656
Chapter 656
"You want to make a contract with me?"
Zeke asked the Trace of the Distorted Constellation.
The Trace of the Distorted Constellation nodded in response.
"I appeared here, taking risks, to make a contract with you."
Zeke asked the Trace of the Distorted Constellationwhile maintaining his guard.
"What kind of contract are you proposing?"
The Trace of the Distorted Constellation smiled and replied.
"Don't worry, it won't be unfair to you."
Taking another step closer to Zeke, it continued.
"In the past, we sought to lend our power to 'that being' in exchange for names."
The ancient beings possessing mysteries, who could be considered part of the Distorted Constellation, lent their power to the Sun God Apollion.
However, Apollion only used that power to kill the Primordial Light that created him, never fulfilling their wishes.
Lowering the corners of its mouth, he continued.
"That was a wrong choice. We... no longer desire to have names."
Zeke looked at the Trace of the Distorted Constellation and asked.
"If you no longer wish to have names, couldn't you just be forgotten as you are?"
The Trace of the Distorted Constellation shook his head at those words.
"As long as 'that being' who holds our power exists, even being forgotten has become difficult. No matter how much we try to hide ourselves and seek to be forgotten, 'that being' keeps trying to call us back here."
Zeke realized what the Trace of the Distorted Constellation was trying to say.
"You want me to kill Apollion so you can be completely forgotten?"
The Trace of the Distorted Constellation nodded.
"Complete rest. That is what we desire."
These floating beings, neither remembered nor forgotten, sought rest after prolonging their existence.
Zeke understood what the Trace of the Distorted Constellation wanted.
Meaningless immortality could be the most painful bondage.
While Zeke was quietly thinking, the Trace of the Distorted Constellation spoke to him.
"What will you do? Will you make a contract with me?"
Then Zeke replied to the Trace of the Distorted Constellation.
"I understand what you want. But there's one thing missing."
He added in a clear voice while looking at the Trace of the Distorted Constellation.
"The price of the contract. If I give you complete rest, what can you give me in return?"
All contracts worked both ways.
Just as the Trace of the Distorted Constellation had something he wanted from Zeke, there needed to be a corresponding price for the contract to be established.
At Zeke's words, the Trace of the Distorted Constellation nodded as if he had expected this.
"Yes, without a price, a contract cannot be established. That's an answer worthy of the Demon Realm's Great Demon lord."
The Trace of the Distorted Constellation approached Zeke and extended his hand.
Then, as light rippled in its palm, something appeared.
Zeke looked at what the Trace of the Distorted Constellation offered.
'This is?'
What appeared in its palm was none other than a mirror shard.
Zeke said to the Trace of the Distorted Constellation.
"Is this the price of the contract?"
Then it smiled and answered.
"This is a kind of seed."
Zeke shook his head while looking at the mirror shard called a seed.
"If you thought this would be enough to establish a contract, you've misjudged me."
At Zeke's firm voice, the Trace of the Distorted Constellation spoke with slight bewilderment.
"Though I knew from watching you, you're more thorough than I expected."
Zeke was someone who had managed to draw favorable contracts even from the Great Commanders of the Demon Realm.
Seeing Zeke's wary expression, the Trace of the Distorted Constellation shook its head and spoke again.
"This is the 'Seed of Domain.'"
Zeke made a puzzled face, and it continued.
"The mirror world in the abyss is an illusory space that doesn't exist. But what if an illusion could become reality?"
At the Trace of the Distorted Constellation's words, Zeke's expression changed.
"A space that becomes reality from illusion... Could you mean a unique domain?"
A unique domain is a 'special space' that only beings with divine status can possess.
The divine dragons and divine beasts existing in the phenomenal world also had their own unique domains.
These domains are typically called divine blessed lands, lands of divine protection.
However, the unique domains of Constellations were different from these divine blessed lands.
Divine beasts naturally transform their long-inhabited spaces into divine blessed lands through assimilation.
But Constellations, being entities that couldn't stay in the phenomenal world from the start, couldn't possess unique domains like divine blessed lands.
Therefore, the unique domains of Constellations can be considered as isolated systems that can be freely deployed.
Because the domain itself is connected to the Constellation, it was impossible for outsiders to enter, and leaving at will was also impossible.
The Celestial Constellations and ancient beings with divine status that Zeke had faced also possessed such unique domains.
Of course, while deploying unique domains in the phenomenal world required considering karma's restrictions, which significantly reduced their power, they still had to be treated with caution as they allowed Constellation powers to manifest in the phenomenal world.
The only way to escape such unique domains was to deploy another unique domain to break free from the closed isolated system.
Zeke, with his divine status, possessed the 'Purgatory', the unique domain of the Arrogant Savior, and the 'Room of Time' passed down by the Final Sage.
However, these two domains could only be used by accepting others' souls and couldn't be considered Zeke's true unique domains.
If what the Trace of the Distorted Constellation said was true, it meant that through the seed it passed on, Zeke could open his own unique domain.
Looking at the mirror shard on the Trace of the Distorted Constellation's palm, Zeke asked.
"Are unique domains normally created using domain seeds like this?"
The Trace of the Distorted Constellation smiled and shook its head.
