The Dawn of the New World



Within the Silent Chamber, both Jin Wang and Mr. Hyde could sense the arrival of this new indomitable presence and it immediately squashed what little hope they had left.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Hyde exclaimed, "How can it be here?! Why-" he turned towards his father, the Emperor, "-HOW is the 'Guardian of Hell' here?!"

[Hound of Hell, Death's Servant, Guardian of Hell, it has had many names over the ages] the Emperor responded calmly, not wishing to hide it any longer.

[When your master betrayed hell he took the hound with him, even going as far as unleashing it against me and your brothers in our final battle. I- We paid a heft price for its capture...but one that was necessary. For it is one of the few beings capable of contesting against the terrible might of the 'Heavenly Extermination']

"But it can't...win," Jin Wang added, "You will only delay...the inevitable..."

The Emperor raised the hammer into the air, [Matters not, I require but a moment more]

This time he would not stop until it was all over.

Jin Wang's eyes widened as he whispered a final, "No...!"

Another lightning bolt fell at the same time the Emperor struck down with all his might. One shook the world outside and the other tried to destroy all that remained within.

Although much had transpired, for Hao Xuan it had only been a brief moment since he was still stuck in the sea of consciousness and the flow of time was much different here.

The skies of his mind were overtaken by the dazzling golden lights announcing the arrival of the mighty hammer, hell-bent on wiping away what little remained of his soul.

But thanks to Xu Qing he was not alone this time. There was hope and a small chance that he could succeed...no, he had to. It was the only way to rectify his many blunders.

The hammer passed through his body and into his mind, appearing above his soul with the destructive power of a falling star.

Hao Xuan did not even have any arms left to raise towards the heavens to block or fight back. But when he stood up and screamed, the essence of hundreds of thousands of souls polluting his sea of consciousness answered his call. They lent him their arms so he could fight on their behalf.

The sea of consciousness bubbled as the 'apparitions' broke through the surface one after another, standing shoulder-to-shoulder around Hao Xuan protectively. They formed a barrier around him using their own ethereal forms. And when the hammer fell they were there to stop it.

*BOOOOOM*

The muffled explosion could even be heard outside his body. And when the dust settled Hao Xuan was still standing there, broken and barely in one piece but still alive. But nearly half of those souls were destroyed in the process.

The Emperor's disembodied voice echoed throughout his mind, [If that is all you are capable of, then let this be the end] and once again the sky darkened.

Hao Xuan knew he would not be able to do anything with just this many souls so he reached out for more. Gathering all his remaining strength he sent out the final call.

"HEED MY CALL! IT IS TIME TO FIGHT, COME TO ME! TOGETHER WE HAVE A CHANCE!" his roaring voice could be heard echoing even in the outside world.

As usual, Princess Ceni was the first one to react, "It's him! He is alive! We must help him!"

But so did the others. Dai Zhi, burnt half to death by the hellfire, awoke from his stupor.

"IT'S HIM!" he screamed hysterically, "HE DID THIS TO US! HE ANGERED THE HEAVENS! KILL HAO XUAN AND ALL THOSE WHO STAND WITH HIM, ONLY THEN WILL WE BE SPARED!"

Even in this situation his arrogance did not allow for him to slip into the netherworld in peace. He rallied what little remained of his forces and began marching up the stairs, towards the chamber for one final confrontation.

Meanwhile, the ones Hao Xuan had actually called out for were dying to answer. This was the moment they had been waiting for since first falling for the Emperor's trap and they were ready, ALL of them.

More than one hundred and forty-four million souls came forward, gathering around the pyramid from every possible direction and creating a hole within the veil with their sheer numbers.

The dial and all its mechanisms were immediately overwhelmed as one soul after another threw itself into the flurry, pushing each other forward so more could squeeze through.

It was certainly a sight to behold.

Countless souls swarming up the sides of the pyramid, a half-burnt army of bonafide murderers and lunatics running up the stairs, a maelstrom of heavenly lightning above them and a three-headed beast of hell below.

And a handful of tired mortals and cultivators trying to find a way to survive all of it.