Chapter 916: Irresistible Approach

Upon seeing this coiling feathered serpent deep inside the black fog,

and a face at the top of the towering figure, Azik was first taken

aback. Following that, the corner of his forehead throbbed as though he

had been struck in the temple, splitting his head in two.

Amidst the excruciating pain, several incontiguous scenes flashed in his

mind;

It was a feathered serpent with a face identical to his, even to the

smallest detail;

Above a silent land, there were countless pale corpses;

Floating in midair, there were clouds stacked from bones that came from

different species;

Black tentacles that drilled out from the ground, with eyes that

resembled dead fish at the tip of each tentacle;

A transparent Spirit Body was forcefully pulled out of his body.

After these flashing scenes, a pair of white flaming eyes that were on

the brink of extinguishing glanced over. A white feather stained with

yellow oil fluttered down, splitting Azik's transparent Spirit Body into

two.

One of the parts suddenly flew up and plunged inside the "cloud of

bones." The remaining part fused with a golden accessory that had

appeared out of thin air. Amidst the pale-white flames, it materialized

back into a body of flesh and blood.

This scene was like a thunder god's hammer striking down at Azik's mind,

again and again, making the pain hardly bearable. He raised his hand to

his head as his knees gradually buckled as he knelt on the staircase.

He had finally recalled everything that had happened, and he understood

the reason why he was constantly dying and reviving, always losing his

memories and having to recover them every single time.

His soul wasn't complete!

Similarly, Azik also understood why the feathered serpent suppressing

the entire space in the depths of the black fog had an identical face as

his.

It was him!

That was the other Azik Eggers!

And all of this was a concealed attempt before Death's fall.

If stitching souls existed, there was naturally the splitting of souls.

At that moment, the crazy and powerful Death had seemingly foreseen

"His" outcome. Unwilling to die so simply, "He" secretly split the soul

of his son, Balam Empire's Death Consul. He took half of it away and

used another item as a replacement, stitching it together with Azik's

soul.

It was a mystery if it was a deliberate arrangement of Death, or if it

was an unintended consequence of the Numinous Episcopate's Artificial

Death Project, the half soul that had been taken away from Artificial

Death had fused with the target of the Artificial Death Project---the

Uniqueness of the Death pathway. It made the latter gain certain innate

abilities as it began influencing High-Sequence Beyonders of the Corpse

Collector pathway who had failed their advancement.

And for the other half, although there was a replacement that prevented

it from being incomplete, the incomplete soul resulted in repeated

deaths and resurrection just like Sequence 4's Undying. And due to the

golden accessory inside his body, and the calling from the other half

soul, Azik, who started a brand new life every incarnation, would

gradually recover his past memories with the passage of time.

In the past, Artificial Death had attempted to identify the reason, but

due to the natural recovery of his memories, he was often already close

to death once more. He wasn't able to perform any in-depth

investigations. Furthermore, the Numinous Episcopate's Artificial Death

Project had been raised in the past few centuries. It was only in recent

times that they received some level of success. That was why he never

found the answer.

Haa! Haa! Haa!

At some point in time, Azik's hands had left his head. They were placed

on the staircase as his throat produced a voice that didn't sound human.

Drops of sweat dripped down his forehead and hit the stone steps in

front of him. They spread out into a layer of pale yellow oil, growing

out into dense white feathers.

At that instant, he felt the other half of his soul calling out, as well

as its desire. The two "selves" which had been separated for more than a

thousand years were eager to fuse as one, to be whole again.

"No..." Azik muttered in pain, unwilling to raise his head or reach out

his right hand.

He had seen it clearly. The "him" as a feathered serpent didn't have any

reason. It was filled with extreme coldness and madness. If he became

one with it again, he would probably immediately be restored to his

state as a Death Consul from before. He might even become a fake Death

who only had godhood with zero humanity!

He would forget everything, forgetting everyone who he had once

cherished.

"No..." Azik's throat squeezed out the same word again. Irresistibly, he

raised his neck bit by bit as pitch-black and gloomy scales appeared.

At his forehead, something that took a life of its own protruded out.

His forehead cracked as a bloody opening appeared.

A golden sliver of light emitted out of nothingness, taking form inside

the flesh and blood.

This ancient accessory made of gold was in the shape of a tall, slender

bird. Pale white flames emanated around it in the form of feathers.

Inside its bronze eyes, there were shimmering layers of light that

separately formed a mysterious and illusory door.

The moment it appeared, Azik let out a painful growl. He raised his head

completely as two wisps of pale-white flames burst in his eyes that had

experienced much.

Deep inside the black fog, the illusory and real feathered serpent had

straightened its body. It reached its head out as the two identical

faces of different sizes looked at each other in silence.

