Chapter 516: The Impregnable Wall
Works like this were usually commissioned to the citadel.
It was just like placing a request for drifters to help secure a certain caravan to its endpoint. Hence, there was no way this was a random caravan.
But Alystren had made it sound like they had gotten this one by chance.
As if the caravan was doing them a favor. Worse, Northern even suspected that this was a caravan that belonged to Tharion itself.
Of course, this suspicion was just on a single base for now, so he just shoved it to the back of his mind.
Instead, he closed his eyes and entered the Limitless Void, thinking one last thing.
*Whatever their scheme is, it's useless anyway.*
He was greeted by the new beauty in the Limitless Void-a strange mixture of heaven and hell, with shadowy floors contrasting against ravishing azure lights.
Sinister flames burned on the border steps of his throne, creating an impenetrable veil for any being lesser than him.
The stark aura of evil supremacy poured heavily into the hall the moment he appeared, and the place suddenly seemed to burn and shine brighter.
Northern exhaled, the blue lights of the hall darkly reflecting on one side of his face as he leaned with one hand resting on his throne.
Night Terror appeared beyond the flames, obediently bowing before standing upright.
The creature began to move its hands, growling and groaning, trying to communicate with its master.
"I see... Is that so?" Northern responded, nodding slowly.
"Hmm, hmm."
"Okay, there's no problem."
"Then, let me go check it out."
Northern responded like this to each of the stalwart devil's groans and growls of complaints.
After which, he disappeared from the throne and appeared in the red mines.
Being in this place again made memories flood his mind.
'Why have I been thinking so much about this place and what happened here lately?' Northern shook his head and walked forward with purpose.
After a while, he stood before a certain man.
After a while, he was standing before a certain person.
The man had small and shallow cuts all over his shirtless body, but he did not mind them and consistently slammed the pickaxe against the small heap of red crystal before him.
He was so focused that he did not detect Northern's presence for over a couple of minutes.
Until Northern's voice cut through the silence:
"You seem to be doing better than I expected."
Lynus's eyes shot wide as he heard Northern's voice. He spun around, his axe arcing viciously from the side...
WHAM.
Northern stood there, completely at ease, as if the force of the blow was nothing more than a breeze.
The air itself seemed to shudder from the impact, but the axe went no further-stopped dead, hanging inches from Northern's side.
"Look, I have the power to kill you if I want. But I'm not going to do that." He paused, glancing down at the heaps of crystal Lynus had leveled.
Then he looked at the cuts on Lynus's body.
"I first learned the meaning of bloodlust here, in these red crystals. Of course, before that, I had nearly tasted death myself. Perhaps that's why I was able to sense it so much-the fear of dying over and over, the pain that stung across my entire body..."
His voice carried a soft resonance.
"They're all gone now, but I still remember vividly how much of a hell this place was."
He chuckled softly. "This hell, though, is where my story began... I think, in a way, I'm thankful for it."
Lynus's eyes burned with the red-hot flames of anger as Northern spoke, though a hint of wariness lingered beneath the rage.
After glancing around with a small smile on his lips, Northern finally turned his face to Lynus, the last trace of that smile fading.
The air between them grew thick and dark.
In that instant, Lynus couldn't help but lower his axe, which had been held defensively until now. His entire body suddenly felt cold and heavy.
'He's even stronger than before!'
That realization seared into his mind as he gauged Northern's presence, comparing it to when they had met at the harbor.
Suddenly, his thoughts raced to the recent disturbances in the Limitless Void, trying to comprehend how insanely powerful the creature was the one that had taken an attack strong enough to sever the realm in two just to defeat it.
His heart clenched with pain. The more vivid the memories became, the harder it was to accept that the boy standing before him was an impregnable wall.
A wall he could never overcome.
Standing before Northern like this, Lynus was still unwilling to accept it.
'Defeat starts in the mind. Once a man is defeated there, it's only a matter of time before true downfall comes for him.'
But what was he supposed to do when faced with such a high wall?
A dark metal fortress that stretched into the sky, casting its overwhelming shadows on him.
Lynus felt suffocated. Beads of sweat trickled down his face.
His legs grew weak, trembling until they could no longer bear the weight of his stubborn will, crumbling him to the ground.
Lynus fell to his knees, bending forward on the hard red ground, gritting his teeth as his nails scratched against it.
"How...? How are you so strong?" His voice rang with pain and torment.
He had lived his whole life training. From a young age, he had been praised as a prodigy. He had lived for twenty-eight years, and twenty-two of them had been solely dedicated to
growing stronger.
He was an Ascendant, and with more hard work, he was sure to become a Paragon before he
died.
He was a beacon of hope and strength.
Yet all that pride and glory meant nothing when he crossed paths with the wall standing
before him.
Nothing had made sense since he met Northern.
Northern bent down before him, exhaling calmly. He extended a hand to Lynus.
"Do you want to become stronger?"
Lynus looked up at him, a remnant of rage still burning in his eyes, but there was also pain, torment, and a swelling resolve in his hardened gaze.
"Are you going to tell me to serve you?"
Northern wrinkled his nose in disgust. "What? No. Serve me? Why? So you can stab me later?
No, you're not going to serve me. I want to employ you."