The emotions of Madeleine, Ri, Clara, Amphorae and Luna couldn't be described in simple terms any longer.
Expressions of grief, outpourings of tears, tightly gripping fists, endless rage – none seemed adequate. It just felt as though the world had lost its color. What should have been a vibrant, sunny image before their eyes, held together by Dyon's True Domain, became nothing more than a vivid painting of their pain.
Crimson tears pooled along their eyes, dripping down slowly.
Even Dyon had his limits. The light in his eyes faded.
The more despair Dyon felt, the greater Oshire's laughter became. Even he didn't realize that his body, even while being taken over by his Ancestor, was crying as well. Even as he laughed, an uncontrollable stream fell from his cheeks.
'I think that's enough, right?' Dyon thought to himself.
He could no longer breathe normally. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately to his changed mind state, he didn't need to breathe to survive at his cultivation level.
Blood spluttered from the gaping holes in his body. Maybe if it wasn't for the strength of his soul, his awareness would have already given way.
'I've been at this for almost 4 weeks already, right…? No one would blame me if I just took a little rest…'
The Ancestor continued to observe Dyon's True Domain. As far as he was concerned, Dyon was a dead man. It was just that his senses had already noticed that his opponent seemed to have an undead body. Knowing how difficult such a thing was to deal with while he was restricted to celestial qi, he took his time. This boy would give way eventually.
As for the tears streaming down his face, he hardly cared. He knew these weren't his own reactions. Though this descendant of his was pathetic, especially compared to the genius before him, he was still his descendant.
Dyon's runic flame, flickering with a fierce silver with only the smallest hints of gold kept his heart pumping. But the sad truth was that this only made matters worse. His blood continued to spurt outward at faster and faster speeds.
'I wonder if I'll see mom and dad again…' Dyon had a fleeting thought.
He still remembered the day he gave up on ever seeing his parents again. That day, in the catacombs of the Belmont Clan, he learned that it was impossible to ever have thoughts of resurrecting them because they were born without souls.
'Ha… Does that mean even if I die, I won't see them again…?'
Even if Dyon cried, no one would be able to tell. Half of his face was gone, and the other half was a mangled mess of torn meat and blood.
So, just for a moment, he relieved himself of the duties of a ruler. He held back tears when Mia and Bella died knowing that he was no longer allowed to display such emotion, but would anyone blame him now?
'I'm sorry… Mia… Bella… You'll never see this world again because I was too worthless…'
Dyon had avoided the two little girls since he found them. In fact, he had only ever had superficial interactions with them. To him, the real Mia and Bella had already died.
Everything that made Mia and Bella them… Was already gone.
'If I wasn't so stupid, maybe I would have realized what I needed to do earlier… No, maybe if I wasn't so selfish, I would have…'
Dyon's thoughts drifted aimlessly as though he was waiting for the final wisp of his life to give way.
The faces of his wives flashed by one after another. He thought of Madeleine's soft heart, of Ri's determined self, of Clara's fierce will, of Amphorae's valiant spirit… He even thought of Jade and Luna…
'Luna… You birthed me the most beautiful little girl in the world… Jade… I owe you too much… I don't know if I can ever repay you…'
Dyon coughed violently, pieces of his lungs and heart flying from the gaping side of his mouth.
'… Little Alauna is probably still waiting for me to take her to get cherry ice cream… She always loved it the most… She'll think her dad can't keep his promises…
'… Your dad promised that he would never resign himself to death again, didn't he…? Are you really going to make your little girl curse you as a liar before your grave…?'
Dyon still remembered that day in Luna's hidden mystical world. He released [Cleanse], accidentally benefitting his enemies.
He thought his life was over back then, so he prepared to send Little Alauna to Soul Universe through his inner world and leave the rest to Junior… For Dyon who was born in a mortal world, having already experienced more than a hundred years of life… He felt he had lived long enough…
But, that was when Luna appeared, saving him from a pitiful end.
'I can't accept that, can I…? Everyone else can hate me, scorn me… But I can't let my little girl think less of her father…
'How did my parents die…? I don't know… probably at the hands of that scumbag General… But I'm sure their heads were held high… I'm sure they didn't give up… even to the final moment…'
Dyon felt a burning in his chest that was finally something beyond pain.
'… Even if I have to die… I'll die with my head held high… As only a Sacharro should…'
Dyon's Primordial Yang began to spin once more. In an instant, three more Dragon-Phoenix Seals shattered.
It was impossible for Dyon to rely on his qi. Without entering the dao realm, there was no way to vastly improve his energy cultivation in a short time. Likewise, it was impossible for him to rely on his body. This wasn't because he couldn't vastly increase its strength, because he could. Rather, it was because he didn't see a path to victory that could be reached by relying on his body.
However, there was one path that remained, the very path that supported him even when his body cultivation talent was nonexistent, even when he didn't have a set of meridians of his own… His soul.
