Chapter 433 Ashahell's Ultimatum 1
Just the concept of having one's control of one's own body taken away was a horrifying thing to think of.
Daneel could feel everything: from the invisible ropes that were binding him in place to the air that brushed against his skin.
Only, it was like he was a passenger in his own mind: only able to move his eyes while the rest of his body refused to follow his orders.
"System, is there nothing that can be done?"
[With clone body, no action can be taken. With original body, time to disable spell: 10 seconds.]
That was just great.
Using simple common sense, Daneel had chosen to meet this man using his clone, but his guts had still begun warning him about his impending death, which had made him panic the most.
Even if it was his original body, in 10 seconds, he could possibly be killed countless times before he even mounted a resistance.
However he thought about it, if this man wanted to kill him, he was doomed.
At this point, Daneel truly understood just how much farther he had to go if he wanted to be anything greater than an ant in this continent.
True, he was a once-in-a-millennium genius who could match an Exalted Warrior even though he had just stepped into the Warrior realm himself, using all the inheritances and tricks he had.
However, standing up against a genius who had apparently been born with more talent than him, he could do nothing.
The man in front of him was a Peak Exalted Champion, but he could tell that even if he was just an Amateur Champion, Daneel wouldn't be any better off.
With panic surging through him, he began running from his personal chambers, where his original body was.
He had already shifted his consciousness, but because he wasn't in control of the core of the Palace's formation, he couldn't disable the anti-teleportation part of the formation and immediately leave.
Only, as soon as he raised his foot, he felt the same thing happen to his original body.
He hadn't even wasted any time: as soon as he had felt the warning from his gut and as soon as he had lost control of his clone's body, he had shifted consciousness, but apparently, Ashahell was even faster.
"You're cautious. I like it. But that's useless."
As Ashahell uttered these words in a cold voice, the chill that was creeping up Daneel's back only grew in intensity.
The next second, all three bodies vanished from the Palace, and because both his personal chambers and the Royal Court were sealed off on his orders, no one was none the wiser.
Something even more horrifying was that he couldn't even send any message through the oathstone. In all the situations he had been in on Angaria so far, the mystical oathstone's connection to all those who had sworn oaths to it had never been cut off.
As he realized this, he finally understood that all routes of escape were completely sealed off.
His last hope had been to contact the Watcher with the hope that the man might be able to help, but clearly, that was no longer possible.
The clone disappeared as soon as Ashahell attempted to teleport it, as during the teleportation, the distance between it and Daneel easily exceeded the limit in which it had to stay in.
So, when Daneel opened his eyes, he only saw Ashahell beside him, whose arms were still folded.
Looking around, Daneel realized that they were actually in the area outside the Valley of Mist.
Barren ground was all around them, and this was coincidentally near the spot where Daneel had first stood and wondered why the Valley was the only place inhabited by plants when the area all around it was almost completely devoid of life.
He was propped upright like a robot, with stiff limbs, but one thing had changed: he could move his neck around.
However, the rest of his body, including his lips and mouth, were still the same.
Hence, twisting his neck, Daneel looked all around before finally focusing his gaze on Ashahell after realizing that there was no one and nothing else around them.
"Have you never wondered why this place is so peculiar?"
Daneel was still in a major panic due to the fact that his life might end soon, but he still chose to answer.
Back on Earth, he had seen TV shows where it said that in the presence of a crazed killer, it was always better to follow their instructions and not infuriate them, as that would only lead to a quick death.
Of course, he had no idea whether that applied here, but Ashahell really did seem like a maniac, for some reason.
As Ashahell saw him hurriedly nod, he smiled slightly before saying, "Don't worry. I won't kill you…yet. At least, it'll be your decision regarding whether you live or die. For now, just enjoy the ride. So, you did wonder about the reason?"
Daneel didn't know if that statement was meant to calm him, but it definitely managed to do the opposite.