"Of course not. Unique domains are created by Constellations with divine status enduring countless ages."
Twisting its lips mockingly, it continued.
"But now the Celestial Constellations are forcibly expanding their unique domains by squeezing the phenomenal world's karma to maintain their form, leaving them hollow inside. Actually creating a unique domain is no different from creating an entire world. The domain seed just helps with that process."
Zeke recalled the unique domains deployed by the Celestial Constellations.
A desolate world with only empty cities remaining.
He had thought they were incomplete due to being summoned to the phenomenal world, but according to the Trace of the Distorted Constellation, they weren't proper unique domains at all.
Zeke examined the oddly glowing mirror shard before looking up at the Trace of the Distorted Constellation.
Then he slowly spoke.
"I accept your proposal. But I have one more condition."
The Trace of the Distorted Constellation crossed hisarms and clicked his tongue.
"Fine, let's hear what condition you have."
Zeke opened his inventory and took out the Adamantium God-Slaying Stone, showing it to the Trace of the Distorted Constellation.
"The God-Slaying Stone with power to kill gods. I know this is made from Goddess Theia's tears. Since Goddess Theia is a Chaos God and they are part of the Distorted Constellation, you should be able to create these freely, right?"
The Trace of the Distorted Constellation looked at the God-Slaying Stone Zeke produced and raised his other hand not holding the mirror shard, creating something.
WOONG!
Black energy gathered in its hand, forming a God-Slaying Stone fragment identical to what Zeke held.
"You mean this?"
Zeke nodded at the God-Slaying Stone fragment created by the Trace of the Distorted Constellation.
"Yes, the god-slaying power within this fragment. Pass that to me."
The power to kill gods.
He needed the god-slaying power to face Arthur Draker, the avatar of the Sun God who ruled the Celestial Constellations.
Unlike before, the Trace of the Distorted Constellation showed a troubled expression at Zeke's words. It floated into the air and crossed its legs in space.
"...The god-slaying power."
Looking at Zeke, it slowly spoke.
"Zeke Draker, in truth, we don't possess the god-slaying power."
As it spoke, the Trace of the Distorted Constellation slowly extended his palm forward, causing the God-Slaying Stone to float up.
TSSSS!
The God-Slaying Stone split and shattered, black powder scattering everywhere.
Then, small lights could be seen twinkling between the powder particles.
Zeke sensed something from those faint lights.
'That is?'
Seeing Zeke's eyes sparkle, the Trace of the Distorted Constellation nodded and said.
"Yes, these are remnants of the destroyed 'Primordial Light.'"
The Primordial Light killed by the Sun God lost its original name and ceased to exist.
Afterward, its remnants drifted through the outer dimensions along with the forgotten gods.
Looking at the Trace of the Distorted Constellation, Zeke said.
"So you gathered the drifting remnants of the 'Primordial Light' to create the God-Slaying Stone?"
It nodded and spoke.
"This God-Slaying Stone was created by the ancient beings using their power through a contract with King Solomon."
King Solomon became the first Irregular through his contract with the Chaos Gods and obtained the power to kill gods.
When Zeke learned the unexpected secret of the god-slaying power, he showed a surprised expression.
The Trace of the Distorted Constellation then spoke to Zeke.
"Zeke Draker, if you want the god-slaying power to face 'that being', there's another way."
It extended the mirror shard in its other hand.
"This domain seed is connected to the 'Temple of the Distorted Constellation.'"
"Temple of the Distorted Constellation?"
"Yes, you might be able to find the temple where ancient beings have hidden it. If you obtain it, you can gain power beyond that of god-slaying."
Zeke recalled that finding the Temple of the Distorted Constellation was part of the final scenario.
'Power hidden by ancient beings.'
The Trace of the Distorted Constellation looked at the contemplating Zeke and asked.
"What will you do?"
After considering, Zeke reached toward the Trace of the Distorted Constellation and grasped the mirror shard emanating strange power.
"I'll try it. But if what you said is false, the contract is void."
"Thorough until the end. Very well, let's do that."
It snapped its fingers.
WOONG!
Vibrations resonated from the mirror shard in Zeke's hand.
Simultaneously, light burst forth from within.
Zeke watched the strange light enveloping him and recalled feeling a similar sensation before.
'This is...?'
He soon remembered where he had felt this sensation.
It was when he regressed to the past through the Elder Dragon's Legacy.
The same energy he felt when the irreversible promised power activated.
WOOOONG!
The moment Zeke raised his head to look at the Trace of the Distorted Constellation.
Everything turned white as the world filled with light.
Zeke couldn't properly open his eyes in this space made entirely of light.
A vacant world where nothing existed, where one could only drift endlessly without proper footing.
Zeke tried to maintain his balance even in such a place.
Then Zeke felt his body being pulled somewhere.
He instinctively turned his body toward that direction.
Shortly after, he felt like he was passing through a very narrow, long passage.
When he felt he had completely emerged from that passage, Zeke opened his eyes.
He couldn't help but widen his eyes at the new scenery before him.
'This place is...?'
Where Zeke stood was none other than the Northern Continent.
On top of the Himonas Wall.