Chapter 1956: Same Sinking Boat
Chapter 1956: Same Sinking Boat
Imagining what would happen doesn’t matter.
Just a waste of time.
Rex was trying his absolute best to keep those around him alive, and if there were more bodies that needed to be dropped, then he’d stack the consequences above Kaiser’s name. No matter what Kaiser tried to do, he could do a lot worse.
Because in the end, he knew that he would win.
Becoming a Scion of Vertex of the Anger Stratum made it blatantly clear that he was destined for more.
Kaiser is nothing but a stepping stone.
His resistance would ultimately fail—all he was doing right now was dictating how painful his death would be. Right now, the destruction of his realm was already sealed. In the near future, if he did worse things, then death might not be his end.
Rex would find something worse.
Perhaps he would strip Kaiser’s divinity and turn him into a mortal.
Of course, he had never heard of something suffering a fate like that, but with the System, anything he thought about would be possible. That much he already understood. "How?" Rex raised the parchment and looked at High Lord Rashal. "How did you know about these things?"
Knowing that Rex came from the Mortal Realm is one thing, and knowing his people is another.
It would be a lie if he said he wasn’t surprised that High Lord Rashal knew about his people.
"As a High Lord, I have many privileges," High Lord Rashal reclined on his chair—and smiled lightly. "I can’t necessarily ask for help from higher beings, but I have access to treasures tied to them. One being the Chronicon Nadir, also known as the All Record of the Lowest. It recorded all events that had happened in the lower realms.
"All I needed was the sketch of your soul," He added nonchalantly.
Rex’s brows furrowed, "One of your spies..."
"Yes, one of them had been secretly sketching your soul."
"I see."
Of course, Rex knew that he had been under watch at all times. Notifications about their powers to probe him had appeared in his vision several times already, and there was nothing he could do to block a few of them.
As long as the spies didn’t use a power that binds him or directly impairs him, then the System is passive.
Seeing his soul must be one of the powers that has no side effects, so he can’t block it.
Not even with his existing energies and skills.
"You still haven’t seen this one," High Lord Rashal raised the second catalogue envelope.
Just the first one alone already shocked Rex; he wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of reading the next one.
Even so, High Lord Rashal tossed it across the table, and Rex opened it to see what was inside.
Unlike the first one, which contained a few papers, the second envelope only contained one paper. But the paper was not a normal one. From sight alone, Rex could already see that it was completely encased in a gleaming cover, like plastic, but it was clearly tempered with an energy.
One that he couldn’t sense, which meant it was immortal energy.
And on it was an abstract of bluish particles covering the whole paper with groups of purple particles.
"What am I looking at here?" Rex asked, confused.
He wanted to scan with the System but decided that it’s best to ask High Lord Rashal directly.
After all, it was clear that High Lord Rashal was trying to make a point.
"It’s the measurement for Chaos activity," He answered flatly.
"C-Chaos activity?" Rex stuttered; his breath was caught inside his throat. "This...?"
"Yes, the entire paper represented your Mortal Realm. The blue particles that almost covered the paper are a representation of the energy within the realm. As for the purple particles..." High Lord Rashal allowed his words to trail for a few seconds. "They represented Chaos."
Rex’s brows immediately dipped into a frown.
He knew that the Chaos Phantoms were appearing here and there seemingly randomly, a sure sign that Chaos was stirring. Its activity was on the rise. And he associated this with the full awakening of another one of his enemies—the Fourthborn.
Someone who wanted to take vengeance against him for what he did to the Fifthborn.
But seeing the paper, Chaos had already claimed about twenty percent of the Mortal Realm.
It was far higher than he anticipated.
From what he had already seen in the Spirit Realm, he could assume that if Chaos dominated the Mortal Realm, a great calamity would follow. One that would sweep the entire realm into a world of darkness, which would be cataclysmic.
He didn’t know if the calamity would be the same, but it would be bad.
It was his mother in spirit who came and warned him about it, and it was drawing closer.
And if it were the same as the Spirit Realm, then the Mortal Realm would need to fend off the Black Rift.
In the Mortal Realm’s current state1if the Black Rift truly manifested, life stood no chance. Even with the world’s awakening already reaching the second breath, it would still take decades or even centuries for the inhabitants of the Mortal Realm to harness the elevated energy properly.
Someone special like Rex and Void could reach the tenth-rank realm quickly.
Perhaps the eleventh rank would not be far away.
But the others? It wouldn’t be that easy.
"Based on how much Chaos activity was happening within your realm, you don’t have long."
"Why...? Why are you telling me this?"
Regardless of what happened to the Mortal Realm, it should not be a concern for High Lord Rashal, as he was way high above a lesser realm such as the Mortal Realm. Even though it was Rex’s home realm, it would still mean nothing.
"Because I have a proposition to make."
