Chapter 1356 Heart Demon
'Seems like it's too late, but you're lucky. At least you won't have to move…' These were the last words Dyon heard before the bronze doors opened, shining down on his body. He couldn't help but snort at the idea that he was lucky.
'Lucky my a–"
Dyon's thoughts were cut off as he was thrust into a world he immediately recognized as his home. No matter how much time passed since then, Dyon had never called another place by such a title. Not when he survived the events of the World Tournament and not even when he reconquered the Soul Rend Sect.
This home… It was the place he shared with his parents when they were alive.
The streets were paved in concrete, the light posts stood five to six meters in the air, and well-maintained suburban houses, some of which even had white picket fences, lined the culdesac. The atmosphere was seemingly harmonious and peaceful.
Dyon stood in the streets blankly, his feet adorned with black flip flops he hadn't worn in ages, and his typical black sweatpants and crisp white T.
Unlike when he took the True Empath trials when he first met his Grand Teacher, Dyon was fully aware that none of this was real. He wasn't entirely certain if he was meant to be this aware or not, but that didn't stop his heart from feeling heavy – and maybe that was the point.
Outside of the trial, Madeleine and the beast babies watched on nervously.
"Just what will he face in this trial?" Madeleine couldn't help but ask.
"The War God foolishly didn't recognize the True Name of his constitution, even changing it to Battle God and creating a Title Legacy. When he faced this trial himself, no one is entirely certain of what he saw, but many guesses can be made." Little Yang said solemnly.
"Because he disdained the concept of War, he never put into perspective the kind of reverberating effects his actions had. He wanted to see battle as a single event in a vacuum, a place where he could vent his inner urges confidently then forget about what occurred the next day.
"However, true battles, or Wars, aren't like this. For every action, there's a reaction. For every death, there's a mourner and for every debt, there is a collector.
"What Dyon is facing now are those ripple effects… There are two possible outcomes. Either he's self-aware enough to accept the consequences of his actions, or they'll bury him."
'A Heart Demon trial, huh?' Dyon looked around with placid eyes. 'Maybe a few weeks ago, before I shattered that glass house of a dao heart I would fear such a trial. But, now?'
The scene before Dyon's eyes shifted. The serene atmosphere became painted with blood and gore.
The once pristine homes lay in a pile of their own waste, the perfectly paved road became cracked and splintered, all while the bodies of their owners were strewn to the ground.
It didn't take much for Dyon to understand what he was seeing. Back then, it was because he enraged Matriarch Niveus and used his Celestial Puppet to kill her that she retaliated in this way. She slaughtered an entire Clan of people simply out of spite and bitterness.
Dyon had no idea he was undergoing another War God trial, but if he did, he would understand. The so-called Battle God of the past would have seen his battle with Matriarch Niveus as a victory, he wouldn't have looked toward the reverberating effects it had. However, Dyon always had, in fact, he still blamed himself to this day for the matters of that time.
If only he had been stronger, he could have blocked that desperate strike. If only he had been stronger, he would have killed her in a single blow and disallowed that strike from happening at all. If only he had been stronger, wouldn't everything become as simple as flipping over a hand?
While the Battle God would have been shocked by the scene before him due to the fact he never thought about the consequences of his actions, Dyon thought about the consequences of his everyday. He no longer fought for just himself, he was no longer that teenage boy who had lost all of his family and only had himself to answer to. He had wives and friends, he would one day have children and an empire. That sort of immaturity had left him long ago.
The lesson the War God Heart trial was trying to teach Dyon was one he had already learned on his own.
Back when he left Focus Academy, he had done so in a blaze of glory. He single-handedly defeated eleven geniuses on his own, even crippling and killing the young masters of several God Clans. Yet, what had happened when he returned from the Elvin Kingdom?
First, he found that Focus Academy had disbanded. Without Focus Academy to rely upon, the Bai family was forced to relent under the pressure of the Daiyu and marry Meiying off to Chenglei.
After that, he found out that the Big Sects took out all their anger on Eli's Viridi family. They ended up being sold off as pill slaves, an experience Eli wouldn't have survived had it not been for the fact he was a Heaven's Child.
Then there was Delia and Patia-Neva. Because of his actions, their perfect cover was destroyed, forcing them to relocate. Delia then joined the ranks of the Niveus Sect headed by Matriarch Niveus while Patia-Neva went into hiding.
His actions, the very actions he had been so proud of, effected the lives of at least three people he cared for dearly in terrible ways.
'This lesson is one I've already learned, and it's one I'll never forget…' Dyon closed his eyes.
The images continued to quickly change. Scenes of G Man's death, the struggle of the remainder of the Mortal Clan, and even some unexpected scenes filled Dyon's mind.