However, he had been in many high-risk situations so far since he had transmigrated here. So, drawing on all that experience, Daneel assembled his thoughts and nodded slowly, knowing that if he at least wanted to keep the possibility alive that he could get out of this unscathed, then he had to keep a rational and quick mind.
"That's better. This place is of special importance to me. 20 years ago, when I was a little kid, I used to play here. You wouldn't be able to believe it: that Valley stretched many hundreds of kilometers out, and there were many animals that became my companions. Whenever I got too bored of training, they would accompany me. There was one bear in general which loved it when I patted it on its head."
A lush forest here? Just 20 years ago?
Daneel hadn't really gone through a detailed report of the area, so he had no idea whether this was true.
However, from the way Ashahell was speaking, he could tell that the man wasn't lying.
After a pause, when Ashahell resumed speaking, his tone had a cold edge to it, like a blade that had just been unsheathed.
"Everything was fine…until one day, when I saw a red rock shining in the sun. I was so naïve. I just reported it to those who had escorted me, and I saw as their eyes went wide open. Like primitive beasts, they pounced on the rock and clawed it with their hands before remembering their powers and breaking apart the rock using magic. They pocketed all they could, and when they reported it to the sect, many, many mages descended here.
"Did you know that a red rock peeking out of the ground meant death to the land? I didn't either, and I learned this fact on that day.
"There was apparently a massive Ker Gem mine underneath, which drew the attention of even the Hero level elder of our sect.
"In one night, it was all over. By the next morning, everything still looked the same from the outside, but no one could have guessed that a cave tens of kilometers in width and height had been dug out in a single night. All the Ker Gems were emptied, and from then on, the forest began to die."
As Daneel listened to the tale, he couldn't help but notice that Ashahell's voice was getting colder and colder by the second.
"The animals became listless. The plants started to wilt. The very air felt like it was rotting, as it had lost that which had sustained it. You see, Ker Gems energize elementary particles for a large area around them, allowing nature to thrive. When they were suddenly removed, it caused too catastrophic a change which ended up…killing everything. That was just in one area; one forest. Imagine what would be the effect if this happened all over the continent. Have you never wondered why those in the ancient times seemed so much more mighty compared to us? Why we can only learn from them and pick up their scraps with lofty aspirations of reaching their heights? IT'S BECAUSE OF OUR GREED!"
As the last sentence was shouted out, Daneel flinched, but that was completely in his mind.
He suddenly thought back to his first days on Angaria, when he had learned from the library about this very thing: that the general Energy level of the continent was depleting, and no one knew exactly why.
Of course, immediately, Daneel drew a parallel with Earth.
Even these, excessive consumption of natural resources had led to a global crisis, but no one was ready to seriously face it and look for solutions on a global level.
Clearly, that was also the situation here. The Big 4 had mined away all the major deposits of Ker Gems and possibly other materials, which explained why they had so many resources in abundance while the Central Continent fought over scraps. They had only been left with the most basic of resources, barely enough to sustain them.
There, it was the global leaders and massive corporations which only cared about themselves.
Here, it was the Hero-level individuals of the continent, who, for some reason, didn't care at all.
Of course, at this moment, Daneel felt very angry.
As that anger became reflected in his eyes, Ashahell actually…smiled.
He had been observing Daneel closely all this while, so when he saw the expected reaction, he felt happy that he hadn't been wrong.
"I was right. You are angry, too, just like I was when I found out! You are someone who cares about the continent. I saw all of your efforts in saving your people. I even tested you using those doom mosquitoes, to see just what you were capable of. King Daneel, people like us, we just want what's best for the continent. For too long, I have been walking alone on this path. I ask you to join me. Join me, and I will show you what you have been doing wrong. Join me, and I will show you the right way. Join me, and…we will save Angaria together."
As Daneel finally realized why this man had taken a special interest in him, he heard one last sentence.
"And, oh, yes. Join me…or die."