916 Irresistible Approach

Upon seeing this coiling feathered serpent deep inside the black fog, and a face at the top of the towering figure, Azik was first taken aback. Following that, the corner of his forehead throbbed as though he had been struck in the temple, splitting his head in two.

Amidst the excruciating pain, several incontiguous scenes flashed in his mind;

It was a feathered serpent with a face identical to his, even to the smallest detail;

Above a silent land, there were countless pale corpses;

Floating in midair, there were clouds stacked from bones that came from different species;

Black tentacles that drilled out from the ground, with eyes that resembled dead fish at the tip of each tentacle;

A transparent Spirit Body was forcefully pulled out of his body.

After these flashing scenes, a pair of white flaming eyes that were on the brink of extinguishing glanced over. A white feather stained with yellow oil fluttered down, splitting Azik's transparent Spirit Body into two.

One of the parts suddenly flew up and plunged inside the "cloud of bones." The remaining part fused with a golden accessory that had appeared out of thin air. Amidst the pale-white flames, it materialized back into a body of flesh and blood.

This scene was like a thunder god's hammer striking down at Azik's mind, again and again, making the pain hardly bearable. He raised his hand to his head as his knees gradually buckled as he knelt on the staircase.

He had finally recalled everything that had happened, and he understood the reason why he was constantly dying and reviving, always losing his memories and having to recover them every single time.

His soul wasn't complete!

Similarly, Azik also understood why the feathered serpent suppressing the entire space in the depths of the black fog had an identical face as his.

It was him!

That was the other Azik Eggers!

And all of this was a concealed attempt before Death's fall.

If stitching souls existed, there was naturally the splitting of souls. At that moment, the crazy and powerful Death had seemingly foreseen "His" outcome. Unwilling to die so simply, "He" secretly split the soul of his son, Balam Empire's Death Consul. He took half of it away and used another item as a replacement, stitching it together with Azik's soul.

It was a mystery if it was a deliberate arrangement of Death, or if it was an unintended consequence of the Numinous Episcopate's Artificial Death Project, the half soul that had been taken away from Artificial Death had fused with the target of the Artificial Death Project—the Uniqueness of the Death pathway. It made the latter gain certain innate abilities as it began influencing High-Sequence Beyonders of the Corpse Collector pathway who had failed their advancement.

And for the other half, although there was a replacement that prevented it from being incomplete, the incomplete soul resulted in repeated deaths and resurrection just like Sequence 4's Undying. And due to the golden accessory inside his body, and the calling from the other half soul, Azik, who started a brand new life every incarnation, would gradually recover his past memories with the passage of time.

In the past, Artificial Death had attempted to identify the reason, but due to the natural recovery of his memories, he was often already close to death once more. He wasn't able to perform any in-depth investigations. Furthermore, the Numinous Episcopate's Artificial Death Project had been raised in the past few centuries. It was only in recent times that they received some level of success. That was why he never found the answer.

Haa! Haa! Haa!

At some point in time, Azik's hands had left his head. They were placed on the staircase as his throat produced a voice that didn't sound human.

Drops of sweat dripped down his forehead and hit the stone steps in front of him. They spread out into a layer of pale yellow oil, growing out into dense white feathers.

At that instant, he felt the other half of his soul calling out, as well as its desire. The two "selves" which had been separated for more than a thousand years were eager to fuse as one, to be whole again.

"No…" Azik muttered in pain, unwilling to raise his head or reach out his right hand.

He had seen it clearly. The "him" as a feathered serpent didn't have any reason. It was filled with extreme coldness and madness. If he became one with it again, he would probably immediately be restored to his state as a Death Consul from before. He might even become a fake Death who only had godhood with zero humanity!

He would forget everything, forgetting everyone who he had once cherished.

"No…" Azik's throat squeezed out the same word again. Irresistibly, he raised his neck bit by bit as pitch-black and gloomy scales appeared.

At his forehead, something that took a life of its own protruded out. His forehead cracked as a bloody opening appeared.

A golden sliver of light emitted out of nothingness, taking form inside the flesh and blood.

This ancient accessory made of gold was in the shape of a tall, slender bird. Pale white flames emanated around it in the form of feathers. Inside its bronze eyes, there were shimmering layers of light that separately formed a mysterious and illusory door.

The moment it appeared, Azik let out a painful growl. He raised his head completely as two wisps of pale-white flames burst in his eyes that had experienced much.

Deep inside the black fog, the illusory and real feathered serpent had straightened its body. It reached its head out as the two identical faces of different sizes looked at each other in silence.

