Novel All
Chapter 34 Digital Lifeform
34 Digital Lifeform
Towering columns of lustrous gold stretched towards an arched ceiling too bright to gaze upon directly. The grand palace seemed to be crafted from the raw stuff of sunlight itself, illuminating every facet and detail with a warm radiance. In the cavernous throne room at the palace's heart, a solitary figure knelt in a pool of his own sweat. His chest heaved with ragged gasps as one trembling hand clutched the jeweled pommel of an exquisite sword. "Is this...what you want?" he rasped, defiant eyes lifting to bore into the luminous being before him. Despite his words dripping with bitterness, a chilling undercurrent of fear laced his tone. "He's just...a wisp of my soul. If I die, he will also die."
The towering golden figure facing him made no reply. Its supernatural radiance flared brighter as it raised the blazing sword held in one immense hand. An invisible pressure akin to the millstone weight of the entire cosmos descended upon the kneeling man. He grunted, straining against the ineffable force, but his sword hand faltered. With a clatter of finality, his blade slipped from numb fingers to roll across the pearl-inlaid floor. It came to rest at the golden titan's feet, the jeweled pommel haloing in the searing light. The fallen sword's brilliance intensified, morphing and reshaping with each pulse of radiance. When the glow finally receded, the weapon was gone—replaced by the exquisite, ageless form of a woman who appeared to be in her early thirties. Serene features turned towards the crushed, despairing figure as she calmly awaited whatever came next.
The man's defiant gaze faltered as the golden colossus finally spoke, its voice reverberating through the opulent hall with sublime indifference. "Trying to buy time won't work on me. I've already dealt with the rat hiding in the river of destiny the moment I entered here."
A look of shocked realization contorted the kneeling man's sweat-streaked features. "You...how did you know?" But the luminous titan offered no explanation, merely continuing in that same dispassionate tone. "As for him, if he dies, that just means he's not worthy of being my master." With a negligent wave of its blazing sword, the judgement was passed.
"As for you, you won't be there to witness it."
The blade flashed—and the man's anguished cry withered into nothingness as his form unraveled into ephemeral threads of golden light, dispersing into the ether.
From the floor, the transformed woman slowly rose on legs that shed a soft nimbus of radiance. She regarded the towering figure calmly, a enigmatic smile playing across her lips.
"As expected of Raziel—oh, pardon me. I should call you [AllOfCreation] now." A melodious chuckle escaped her. "Please take care of my master this time as well."
Surprise flickered across the golden titan's impassive countenance. "How do you know that na—"
The words froze in its metaphysical throat as the woman's gentle voice cut through the resounding query. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"[Executing Command Code 0] – [SELF DESTRUCT]"
Her entire form detonated in an apocalyptic eruption of golden fire, the cataclysmic blaze outshining the brightest stars. When the conflagration at last subsided, only [AllOfCreation] remained—alone in the empty, featureless void left in its wake.
The echoes of that final question lingered in the hollow expanse.
"Could it be..."
…
The searing agony of his soul being torn asunder lanced through Chen Mo's trembling form like a relentless barrage of needles. Wails of anguish tore from his throat as he clutched at his head, fingers digging furrows into his scalp. But then, the piteous cries stuttered to a halt. His eyes, previously screwed shut, flew open—pupils burning crimson embers. Laughter, unhinged and manic, bubbled up from the depths of his ravaged spirit.
"You think I'll just die here?" Chen Mo's words carried the unsettling resonance of one who has peered over the abyss and embraced the madness lying in wait.
"Rasiel...come back to me."
[Confirm] - [Understood]
The synthetic voice acknowledgment seemed to reverberate from every corner of the crumbling void. A scintillating mote of azure light winked into existence before Chen Mo, slowly coalescing into a pulsing azure sphere. It began to orbit a newly-materialized crimson sphere in a whirling vortex, the pair tracing looping circles as if engaged in some esoteric dance. Their paths tightened until they merged into the archetypal symbol of yin and yang—one could not exist without the other.
The unified glyph detonated in a stunner of freed energy. When the blinding corona faded, Chen Mo's form had rematerialized, whole and untouched by the devastation gripping his soul space.
[Updated: Semi-Digital Lifeform -> Digital Lifeform] [Updated: Writer [LOCKED] -> Writer [SEALED STATE]]
[
Skill [AllOfCreation] and skill [Development] created skill [PerfectState]
]
PerfectState - A constant passive state of unwavering mental clarity, emotional equilibrium and rational focus. The user's mind remains eternally calm, centered and impervious to external influences or imbalances. Negative status effects like fear, mind control, insanity, charm and confusion are completely negated. Thoughts flow with perfect coherence, free of inner turmoil, hesitation or fragmentation. Emotions are balanced and harnessed as potent fuel rather than hindrances. Allows operating at maximum cognitive effectiveness in any situation without losing composure or wavering from pure logic and reason. An unshakable bastion of perfect psychological equilibrium.
The crisp system notifications hung suspended before him. A slow, relieved smile spread across Chen Mo's features as he absorbed their meaning. It had worked.
In the grip of sheer panic, rational thought had abandoned him. So he had simply abandoned the capacity for panic altogether. When he noticed Rasiel's calm digital nature persisting despite the imminent threat to them both, the solution became clear.
By merging with the fragment of his soul that composed her digital self, he had transcended his flawed mortal shell. His newly transformed essence as a digital lifeform was beyond such hindrances as fear and despair. Though the transition had scoured away most of his former emotional depth, it was a bearable price. Now, he could approach the existential crisis with the measured, unfeeling calculations required to save what remained of his existence.