Chapter 832 Moves Within Moves
Rowan recognized the voice, it was Golgoth's. His voice was gravely and sounded as if the speaker had no air in his lungs, he would know this voice anywhere.
'And so it begins,' Rowan thought, he looked at the progress for elevating towards the Third Dimension, and he sliced off all his consciousness from his body, leaving only the consciousness left inside the Crystal Leviathan to be connected to his body.
To achieve his goal, it would require not only misdirection but sacrifice.
The space around Rowan shrank and then expanded, and every consciousness inside the vaults of the gods vanished, the gods were not even aware of any changes in their vault, their interest was focused on Telmus, and a threat that could have easily wiped them out had disappeared.
The six consciousnesses were in a place of darkness before a force propelled them in a strange direction, and when they reappeared they were inside the throne of the God King Golgoth. He had taken them into Elysium, his seat of power.
His six consciousnesses became frozen, unable to move. When Rowan sliced them off from his main body, they had lost certain essential traits of his Primordial body, but they were still incredibly powerful.
It was a testament to the power of this place that he could not move.
Rowan did not seem surprised at this change, he had expected Golgoth to locate him, after all, he had left enough breadcrumbs for him along the way, but he still needed to confirm his suspicion and that required him to play a role that he despised, but right now, what Rowan needed was time, and he was willing to be the fool for a short while.
The God King gestured, and the massive vines that connected to his body before crept around his throne and like snakes curled around Rowan's consciousnesses, the ephemeral nature of it not causing them any issue and the sharp tip of the vines pierced his back.
Pain swept through his consciousness as various sensations emerged from the area that pierced it, and with a loud squelching sound like the sound of a face being tenderized under a fist, all his consciousnesses gained flesh.
The vines retreated from his body and returned to the throne of the God King where they wrapped around it.
The last time Rowan was here after the gods were summoned by the God King, this vine had appeared withered. As it turned out, that was not the case. Golgoth had been laying a trap for Rowan, and he had to show an appearance of weakness and madness.
Rowan had long suspected that the moment he had arrived at Trion, the God King had been aware; however, Rowan had known that might be a possibility, and he had made his moves to counter the deception of the God King; he was here to find out if it was enough.
'Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.'
At this moment, the God King was not being hostile and even appeared relaxed. There was an air of omnipotence around him that would have impressed Rowan if he had not seen the pinnacle of creation battle for billions of years. After witnessing the light from the sun, how could the glow of a candle ever match up?
To him, the God King just appeared… broken. Like a damaged puppet that did not know when to stop working. A rotten cadaver that still mimicked life.
Golgoth slowly caressed his bone blade as his decaying eyes scrutinized Rowan's consciousness. He plunged his blade into the ground and stood up in one fluid motion, Rowan could not ignore the screams that came from the ground when Golgoth pushed his blade into it. The sound was almost familiar.
"You should be kneeling down to me, welp, the weak and the defeated should know their place."
Rowan suddenly felt a pressure slam into his consciousness, having been made flesh, a certain weakness was now applicable to him. This pressure deprived him of his energy, and he suddenly felt like a seventy-year-old mortal left in the cold, yet his body did not move, he did not even shake.
"I said…. Kneel!"
The pressure multiplied, accompanied by a profound weakness that made his consciousness waver to the extent it was nearly extinguished. The flesh in his body tore open, and his blood fell like rain, but he was filled with vitality, and his consciousness healed.
This pressure was not coming from the God King alone, but he was wielding the entire Sea of Destruction to suppress Rowan. The smell of destruction filled the space around Rowan as the screams of despair deep inside the sea of destruction assaulted his senses.
Without a body, Rowan had never heard these screams before. They tore into his psyche like blades, leaving gaping wounds. He was being attacked not only physically but also spiritually.
And still, he would not bend. If Rowan had the ability to make a sound at this moment, he would be laughing. His present consciousness without the body as an anchor was weaker than the entire Sea of Destruction bearing down on him, but he could not bow, even if he wanted to because, fundamentally, he could never lower his head to anyone.
It was like asking water to be dry or sand to be wet. His makeup had changed and he had evolved into a being that was unique in all of creation. Even a Primordial would not make him now.
Rowan would break before he would bend. Golgoth was simply asking for the impossible.
The God King suddenly returned to the throne and began to laugh, "Hahaha… I knew it, you are more like our creator than your wretched father. Even before the wrath and the fear of all Primordials, he stood tall. As for your wretched father… Do you know how many times he has been disgraced and humbled? He moves in the dark like a rat, and he would lick the boots of his enemies, just to assure them of his harmlessness, and he would stab you in the back like the trickster that he is."
The God King jabbed into the air, imitating a stabbing motion, before collapsing back onto the throne.
'Everyone here is fucking insane,' Rowan thought and he found himself being given the ability to speak, although the pressure on him had not lessened one bit. Golgoth may have said he was different from his father but he was not releasing the pressure he placed on him.
"I am curious," All of Rowan's consciousness simultaneously spoke to the God King, "Was that the way he killed you? You offered him your boot so he could lick, and while you were enjoying the sensation, he impaled you like a suckling pig to be roasted. I have never seen anyone who is shameless enough to brag about their stupidity. Boo fucking hoo, do you blame him for every single setback you have suffered in life like a little bitch?"
The demeanor of the God King changed, and an air of desolation surrounded him, but Rowan was not done, he had seen a point of weakness, and like any primal predator, he was going to squeeze.