[West of Aslan Empire – Extreme North – Congealed Stench Cave]
The storm stops gradually.
The balls of ice that had been turbulent and violent before has disappeared. The harsh air current has stopped, leaving behind a soft breeze coupled with goose feather-like snowflakes. They float lazily in the air, making the vast heavens and earth seem shrouded in quiet tenderness.
An empty field of white stretches before their eyes. Snow collects heavily on the ground, making it look like a soft layer of clouds. At the end of their vision are black cliffs that rise from the grounds, meandering forth, coming together to form a vast black canyon. At the end of the canyon is a dense black cave.
This is the birth place of each generation of corroders – the Congealed Stench Cave.
Just thinking about the horrifying scenes in the depths of this cave makes Teresa sick to her stomach.
Nether and her perch on the snow-covered ground silently. They have been waiting at the same spot for a long time. The snow gathering on their shoulders makes them seem like they haven’t moved in a while.
“Out?” Nether raises a thin but strong finger to lightly dust away the frost that has crystalised on his brows.
“Not yet. I have not sensed any traces of soul powers at the moment.” Teresa closes her eyes. When she opens them again, the turbulent white storm has disappeared from her pupils and her eyes are clear again under her thick lashes.
“In a blink of an eye, it’s been so many years……when we first struggled out from there back then, we were still children, no? Were you even ten then?” Nether asks Teresa with a low voice. He seems to be reminiscing.
“I don’t really remember.” It is obvious that Teresa is distracted. Nether turns and looks at the unsettled Teresa before saying, “You’re still contemplating?”
“Yes……” Teresa pushes away the few strands of hair that was blown into her face by the wind. She too, turns to look at the young but wild and unyielding face of Nether’s, “Don’t you think that this generation of corroders was born way too quickly? How long has it been since we became noble lords? A year? Half? How is it possible to have a new generation of corroders ‘born’ in such a short time? Remember, between us and the previous generation of corroders, there was a gap of more than a decade. We just completed the massacre of the previous generation’s noble lords, eliminated the two weakest ones, and renewed the Aslan noble lord’s soul bending abilities; it’s only been a mere year, unless the new corroders are about to begin the next round of ‘elimination’ so soon? I find that hard to believe……”
“Perhaps there wasn’t such a long gap. Maybe there were other corroders that existed between the previous generation and us, and even the two newest corroders we are awaiting may not be out next generation. There might have been even more generations of corroders between us existing……” Nether’s gaze resembles two pitch-black abyss and no one knows what he is thinking.
“What do you mean?” Teresa asks.
“Do you think Gilgamesh is a corroder?” Nether suddenly questions.
“……” Teresa says silent. After a moment, she replies, “If you put it that way, I am slightly aware now.”
“Although neither of us has met Gilgamesh in person, but from the words of the Silver Priests before, we can infer that his soul’s return circuit and the level of his soul powers are not something that Qi La can compare to. There are only two methods to the birth of a noble lord – one is inherited by the disciple, the other is corroding and replacing. And so, from this, we can conclude that Gilgamesh must belong to the latter, which means he must be a corroder. It’s just that we do not know if he was birthed before us or after us……”
“Why did the Silver Priests suddenly increase the speed of production of corroders?” Teresa’s face pales slowly. Scattered pieces flash through her mind but she is unable to piece together a complete picture. Faintly, she senses a grand and terrifying secret awakening in the darkness, about to break through the surface at any given moment and engulf the entire land and sky. However, she is unable to grasp the main thread and can only turn and look at Nether palely.
“I’m not sure about that. However, if we calculate from the time of Gilgamesh’s appearance, it is highly possible that he appeared from the Congealed Stench Cave before us. It is just that we were around secretly but appeared to take over the previous noble lords at around the same time. Since for our generation of corroders, we were the only two who walked out of the cave alive, we’d know if Gilgamesh was of our generation. Also, the Silver Priests also said that whom we are welcoming is the generation of corroders after us. Which means Gilgamesh should be a corroder of the previous generation that existed before us, and,” Nether’s complexion turns as pale as their surroundings, “It is highly likely that he is the only corroder of that generation. For some reason, the Silver Priests hid all traces of existence of his generation of corroders. The Silver Priests made him appear on the lands of Aslan at the same time as us, giving an illusion that he is of our generation. Despite that, his appearance was to close to ours, and in theory, there is not enough time for a group of corroders to kill each other until he emerges victorious……”
“And what do you mean?” Teresa’s pupils are shaking slightly from fear, because faintly, she feels that the monstrous secret is already outlined in light in the darkness.