As four pale-white flames leaped, bit by bit, Azik, whose hands were on

the ground, struggled to stand up with a warped expression. Slowly, he

walked to the feathered serpent known as Artificial Death.

As he approached, the entire mausoleum began shaking. The surroundings

turned transparent, reflecting a world with countless skeletons and

shadows.

Bloody arms, bluish-black vines with baby faces, and slimy tentacles

with dead fish eyes or two rows of sharp teeth tore through the boundary

between reality and the illusory, reaching into the mausoleum. However,

they clung straight to the ground without daring to move.

East Balam, Kolain City.

Daly Simone, who was rushing to her next target's location, suddenly

stopped in her steps and held her head.

"What's wrong?" Red Gloves team captain, Soest, asked in puzzlement.

Daly frowned slightly as she answered, seemingly in reverie, "I hear

strange voices. I can sense the calling that stems from an unknown

place... I even wish to kneel to the ground..."

"Can the rest of you hear it?" Soest prudently asked the other

teammates.

Just as Leonard Mitchell shook his head, he heard the slightly-aged

voice in his mind.

"Look towards the Berserk Sea."

Leonard subconsciously turned his body and looked in the direction of

the harbor towards the distant Berserk Sea. He saw a swath of pure,

deep-black darkness. There weren't any gales, massive waves, dark

clouds, lightning, torrential rain, or sunlight.

Although Klein had his eyes closed, his outstanding spiritual perception

allowed him to sense his surroundings. When he heard the painful murmurs

and shouts that sounded like Mr. Azik, he could sense seemingly

corporeal silence and the aura of death.

*What's happening? Although the Artificial Death deep in the mausoleum

didn't attack Mr. Azik, it has inflicted him with adverse

effects?* Klein's mind raced as he felt anxious and worried.

His spiritual intuition told him that what was about to happen was not

something he wished to see.

However, he couldn't figure out what he could do. He didn't even dare

open his eyes to look at Mr. Azik's present state or whatever he had

encountered.

This wasn't a problem that could be solved with mere courage. It was a

difference in the natural order of life, an unbridgeable gap.

Suddenly, Klein had a strong feeling of helplessness. However, he didn't

give up as he tried hard to think of whatever items he had on him that

could be of use.

*Creeping Hunger? No, it's at a completely different level. It won't be

of any use...*

Death Knell? Even worse...

*Groselle's Travels? I didn't bring it... Neither did I bring the Black

Emperor card and Tyrant card...*

Fate Siphon charm... Yes, the Fate Siphon charm!

Klein was delighted as he formulated a plan.

It was to use the Fate Siphon charm to temporarily swap his fate with

Mr. Azik. He would suffer the influence created by Artificial Death in

his place!

*At the very least, I still have a chance of reviving. As for Mr. Azik,

the deaths he previously suffered wouldn't from the damage inflicted.

Who knows if he can awaken again in such a situation!* Klein

didn't consider if the Fate Siphon charm was effective on Azik and

Artificial Death. He only wished to give it a try. He raised his right

hand and reached into his pocket.

Then, there was a delay in his actions.

His arm rose a little before landing back in its original location.

He froze for a moment as though he had been petrified into being a stone

sculpture.

Klein's lips quivered a few times as his expression distorted

indiscernibly. Following that, he swung his right arm and reached his

palm into his pocket and pulled it out.

Gripped tightly in his palm was a black crystal card-like charm.

At the same time, Azik was approaching the towering illusory feathered

serpent. His footsteps sped up as though he was returning to his throne.

However, his eyes which had pale-white flames were filled with pain. His

expression was extremely warped.

"No..." Azik muttered once again. Wherever his skin was exposed, white

feathers stained with yellow oil grew out from the gaps of pitch-black

scales.

The intense shouting and desire made him lose control of himself. He was

about to soar into the sky and leap towards the gigantic feathered

serpent that shared his face.

Pale-white flames spread out from the bird-shaped accessory at his

forehead, flowing towards the rest of his body.

Klein's spiritual intuition was sending warnings as he hurriedly said a

single word in ancient Hermes, "Fate!"

Just as he was about to use the charm, his surroundings suddenly

quietened. There was no longer any sound.

A slender, fair female palm appeared out of nowhere and pressed down on

the golden bird-shaped accessory on Azik's forehead.

A figure then materialized between Azik and the towering illusory

feathered serpent, stopping the two's approach.

With the help of this external force, Azik finally held back that desire

and the irresistible calling to fuse together. The pale-white flames in

his eyes "reflected" the floating figure in midair.

It was a beautiful lady wearing an ancient robe. She wore a black hood.

Her face was deadpan, and her black eyes were deep and dark, devoid of

spirituality.