### Chapter 213: The Remains of the Deity (Part 10)
Thud thud.
Thud thud…
Thud thud—
It’s hard to tell if that heavy heartbeat, like a drum, is coming from me or the tumor. It drowns out the howling wind, invading my ears and echoing in my heart.
After that, it felt like my very soul was on fire.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle…
In the sharp hissing sound, that searing, lava-like force surged into my chest from the bl**d-red mist, rushing through me like a tidal wave, swirling madly in my belly like a gigantic whirlpool.
“Ugh… uh…”
My expression instantly twisted in agony.
My body was plummeting at breakneck speed, my head felt foggy, consciousness fading, and my body was burning hot. In a daze, I even caught a whiff of the smell of my own flesh burning; I wasn’t sure if it was real or just a hallucination. I instinctively opened my eyes, and in the hazy vision, black smoke swirled around me like a fog. Above, the mass of writhing tentacles was retreating towards the tumor.
They weren’t chasing me anymore.
The pitch-black chaotic fire rained down like tiny meteorites, showering the sky. Countless bl**d pearls shattered and wrapped in the flames, their crimson crystals decomposing rapidly. The intertwining scarlet and white light illuminated the once-dim sky, painting it with a magnificent, unpredictable halo.
Such a bizarrely beautiful scene, yet I had no heart to appreciate it at the moment.
“Uuuaaaaahhh—!”
The agonizing fire engulfing my body made me scream. The intense burning sensation spread from my belly to my chest, radiating to my hands and feet, even my eyes felt unbearable pain. Each breath I exhaled carried thick black smoke, flecks of fire rising and scattering into nothingness among the ashes.
My head felt like it was splitting open, something suddenly surged into me.
[Rabishixemos…]
A soft voice, as if whispering in my ear, echoed deep in my consciousness.
[Fill it up…]
In my daze, I recognized that voice as my own.
The voice of another version of myself, one that had communicated with me before.
[Destroy the egg of the barrier that has put our kind to sleep, consume the bodies that have awaited a millennium in the ashes, and fill the void of Chaotic Fire…]
The whisper reverberated with lingering echoes, and then a flash of white light transformed the world before me.
Roar—
An ancient, ethereal dragon’s roar pierced the night, beneath a dark red full moon in the sky. The ground of abyss mud bubbled as countless titanic dragons howled towards the heavens. The clouds suddenly obscured the moon, and in the distance, a black peak rose from the ground, with swirling abyss mud wrapping around dragon bodies, drowning these ancient life forms.
It was reminiscent of the world’s creation.
[Fill it up…]
The distant words seemed to come from the edge of the world, and they were no longer the soft voice of a girl. They grew monumental, booming, like a bell ringing overhead, or the rolling thunder flickering between the clouds, shaking my mind.
[Ancient existence, great deity, grant thy kin’s souls freedom from the shackles of flesh, unleash the barrier egg upon the sinners… Oh, mighty dragons, this shall be the sky for your kind, where your sins shall be repaid, and your essence shall become a thousand-year guardian, in the name of the ancient watchers and the great mother deity Rabishixemos, grant your damned lineage eternal life… unending… to…]
Buzz buzz buzz—
A piercing drone resonated in my ears, like a divine voice that thundered forth. As the fleeting image collapsed into chaos, it vanished.
In the next moment, I saw a pair of enormous, bl**d-red, mournful eyes amidst the swirling ashes.
“Oh God…”
A mournful dragon’s roar echoed from afar, drifting like smoke into my heart. I faintly heard sorrowful words spill forth with the roaring cries.
“Why do you imprison our kind…”
“Why do you slaughter our kind…”
“Why do you deceive us so…”
The cries of anguish gradually became hysterical, clearly no longer human, nor even a genuine voice.
“Liar, Gidels—”
“You are unworthy to be called gods…”
The wailing voices faded, and countless chaotic whispers, like the deceitful murmurs of demons, lingered in my ears. The sharp resonance erupted again; that enormous red eye filled my vision, transforming into bl**d smoke, vanishing without a trace.
Chaos erupted in a flash of white light.
I saw the silhouette of a giant radiating golden light, standing atop a towering mountain, casting a long shadow.
[Wake up…]
A vast voice spoke to me.
[Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up… Follow the will of the gods, correct the world’s order…]
[Wake up, Hilvigia Rabithermos.]
I suddenly opened my eyes.
“Whaaaa—!!!”
Chaotic thoughts and a maddening headache compelled me to shout out. The wind roared around me, the whispers vanished, and my consciousness returned to this ash-filled yet all-too-real world. Everything I had just seen and heard felt like nothing more than a hallucination capable of causing severe mental pollution.
But that hallucination felt like an unknown presence was slowly and steadily eating away at my mind—I could feel it.