"A proposition?"
"Yes," High Lord Rashal leaned forward; his gaze was intense—as he stared at Rex directly in the eyes. "My proposition is this: You want to destroy the Blood Moon Realm, then I will give you the Permit. I will tell you where you can find the Cluster Custodians. And I will even help you watch over the realm. But for me to do that, I need to remain a High Lord.
"In exchange, I want you to treat this problem I have... as if it were also your problem."
Frankly, Rex had a hunch about why High Lord Rashal was doing this.
He could smell when someone wanted something from him.
But since it was High Lord Rashal, he was dubious as to whether his sense of smell was correct.
After all, his strength and influence in the God Realm are feeble.
"You’re thinking too highly of me," Rex said—and it was the truth. "I don’t know how I can even help you in dealing with this problem. Even compared to Alexander, I’m weaker. If anything, I will only be in your way."
"Don’t lie to me," High Lord Rashal shook his head. He should be impatient by now, considering what was going on—but his voice remained level. "Would you say the same thing if this involved protecting your people in the Mortal Realm?"
"..."
"Precisely."
He smirked knowingly as Rex’s silence told him everything.
Then, he pointed at his own eye, "I saw your determination earlier, so don’t tell me you can’t. Treat this problem as your own, and you will get everything you want. You don’t have much time—and neither do I. Do you understand?"
Rex looked down at the table.
Only now did he realize why High Lord Rashal showed him those reports in the catalogue envelopes.
He wanted Rex to understand that they were basically on the same sinking boat.
Even as the seconds stretched to a minute, High Lord Rashal waited patiently. And his face, though this might as well determine whether he could survive as a High Lord or not, did not seem like he was worried at all.
It was almost like he was certain that Rex would agree.
And Rex was curious as to what made High Lord Rashal so certain that he was going to agree.
But eventually, he agreed, "Okay, I’ll accept this proposition. Your problem will also be my problem."
"Of course," High Lord Rashal smirked, "the answer is always yes."
"What makes you confident that I’m going to agree?’
"I am a genius with immense strength, yes—but what brought me to this position isn’t that. It’s because I can read people. And I can see that you desire strength, like myself in the past. And back then, I would do anything for power."
Rex nodded in understanding.
Frankly, though he looked like he was contemplating accepting, he already had his answer.
In fact, he was ecstatic that High Lord Rashal offered him this proposition.
He understood the bargain clearly—to earn the Permit and stand before a Cluster Custodian, he would first need to pull High Lord Rashal out of this disaster. But other than that—the full privileges of a High Lord would be accessible to him.
Considering the wobbly seat, High Lord Rashal wouldn’t hesitate to grant what he needed.
And that is already the best thing Rex could ever ask for in the God Realm.
Naturally, High Lord Rashal isn’t dumb enough to not realize the benefit Rex would gain from accepting this proposition. It might even be the reason why he was confident that Rex would most certainly accept this proposition.
As for the benefit High Lord Rashal would gain from this was more ways to survive.
From the report, he learned that Rex scoured the entire Cavity in search of a clue.
It showed that Rex was also desperate.
Moreover, for someone to aspire to kill a God, and fervently believe that he could actually do it could only mean one of two things. One is that the person was a fool for daring to go against a God—and the other is that the person has something more than meets the eye.
Rex seemed to be the latter, as he even has a God backing him.
One of the full moon Gods, if High Lord Rashal had to guess, and that’s more than enough.
In this moment, he would take all the help he can get.
Managing resources and seeking opportunities are also among the key traits of someone powerful.
And he won’t allow emotions to cloud those traits.
"Do we have a deal?" High Lord Rashal asked again to confirm.
For a second, the two stared at each other before standing up and going in for a firm handshake.
One that sealed the deal.
"Inform me about your plans when you form it. I reckoned I don’t need to remind you—that we are under a time constraint," High Lord Rashal said as he pulled his hand back and fixed his suit. "I would also be meeting my advisors to discuss a plan forward. I’ll keep you in the loop."
"I understand," Rex nodded firmly.
He also would need to talk this out with Davina and Lilliana.
In a situation like that, which required highly political moves, he would need people who actually lived in that kind of environment. And those two are the perfect people for him to talk to. Lilliana is still in the Grey Realm. Did she complete her task? I need to complete the sudden quest right now.
Considering that things are going to be hectic in the next few days, he needed to move quickly.
Having more strength would make him feel more secure.
Just as the two were about to separate, needing to handle their own matters—the secretary stepped into the room again. Even though High Lord Rashal told him not to disturb this meeting, he came waltzing inside with wide strides.
"High Lord, you have a letter." The secretary handed a neat letter to High Lord Rashal.
A social letter, considering that his name was written by hand on it.
High Lord Rashal opened the letter and read the content, "It’s an invitation from Ursa..."