Capítulo 361: Chapter 361: The Inner Workings of a Soul
Hmmmm.
Scratching his head head in contemplation, Ares Shifted a few metres to his right to dodge another water jet. He'd been in the bubble for a minute or so now and, thanks to Omniscience, had figured out enough about the bubble dimension to at least use Shift within its confinement range. Escaping it wasn't something that would happen for a good while, though, so Ares resigned himself to being stuck in here for the full five minute duration. As for the wyvern, it seemed to really love that water jet attack and Ares couldn't blame it. The jet was fast to create, fast to fire, and, you guessed it, fast to travel. It probably didn't even require mana, actually, as this was a budget elemental dragon's breath and so it was likely an inherent ability; sort of like a revenant's regeneration. Speaking of, Ares' regeneration was doing impressive work as he could already feel the pain of his injuries again. This was a good thing, actually, because numbness indicated a lack of control over that part of his damaged body so, unpleasant though it was, at least Ares would be in tip top shape to move again soon. Would he be fully healed? No. Would he be able to run and jump around like he was in an Olympic hurdling competition? Absolutely, categorically no. Would he be able to stand up and Voidwalk around, without relying on this plank anymore, by the time the bubble disappeared? Yes! In spite of his adept trait reducing his overall resilience, he was still a cultivator in sensory enhancement so he wouldn't fold from a single shot of some glorified hose. That being said, were it not for his adept trait he likely could have taken that hit without breaking much of a sweat externally or many of his bones internally. He wouldn't have needed his regeneration at all to keep moving freely. That was the trade-off for whatever the hell Garmr was so Ares wasn't complaining! if anything, it was arguably the perfect trade-off thanks to his revenant immortality anyway. Who cared if he died quicker? Death was only a temporary setback anyway!... For the most part. Ares wasn't necessarily too concerned with what happened before or during his death, no, he cared about what came after. All the people he left behind and potentially at risk too... If they got targeted in his stead then that would be a real concerning matter...
Whatever! Ares would rather not think about that right now because there was a more pressing issue, the invincible wyvern soul. Thankfully Ares seemed to be progressing in the right direction regarding his experiments as he could currently just about barely feel the chill of a soul as it passed through him. This was a good sign because he previously couldn't do this at all. The Converter would let him feel a soul melting inside him, sure, but anything before that stage was a no go entirely. Plus that wasn't even really Ares doing anything so it didn't count... or maybe it did? The Converter was attached to Ares permanently now and had fused with his heart so it technically was him. He would never say he wasn't the one regenerating right now just because it was an innate ability so why should the Converter be any different!? Regardless, he was getting side-tracked again and his attention was sorely needed elsewhere.
Being able to feel a soul via nothingness was a good start and he was glad his thought process was on the right track. By merging reality and void around a soul there was nowhere for it to run and so it became sort of trapped in a reachable space. If it didn't exist in either the void or reality it would cease to exist entirely and fade away, because there was nowhere left for it in this universe, so Ares forced it to pick one or the other by collapsing both on it at the same time. No wonder souls were so damn hard to injure! If this was the requirement then it was unsurprising only attacks of a certain calibre could ever actually do them because they needed to be strong enough to tear reality at the bare minimum. Even then more strength to really pulverise this damn soul was needed so the number of soul destroying arts, and capable cultivators, out there was absolutely going to be infinitesimal as a result. It did beg the question though; if doing this worked... Then did that mean the soul was something that just bounced around between the void and reality to avoid getting damaged? Did it simultaneously exist in both for its own safety and convenience? The body was an anchor to reality for the soul and it would fling back over to the void if the body died? Unless it was caught by heaven or hell's net first? That would be a strange discovery, and may even make Ares' life easier regarding his current trial if it was true, so he had an avenue through which to potentially come up with an answer to this damn wyvern... Not. There was still the slight issue of him being unable to access the void right now because of this stupid bubble dimension! He could tear open reality and flood the area with nothingness, yes, but actually creating a portal or gateway directly to the void was not possible so he couldn't experiment freely in here like usual... Or could he?
SLAP
Ares smacked his forehead because there was a simple damn solution to this problem from the start that was obvious as can be! Ares couldn't access the void from this bubble... But what if he just accessed it from an entirely different place instead? There were two worlds in here! The Primordial Blade! Inside it was an entirely different world, one he already knew the ins and outs of including how to access the void from it! He couldn't enter the Blade himself as of yet but he could very easily send strands of mana or pressure through it to the void and do his testing in peace! It was a very round about workaround but it was functional and allowed Ares to progress onto the next step of putting this wyvern out of commission once and for all. Ares figured he would be done with this wyvern before the bubble duration was up now, he was that confident in this new avenue he was pursuing and his ability to divulge the secrets of souls via it! All he had to do was keep dodging his relentless aggressor and this win was his for the taking. After that, killing the krakyrn was a simple affair and everyone could go back to their normal lives and enjoy the rest of the trip.
