey, this is quite interesting, huh," Sesrir let out a laugh as they moved, his voice carrying great enthusiasm.

Cale sometimes forgot, but this guy was one of the most adventurous people he has ever met, roaming around the world every single day with near to no rest, collecting experiences and stories like a merchant collected gold.

That kind of constant wanderlust tended to put things in perspective.

"Hmm?"

Cale’s gaze suddenly locked onto something ahead — a doorway cut into the corridor wall, and more importantly, it was standing open.

Which meant one of two things: either people had already visited this place and made it through. Maybe even the Sea Serpent King himself could be lying inside for all he knew, many inheritances were just traps laid for old monsters to take new bodies.

"Hey, come here!" Cale called out, and Sesrir moved to his side immediately, standing right beside him as they approached the open door. They weren’t that scared now, it was the last trial.

"What happened?" Sesrir asked, his hand drifting toward his weapon out of instinct.

Cale pointed at the engravings covering the walls around the doorway, it was like murals, telling a historic tale... though the language was completely foreign to him.

Even him, who knew quite a lot of languages of this world... he pointed towards it.

"Can you read that?"

Sesrir tilted his head, studying the patterns. Of course, Cale didn’t have much hope from him.

But who knows, maybe this guy knew a word or two. Or maybe there was some story which aligned to this one...

After a moment, he shook his head slowly. "I can’t. I don’t even know what language it is."

"Hmph, useless," Cale snorted, running his hand through his hair; already turning away to examine the wall more closely.

He placed his palm against the stone surface, feeling the mana and different energies enter through his bare fingers, and opened a channel to his system.

’Can you read it?’

[Analyzing...]

Cale smiled seeing this.

’Good boy! You’re way more useful than this bum emperor.’

As the system analyzed the broken text, it did take a good amount of time to read it, information started flowing directly into Cale’s mind.

The system sure was evolving too much these days, even analyzing things and historic scripts for him!

’Haha, it won’t be far when you’ll take over my body and I can finally sleep, leaving it on auto-pilot.’

He sighed, wasn’t it taking too long now... did he overestimate his system?!

Was this too much of a work for it?

’Sigh, I guess even y-’

Suddenly, he began to speak,

"In the beginning, there was only the Void.

From its fathomless depths, Nothingness was birthed, and within that absolute silence, the First Seed took root, blooming into Chaos.

Chaos stood as the absolute Primogenitor, the inaugural primordial force from which all of existence was woven.

It is the eternal truth of the cosmos: that which is born of Chaos must inevitably dissolve back into its dark embrace.

From its boundless well, twelve Primordial Energies were forged, shaping the very first of the universes. Yet, from their bizarre, untamed power, a profound and terrible sentience began to awaken."

He paused, taking a breath. It was likely that this wasn’t an exact translation, but just enough for him to understand this stuff.

He continued:

"As their understanding deepened, so too did their insatiable desires.

They spun tens of millions of universes into the cosmic tapestry, decreeing that every realm bear the exact same foundation.

Thus, in every nascent universe, four Progenitor Races were seeded:

The Astral Sovereigns, lords of the starlight;

The Nebulae Lineage, born of Cosmic heavenly dust;

The Epoch Titans, the masters of time’s unyielding march;

And the Void Aeons, dwellers of the abyssal dark.

For untold millennia, these four majestic lineages waged endless, shattering wars against one another, locked in a perpetual struggle for supremacy, unknown of even their own creators."

Sesrir gasped. The scope was indeed quite staggering. To think there were other planets with existence too!

Of course, he knew there are tens of races; but to think there was not a single trace of the very first races!

’What the hell happened to them?’

Cale kept reading, while unconscious in a way, he too was taking in the details.

"Yet, the Primordial Energies, having coalesced into forms echoing human like bodies, found no solace in this grand design they themselves created in their ’childhood’.

Enthroned at the pinnacle of reality, a gnawing isolation took hold.

In their boundless pride, they refused to view these mortals as their kin; to them, these creations were mere fleeting amusements, born only to sate their cruel and divine curiosity from time to time.

Thus, they anointed the first seven mortal Paragons.

Though crowned with the Seven Virtues, they were ultimately cursed with the Seven Sins — Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, and Sloth; as the energies discarded and elevated their pawns upon their shifting whims, to play a new game."

The text shifted then, it was something mixed with small drawings, like those from Egyptian texts.

"However, one among the Pantheon twelve harbored a different vision, yearning for the Primordial Energies to embrace a somewhat but not entirely righteous and purposeful existence.

It was the very First Creator: the primordial energy, the essence of Chaos itself.

Chaos shared an ancient, inexorable bond with Nothingness — a connection far transcending the frail intimacies of mortals.

Being the very next thing born after Nothingness.

As the foremost energies of creation, time for them flowed as a glacial crawl, yet passed in a fleeting heartbeat. For countless eons, Chaos and Nothingness lingered in the great dark, communing in silence, content in the stillness when all else was absent."

There was something almost beautiful in the image in front of him; two primordial forces - one of a black fire, and one like a dark mist; existing together in perfect silence, needing nothing because they had each other.

Then came the tragedy.

"Witnessing this solitary divergence, the other eleven turned upon their creator.

Blinded by their ascent, they forgot that Chaos wielded the absolute power to devour them and create new energies.

Bound by the very cosmic laws it had willed into being, Chaos refused to strike.

The eleven, however, harbored no such restraint. They forged a dark covenant to erase their creator, their treason born of terror of being erased — for Chaos alone possessed the sovereign might to devour them all.

Thus, they excised Chaos and Nothingness from the tapestry of existence itself, banishing them from the millions of universes.

In doing so, they severed the genesis of existence; should another universe ever tear itself into being, it would forever be denied the glory of the Progenitor Races, because there was no real creator now. Condemned to harbor but a single, solitary lineage."

Cale stopped speaking, the final words echoing in the ancient chamber like a death knell.

He held his head with both hands, it was a goddamn headache! What the hell did he just learn, was this even necessary?!

Was this inheritance that special, or was it this kind of inheritance that helped the owner become a Divine stage monster?

’Who knows... sigh. The Seven Sins? Chaos? Nothingness? Is that the Nihility? No, leave that alone for now. That’s a rabbit hole that goes too deep, and we don’t have time to get lost in philosophy when there are threats we need to deal with right ahead.’

He looked toward the final chamber ahead, the one that was likely filled with the rewards left behind.

Then he remembered again, there might actually be a clue in this, as to why his technique was called : The Supreme Nihility Chaos Genesis Scripture.