I could sense my emotional shift; I was about to become that terrifying version of myself.
[But this is the real you, Peilo…]
Another part of myself spoke within my mind.
[This is how you should be, after enduring long experiments… your most complete essence… come, accept her.]
“Get away!!!”
I clutched my head, tugging at my hair, shouting hoarsely, “Get! Away! From me, you freak!!!”
I don’t want to become that way…
Absolutely not…
Boom—
In the next moment, my body crashed to the ground like a cannonball.
The earth cracked and sank under the immense impact, a storm of ash suddenly billowing up in my face. My face turned red, my back pressed against the hard rocks, and I couldn’t catch my breath for a while.
“Cough! Cough cough…”
Fortunately, with the protection of the abyss mud armor, the fall didn’t inflict much damage, but the recoil was unbearable. After what felt like ages, I finally breathed out, sticking out my tongue and coughing a few times. The air in my chest settled, and I rolled over, getting to my feet, rushing out of the haze, gritting my teeth to endure the burning sensation that still persisted but was gradually fading. I tilted my head back, gazing at the sky.
Boom boom boom—
The trembling of the earth continued, and above me, countless suspended rocks swayed precariously. Through the gaps in the stones, I could vaguely see the distant peak, buried behind thick fog, an intricate web of tentacle-like bl**d vessels slowly retreating inch by inch into the tumor.
The tentacles that had chased me earlier were nowhere to be found.
High up on the rock peak, that massive floating tumor was now like a fruit dangling outside, yet still alive, pulsing with a “thud thud,” resembling the sound of a drum, trembling rapidly, shrinking as if its internal moisture was being sucked out—a water balloon visibly shrinking.
Did it really…
succeed?
Did it work!?!
That big white one…
The intricate bl**d networks intertwined at the mountain’s peak had retreated back into the tumor.
It’s okay, right…
I… seem to be okay…
I looked down at my hands, dirty with mud and bl**d.
That fall seemed to have knocked the voices in my head out of commission… I think I’m back to being myself… I should be fine…
I think I really am fine?
But I haven’t felt any surge of power… nor that sleepy feeling… I definitely consumed that pearl with Chaotic Fire, that I can’t be wrong about… the bl**d smoke entered my body…
Forget it, let’s not think about that right now.
I need to check on the big white one!
Without bothering to examine my body for changes or to ponder the surreal visions that surged in my mind or the bizarre voices… I forced myself not to dwell on that, ignoring even the burning sensation that throbbed within me.
I just gritted my teeth, opened my flame wings, bent my knees, and with a “bang,” I activated Moon Step, engulfed by thick dead smoke, soaring into the air, flying back toward the standing cliffs.
Boom boom boom—
The sonic boom generated a vortex like water ripples, exploding in the ash-filled high air, pushing through to the summit of the peak. The abundant chaotic power flowed within me, and in just a few breaths, I had traversed the floating rocks and passed through the mist, arriving at the outer rim of the giant pit on top of the massive rock.
I gazed into the pit.
There, I saw that white form.
“Big White—”
I called out anxiously, glancing up at the enormous tumor above.
Flying here, the heartbeat-like thumping grew clearer. The surface of the tumor was densely covered with fleshy lumps, contracting violently with each thump. That massive mass continued to shrink; the earlier gaping pit and the intertwining bl**d vessels had all retreated into the tumor, leaving behind only a few small red sprouts peeking out, swaying slowly like little grass with the tremors of the earth and the gusts of ash.
Would it still pose a danger?
Shouldn’t…
be a danger anymore… right…?
Still feeling a bit uneasy, I took a deep breath in midair, tapping my head, which was dizzy from the overheating, giving it a little shake like a rattle, shaking off my worries and distractions. I calmed my mind and then flapped my flame wings, rapidly diving into the pit.
“Big White…”
As I dove, I perked up, heightened my vigilance, watching the movements above.
But there was no movement.
Until I landed in the pit, folded my wings, gathered all the chaotic power surrounding me, and stepped slowly to the front of the massive white dragon’s head, the floating tumor above didn’t exhibit any unusual actions.
Only the wind whispered in my ears.
“Hey…”
I gently called out.
The white dragon, sporting horns and looking fierce and fearsome, now lay limply on the ground, its colossal body sprawled out, eyes tightly shut, as if asleep.
Of course, it was still alive.
The gigantic dragon’s body swayed slightly; the hot breath exhaled from its nostrils stirred the dust, blowing it into my face, carrying a faintly putrid odor.
I still remembered this peculiar smell of dragon.
But…
I walked closer, slowly lifting my hand to stroke its soft white nose: “Do you still… remember me?”
Pausing for a moment, I tried to lift the corners of my mouth, forcing a smile.
“I’m back.”
In the next moment, the white dragon slowly opened its eyes.
