Departure
Leylin had only used the origin force as a weapon during the battle, not absorbing it at all. This was why his origin force saturation hadn’t increased. In the end, Dreamscape itself was the biggest beneficiary of the battle.
‘However… Calamity, and decay?’ Leylin stroked his chin, ‘They’re not quite compatible with my path. While the law of calamity is extremely powerful, it has its own limitations. Decay has more potential; after all there are aspects of time within it…
‘However, my comprehension and analysis of this law isn’t too much…’ Now that he’d set his own path, Leylin wouldn’t change it easily. These laws weren’t very compatible with him anyway.
‘Something high… more...even more…’ Dreamscape projected an intent to Leylin, sending information to the bottom of his mind intermittently.
At the same time, Leylin felt that his connection with the world had became even more closely knit than before. The origin force that he could control had also increased. Even more…
He raised his hand, and a small thread of weakened dreamforce emanated from his finger. Suddenly, the dreamforce shuddered and the colour turned denser, before a stronger wave of energy radiated from his finger.
‘I gain increased authority from Dreamscape, as well as the ability to control its crests and troughs? It should only be limited to my own powers, if not the power would be too inconceivable.’
Leylin sighed. After slaying and sacrificing a Lord of Calamity, he had indeed obtained many benefits from Dreamscape. At the very least, the dreamforce which was a part of his power had increased.
Furthermore, if this power could still be increased, and he could also control the extent of dreamforce that the Lords could muster, it was akin to having another killing move against them in the future.
Powering his own dreamforce to the peak and weakening his opponent’s… It would be a sight to behold.
‘Not only that, the world seems to be starting to recover…’ Leylin acutely felt that Dreamscape was now different than before.
Originally, Dreamscape was like a large withering tree. There were parasites around its roots, weeds sucking up its water and nutrients. But now that Leylin had slain a Lord of Calamity, the tree had finally gotten a break. It felt like Dreamscape had regained some of its vitality.
‘A pity… It’s only a little better. I need to kill at least five or six more to completely revitalise it…’ Leylin inhaled a deep breath after arriving at his own estimation. The harm that these Lords had done to Dreamscape was beyond terrifying!
‘Dreamscape survives on absorbing the dreams of intelligent beings of the astral plane. The Lords of Calamity pilfered its origin force on the same basis, stealing the foundation of its strength. A world would not be able to bear even a rank 8 existence for so long, leave alone an entire bunch of them…‘ Only now did Leylin begin to understand Dreamscape slowly.
If he was a monk at his own home, having unwanted guests who constantly took his belongings would make him want to kill them.
……
“How are you, Bodach?” Leylin came to the chaotic borders to find the one-eyed dragon sprawled on the ground. Bodach’s body had been shattered, revealing his heart and internal organs. However, his consciousness was still rather clear, and critical areas had already started to mend themselves. If not for the surrounding powers of decay and calamity, he would have recovered even more by now. From this one could see the terrifying vitality that laws possessed.
“I’m alright, Your Excellency Leylin!” Bodach looked up at Leylin in a reverent gaze, but Leylin’s brows furrowed. A slit appeared between his brows to reveal a red vertical eye that devoured the laws of calamity and decay from Bodach’s body.
*Rumble!* With Leylin’s help, Bodach soon returned to being a middle-aged one-eyed man.
He looked at Leylin, his adam’s apple trembling as he stuttered out, “Le– Leylin, Your Excellence. Does you coming here mean that you beat Salilus into retreat?”
Even if he’d witnessed Leylin’s prowess earlier, Bodach would not dare to dream otherwise. Bodach’s understanding told him being able to beat the Lord of Calamity into retreat was already a good end.
Leylin smiled as he chose to speak the truth. “No, he’s dead. He won’t be troubling you anymore.”
“He– He’s dead?” Bodach racked his brains, “The great arcane! Am I hallucinating? Leylin, are you sure you did not use the wrong verb? Dead, and not repelled?”
