The Dawn of the New World



It took a moment to explain everything but not much time had passed.

The dial was overloaded and working overtime to extract the soul essence in time before the next one pushed through. For every soul consumed, three managed to squeeze through and enter Hao Xuan's sea of consciousness at full strength.

More than five hundred thousand new souls had taken their place next to Hao Xuan before the next hammer strike could come down but the Emperor had also channeled even more power this time.

*BOOOOM*

The explosion shook his body from the inside out. Despite being much greater in numbers and power as compared to the last time, nearly all of the souls were wiped out in an instant.

The Emperor was not giving up but neither was Hao Xuan and both of them continued in much the same manner, trying to outlast the other with sheer willpower.

Every subsequent strike was more powerful than the last and to withstand its terrifying might Hao Xuan had to channel more and more souls into his mind and body.

*BOOOOOOM*

*BOOOOOOOM*

*BOOOOOOOOM*

*BOOOOOOOOOM*

One explosion after another rattled off, almost in unison with the lightning strikes from the 'Heavenly Extermination'.

Meanwhile Cerberus was fighting tooth and nail on pure instinct, ripping the lightning apart with its fearsome abilities but the Heavenly Extermination would not cease until the prey was eliminated whereas even the mighty Guardian of Hell had its limits.

It was being pushed back slowly but surely and it was only a matter of time until it would fall.

After just a few minutes it could not even defend itself properly and chunks of its flesh were torn asunder by the Will of the Gods.

The Hound's blood rained down upon the mortals below as they engaged in deadly combat on top of the stairs. Dai Zhi's camp had the numbers but they were wounded and marked by Cerberus which caused their minds to be perpetually locked in a state of madness.

Whereas only Rhisiat, Ensis, and Claudia could actually put up a fight from Henrik's camp. They had the advantage but were being forced into a corner.

Three very different battles taking place but all of them connected. If even one side failed then there was no telling what would happen to the other two and...time was almost up.

The Emperor stopped holding back altogether and used every iota of energy at his disposal to finish it as quickly as possible. His thundering voice rolled through the ether, reaching every corner of the planet inside and out.

[ALL WEAKNESS]

*BOOOOOOOOM*

[SHALL BE]

*BOOOOOOOOOM*

[PURGED]

*BOOOOOOOOOM*

Hao Xuan was trying his best to hold on and keep it together for as long as possible but the incessant battering had rendered him senseless and numb. He watched millions of souls being snuffed out with every strike of the hammer, their hopes, dreams, wishes and regrets all settling down into his sea of consciousness.

At this moment he was one of them, he was ALL of them. Their pain was his pain, and their suffering was his suffering. He could clearly feel how long they had been waiting for this moment, waiting for one poor soul to stand up and fight.

It was an inexplicable feeling but for those few moments, Hao Xuan was more than just himself, more just a single man.

He did not have any hands so all he could do was watch as they sacrificed themselves on his behalf on the alter of fate, like so many had before.

For a moment all sound died down and time slowed to a crawl.

'It won't work,' a young voice calmly remarked, 'You are not strong enough.'

Hao Xuan looked over his right shoulder and saw a teenage version of him standing there. He had seen that face several times before. He was exactly like him in all aspects but one, his eyes. They were bright blue.

He was staring into the sky, watching as the next hammer strike made its way down to reap even more souls.

'I was not strong enough either,' he continued, 'None of us were.'

And then he slowly looked down to meet Hao Xuan's gaze, 'But maybe if we work together it will be different, we could even fight back.'

He looked to the left, 'Will you accept us?'

And when Hao Xuan followed his line of sight he saw another figure standing behind him, just over his left shoulder. It looked like him but older, and with searing red eyes.

This version of him was sealed in his Mind Palace for all this time...longer than he cared to admit. But now he was free to roam as he pleased.

'We will help you,' he made the same offer, 'Lend you our powers to fight against that madman but in return, you will have to do something for us if we manage to prevail. Do you agree?'