Interestingly, though, Heart Demons weren't always bad. When paired with the right person, it could be a source of motivation and strength, even increasing cultivation speed and steadying will power and perseverance.
Dyon had such a Heart Demon that he had yet to rid himself of to this day. In fact, he had experienced numerous Heart Demons in his life.
His first was when he was forced to watch Madeleine be taken away by her former master. He had pretended not to care at the time, as though it was his decision, but he knew how he truly felt about the matter.
The second Heart Demon Dyon faced revolved around his parents. This was a Heart Demon he was able to set down and rid himself of after facing the entity for the first time. He finally resigned himself to stop chasing after their resurrection and live his life for the loved ones that still lived.
The third was his guilt over the destruction of the Mortal Realm. To this day, he still felt guilty.
Still, the greatest Heart Demon Dyon faced and one that plagued him to this day revolved around his black flames. The dao comprehension he gained from them forced him to the point of suicide. If it wasn't for those of the Mortal Clan reaching out to him, he would have died without a doubt.
'Is that what it is?' Dyon's eyes sharpened. 'Could it be that Orcus is experiencing something similar to the effects of the Sovereign Heart? Is it really just a coincidence that the Sovereign Heart and the Sovereign Flames share half a moniker? Could this be related to why he can use Presence without a body?'
Dyon looked back at his still struggling wife. The four beast babies also did their best to support, using a secret technique of the Beast Masters to share their energy among one another to help Biibi sustain Madeleine.
'I can't delay anymore, I have to take a risk.'
In that moment, Dyon did something absolutely foolish. He directly sent his divine sense toward Orcus, knowing fully well that if the remnant spirit lashed out with his Presence, he would suffer untold damage to his soul…
Due to his incoherent ravings, Orcus didn't seem to notice Dyon's suicidal actions.
"…. I fought them with all my might! Gya, gya, gya! Those bastards really didn't want a genius like me to become a Higher Existence, but my Black Bone Army was too ferocious for them! I slaughtered elf after elf, drowning them in blood and death! With every one that fell, my dao of death only grew stronger! Gya, gya, gya! …"
It was at that moment that Dyon saw what he was looking for. In the barely formed, vague nascent soul of Orcus, within its small fetus-like chest was a small ember, scarcely flickering. In fact, this small ember looked almost exactly like the planted seed of a Sovereign Dao Heart! However, it was somehow far more powerful even in this embryonic form.
'That's it!' Thunder clapped within Dyon's mind. 'This Lord Creator has long since lost his mind. He knew this would happen, so he had already planned a replacement! This replacement was the seed of the Sovereign Flame. If it wasn't for this, he would have lost his mind already.'
Normally, when the Heavens helps someone form a Legacy world, it also makes contingency plans to preserve that person's life to not lose themselves to madness in the stream of time. However, this contingency plan entailed putting the world's owner to sleep until someone found their world. It was similar to what the Higher Existence demon tigers were undergoing now.
However, in order to accomplish his goals and slowly refine the Sovereign Flame and his new body, Orcus had to stay awake!
Every time another genius of the Flame Dao died, Orcus was steal the root of their unique flames, slowly feeding the seed of this Sovereign Flame for trillions of years. Now, althoughit was on the verge of being born, Orcus paid the price of his mind for it!
The Sovereign Heart… It was just a cheap imitation of this Legendary Flame!
Dyon took a deep breath. Even if he now understood the root cause of all of his problems, that didn't mean he understood what actions to take now.
Suddenly, something within him beckoned. Those ancient mutterings of Soul Quintessence reached across the bounds of time.
Dyon's expression turned blank, his eyes dulling.
Within his inner world, his meditating nascent soul shifted. In place where his dao heart shattered, a black hole took over. However, one wouldn't be able to focus on anything but the fluttering eyelashes of the small seven-year-old golden boy.
The golden soul's eyelids slowly parted before closing, causing a beam of light to chargethrough Dyon's Mind's Eye, shattering the space and forcing him to cough up blood.
Dyon didn't seem to notice that his chest was now covered in his own crimson liquid, he hadn't even moved or made a sound.
The fluttering continued. Each attempt was like another blow to Dyon's psyche. His wings forcibly retracted themselves into his back and his body seemed to shrivel up.
If Dyon was conscious, he'd be confused. The last time his soul opened its eyes, it blew a hole through Earth itself, forming an empty space that went on for millions of miles in a mere split second. However, he hadn't suffered any damage at that time. So what was so different now?
"Dyon!" Madeleine suddenly realized there was something wrong with her husband. But she couldn't move. It was already taking her everything just to continue even with the support of the beast babies. If she left now, Orcus would break out and it would be unlikely for them to get a second opportunity.
In the first place, they had caught him off guard. But, now that he knew Madeleine could manipulate life essence, he would be wary of it. Back then, he had been so focused on what he would gain from Dyon becoming his corpse soldier that he had grown arrogant and ignored everything else around him. Even when he saw the arrow, he thought he could easily deal with it. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice…
The pulsing lights within Dyon's Mind's Eye continued. By now, his frame had visibly shrunk. If it wasn't for the loose and pale skin that hung from him, one would assume that not one, but two skeletons were fighting each other.
'Little sister you think…' Little Yang started.
