I'm equally drawn to compress my energy to control it, as I am to let it explode outward to relieve the chaotic pressure.
The connection that this river of silver threads has made on my core is equally detrimental to the silver threads pouring out of Maria's black mirror body.
Yet, when I peer deep into her form like I have mine, I do not see the same sparks reacting.
This is because within her Immortal Body, there are no traces of demonic energy present. This phenomenon is only occurring within me because when I fused all of my energy cores, there was a mana-based soul energy power source and a High Royal Demon's Core present as well.
When I truly examine Maria's energy sources now, I feel nothing but cold, dark space.
Even the mana that was used to create this enormous angelic body is no longer giving off any traceable reactions.
When I try to locate the fluctuating laws that would be proof of their existence, they do not show up in my vision either. All I see is an indent in space, like I'm staring into an impenetrable void.
It slowly dawns on me that all of the mana Maria ever wielded while she was by my side in the Upper Realm was a replication of my own internal power. Her infinitely stacked pseudo cores feel very real to the lower life forms they were used against, but they cannot truly fool me now.
She is capable of manipulating the lesser surrounding laws into believing that energy is being used, yet in reality, the angel-shaped abyss is a far more accurate depiction of her true form—at least in terms of her mana expenditure.
The flawless-grade ether that has been devoured by her source resin is entirely real, and after merging with the membrane artifact, this impossible existence of infinite yet finite energy has been masked and stabilized by the complex laws tethering the Outer Void Creeper's domain to the anomaly in her core.
More and more pockets of weak areas pop up all over my Immortal Body.
The red metallic half-human, half-demon form floating in deep space starts shimmering with yellow-gold light all over.
It is not golden threads at all, but when my consciousness tries to peer into these reactions, I get a very similar feeling.
It is the same exact reaction that occurs right at the end of a command cast with the system. Undoubtedly, this is not a new reaction taking place, but instead, it is the finalization of a long and drawn-out process.
My silver immortal core has lost over half of its vitality. It looks like a perfect replica of the time I watched Ember relinquish his silver threads, completely burning out his core in the Purple Zone of the Upper Realm before breaking into the membrane.
This pulls more and more dense threads away from my shoulders, feet, legs, and even areas of my abdomen and chest that do not circulate silver threads as quickly as my chest and arms.
It creates bright flashes of sparks that crackle and reach even the Void Creeper's domain.
As the last tablet falls dark and the Void Creepers within fade into the strange place without true time or space, the whole void lights up with a golden hue like a sunset encompassing the entire outer realm.
It is the reflection of a borrowed law bent from the past, finally swinging back and resettling into its rightful place. Images carved into the walls of the Ravine from long ago flash through my mind, of a demon and a dragon being pulled apart by a Void Creeper. The entire collection of laws that tell the past of this entire universe bears down on me, whispering into the depths of my soul to force these two parts back together.
My thoughts are linked to the other two entities left in this universe.
One of which is grasping the blade in my hand, linking our immortal cores together in unison. This connection is one filled with love, understanding, and a depth only two weak mortals who climbed up from the bottom together can understand.
The other, to which my true life force is bonded, stares at me with draconic eyes filled with indifference.
My instincts fully take over, and I void step forward. Maria matches my movements in an exact mirrored stance.
My arms become surrounded by the same dark void as my sword. It feels cold, but also warm, like Maria is holding me in place.
We're floating in the same area of space, but she does not limit any of my movements.
Our chests, legs, and even heads overlap.
It looks like my red metallic body, sparkling with disintegrating matter, has been completely enveloped by a dark void. Yet, it feels like we are standing together, both holding onto our blades and looking forward at an immortal golden dragon.
The instant our two immortal bodies click into place together, so do the remnants of our quickly depleting immortal cores.
However, the breakdown of all my mana and demonic energy no longer feels dangerous or a threat to my life. It just feels natural, and all of my strength is being held intact by the dark membrane holding me together on a level that I cannot even fully perceive. It feels like I'm resting in a cool gel, being hugged from every side, but simultaneously resting within my own dimension of space.
When the flow of our immortal cores fully integrates with the blade in my grasp, every single silver thread in our beings combines into a single center of gravity.
An enormous gear shifts in my mind, like an iceberg finally building up enough momentum to turn its dark side up to the surface. The soul sword in my grasp takes hold of every single silver thread, latching onto even the many that still reside in my body, and a simple lettering rises from the depths of my mind.
[The Immortal Emperor's Soul Vessel has Reached Lvl. 10! (MAX)]
The long dormant system that has been attempting to trigger a final command for trillions of years lights up in my mind, now finally materializing in reality. This pulls my mind connected to the core of this blade into a new plane of understanding.
When I look forward with a far more complex depth of thought rippling through my eyes that overlap with Maria's, everything becomes even more clear. We gaze past golden runes shimmering beneath the silver sea in my blade. The only thing left that I'm drawn to is the golden core spinning in Ember's chest.
It is my own soul-bound dragon. He is the last level of experience I need to absorb in order to see the full truth.
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Author's Note:
If you're enjoying Dungeon Diver and want to follow Jay on his journey ahead of schedule, check out the Patreon link in my profile bio.
There's custom chapter art for every new daily upload too!
Thanks for reading:)
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