While Ares was working towards his goal, the fight between the krakyrn and the Federation had thankfully come to a standstill for now. Everyone was taking a breather inside Hunter's shop as it was the central hub for their operations in this battle. The gadgets everyone had been tooled up with were both numerous and high in quality so they were well equipped for a big final showdown. There were no more threats to the Federation after this krakyrn was gone so Hunter was laying it all on the line to get it done and keep his homeland safe forever more. He would still be taking up odd jobs outside the country but, honestly, it sort of felt like his goal in life would be met. He did really care about the Federation. Sure it was mostly a convenient way to get his services spread far and wide but, at the end of the day, most of his time spent in solitude underneath his shop, in the dimly lit gadget lab, was all for the sake of keeping the Federation free from worry. The anti twisted gadget, the anti seagull gadget, etc... He was even mulling over ways to prevent major losses against the Scylla and the krakyrn before Ares showed up and offered a more permanent solution. No, Hunter did not like his father Cash. Not in the slightest. But the Federation itself had done nothing to deserve his ire. As such, he was particularly fond of this place and had no interest in ever leaving. He was born here, he would live here, he would die here. Simple as. Still, it would feel somewhat empty and hollow if there was no need for his services anymore. He might get a statue made of him, to commemorate his deeds, but that didn't mean there would magically be anything for him to do from now on. His days of helping the Federation were about to be over and there was a nagging feeling that he didn't want it to end. This was incredibly selfish, and he knew it, but what was life without a little spice every now and then? Was he just supposed to spend all his time aboard the Federation retired from now on? no more sea monsters to battle? That was kind of sad, actually... Maybe it really was time for him to settle down with someone?
Anyway, everyone had congregated here and Hunter had even set up some automated defences, turning this particular ship in the Freefire setup into the most heavily armed position of all. It was right in the centre of the pyramid and had a great angle at which to fire at the krakyrn as soon as it was free from the bubble and ready for round two. With Aejaz' destruction magic, all the federation's cannons, and Hunter's automated turret and projectile interference gadgets, at the very least, if nothing else, they could hold on for a lot longer. It was likely the krakyrn would run out of patience before the Federation would run out cannons and lives but they felt confident Ares could deal with the soul and win the fight eventually anyway so their mindset was one of holding out for a hero. Geordie's presence was reassuring in that regard as his specialisation in defence, excluding Freefire anyway, was exemplary and he could hold the fort down for a good while on his own if need be. Throw in fake monk Massai's lotus', whatever Aejaz and Onno contributed, and this group was particularly sturdy even in the face of such a mighty monster...
There were a couple slackers however but, really, it wasn't their fault. Notably Esme and tiny pup Nibbler weren't doing much. Esme's wind magic would run out of steam if she tried to fire a gust from here to where the krakyrn was. Nibbler's range wasn't great either but he was contributing in spirit! His cuteness raised the morale of everyone nearby and he barked merrily at anyone doing a good job. Occasionally, for what it was worth, he did also spit giant water balls into nearby cannons to have fired at the krakyrn so his damage tally from the earlier scuffle, while Ares was dealing with the wyvern, was currently not zero! The real unfortunate realisation with Nibbler was that he wasn't going to get to transform at all during the course of this journey! He'd been ready to do it and tackle the sea monsters head on back during the Scylla incident but that threat was ended prematurely by a certain explodey killjoy and now the situation didn't really call for it. He could transform and go for a swim but, on his own, he wouldn't beat the krakyrn at all. Nibbler was strong enough to hold on for a good while though so, again, if need be, he would jump head, or rather fin, first into the fray and do his duty! Admittedly, though he wasn't here, Ares did feel some remorse and regret knowing he wouldn't likely get a chance to see the tiny fella transform. It was both a matter of curiosity as well as anticipation because a giant sharkdog sounded particularly strong and very cool. Granted there would be no way to see him swim through land, as there wasn't exactly any here, but it would still be neat to get a glimpse of the actual form... Maybe Ares would get a chance to in the future before he left for Vraizon? Though there were no more threats on the horizon for this particular journey there was still the return trip!... Not. Ares was just probably going to Voidwalk back and skip the Federation as it was kinda slow... Unless he thought of a gift for Appa, anyhow, then he would return temporarily and pick one up. His best bet was actually when he came to pick up the Shold and Bort duo as well as their store. Anyway, Ares could hope! It would be worth the wait if it did happen, that was for sure!