As four pale-white flames leaped, bit by bit, Azik, whose hands were on the ground, struggled to stand up with a warped expression. Slowly, he walked to the feathered serpent known as Artificial Death.

As he approached, the entire mausoleum began shaking. The surroundings turned transparent, reflecting a world with countless skeletons and shadows.

Bloody arms, bluish-black vines with baby faces, and slimy tentacles with dead fish eyes or two rows of sharp teeth tore through the boundary between reality and the illusory, reaching into the mausoleum. However, they clung straight to the ground without daring to move.

…

East Balam, Kolain City.

Daly Simone, who was rushing to her next target's location, suddenly stopped in her steps and held her head.

"What's wrong?" Red Gloves team captain, Soest, asked in puzzlement.

Daly frowned slightly as she answered, seemingly in reverie, "I hear strange voices. I can sense the calling that stems from an unknown place… I even wish to kneel to the ground…"

"Can the rest of you hear it?" Soest prudently asked the other teammates.

Just as Leonard Mitchell shook his head, he heard the slightly-aged voice in his mind.

"Look towards the Berserk Sea."

Leonard subconsciously turned his body and looked in the direction of the harbor towards the distant Berserk Sea. He saw a swath of pure, deep-black darkness. There weren't any gales, massive waves, dark clouds, lightning, torrential rain, or sunlight.

…

Although Klein had his eyes closed, his outstanding spiritual perception allowed him to sense his surroundings. When he heard the painful murmurs and shouts that sounded like Mr. Azik, he could sense seemingly corporeal silence and the aura of death.

What's happening? Although the Artificial Death deep in the mausoleum didn't attack Mr. Azik, it has inflicted him with adverse effects? Klein's mind raced as he felt anxious and worried.

His spiritual intuition told him that what was about to happen was not something he wished to see.

However, he couldn't figure out what he could do. He didn't even dare open his eyes to look at Mr. Azik's present state or whatever he had encountered.

This wasn't a problem that could be solved with mere courage. It was a difference in the natural order of life, an unbridgeable gap.

Suddenly, Klein had a strong feeling of helplessness. However, he didn't give up as he tried hard to think of whatever items he had on him that could be of use.

Creeping Hunger? No, it's at a completely different level. It won't be of any use…

Death Knell? Even worse…

Groselle's Travels? I didn't bring it… Neither did I bring the Black Emperor card and Tyrant card…

Fate Siphon charm… Yes, the Fate Siphon charm!

Klein was delighted as he formulated a plan.

It was to use the Fate Siphon charm to temporarily swap his fate with Mr. Azik. He would suffer the influence created by Artificial Death in his place!

At the very least, I still have a chance of reviving. As for Mr. Azik, the deaths he previously suffered wouldn't from the damage inflicted. Who knows if he can awaken again in such a situation! Klein didn't consider if the Fate Siphon charm was effective on Azik and Artificial Death. He only wished to give it a try. He raised his right hand and reached into his pocket.

Then, there was a delay in his actions.

His arm rose a little before landing back in its original location.

He froze for a moment as though he had been petrified into being a stone sculpture.

Klein's lips quivered a few times as his expression distorted indiscernibly. Following that, he swung his right arm and reached his palm into his pocket and pulled it out.

Gripped tightly in his palm was a black crystal card-like charm.

At the same time, Azik was approaching the towering illusory feathered serpent. His footsteps sped up as though he was returning to his throne.

However, his eyes which had pale-white flames were filled with pain. His expression was extremely warped.

"No…" Azik muttered once again. Wherever his skin was exposed, white feathers stained with yellow oil grew out from the gaps of pitch-black scales.

The intense shouting and desire made him lose control of himself. He was about to soar into the sky and leap towards the gigantic feathered serpent that shared his face.

Pale-white flames spread out from the bird-shaped accessory at his forehead, flowing towards the rest of his body.

Klein's spiritual intuition was sending warnings as he hurriedly said a single word in ancient Hermes, "Fate!"

Just as he was about to use the charm, his surroundings suddenly quietened. There was no longer any sound.

A slender, fair female palm appeared out of nowhere and pressed down on the golden bird-shaped accessory on Azik's forehead.

A figure then materialized between Azik and the towering illusory feathered serpent, stopping the two's approach.

With the help of this external force, Azik finally held back that desire and the irresistible calling to fuse together. The pale-white flames in his eyes "reflected" the floating figure in midair.

It was a beautiful lady wearing an ancient robe. She wore a black hood. Her face was deadpan, and her black eyes were deep and dark, devoid of spirituality.