John remained silent for a long time, digesting everything. He opened his eyes a while later, looking at the Prime Shadow and Guildmaster, who sat there silently, allowing him to process everything.
"I have a few more questions," John said, to which the Prime Shadow nodded.
"I'll answer them, if I can," he said.
John smiled a thankful smile, appreciative of how much this mysterious old man was willing to tell him, despite the fact that they had just met.
"You mentioned the ancient war, and that the war ended suddenly."
"I did," the Prime Shadow nodded.
"After the war ended, what happened to the Asuras?"
John noticed the Guildmaster perk up slightly at the question, as if he too wanted to know the answer.
'Based on the Guildmaster's reaction, it seems that information regarding the ancient war, and the Asura's, is incredibly rare. If someone as powerful as him doesn't know, then I'm assuming most of this world is ignorant of the past as well.'
The Prime Shadow frowned slightly, shaking his head.
"I'm not one hundred percent certain," he said, "but according to rumors of ancient times, the war suddenly ended, and the Asura's just…left."
"They just left?" John exclaimed with great surprise. "So, they weren't defeated? Exterminated?"
"No, not at all," the Prime Shadow laughed lightly, as if John's question was completely ridiculous. He paused for a moment, a deep, reminiscent look appearing on his face.
"Everything I know about the ancient war, and the Asura's, comes from my long, deceased master," the Prime Shadow said, "who fought during the ancient war!"
"Your master was alive during the ancient war? And fought in it?" John exclaimed with shock.
"Indeed," the Prime Shadow nodded. "He was a middle-aged man, as far as cultivators are concerned, when the war happened, and through circumstance, he arrived on this world, injured and crippled to near death, unable to return to his real world. I was just a boy when I found him, near his death, alone in a remote area. At that time nearly a hundred thousand years had passed since the ancient war, and he was then an old man near his deathbed when I first met him. He took me in and gave me tutelage, accepting me as his disciple, so that his techniques might pass on into the future."
The Prime Shadow paused for a moment, several emotions appearing on his face. John sat down and settled in, as he could tell the story was going to be an interesting, and important one.
"My master was far more powerful than I am now, but was crippled to the point of barely being a cultivator," the Prime Shadow continued. "During the days he would instruct me in the ways of cultivation and assassination, and at night, he would teach me about the universe, the ancient war, and many other things.
He left many things vague and unanswered, most likely to shield me from the Karmic ties knowing too much would bring, but explained enough that I have a vague idea of what happened. According to him, the war was a brutal one, with death and destruction beyond anything you could possibly imagine.
Before anyone realized, the Asura's had encircled everything, and started their campaign of devastation from the outside in. The various powers of the universe united and set out to meet them in battle, but most were completely outclassed. They soon learned of the horrors of the Asura's, and how impossible they were to battle. Their bloodlust was horrifying, their ferocity and combat prowess unmatched.
For every Asura, dozens, and sometimes hundreds of cultivators in the same realm would be needed to take them down. Only the pinnacle geniuses and sovereign races of the universe were able to stand on even ground against an Asura, but their numbers were too few to turn the tides of battle on the grand scale of the war. For you see, the ancient war contained not only Asura's, but countless Demons as well."
"Demons?" John chimed in.
"Yes, Demons," the Prime Shadow nodded. "If you consider Asura's the generals of the war, then Demons were the soldiers. Weaker, but far more numerous. And even then, weaker is a relative term, because most demons are far more powerful and horrifying than an average cultivator, making them nearly as hard to kill as Asuras."
John thought back to his battle with the Abyssal Demon, and just how horrifying that creature had been. If those were considered the regular soldiers of the Asura army, then the enemy force as a whole must have been an absolutely horrifying, impossible to resist force.
'No wonder that Demon hated me and my Asura blood so much,' John thought, recalling that Demon's hatred for his Asura Transformation. 'It was most likely forced into that ancient war by the Asuras, and was then captured. Its hatred was understandable.'
"Worlds fell one by one, and just before the war ended, over half of the worlds in the universe had been consumed and then annihilated by the Asura's."
The Prime Shadow paused for a moment, then sighed as he said something that sounded unbelievable.
"Then, according to my master, one day, the Asura's just…left."
"They just left? You mean retreated?" John asked curiously.
"Hahahaha," the Prime Shadow laughed lightly. "Child, you've faced an Asura before. Would you ever imagine that such a creature would retreat from battle?"
John fell silent, thinking back to the time's he had come face to face with the Asura. The Asura had fought with a smile on his face the entire time against Raijen and the rest, its battle and bloodlust thicker than anything he had ever felt before.
He shook his head lightly.
"I can't imagine it would ever retreat from battle," John said softly.
"And from what my master told me, you would be correct," the Prime Shadow confirmed. "In the ancient war, he fought against many demons, and one time, a singular Asura. He, alongside three others, fought against that Asura in a battle to the death. Their battle determined the fate of an entire world, and in the end, they were crippled and defeated, unable to withstand the might of a single Asura."
The Prime Shadow's gaze hardened as he stared at John.
"You must remember, my master was considered a genius of his time, and had far greater power than I could ever hope to have…and yet, he, alongside three others of similar prodigious skill, were unable to kill the Asura in the same realm as them. My master was an assassin, and against the near-indestructible bodies of the Asura's, his assassination arts faltered. He recalled that battle with shame in his eyes, as if it was his greatest failure," the Prime Shadow sighed softly.
"In his defeat, my master accepted his death, awaiting the final strike to come," the Prime Shadow continued, "but that final blow never came."
"It didn't? The Asura just let him live?" John asked, unable to believe an Asura would show mercy.
"No, the Asura showed no mercy," the Prime Shadow shook his head. "Instead, it paused, as if it was listening to something, or feeling something, and then…just left, flying away from the world and vanishing into the dark of space. It didn't even spare my master a second glance, as if it was beneath him entirely."
"The Asura just left like that?" John asked, eyes wide.
"Not just that Asura, but according to my master, every Asura, and even most of the Demons. With the war going their way, with the forces of the universe falling one by one to the Asura and Demon horde, the enemy suddenly and without warning…left"
John was stunned silent, almost unable to believe what he was hearing. The Asura's, the horrifying creatures that lusted for death and destruction more than anything else, just left, while seemingly dominating everything that stood in their path. It was impossible to believe.