“Of course! Salilus is no more.” Leylin did not hesitate to state the truth. “No, although I destroyed his truesoul the river of space and time will remember his aura during the ascension of a rank 8. He can still revive himself, but it’d be extremely hard to meet the requirements. It would need tens of thousands of years in preparation…”
Beings that could wield laws had already left their personal marks on the river of space and time. Even if they fell, they had a chance for revival. It was like the ancient conscients in the World of Gods, only that it would be much more difficult.
“But that is a rank 8 Lord… Oh my heavens… I have roamed around fifty seven-worlds and hundreds of dimensions, but never before have I heard of anything like this… Even back in the Final War, it was extremely rare for a rank 8 to be slain, not to mention the Lords of Calamity which were known for their battle prowess…” Bodach muttered, and his large eye did not give off any light, as if he had suffered a huge shock.
“It’s not the time to discuss this. We have to leave now, or it’ll be troublesome.” Leylin pulled Bodach away with no intention of explaining.
“Leave? Where to?” Bodach was still feeling lightheaded.
“Leave Dreamscape! No matter where is alright, let’s find a small plane to hide in for now, Unless you want a group of Lords of Calamity hunting you down…” Leylin looked at the surrounding seals that were slowly lifted, and the departure of the World WIll.
The reason he’d blatantly revealed his trump card before was that he’d had the help of the World Will sealing the area, and he could kill the Lord of Calamity in a single blow.
Now that the seal was lifted, Leylin didn’t dare to be reckless anymore. After all, his Nightmare Bloodline put him on the opposing side to all the Lords of Calamity, and his secret couldn’t be revealed.
If he left now, the group of Lords would only know that Salilus had been slain by two rank 7 beings from a foreign world, unable to pinpoint the identity of the Nightmare Absorbing Physique. If they were to clash and Leylin revealed his powers, he would die surrounded by a group of rank 8s!
Now that the battle had ended, the World Will needed time to savour its spoils of war. Its willingness to help Leylin once more had to be put into question.
This was why Leylin chose to flee decisively, leaving the Lords of Calamity perplexed. It was extremely difficult for these Lords to leave Dreamscape, especially with dreamforce weakened. The world itself had turned into a giant cage.
And the only exception is Leylin, who owned the Nightmare Absorbing Physique.With the Nightmare King’s bloodline and his own inheritances, he could enter and leave as he so willed.
‘This is most likely a limitation Dreamscape set as well. With the Nightmare King able to leave immediately after killing a lord to regain his power, no matter how furious the other lords are they can only look on… And when the Nightmare King amasses enough power to crush them, they will be faced with their doom.’
The more Leylin pondered, the more he felt that his deduction was right. Each time Dreamscape had sealed itself in and weakened its own power, it was in fact allowing the Nightmare Absorbing Physique to have a killing feast. It was a hit and run tactic, allowing the rank 7 Nightmare King to tire the Lords of Calamity out. After all, the Nightmare King had the help of the world itself.
Once the seal on Dreamscape was lifted, the lords would enter a frenzy of infiltrating other worlds in a hope to discover the Nightmare Absorbing Physique. Failing that, they would gather more origin force and strengthen their truesouls, preventing themselves from being the next prey.
The stronger beings would have longer lives, Dreamscape was just that brutal. Understanding this logic, Leylin did not hesitate to leave.
His deduction had been extremely accurate. Right after he left, the lords began to barge into the area the World Will had sealed.
“Sssii… No remnants, no traces of aura, they carefully cleaned up the area…” The lord who spoke was fat and round, his massive body topped by three heads. The head which spoke was that of a green viper, the other two being a black goat and a human.
“The lack of traces should be the greatest clue. Hiding it means he possesses a secret nobody should know…” Another lord floated in midair. It was a giant chariot wheel which had numerous eyes around its body. Its rotations radiated abyssal flames.
“Speak of your conjecture, Eye Emissary!” A female giant spoke last, her body crackling with the sound of thunder.