Chapter 1885 - 1885. Gratitude

Noah had found Alexander in a pitiful state. The hybrid made periodic trips to the stormy regions to relieve the unstable hunger and instincts that the countless ghosts inside his mind caused.

Alexander's condition had been so bad that he had initially desired for Noah to become his successor as leader of the Legion. The hybrid had lost all hopes for himself, but he didn't fall prey to his desperation. He had continued to put the well-being of his organization above him and do everything in his power to ensure its future.

Nevertheless, that behavior wasn't completely selfless. Alexander loved the Legion with every inch of his body, but many reckless and selfless decisions didn't come only from that feeling. His helpless situation and lack of hope for his condition had forced him to bring his affection toward his organization past healthy limits in a desperate attempt to justify the reason behind his existence before he completely lost his mind.

Noah's arrival had changed everything for him. Alexander had gained the chance to obtain a clear mind and regain hope for his future. Still, Noah couldn't fix the issue that his companion had developed after spending years controlled by his desperation and obsessive love.

Alexander had lost the ability to see a future for himself. He had struggled to express his desires even after his mind became empty, and that issue had continued even after the group reached the stormy regions.

That mindset had affected his growth. Alexander had always been close to the ninth rank. Yet, the thoughts in his mind had kept him away from the breakthrough. The cultivation journey simply wouldn't accept someone who had no desire to advance. It was as if his centers of power had given up on his growth since his mind didn't believe that process to be possible anymore.

However, Alexander was far from doomed. His desire returned after each adventure completed with his friends. Noah's influence also continued to affect him and brought his desire to reach the peak of the cultivation journey back among his priorities.

That change in his mindset brought back something that his mind had forgotten after the many years spent in confusion. Alexander suddenly recalled his original element, which inevitably reminded him of the aspects of his character that he had lost alongside his hope.

The return of his core brought back desires and dreams that Alexander had forgotten to have. The event caused his existence to gain a superior harmony and generate a massive surge of power that affected the sky and made it shatter. Still, it also led to other unexpected results.

A deep understanding of his nature filled him once everything returned. Alexander could review the entirety of his path in the span of a single second and learn where it led. The journey ahead of him had never appeared clearer, and the ecstasy of the realization filled his body with energy that he didn't know to have.

The many injuries that afflicted the insides and outsides of his body didn't matter anymore. Alexander barely felt them as his existence filled his laughs and seeped out of his injured body. The power released by his figure in that situation was so scary and unreasonable that Dwight instinctively took a step back to let the cube handle that dangerous opponent.

"All those years spent trying to suppress my hunger!" Alexander shouted among his laughs. "All that time wasted escaping my true vocation! All that suffering caused by a petty desire to balance paths meant to strive beyond common understanding!"

Different roars mixed with Alexander's voice. His cries made him sound like multiple magical beasts at the same time, but they slowly fused into a deep melodic tone that made the sky shake and shatter with each word that escaped his mouth.

Dwight felt scared, but his feeling didn't come from the innate fear that his instincts generated in front of his powerful opponent. Alexander had already proven himself to be stronger than him, so he knew that his emotions were describing something different now.

His fear came from the inactivity of the cube. The mighty counter created by Heaven and Earth to put an end to that existence didn't move an inch during that event.

"Thank you, Heaven and Earth!" Alexander roared as his eyes gazed at the immensity of the sky. "Thank you for underestimating the ants that try to seize your throne!"

"What are you even saying?!" Dwight snapped in front of that clear mock toward his leaders.

"I'm telling the truth!" Alexander laughed as he brought his eyes back on his opponent. "Your rulers have so little foresight that they are incapable of predicting our growth. They can only look at who we are, but they can't see what we can achieve. That's why they strive to obtain complete control, even when it comes to their loyal underlings."

"Have you finally gone crazy?" Dwight showed an ugly smile during his response. "Did you finally reach the state that the rulers had planned for you?"

"Didn't they tell you?" Alexander laughed maniacally as he raised his hand and pointed his palm toward Dwight. "Only maniacs can strive to reach the peak. Do you think that stable existences would ever endure millennia of bloodshed, pain, and death to elevate themselves?"

A scarlet color gathered on Alexander's palm. Dense energy flowed toward that spot and intensified its shades. It didn't take much before the cracked sky around him became completely red.

The cube promptly put itself between Dwight and Alexander. The many pieces that made its structure separated before reassembling according to what it learnt of the incoming ability.

A heatwave came out of Alexander's palm, but the cube replied by freezing the area in front of it. The scorching energy crashed on the pale-azure ice and tried to melt it, but it failed to dig through it. The attack even appeared weaker than Alexander's previous abilities.

"You did go crazy," Dwight smirked as confidence returned to his expression. "You got me scared for a second. I thought you wanted to achieve true rank 9 power now."

"That's what you fail to understand," Alexander explained with his deep roars. "The potential to achieve that power is inside every living being. I don't need to look for it outside of my existence. My path had always been inside me."

The heatwave intensified as its scarlet aura gained different features. Flames with various shapes appeared in its insides, and flares even started to shoot forward.

The ice began to lose its ground against the attack, but the cube promptly rearranged itself again and added different layers of ice meant to counter all the new features carried by Alexander's technique. The frozen layer slightly reformed at that point, but Dwight remained stunned when he saw that the item appeared unable to overwhelm that ability.

"It seems that you are trying to fuse different innate abilities with similar features to create stronger versions of your attack," Dwight commented as his confidence intensified. "That won't work. The cube can counter each feature simultaneously. You need something stronger before even hoping to reach the rulers."

"But I have that," Alexander laughed as the many features inside his heatwave disappeared to fuse with the original scarlet aura.

His attack transformed when all the different innate abilities of the fire element in his possession fused with his heatwave and turned into a scorching blinding wave of power that destroyed the ice in an instant and engulfed the area ahead.

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Author's notes: The last chapter will arrive in an hour or so.