Chapter 52: A Meeting For The Small Price Of Humanity

Aden stood in the Silver sand again. His feet buried knee deep into it, but he felt no coarseness against his bare feet.

A black sun that looked more like a punch in the fabric of reality hung in the space and produced a bright light.

There was no wind, no sound, no air and most importantly, no pain.

The sloshing of the sand as he moved forward echoed clearly in his ears and strangely enough, through every corner of the land.

Aden walked aimlessly for an indeterminable amount of time, as his mind recalled the last moments before he lost consciousness.

“Mixing Resonance and Void energy,” he bit his lips. “How come I never thought of that?”

Aden looked at his own hands. Here, they weren’t charred. They were translucent, flickering between flesh and that same silver metal.

He let out a sound of confusion, but before he could question the strange phenomenon, shrill screams sounded in his ears so loudly he thought his ear drums might burst. He clenched his teeth and fell to his knees involuntarily.

His forehead made contact with the smooth, fluid sand as he clenched the sides of his head to tune out the loud frequency.

“Still a weak mortal I see. I expected more from you but it seems I keep overestimating your competence.”

Aden remembered that annoyingly familiar, yet terrifying voice. How could he forget? After all, he claimed to be ’him.’

The screams died out and Aden immediately forced his head upward with a fierce expression.

In front of him, the Entity was sitting on a pile of rusted, ancient thrones, idly tossing the broken tip of the Saintess’s blade into the air and catching it. He looked exactly like Aden, but the metallic sheen Aden had just begun to develop was complete on the Entity. His skin looked like liquid mercury, flowing and hardening with every breath.

“You took your time,” the Entity said, not looking up. “I was starting to think the girls in white had actually managed to put you down.”

Aden got to his feet, but unlike before, he didn’t sink to his knees. If looks could kill, this entity would’ve been annihilated thousands of times.

“Last I saw you, you were screaming louder than any beast I’ve seen.”

A crack finally showed on the Entity’s relaxed expression. “You sure have a sharp mouth for a weakling, but remember—”

The air crushed inward as gravity spiked, forcing his body lower under an unbearable weight. “This is not your playground.”

Veins bulged on Aden’s head, his feet dissapeared under the sand, leaving only half of his chest visible. The taste of iron built in his throat, but with several pained expressions, he swallowed it.

His mouth opened to say something, but the intensity of the current situation nearly made him bite his tongue off.

’This man could really be— no, there’s no way…’

The Entity let out a low scoff, before he returned the gravity to it’s initial state. “I’m sure you know your thoughts are no different from a loud speech to me.”

Aden spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the silver sand with crimson, but was left perplexed as the crimson dissapeared.

’Stupid fucker.’

“I heard that,” the entity replied immediately he sent a large boulder in Aden’s direction.

Aden dodged the attack by a hair’s breath.

“I know,” he replied as he glared at him.

The Entity didn’t respond, but the subtle heaviness in the air gave him a rather clear response.

Aden gulped and looked at his hands again. “You knew what would happen if I touched the circle.”

“Of course I knew,” the Entity laughed, a sound like glass shards in a blender. He stood up, the rusted thrones behind him collapsing into dust. “You didn’t adapt to the magic, you cheated. You used the Vassals as a ground-wire and turned yourself into a conductor for energy that should have vaporized your soul.

The Entity walked closer, his eyes—hollow pits of swirling starlight—studying Aden’s flickering form.

“But look at you. Still clinging to the idea of being human. You caught a god-tier blade with your teeth and you’re still worried about your gums bleeding.”

“I am human,” Aden rasped, though even to his own ears, his voice sounded more like the humming of several voices than a man’s speech.

The Entity stopped inches from him. He reached out a silver finger and tapped Aden’s chest, right where his heart should be. Instead of a heartbeat, there was a low, rhythmic thrumming—the pulse of the twenty Vassals.

“You’re a Hive, Aden. A void. A mouth that never stops eating,” the Entity whispered. “And now, the Princess has turned your ’home’ into a pressure cooker. If you wake up now, you’ll find thirty thousand tons of stone and a goddess waiting to turn you into a souvenir.”

He leaned in closer, his silver face reflecting Aden’s terror.

“Do you want to know why you can’t feel your ’Master’ in the Void? Do you want to know what Silas Redwyn was actually looking for when he carved those runes into your ribs? The true origins of the ring and the truth behind your forceful inauguration as a god?”

Aden clenched his translucent fists. “Tell me.”

The Entity grinned, baring rows of teeth that were far too sharp. “Information isn’t free in the Silver Land, Me. You want to survive the catastrophe waiting for you outside and finally escape the reach of that—”

The entity halted for a split second, brief enough for no normal person to notice, but Aden did.

The entity continued quickly. “If you want to be free of whatever obstacle lies in your path, you have to stop resisting the metal.”

Aden’s eyes narrowed as he looked at him with a searchingly.

The entity gestured to the vast, empty expanse of silver sand.

“Become the Anomaly they’re so afraid of. Or stay here and watch as Lorelei dies trying to kiss your cold, metallic corpse”

Aden’s eyes flashed. “Is this simply just metal?”

The entity chuckled and crossed his arms around Aden. Aden felt like twenty trucks were piled on each of his shoulders, but he managed to keep a somewhat straight face.

“As expected, you’re not entirely foolish. No, the metal isn’t just metal,” the entity whispered into Aden’s ears. “It’s the key to mastering your Adaptive abilities.”

Aden’s ears perked. “Continue.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep