104 The Red King (IV)

Fear and panic overwhelmed Sonar’s heart when he heard those words since he knew that the Red King was not exaggerating and this one would devour his soul.

Before Sonar could do anything, the Red King morphed the Astral Wave he used to create that third eye into a gauntlet that covered his right hand.

The Red King’s right hand gained phantasmagoric qualities before his fingers pierced the Atrox’s head. Those fingers seemed able to phase past the skin and bones and did not even harm the brain as they reached a special place.

In the Old World, the existence of the soul was widely disputed. Most of the population did not believe in it since, despite their technological and scientific advances, they never found any proof of it.

It was only after reaching Aether and gaining the power to control the supernatural that the Godslayer Humankind began to decipher the mysteries of the soul.

The human soul found itself inside the brain, but we were never able to find any trace of it because it was not in the physical plane of existence. It was in a place beyond the three-dimensional space, what some scholars called the fourth dimension.

The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

Humans in the Old World could not access the fourth dimension, but with the mastery of the Wave, the Godslayer Humankind achieved that amazing scientific breakthrough. It was a perfect example of how magic and science stop being opposite concepts and could complement each other.

An expression of utter and absolute agony appeared in Sonar’s eyes as the Red King’s hand reached his soul and began to pull out, dragging it to the physical plane of existence. It was like having all your extremities torn out of your body simultaneously.

The Atrox would have killed himself if he had the chance since the pain was just too much, but there was no way the Red King would allow that.

.....

The Red King pulled with more and more strength, and exhaustion began to appear on his face, making it clear that even for him, extracting a soul was an incredibly challenging feat.

If it was not for the assistance of the Astral Wave, the Red King could not have done it. That is why he originally planned to kill Sonar.

Finally, after almost two minutes, the Red King managed to take Sonar’s soul out of the fourth dimension. In his hand, there was a mass of chaotic sky-blue electromagnetic energy. At simple sight, it was not that impressive, but for those who could see its true nature, a soul was one of the most amazing things in the world.

Sonar’s soul was too weak to act on his own and would disperse in seconds if it wasn’t for the Red King’s phantom hand’s tight grip.

The Red King took a deep breath as his third eye focused on Sonar’s soul before glowing and unleashing an energy wave.

That energy wave was the Red King’s willpower, and once it reached Sonar’s soul, this one acted instinctively, fighting back. If the Red King were to lose the battle of wills, the backlash he would suffer might drive him into a coma.

However, how could Sonar’s willpower, which did not even reach the Late Wave Champion level, win against the Red King’s, which was mightier than that of a Late Wave King?

After a few seconds, Sonar’s soul trembled, and a cracking sound emerged from it. The Red King saw that and neared the sky-blue electromagnetic energy to his third eye.

The Red King’s third eye acted like a ravenous beast as it devoured Sonar’s soul incredibly fast, not leaving a single iota of it left.

Once the third eye devoured the soul, it closed, and the cut in the Red King’s forehead vanished. Focus appeared on the Red King’s face as he went through a sea of memories. All of Sonar’s experiences, from birth to death, were open for him.

Sonar was a young genius, so despite being a Wave Champion, he was less than twenty years old, making it easier for the Red King to analyze those memories, throwing away the useless and keeping those beneficial for him.

The Red King had no idea of the world he woke up in, but now less than ten minutes later, he understood everything. The different races and factions, the might of those with true power, and what he should be careful of.

“Interesting. This world is much more advanced than the one I was born in. That will make it easier for me to grow stronger since I can use their knowledge to my advantage. The strongest life forms have the title of Gods and Titans. Their power could make them a threat in my current state, so I should not interact with them for the time being.”

After taking care of the Atrox and understanding the world he found himself in, the Red King began to analyze his next step. There were still many questions on his mind, with the first being the body he was currently in.

The Red King saw the original owner of this body in Sonar’s recollections, but he had no memory of someone like Cain. That was not the worst part since, other than the first decades in his original world, he remembered nothing else.

“If I perished and reincarnated, that could explain the corruption of my memories. I will find the answer in time, and it is better if the world thinks that Cain Laurifer is dead.” The Red King focused on Beelze, and after making sure the woman was dead, he turned toward Levi.

Another wisp of Astral Wave emerged from his index finger, and he began to generate a plasma sphere with it. In a moment, it grew more than two meters large and had more than enough power to kill a Wave Champion, much less an unconscious Level 3 Wave Warrior.

For the world to think that Cain Laurifer died in the battle against the Atrox Wave Champion, it was better if all the humans that took part in the fight also perished.

The Red King knew that Levi was a close friend of Cain, but why would that affect his decision? Since he took control of this body, Cain Laurifer ceased to exist.

Just as the Red King was about to fire the plasma lightning sphere, a flash of golden light appeared in his eyes, provoking immense pain and affecting his senses.

“?BOOM!”

The plasma lightning sphere missed its original target and crashed against some trees, obliterating them.

The Red King could not care less that Levi survived his attack since a force that came from inside his body was affecting his mind. Even when he saw an army butchering his entire clan, he felt no rage, but now a sense of overwhelming wrath invaded him.

Someone dared to act over his soul, an unforgivable sin in the Red King’s mind.

The pain grew stronger, and his senses began to shut down one by one. The Red King attempted to fight back, but the golden light was too powerful, and he could not defeat it.

Finally, the Red King fell to the ground, and every sense went off, trapping him into complete darkness and silence. That state would drive even the mighties will into panic and terror, but there were no such emotions on his face.

“I don’t know who you are, and I don’t care why you are doing it. I only want you to know this. Sooner or later, I will free myself, and when that time comes, I will kill everybody that you care about in front of your eyes before sealing your soul inside my mind for all eternity.”

Those were the last words the Red King spoke before his red eyes turned green, and he lost consciousness. The aura those eyes began to unleash was no longer of an ancient force of nature but that of a young man full of heroism.

Silence reigned around the toxic lake, but things were not so calm in a unique dimension located inside Cain’s brain. Deep inside his soul, in a place so hidden that even the mightiest life forms of Aether could never find, there was a massive gate.

Two large stone tables formed the gate inside Cain’s soul and had all sorts of phenomena engraved. Nothing in this world could compare to the ancientness of this gate, but that was not the most impressive thing.

Hundreds of giant chains made of either black-white lightning or golden-purple flames covered that massive gate, and their power was outrageous, to say the least. If a weak life form stared at those chains, their souls would shatter as their minds could not endure the principles and forces in them.

Suddenly a golden humanoid appeared in front of the massive gate, and a somber expression appeared on his face as he saw the tiny crack in it.

“A mere wisp of his consciousness crossed that crack, yet he could unleash that level of strength.”

The golden humanoid focused on the crack before sighing. Despite his power, fixing that gate was beyond his capabilities. After a moment, he looked into the distance with a smile.

“About time you woke up, brat.”