Chapter 614: So Much For a Truce.
Meanwhile… inside Levi’s spiritual leywell.
"This can’t be good…" The Titan held his chin.
"The universe’s punishment sure is brutal…" Omnithar mumured.
"This might be much worse than we anticipated." Ash’Kral frowned.
The three tenants watched Levi’s main soul being plucked from its place with solemn expressions… still seated around the table, with the cards from their interrupted game scattered before them.
When the Soulleech Monarch had invited Levi into the Aether Realm during his sleep, only his spirit or consciousness had made the journey… his main soul had remained anchored inside his leywell, maintaining the balance.
But now… they watched as the universe was tearing out the soul itself, dragging his consciousness along with it!
They could do nothing about it, as the universe’s authority wasn’t to be trifled with… even the ten-second delay wish had cost Levi resources worth about five million credits, leaving him strapped for liquidity.
The instant the soul was kidnapped out of the spiritual leywell… an eerie silence took over the place, lasting for about two seconds.
And then.
RUMBLE!!
The consciousness lake erupted as a golden inferno collided with a surging tide of darkness… the impact hurled mountains of water against the sky, shaking the entire leywell to its foundations!
Before the first waves even fell, another collision split them apart… then another!
Amid the devastation, Levi’s two remaining souls kept forcing their way toward his main soul’s vacant position.
Their spiritual energies crushed against each other until the very space between them began to crack!
"They are fighting to become the main soul."
Ash’Kral’s expression turned stern as he watched their Origin Seeds feed them more energy.
He had dealt with these three Seeds long enough to expect this extreme reaction.
Without delay, Ash’Kral moved his claw above the table, rapidly tracing Ilthorien inscriptions until a hexagonal array formed above its surface.
He activated it at once and then… the fractures in the subconscious barrier began to heal before they could get any worse.
The Titan and the Omnithar pressed their palms against the array’s edges, feeding it spiritual energy while Ash’Kral kept adjusting the inscriptions.
As for the ongoing conflict?
No array could appease these two Divas.
’Without Levi’s main soul keeping them in check, their instincts have taken over.’ Ash’Kral narrowed his eyes.’Each wants sole control of his body… and would rather destroy it than let the other claim it!’
RUMBLE!
"So much for a truce…"
The Titan frowned as he watched his little spiritual home turn upside down, with Void and Sun spiritual auras smashing into each other.
Worse… without a soul to orbit, the Nine Senses Seed drifted through the leywell like a rogue planet cast out of its star system… untethered and without an orbit to return to.
If her connection to Levi’s main soul in the Aether Realm hadn’t remained intact, she would have flipped the table on the other two, doing whatever it took to kill off the host that no longer had any relation to her!
Anything was better than being led by the other two Seeds.
Ash’Kral watched a fresh giant crack split the sky behind the battling souls and nearly lost his temper.
’You want his body so badly? Stop destroying it!’
His warning received no response… only another collision that left the lake boiling beneath golden flames while darkness swallowed its opposite shore!
Just then, Levi’s dormant wisp awakened and took his human form.
’Ash! I am getting dragged deeper into the Aether Realm… I need your help to… huh?’
His words caught in his throat as he stared in horror at the heaven-shattering chaos unfolding inside his spiritual leywell.
He had awakened his wisp to seek assistance… yet his three tenants were already scrambling to keep his leywell from falling apart!
’What’s going on?!’
’Your other souls are fighting for leadership.’
Ash’Kral replied solemnly while continuing to reinforce the array to delay the barrier’s destruction.
Levi watched their spiritual energies collide again, feeling the chilling impact through his tiny wisp.
He realized that the peaceful times he had spent lately with these three Seeds had left him too comfortable with owning three Origin Seeds… to the point that he had slowly begun to forget their egos, which were the size of a galaxy.
A mere truce didn’t mean that these three Divas had agreed to hold hands for eternity.
In fact, if it hadn’t been for the Nine Senses Seed acting as the balance point between the other two’s extremely conflicting personas and egos, a truce wouldn’t have even happened.
