Chapter 624 Mechanism of ’Oblivion’

The next day, Axel woke up after a good sleep; his mind and body were completely rested after more than 12 hours, nourishing his physical injuries and easing his mental fatigue.

And since his mind was emotionless, unnecessary thoughts or nightmares did not haunt him in his dreams.

It felt like he’d truly slept well for the first time in many years, perhaps.

Thankfully, even when he was asleep, the Element of Oblivion within him did not erratically go out of control.

It was as if his mind had learned to contain it on autopilot, his subconscious always using a certain amount of mental power to keep it under control passively.

A flicker of cold interest rose in his mind at this overpowered attribute of ’Absolute Erasure’, as he would probably have to use it from now on, knowing this power’s nature and limitations in advance was an absolute must.

Because with his shitty luck, anything could happen at any given moment.

The first thing he did was scan the area around him with his senses, but he saw no one, though there was definitely some surveillance still on him.

Unfortunately, without his Runic Eyes, he could not really see through the advanced hidden Sylvan magic formations.

Axel sighed and threw a few 3rd-tier barrier-type artefacts around the wooden chamber.

It was unlikely that those would really stop the prying eyes, but his calculating mind surmised that it was better to have something than nothing.

Axel clenched and unclenched his right fist, with a slow mental control, like gradually uncorking a soda bottle.

He let out a tiny... tiny fragment of the Oblivion element.

And strangely... this time, Axel was somewhat able to see the particles. They were like a swarm of black dots, and as soon as some control of it was released. The black began to dance violently all over his hands.

As those black particles moved, they pulled minutely on the air around his hands, as if it were being sucked toward the hand wrapped around them.

When Axel looked more closely, he realised what was actually happening: those black dots were constantly erasing the air particles that came into contact with them.

In hindsight, it might look like a molecular-level destruction of the air particles, but it wasn’t; it was an absolute eraser. As if being deleted into nothingness.

And that very concept was jarring, to say the least.

Because it violated the very principle of energy conservation!!!!

Because it did not matter whether any mass, particles or objects were destroyed; energy is always conserved. Energy changes from one form to another.

But if the molecules were literally erased from existence, then energy isn’t being transformed; it was being deleted.

As Axel gained a deeper understanding of the Outerversal element, A string of words was whispered in his ears.

[Your affinity with the Element of Oblivion has increased slightly.]

[Current Affinity: 1.6%]

Axel noted the words and felt the absence of his Runic eyes again; only if his overpowered eyes had remained. He could have analysed and tracked this power’s usage on a much more fundamental level at a mere glance.

Life was so much easier for him in the past when his overpowered eyesight worked 24/7.

The Runecaster focused back on the work at hand.

He tried to fine-tune this power, but the harder he focused, the more erratic the energy grew.

And with that attempt, the mind-numbing sensation returned, becoming more and more prevalent.

So, he tried a new approach instead of continuing to push for hard control.

He loosened his mental grip on Oblivion being contained within him, and another layer of violently moving black particles appeared on his palm.

The chaotic movements of all the Oblivion held in his hands multiplied by a few times; his mental clarity dropped even further, so much so that he was feeling dizzy.

Axel immediately tightened his control over the Oblivion, pulling back the black particles into his body.

The runecaster took a few deep breaths to calm his throbbing headache slightly and the buzzing, deafening noise in his mind from the temporary loss of mental clarity.

A few minutes went by in silence, and then he whispered to himself, "So, the harder I try to control it with a conscious mind, the harder it is to control."

He added, "And the more Oblivion I wield at once, the more my Clarity is eroded."

He noticed another detail: "Each of the swirling Black Particles representing the Element of Oblivion continues to erase about 5-10 times the volume of mass constantly."

"This increases exponentially the more Oblivion I wield at once. While my cost in mental clarity is also eroded inversely just as much."

Axel looked at the small ball of gaseous and erratically moving black particles of Oblivion once more, and his eyes narrowed as a sudden thought dawned on his mind. "Oblivion!!!"