Click
Hunter fashioned some manner of belt to his waist, one fully loaded with gadgets, and cricked his neck while he brought a bunch of sacks out of his spatial ring. These were full of Shock Beads and were to be distributed to anyone and everyone just in case they got a chance to throw one into the monster's mouth. It was unlikely, however, because the krakyrn was currently nowhere near the Federation but, still, if the opportunity presented itself it would be a golden chance to win this fight with ease. There was no point turning their noses up at this gift as it could very well end this battle with a clean victory if the stars aligned. There weren't many sacks but only one was needed to do the job and so the leeway was actually pretty decent. Even if one was missed, a second could be thrown right after with no hesitation so if that monster came up close and personal everyone was going to charge headfirst at the thing and pray. Geordie was on defensive duty so he didn't get a sack. His objective was to block whatever attacks the krakyrn threw out at his comrade in arms rushing the krakyrn down. Nibbler also didn't get one because he had nowhere to hold or store it. Hunter could have fastened it around his fin but its not like the little guy could chuck it or anything... The real issue here was that if one of the sacks missed the krakyrn would become hyper aware of them going forward. It wasn't a one shot kinda deal but, in some ways, it was. Much like how Ares couldn't trick the wyvern a second time, these lot would not be able to trick the krakyrn more than once and would have to brute force the outcome from then on. Still, this was all hypothetical and probably irrelevant. This was still plan B at the end of the day and not anyone's real goal. The krakyrn had no business getting close and trying to climb the Federation like some knockoff kaiju and Ares would probably deal with the wyvern before long anyhow as he was looking pretty confident and focussed over in that bubble. It was hard to tell but those familiar with him, namely the sect crew, knew that he was in a winning position in his mind currently and that was a good sign,
Their assumption was correct too as Ares had finally managed to make a small dent in a soul. It was only a fish soul, so the ease of damaging must have been considerably higher than something like a wyvern soul, but damage it he did! The souls of weaker creatures didn't really have any kind of form to them, and usually just appeared as a floating white ball if they were too weak to have any defining features, but that made spotting irregularities all the more simple. Instead of having to play detective and scour every inch of a giant creature like the wyvern for damage, Ares could just see and feel a dent in the small ball that he himself had hammered in. It wasn't like that from the start which meant his experimentation had finally hit upon the correct answer. His earlier assumptions, about the soul residing in two places at once, was correct and he could exploit that very easily. It also seemed like the void passively healed souls a little too which is why they could fix themselves after some time if left alone.
The number of people with direct access to the void could be counted on one hand and, even then, you probably wouldn't have to use all your fingers to count them. Ares, Astraeus. Those were the two individuals, currently anyway, that Ares knew of who could do it... And he was already one of them! That narrowed down the easy soul destroying competition a lot. Other people could also do it but their methods would be more roundabout and less effective overall. Anyway, this meant that souls were not something realistically anybody could ever freely go and hunt down other than Ares. Astraeus still had his non-interference rule so its not like he would be doing it. Maybe there was someone else with access to the void... But even so, they might not be able to stay in there for too long, or freely control it like Ares, so actually chasing down a soul in the correct spot, that was parallel with the same spot in reality, was looking like an ability only Ares possessed... Kinda.
Though it was somewhat different, and Ares didn't know this, the reason Venators were so hard to kill was because they originated from the void and could access it freely for the most part. This was what made them so damn tough. Venators were souls merged with the void so they were extremely cheap! Souls healed in the void... And their souls had permanently merged with the void... Put two and two together and you had a constant regeneration that only just barely paled in comparison the revenants. They weren't closer to immortality than revenants, as they couldn't revive when dead, but they were closer to invincibility in the earlier cultivation stages anyway. Revenant regeneration caught up with Venator regeneration at some point, so one was clearly superior to the other, but it even being a close race until then was indicative of how powerful venators were on the defensive front. Not to mention that, if they were in reality and got damaged, they could just temporarily throw their soul-body back into the void for even just a split second and fully regenerate back to new. The void healing of their soul was amplified due to their affiliation for it. If the void merged with their soul was enough to passively regenerate, chucking themselves into an entire world full of void would unsurprisingly just completely heal them in the same time it took to snap a finger. As they were still souls at their core, they could do this freely and without restraint so it was no wonder it took even Gods a while to kill bigger venators, if they were even capable of it. There was still that one frozen venator in Akarala because two Gods combined couldn't be bothered to spend multiple tens of thousands of years whittling away at it and doing effectively zero damage all the while. They would have needed a massive opening to put the giant venator in the dirt once and for all but they clearly weren't interested in waiting around that long and just took measures that were simpler. Most people tended to seal venators in some capacity, instead of kill them, because it was less of a headache that way. Merely damaging a venator was the equivalent of having to kill the wyvern Ares was currently fighting. No wonder they were considered to be invincible by most, even an extremely weak venator would be more annoying to deal with than this damn wyvern! Sure the venator could actually be hit, as the soul had a physical form in their case, but if they could regenerate instantly then any damage became meaningless. Plus they were hard to inflict meaningful wounds against anyway due to their insane toughness. At least in this wyvern fight, if Ares hit the wyvern it wouldn't instantly heal everything he did to it! This soul was trapped in reality, probably because it was attached to the Deep Blue permanently, so it couldn't pop over to the void to heal. Even if it could, it had not merged with void and so the healing would be essentially worthless. It was less effective than taking a healing pill in the case of the wyvern's soul because there was zero affiliation like with a venator soul that had merged with the void. If Ares cut off a wing, for example, it would take the Wyvern soul maybe even upwards of a year to fix it just by sitting in the void and doing nothing else. Perhaps the Deep Blue could heal the wyvern when not in use but if it disappeared to go heal then it would be leaving the krakyrn all alone and Ares was fine with that outcome too!