So, the moment the anchor was lost, they didn’t hesitate to seize control of the host through their own souls!
If this meant the death of Levi, well, so be it…
’Can’t I control them through this?’
’A mere wisp can’t replace your main soul. The Nine Senses Seed needs its soul back before the balance can be restored.’
Ash’Kral turned toward him with a grim expression.
’Focus on returning… these Ilthorien inscriptions are channeling the leaf’s life force to hold your body and subconscious barrier together… but the universe might exhaust it to collect its payment before you get back!’
Crack! Crack!
Hearing this, Levi turned his attention to the camp through his wisp… just as a violent clash of heat and cold blew the small room apart!
Arthur raised his arms against the flying debris while the girls swiftly retreated as well… within moments, all five were watching from a distance while Levi lay exposed beneath the white leaf.
His flesh kept getting scorched beneath golden light, then freezing over… only for the leaf’s potent life force to repair it before the next clash damaged it again!
His heart had stopped… but his body was still holding on.
The mutated divine spleen continued filtering his blood and absorbing the backlash, while the leaf supplied the life force needed to sustain his brain and the rest of his organs… keeping them functioning even as the two Seeds tore him apart!
’Everyone wants me dead so bad?!’
Levi’s expression turned dark.
He had never expected such a grim domino effect to follow his decision to retrieve his mentor’s Aspect Fruit.
He hadn’t even been given a moment to catch his breath after everything he had gone through in the spiritual trial before finding himself hunted by Tier 8 monsters.
And even after barely managing to pull off an insane escape, this was his reward:
The universe tore his main soul.
Elder Witch was attempting to possess it.
His body was falling apart.
And his own Origin Seeds had chosen such a damning time to demand a regime change!
Yet, the last part annoyed him the most.
He had endured their torturous evolutions, fed their endless appetites, and nearly torn himself apart just to give each of them its own soul.
However, the moment he was dragged away, those ungrateful Divas started fighting over his body… willing to destroy everything he had suffered for just to keep the other from taking the lead!
’Wait… can’t I take control through one of my other souls?’
Before the thought could take root, he shot it down on his own… he realized that it might be the dumbest choice he could make in such a sensitive situation.
Without the Nine Senses Seed maintaining the balance, switching his focus to either soul would mean picking a side… and he had already seen what those two thought of sharing!
He doubted the rejected Origin Seed would politely accept his decision… or that the chosen one would willingly surrender its advantage once his main soul returned.
For all he knew, their bruised egos would drive them to terminate him as their host altogether!
Levi glanced at his brother and the girls, who were still attempting to get close to him… but to no avail, as the two conflicting energies created a death zone around him.
’Elder, tell Arthur to keep them away from me; I will handle it on my own!’
Leaving this message to the Titan, Levi swiftly withdrew his focus back to his main soul, understanding that time wasn’t on his side.
A moment later, the green haze filled his vision… along with the unforgiving pull dragging him farther from the body he desperately needed to return to.
’How sweet… you’re even regretting your choices together.’
Suddenly, a familiar feminine voice reached his mind… deep and unhurried, carrying the same elderly composure he remembered from their first encounter.
Only this time, a hint of amusement accompanied it… as though she had caught two children regretting their mischief, rather than two souls being dragged away.
Levi’s attention snapped toward the surrounding aetheric haze… but he saw no one, and the Witch showed no reaction.
Still, he recognized that voice immediately.
The Soulleech Monarch!
’Elder… save your children!’
Levi cried out for assistance without an ounce of shame, leaving the Soulleech Monarch’s petals twitching.
He felt that the moment the Soulleech Maw had merged with his soul in the form of a mutation, he had also become her child by default.
He conveniently forgot that the Soulleech Monarch had already severed her connection to her child.
Alas…
’I cannot interfere with the universe’s punishment, Heir of the Equilibrium of Chaos… its authority has called upon him to collect you.’ The Soulleech Monarch shared.
’Him… who?!’