Chapter 192: COMPREHENDING LIFE AND DEATH
"You are gloating, huh? Thinking your subjects can save you from my hands? You still cling to hope, I see," Aaron said to King Oren, peeking into the mind of the merfolks king, his voice cold as the void itself.
"I will allow you to watch the total annihilation of your people. I would love to see what hope you will hold onto when I’m done," Aaron said coldly, flying forward toward the approaching army in their millions, his form cutting through the vacuum with purposeful speed.
He wanted to break King Oren completely, to snuff out every bit of hope the king ever had, even if it meant destroying the entire merfolk race, his fury demanding utter desolation.
"You all stay behind. I will handle this myself," Aaron informed Flameborn and his wives, deciding to take matters into his own hands, his voice brooking no argument as he advanced.
The merfolks controlling the spaceships fired cannon blasters at Aaron, beams of mana-infused energy lancing through the void with deadly precision.
Aaron continued moving undeterred, a large wall of shadow opening in front of him that reflected the attacks back to the spaceships, the beams rebounding with amplified force, destroying the vessels in explosive bursts of light and debris.
A merfolk general appeared before Aaron, thrusting his trident toward him with ferocious speed. Aaron’s eyes glowed faintly, overtaking the mind of the merfolks general in an instant. Controlling the general’s mind, the merfolk redirected his trident, stabbing himself through the chest, his body going limp as blood froze in the vacuum.
Aaron opened his mouth, screaming—a banshee wail that sent a massive shockwave rippling outward. The shockwave spread with devastating force, destroying the remaining spaceships in shattering explosions and obliterating merfolks floating in space by the thousands, their bodies disintegrating in the wave’s path.
Aaron continued his killing spree, utilizing his talent over time to slow his enemies’ perceptions, making their movements sluggish as he struck with precision, and his Night Father bloodline to summon shadows that ensnared and crushed, decimating the merfolks in a symphony of destruction.
Red bodies were scattered all across space, creating a gory battle scene, the void filled with frozen blood crystals and wreckage drifting eternally.
King Oren watched on in stunned silence as his own people were brutally killed until the very last one, his hope shattering like the spaceships, tears freezing on his cheeks as despair consumed him.
Aaron stood in the midst of the scattered bodies, drenched in the blood of the merfolks, the crimson staining his form like a macabre cloak.
Seeing the dead bodies scattered all around, Aaron zoned out, the images of the battle still flashing in his mind, the echoes of screams and explosions replaying in vivid detail.
Aaron focused on the aftereffects of the death, an epiphany on the concepts of Death and Life slowly swirling in his mind. He comprehended the concept of Death, and Life—two opposite ends of one coin, a perfect balance for all races. None can evade both at the same time or possess both simultaneously.
The more Aaron deliberated on it, the more understanding he gained on life and death. Aaron pondered deeply, the stench of death clinging to him from the lives he had taken increasing his comprehension level even further until Aaron finally comprehended it fully, the concepts crystallizing in his soul like eternal truths.
[Congratulations!]
[With the aid of your immortal bloodline, you have successfully comprehended the concept of Death and Life.]
[Congratulations! You have gained the Eternal rank talent, Herald of Life and Death.]
[Herald of Life and Death - Eternal rank (upgradeable)]
◈ Soul Severance
A strike that ignores flesh and armor, cutting directly at the soul’s tether.
◈ Thanatic Chains
Summon spectral chains forged from the law of mortality.
Bind up to five beings, freezing their life span in place — preventing healing, mana regeneration, or dimensional escape.
◈ Endless Silence [Eternal Art]
Manifest pure Death — an expanding sphere where time, sound, and motion cease.
Inside, all concepts of life and matter collapse into stillness.
When the silence fades, only the Herald of Death remains standing.
◈ Immutable End
You cannot die by ordinary means.
Your soul and body reassemble unless destroyed by a being of equal or higher conceptual authority. Death itself refuses to claim its own vessel.
◈ Soul Sight
Perceive the lifespan, vitality flow, and karmic weight of all beings.
You can sense who is near death, who defies it, and who was never meant to exist.
◈ Law of Cessation
Your attacks carry fragments of true Death.
Every successful hit erodes a target’s existence across all levels — physical, spiritual, and conceptual — until nothing remains to revive.
◈ Genesis Bloom
Unleash the pure force of creation.
Within your aura, lifeless land sprouts with forests, seas shimmer to life, and allies are healed beyond their natural limits.
Dead allies are reborn through your vitality — their souls reconstructed from the law of existence itself.
◈ Vital Stream
Manifest radiant veins of life energy.
These streams restore mana, heal injuries, and fortify the mind against despair.
When directed offensively, they reverse entropy — erasing decay, poison, or curses from existence entirely.
◈ Soul Embryogenesis
Grant temporary or permanent life to the inanimate.
Weapons awaken as companions, shadows gain sentience, and elemental forces bend to your will as living entities loyal only to you.
◈ Eternal Pulse
Your existence radiates unending vitality.
You constantly regenerate health, mana, and stamina, and your lifespan becomes infinite unless destroyed on a conceptual level.
◈ Soul Resonance
You can synchronize with the life force of others.
By resonating, you can share your vitality, accelerate natural evolution, or stabilize collapsing souls on the brink of death.
◈ Verdant Dominion
Your control over living matter is near absolute.
You can command flora and fauna, restructure ecosystems, or create living weapons.
Your mere presence causes nature to flourish — turning wastelands into paradises.
◈ Cycle of Rebirth
When slain, your life essence disperses into the world — seeding rebirth.
Given time, you reincarnate anew from any living thing that carries even a trace of your vitality.