Chapter 358: Memories Of A Calamity ( Final )

But he did not know whether he would also become an Anchor or not, but if he did not, how was the Calamity supposed to enter their world? Because it was clear that it needed an Anchor to enter their world and allow the Calamity to enter.

"Ah, damn it, this is too confusing, why do I even have to get involved in this stuff?" He sighed from exhaustion.

He was only an eighteen-year-old young man who had not even been an Awakened for very long, so why did he have to get involved in such huge cosmic plots?

"At least my other questions have been answered."

The other questions were answered one after another.

Why Selina? Because she was from Earth and had at least the required compatibility.

Why did Aren survive? Because he was the last remaining Anchor connected to another world.

Why did the Cindari want Humans alive? Not to escape, but to open a path for the Calamity.

Why was the Forgotten Tree dying? Because it was holding Black Silence inside itself and the Calamity was feeding on its life force.

Why was the Titan still considered the main Vessel while a new embryo was growing inside Selina?

Because the Titan was the prison and the old Vessel, while the Tree was slowly pulling the Calamity out to create a new Vessel.

Why did failing the Main Quest mean that Black Silence would gain access to Earth?

Because Selina and now Lian were Vessels from Earth.

Why had Cindar placed himself between life and death? Because he was waiting for the day he could become the final Vessel.

Why did Caelus talk about Father, Salvation, and the children? Because Cindar’s truth had turned into a religion over the generations.

Lian did not know what he felt for a long time, part of him understood the young Cindar, a man who had lost everything.

His family, his home, his lover, his loneliness was real, his pain was real.

Even his first anger was understandable, but none of it justified anything.

He looked at an image of Cindar standing beside the Forgotten Tree and waiting for the Calamity to be transferred.

"You lost your family." Then images of cities destroyed because of Black Silence appeared.

"And because of that, you decided to destroy everyone else’s families."

"You were a victim."

An image of young Cindar, his bloody hands under the ruins, then an image of Cindar the hero, the smiles of the people and ....then betrayal.

"Then you became the worst thing you hated."

But at that moment, Lian noticed another point, some of the memories he had seen should not have belonged to Black Silence.

Cindar’s private conversation with Father, his memories of his family, his feelings toward his lover.

Thoughts that no one had heard, why did Black Silence know them? And the answer slowly became clear.

The Anchor bond was not one-sided, just as Cindar received a share of the Calamity’s power, the Calamity had also taken a part of him.

Memories, feelings, perhaps even pieces of his Soul, every Anchor left a trace of themselves inside Black Silence.

"The relationship between a Calamity and an Anchor is complicated, it is a two-way relationship, both benefit from each other, both depend on each other."

"But the relationship between a Calamity and a Vessel is not like this, the Calamity forcibly takes over the Vessel and makes all of its consciousness, personality, and existence its own."

Lian suddenly became silent.

"Wait...then if I am its new Vessel right now..."

The memory reacted, all the images shook, for the first time, he felt something inside Black Silence looking at him.

Not at his body but at his memories, he tried to pull his mind back, but it was too late and the images began to break.

Cindar.

Aurelia.

Primordial Root.

Titan.

Father.

Everything fell over one another.

The System appeared.

[Gestation Reconstruction: 99.7%]

[Gestation Reconstruction: 99.8%]

Lian tried to pull himself out of the flow of memories but nothing happened, he was no longer only feeling the past.

Black Silence’s hunger was returning to the present.

And with it he felt something else ...Earth.

Lian could not see Earth, but he could feel it, like a familiar smell behind a very thick wall.

The Mana of his world, its Souls, its life, and to Black Silence a very delicious food.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" He suddenly felt all of his consciousness being destroyed, as if something was forcibly erasing everything.

Lian tried to stop it but it was useless.

He tried again and it was useless again.

Something like worry formed in his mind, if this continued, besides himself, both worlds would be doomed!

"No..."

The space around him became dark again, the memories were gone, everything became dark again but this time the darkness was not empty.

Something was eating Lian, eating him, first his sense of time disappeared, he did not know whether one second or one hour had passed.

Then the sounds disappeared, then his recent memories started to slip away.

The face of a girl appeared in his mind for a moment.

Hair.

One eye.

A sword.

But her name—

What was her name?

Lian grabbed it in fear.

"Seris."

The image became stable and then the giant ant with natural armor.

Its name disappeared for a moment.

"One."

Aren.

Selina.

Earth.

He had to keep every name in his mind, as if he let go of it, Black Silence would eat it.

Then it was his turn.

Who was he? A blurry image appeared in front of him and even the System in front of him started to break.

[Calamity Bir—]

The message failed.

[Vessel Conscio—]

The words shook.

[Error.]

Then the final number appeared.

[Gestation Reconstruction: 100.0%]

[Calamity Birth Started.]

Black Silence’s hunger rose from deep inside him with several times more force, now it was no longer guessing about a distant world and for a moment Earth appeared in front of him.

A complete world was behind Lian’s existence, billions of lives.

Oceans, cities, forests, Souls, Mana and all of them had only one meaning in the eyes of the Calamity.

Food.

And he finally understood something about Black Silence that was worse than all of Cindar’s truth.

One world would never be enough for it, even ten worlds might not be enough, this being was made to be hungry.

To devour worlds and the thing that called itself Father had five damned children like it.

Now Lian knew everything.

He knew why Black Silence had come to this world, he knew why Cindar had betrayed them, he knew why the Forgotten Tree was dying.

He knew what the Cindari leaders were really looking for and he finally knew why Selina had been chosen.

But none of these answers were comforting, the truth was much worse than what he had imagined.

Cindar had sold his own world for power, Black Silence wanted worlds to feed its hunger.

And Father still existed somewhere out there, a being with power that was even hard to imagine.

And what was even worse than all of this? There was probably a damn bastard like Cindar in their world too.

A bastard who, for whatever reason, had sold their world and allowed a Calamity to enter their world and was still alive somewhere on Earth.

"Wait..." A very terrifying guess suddenly appeared in his mind.

A crazy guess came to his mind about why Black Silence was not looking for an Anchor to enter Earth, perhaps it wanted to use the same bastard who was already the Anchor of a Calamity in their world as an Anchor?

Could one Human be the Anchor of two Calamities...?

At the same time, another message appeared in the darkness.

[Calamity Birth Is Nearing Completion.]

Lian tried to hold on to the last parts of his consciousness.

His own name, and this was more important than anything else, if he lost it, what would remain?

If he lost his name, then there would be no trace of his existence left.

His name was like a chain to his existence. If it were forgotten, his personality and existence would also be forgotten.

"Lian Vorhelm."

The name remained bright for a moment and then the darkness began to eat it from the edges.

"Lian... Vorhelm."

The mental letters disappeared one after another.

Seris.

One.

Earth.

Himself.

They all moved farther away and Black Silence covered the last part of his consciousness.

He frowned, he still had a backup plan, and he wasn’t going to give up so easily.

And just before nothing of Lian remained, only one message appeared in the darkness.

[Black Silence Has Been Released.]

Then even the darkness could no longer be felt.