"If it is the power of Absolute erasure, isn’t it something akin to Anti-particles?" he questioned. "No, no, that’s not right; the False Void and Void element are closer to the Anti-particles."

He continued, "As any mass or energy of the material world comes in contact with the False Void, both mutually erode each other into utter nothingness."

"But Oblivion is an altered element of the Void element. Its nature might be similar but different at the same time."

"Unlike the Void Element coming in contact with material worlds’ energy, it doesn’t get destroyed, and it’s much more stable, and constantly keeps erasing anything coming in contact with it at a steady pace."

His eyes widened as the realisation hit him like a revelation. "So... Oblivion isn’t moving erratically like this by its nature, but rather because the material world is influencing it?"

"So, I need something to separate it from the air particles or sort of energy coming into contact with it?" reckoned Axel.

His cold mind raced frantically like a computer on full drive, since he was using mental power to more or less control Oblivion.

Mental power was basically an extension of his Will. It meant that a more proper expression of Will needed to be used as a mechanism of separation or fine control of the Oblivion in this scenario.

The answer came to him much more easily than he had expected; he uttered, "My Killing Intent!!!"

A layer of controlled bloodlust oozed from his fingertips like a red blanket... slowly but surely, Axel’s bloodlust enveloped the erratically moving black particles of Oblivion.

For a moment, he felt a slight resistance from the Oblivion, and maybe an instance of corrosion on even his own bloodlust, but then it stopped.

Gradually, right in front of his eyes, the movements of the Black particles lessened, until coming to an utter standstill.

Axel smiled, "It worked..."

Though he smiled, it was strangely hollow, because he could not feel an ounce of joy at the revelation; instead, his mind tried to mimic that sensation, but failed utterly.

Shimmering black Runes flashed at the corner of his eyes...

[Congratulations! Axel Nomrad, you have gained an epiphany related to the Element of Oblivion]

[Your affinity with the Element has increased greatly]

[Current Affinity: 10%]

[You have made a great achievement that few in the history of the universe have ever done, comprehending a fragment of an Outerversal law]

[You have earned 1000 unallocated stats]

But right on that cue, before Axel could even process the words of Prime or feel a sudden increase in his affinity, he suddenly sensed something near the treehouse, someone hesitantly approaching...

So, he dismissed the flashing rune messages of Prime and pulled the ball of Black particles in his hand back inside his body.

He deactivated the few barrier-type artefacts enveloping the tree chamber.

And when he went outside, he saw a young Elf hiding behind a tree a few meters away, as if struggling in indecision whether to go forward or turn back.

Axel spoke from the window of his chamber, "Hey, what is it, kid?"

For some reason, Axel felt the Young Elf’s mana signature was familiar.

The boy was taken aback and looked at Axel’s cold, emotionless face. He said hurriedly, "Uh, hello, Mister Arlo. I am Balran. The Tribe Leader’s son."

Axel didn’t reply, only staring at the boy with a poker face.

So, Balran added after a short pause, "Actually, I was the one who found you first after you crashed from... the skies."

Axel’s eyes flickered, and he realised why Balran’s energy signature was familiar; his subconscious must have noted the mana of the young elf with caution.

He studied Balran’s shifting expressions and asked softly, "So, Balran, what can I help you with?"

Balran, with a trace of excitement, said, "If you don’t mind, I want to ask about the Barren West, no... I mean the Human lands."

Axel put on a fake expression of surprise and then nodded, "Of course, that’s a small matter. Why don’t you come up here, and I can tell you everything that you want to know."

Balran seemed eager at first but then hesitated for a moment, looking back towards the countless prying eyes staring in this direction like hawks.

But then Axel said from afar, "Don’t worry about your elders; they won’t say anything to you, and don’t be scared of me either."

"After all... I’m just a normal human with an Injured soul," added the Runecaster with a humourless chuckle, "And not some Demon hiding in human skin."