“I’m only harbouring a guess……” Nether pauses for a long while, as if even he feels that his words seem much too impossible, “That in Gilgamesh’s generation, form the start till the end, there is only him, the ‘sole’ corroder.”
“……You mean……” Teresa doesn’t notice that her nails has sunken into her flesh from how hard she has been clenching her fist.
“What I mean is, Gilgamesh may be entirely different from us. Every generation of our corroders begins as an infant in this Congealed Stench Cave, hundreds of infant corroders slaughtering each other and only the very few that survive can leave the cave, becoming the corroders of that generation who survives. But Gilgamesh……I feel that perhaps he was not even born in this cave, that it is very possible for him to be birthed secretly in a place that not even we know of……”
Teresa chews on her pallid lips, “……Or we can say that, I’m not sure if you feel the same way as me……How should I put this feeling into words, I think that, instead of saying Gilgamesh was birthed, it will be more apt to say that he was produced or cultivated……Although the Silver Priests say that producing corroders is to make sure that the seven noble lords of Aslan will always be at the pinnacle of soul powers, but I faintly feel that the Silver Priests actually want to produce an ultimate……ultimate……I don’t know how to put this, but I think that the three of them are anticipating the production of something. All of us corroders are just failed experiments before this thing has been produced……”
Nether nods. His brows are furrowed and his eyes are shrouded in the shadows.
Teresa’s lips tremble uncontrollably, “Do you think……it is to produce……Gilgamesh?”
Nether shakes his head, “I don’t think so. If Gilgamesh was the ‘final form’ of what the Silver Priests wanted to produce, then we will not be welcoming the new corroders.”
“I suddenly remembered……” Teresa turns in horror and reaches out to grab Nether’s arm, seeming like a young girl in fear. Nether is in shock at the look on her face, as if she has seen the most horrifying ghoul. This is because he understands how fearsome of a woman Teresa is. Since the very first time she fought alongside him and walked out of the cave, stomping over mountains of corpse, there has been no fear in her life. Even when she was going against Qi La all those years ago and almost lost control due to her inability to master the darkness state, she did not fear, but now……
“I suddenly remember that we have to be here to welcome the two new corroders because the Silver Priests told us that, for this generation of corroders, from the moment they leave the cave, all their memories of before will be wiped away. Which means that, the Silver Priests hope that the Congealed Stench Cave will become a secret after our generation. There will no longer be anyone who knows of the location of this cave, the terrifying power it holds and its meaning of existence……”
Nether seems to have grasped the fear in Teresa’s mind.
“Then, the two of us, as the last generation of corroders who know of the existence of this cave, if the Silver Priests really want to let this secret disappear from the territories of Aslan, to hide this secret completely, the simplest method is……” Teresa grabs Nether’s arm, nails piercing into his firm arm muscles, resulting in a thin trail of blood.
“That is, to get rid the two of us.” Nether says slowly, word for word.
“We are not here to welcome the new generation of corroders……” Tears of uncontrollable fear rims Teresa’s eyes, “It is the new generation of corroders waiting here for us……”
“And this, shall be the newest scene of the elimination massacre……” Nether purses his lips tightly, anger of despair covers his face.
The two of them stand face to face on the vast field of snow.
Once upon a time, they were the lucky ones of this snowy field. With their hands covered in burning crimson blood, they step over countless flesh and bones with an air of superiority, heading towards the most brilliant throne. At that time, they still possessed the innocence of childhood, but between their brows, they bear the sharp gleam of death.
And now, they hold on to each other with ashened faces, perched in the cold and heartless wilderness. They await the hunting of the two monsters that will soon appear from the cave.
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