Chapter 615: A Gentle Invitation to Death.
’See for yourselves…’
Before Levi could react, both his and the Elder Witch’s aetheric vision shifted abruptly… the seemingly endless green haze rushed past them in the direction of the pull.
It was like his spiritual vision was moving at the speed of light, leaving only an unfocused blur for a split second… before adjusting to the new scene before him.
’What the…’
A scene that left his mind frozen solid.
Souls.
Countless souls of various shapes and sizes followed one another across the green void… humans walked beside broad-shouldered dwarves and slender elves, their faces sharing the same vacant exhaustion.
Others were unlike anything Levi had ever seen. Six-armed giants lumbered over serpentine souls, while translucent, jellyfish-like beings drifted overhead.
He even spotted a hollow suit of misty armor… a small, luminous creature curled inside its chest.
All of them shared the same misty gray color… which was affected by the Aether Realm’s green hue as well.
The line stretched to infinity and beyond… if Levi had to guess, their number would be in the hundreds of millions, if not more.
Some stumbled, while others glanced behind them in confusion… yet whenever a gentle voice drifted through the haze, their hesitation faded, and their footsteps resumed.
Levi’s vision raced along the seemingly infinite line until it reached its head.
At once, his spiritual eyes widened in instinctive dread as his gaze landed on a gigantic mule trudging through the aetheric haze…
It resembled an ordinary donkey enlarged to monstrous proportions, with a long muzzle, drooping ears, and a coarse mane running down its heavy neck.
Yet its broad back towered above the procession, and its thick legs ended in cracked black hooves large enough to crush several souls beneath a single step.
It didn’t matter if the souls behind it belonged to dragons, angraths, elves, or whatever noble race was running the show in the Chained Universe… they were a hundred times smaller than this mule and followed it as though obeying a royal decree.
Yet… Levi knew that these souls weren’t following the mule itself, but the small figure sitting on top of its head.
He wore a sagging straw-yellow hat and a brown farmer’s coat covered in mismatched patches… his lowered face was hidden under the straw hat.
He had a slightly shabby metal lantern resting on his lap as he hummed a gentle tune.
Yet… his humble farmer-like appearance stole the scene, standing out the most.
It was for a simple reason.
In the Aether Realm, where every single thing shared a spectrum of green hues, he was the sole entity to maintain his colors!
"Unburdened Warden…"
The words barely escaped the Elder Witch’s lips before she swiftly closed her mouth shut… pure fear written across her expression.
Levi’s expression twisted in dread as well after her voice confirmed his worst fear.
’What kind of punishment is this… this is a death sentence!’
He knew that the universe’s punishments for breaking its rules were severe.
But to experience it on his own was a different story.
He recognized the source of the pulling force at once… the shabby lantern resting on the Warden’s lap!
Behind its glass, he saw countless tiny wisps drift around a pale green flame, flickering in rhythm with the chant.
Whenever one stirred, a soul in the line took another step.
Levi connected the dots right away, realizing that those wisps were fragments of the souls following behind… pieces of themselves already caught within the lantern!
Through that connection, it drew them to follow the Warden toward the Final Resting Place.
’I need to get the hell out of here as fast as possible!’
Just as he was about to beg the Soulleech Monarch for help again, the Unburdened Warden’s gentle chant echoed in his mind… akin to a soothing lullaby urging him to let go of his worries and lay down the burdens and responsibilities of life.
"Come, weary wanderer… the day is done.
The fields lie quiet beneath the fading sun.
Lay down your burden… loosen your hold.
Follow my lantern out of the cold.
Bring all the names you cannot leave.
Bring all the love for which you grieve.
Lay down your sorrow… loosen your hold.
There is rest beyond the stories you’ve told.
One step, then another… no more need to roam.
The road may be long, but I’ll lead you home.
Lay down your fear… loosen your hold.
Follow my lantern out of the cold."
The Warden hummed the final notes softly… then began the chant again, his hand resting patiently around the lantern’s handle as he swayed his head lightly.
With every word, Levi’s anguish eased… his fear for his body and anger toward his Seeds faded alongside older burdens: his parents’ murder, his hatred for Na’thir, and the relentless pressure to grow stronger before someone he loved paid for his weakness.
The relief reminded him of the Burden Collector… but this time, even his reasons to keep fighting began to weaken.
Reclaiming his eyes no longer seemed worth the suffering. Arthur had grown strong, and his friends had their own paths… for a brief moment, he felt they would manage without him.
Then, Levi caught himself accepting that comfort while his brother was still fighting to save him.
That realization frightened him more than the Warden himself!
’Wandering this realm is one thing, child… but once he takes your soul into that lantern, you will not leave it until he reaches the Final Resting Place.’
The Soulleech Monarch’s ominous warning reached Levi alone… then she cut off the vision she had shared with both of them, freeing them from the Warden’s gentle voice and returning their sight to the surrounding haze.
The moment Levi snapped out of it, he noticed that the pulling force kept growing stronger.
Only this time… both knew exactly what awaited them once the pulling stopped, and neither wished for it to happen anymore.
Widow’s Loom Arts: Heaven-Ensnaring Net!
Without hesitation, the Elder Witch spread her fingers and released countless spiritual threads ahead of them!
They swiftly intertwined into a gigantic loom-like net, resembling a colossal spiderweb stretched across the green void.
Its outer strands extended deep into the aetheric haze, anchoring it directly in their path to catch their souls as they were dragged forward!
Levi watched with a solemn expression, hoping that her methods would accomplish something.
After all, she was a Tier 8 powerhouse specializing in spiritual arts… if anyone had a chance of resisting this force, it should be her.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The net caught Levi, the Witch, and the Soulleech Maw… its threads stretched taut as the pulling force pressed their spiritual forms deeper into its weave!
For a brief moment, it held them in place… but despite the Witch desperately tightening its strands, all three were forced deeper into its weave until the threads started snapping!
Within moments, they pierced through the net completely… leaving two ragged holes behind, one where Levi and the Maw had passed together, and another where the Witch had broken through!
’Even this doesn’t work?!’
Levi’s expression darkened at the sight.
He knew that attempting to resist the pulling force with his own strength would be a joke… whatever authority was collecting them didn’t seem to care about their abilities or evolutionary ranks.
But letting it take him wasn’t an option either.
’Think, think, think… There must be a way.’
Levi forced himself to calm down and not think of the dreadful destination… he started recalling everything he had seen through the Soulleech Monarch’s vision… the long line, the wisps, and the lantern that kept them connected to the Warden.
Suddenly, his thoughts paused at the last one.
’The lantern…’
He recalled Ash’Kral mentioning that the Lantern of the Lost Keeper was a genuine copy of the Unburdened Warden’s Lantern!
It was the reason he was able to store so many souls together without them merging and collapsing… whether they were dormant wisps or awakened souls, the lantern kept them intact.
’… what if I stored myself inside it?’
Levi felt that the idea was worth trying… his lantern had sheltered plenty of other souls, so why should his own be an exception?
Naturally, he didn’t expect it to cancel the universe’s punishment…
The leaf would still have to pay the price, and his body would remain at the mercy of those two Divas… but if he avoided having his soul collected, he would at least have a chance to return!
Just as he was about to summon it, he felt a strange sensation near his shoulder.
When he looked down, his expression changed at once.
’Oh no… It’s starting!’
A thin spiritual wisp was slowly being drawn out of his soul… its end stretched in the same direction they were being dragged!