Anyway, point being, Ares could damage souls now and this was a major turning point even if he was still a beginner at it. He needed to get better at locating the identical point at which the soul existed in the void and reality at the same time. The faster he could do it, the better his results would be and the more damage he could inflict per attack. Any attack would do, he just had to make sure to overlap the area he was aiming at with the void, perfectly in sync, thanks to his nothingness magic... Thank God for Omniscience! It made his life so much easier doing this and would have taken Ares at least a few tens of years to get the hang of aiming without it. Seriously, the Converter and Omniscience were just cheat treasures! Everything about them was extraordinarily bullshit and had saved Ares, in the span of under a month, nearly multiple hundreds of years of cultivating and training. Imagine what they would have done for him over the course of multiple hundreds of thousands of years! Truly ludicrous... And to think there were more Celestial treasures out there waiting to be plucked that were equally powerful... No wonder Dominus had been so legendary! Yes his weapon mastery was top tier, and the best anyone had ever seen, but pair that up with multiple treasures each as powerful as the Prisms and him being unstoppable was the only result that made any damn sense! Plus immortality to boot? And he had the nerve to complain about Garmr! It's not like he wasn't equally as nonsensical in his own way back when he was alive compared to everyone else! Granted not to the extent that Ares currently was but he was up there with the rest of histories greatest unfair cultivators!
Ares shook his head and sighed. If he tried arguing with Dominus he'd receive and earful about how his advantages in life were mostly earned while Ares had gotten his on a silver platter. He wasn't technically wrong but Ares was working on the scythe, at least, and that was all his own doing! Dominus was useless in that regard and he was doing fine! Anyway, it would just wind up being a verbal deflection battle with both of them endlessly comparing one another to see who had the bigger handout form the universe and Ares would inevitably win regardless of how many valid points he raised. Perfect DNA, perfect magic affiliation, hand-me-down treasures from Dominus, and tailor made fundamental champion tier treasures in the Converter and the Blade... Ares really had some nerve trying to make comparisons! He might singlehandedly be the most nepotism baby-esque cultivator of all time! He damn well better be working on the scythe because he needed to prove he was capable of being a half decent cultivator without the benefits! Still, he actually was, it was just hard to tell for anyone who didn't know him well. There would absolutely be countless people saying he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. They were correct, it's just that Ares had the talent to create silver spoons as well so it was doubly unfair. Dominus had relented the more he got to see of Ares and eventually came to the conclusion that he would have been a notable cultivator even without the additional benefits anyway. HIs scythe mastery was actually rather impressive to even Dominus as that reaper's mark, that appeared briefly during the tournament, proved it without a shadow of a doubt. Plus Ares' art creation capability was incredible and he could do as such impossibly fast and even in the roughest situations. Absolute Reversal, for instance, was a mind bending art and Dominus loved using it. That alone spoke volumes. A higher tier cultivator using your art liberally? If that didn't scream talent then nothing did. Anyway, there was no point starting that argument so Ares picked a different fight instead. He turned to face the wyvern, stood up while stretching his aching bones, and aimed his thumb at the wyvern. He then placed his pointed finger's nail atop his thumb and flicked a small Echo at the wyvern which, surprisingly, didn't phase right through the creature! It was but the tiniest of hits, and barely even registered, but it did cause the wyvern soul to stop what it was doing and stare in disbelief at the person opposite it who was smiling in a rather menacing manner right about now. That tiny hit was just a way of saying hello. What came next, from here on out, was going to be lot less friendly and the wyvern could tell it was not going to be the bully in this situation for much longer...
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder