Patraiarch Ragnor and Elder Daiyu's eyes widened with shock. Patriarch Ragnor hadn't even bothered to tether his energy to Dyon after forcing him to kneel and trying to force his head down, initially, because the pressure exuding from this entity was too much! In fact, even if Patriarch Ragnor tried to talk right now it would be nearly impossible, only Elder Daiyu should!
"Oh?" The entity seemed amused and unbothered. They had noticed the anger coming from Dyon, but they hadn't cared. All emotions seemed quite useless to them, whether it was fear or anger, neither meant much. They hardly made the effort to tell the apart anymore.
Having the attention of the entity trained onto him was completely different than having a casual sweep. Dyon felt as though he was completely naked and laid to lay bare before this man. It was a feeling of absolute helplessness, and yet Dyon could hardly care as he stared daggers at this unsurpassable mountain.
"How odd, you truly believe what you are saying. What a rare find, truly. Then again, it is impossible to lie before me."
Dyon grit his teeth, trying to wiggle free of Patriarch Ragnor's added suppression. He wanted nothing more than to lunge at this entity, to destroy its being. And yet he couldn't even muster up enough energy to just move!
"Hm? A familiar scent lies on you. How interesting, my pet tried to kill you and you survived? Haha, what an interesting tale you have." The voice continued to speak without a care in the world. It wasn't pressed for time, in fact, it seemed to have no concept of it whatsoever.
However, his words only left Dyon in more and more confusion. He had no idea what 'pet' this man was talking about. That said, how could he?
When Dyon was in the Earth Gate, utilizing the Epistemic Tower Key's ability to travel through the space pockets of the world, a massive being had threatened to kill him.
Dyon had no recollection of such events because he had never once felt its presence… Had it not been for his grand teacher, he would have died in body and spirit millions of times over. However, that massive entity was stopped at no small cost to his grand teacher.
"Faint. Faint." The entity spoke in nonsensical half sentences, but it was clear it wasn't mad. Their mind just worked on a complete other level than what Dyon was accustomed to. "But, it's there. To think he was the one who saved you, how interesting. You have quite the interesting past.
"At this point, you should thank me. Your heart is a mere step from walking a path you don't want to. If you die now, you'll never have to become the monster you so irrationally fear… It's a bit silly to fear a cultivation path, don't you think? In the end, no matter what means you use, cultivation is still cultivation. What does it matter what methods you use?"
Patriarch Ragnor and Elder Daiyu were shocked that the entity was willing to speak for so long, and to a mere boy at that. But, they didn't dare to look up – simply waiting for him to finish.
"I would never need methods so despicable yet claim to be strong. I would rather die!"
"Ah. Interesting. Yet another truth told. However, your philosophies are a bit silly, and your life is a comedy all to its own."
Dyon froze. There was only one person who could see through him like this… Only one ability in the world that could do what was necessary… The True Empath…
"You claim to love fiercely and loyally, except your heart holds images of a woman who isn't one of your wives.
"You claim to not want to lose yourself into demonic will, and yet you continuously use it to forcefully increase your cultivation, whether it be in that so-called World Tournament, or just moments before you arrive head.
"You claim to build your Dao of Death on the promise of transcending it entirely, and yet you would rather die than concede a useless philosophy. How odd… What an interesting mind you have…"
Dyon felt like his everything was being laid to bare. Could his grand teacher really do this as well? Impossible, this man dug so deeply … Dyon somehow knew that this was something his grand teacher wouldn't be able to do with such ease…
"Haha, how funny," The entity laughed again, as though they were patting a child on the head. "Not only do you plan to get out of this alive, you also want to pursue the martial path to a level enough to revive all those lives you lost? To see your mother and father again and repay them for what they've done?"
Dyon's brow furrowed as blood seeped from his clenched jaw.
"You've traveled so far in the martial world, yet know nothing about it. Something like reviving the dead is impossible, although I guess a powerful enough entity can find someone in the stream of reincarnation and speed up the process. You can then transfer the memories of their past life to them. At that point, they'll be the exact same person they were previously, with no changes whatsoever. I worked on a theory like this as well in the distant past. It works well, you only have to form a high level dao of karma, life, death and reincarnation. Quite easy if you ask me, but it seems to be difficult for others." The entity chuckled.
"The problem for you is that you'll never get so far."
Dyon's eyes flashed. This was the first concrete answer he had gotten on the matter. All he needed to do was survive this, and there would be hope!
"I will survive this." Dyon's foot slammed into the ground as he tried to forcefully push himself upward.
The entity chuckled. "You misunderstand. Don't you understand what the soul is?"
Dyon froze.
"It seems you get it now, how funny." The entity chuckled. "The soul is what connects you to the world. It's what allows you to exist. Energy cultivation might help deepen your comprehension, but it's not true connection. It's only a booster for this connection.
"Quite simply put, what allows people to reincarnate is their soul. But, because of your existence, the soul of everyone you're hoping to revive has been wiped clean of whatever special law that made them themselves in order for them to be the soul of a single person – you. What did you think the Soul Kernel was? It's the amalgamation of all those people."
The laughter of the entity still remained light. There was nothing evil about it. It was as though they were talking about the weather and chuckling for small-talk.
"The souls of your parents are lost forever. There is no reincarnation for them."
Dyon's knee fell back to the ground.
When he had a hole through his chest, he persevered. When his home was completely destroyed, he persevered. When he learned that those he trusted might very well be the reason for his pain, he persevered…
But this, this was a final straw… A dam broke within Dyon. But, there was no eruption. There was no torrent of aura. There was no baleful scream of agony.
There was only the sound of tears dripping onto the lush grass beneath his knees.
Tears of blood.
