Duality of Shadows-Chapter 938: Alarmingly Noticeable

Alm and Bruno pretended to be extremely weak while Ruri supported them. Everyone in the arena was utterly stunned by the turn of events. That glorious city, filled with powerful cultivators... was simply wiped from history as if it was worthless.

It was one of the places where those selected from the six continents to stay on the main continent lived. They were discarded like trash, and the hero could’ve certainly handled it differently.

At that moment, the hero appeared in the center of the arena, landing slowly in front of the golem. He stared coldly at it, while the golem took a deep breath and bowed slightly, seemingly too exhausted to even move.

"You came from the Tarrasque continent? Were you the one who used that?" the hero asked bluntly.

"Y-yes, sir. That’s my secret weapon, something I learned to use. Luckily, I hadn’t used my primordial runes, which I got from that traitor... I felt it could help, so I attacked with the runes to make sure he wouldn’t notice. I hope I didn’t interfere," the golem said, trembling.

"Hmph..." The hero scoffed and then looked at the elder in the distance.

The elder stepped forward. "He did use it just now. And during the tournament, he used it once before. It’s all recorded for you to review, sir."

The hero nodded, his gaze still cold as it locked on the golem. On this supreme planet, people could easily master natural laws at a divine level or slightly beyond. Given that this golem came from the Tarrasque planet, which has a deep connection to the laws of earth, passed down to everyone there, along with primordial runes, it made sense.

But... how this golem learned to use anti-life was another matter. The essence of life was the pinnacle of earth laws, known to all. There was only one possibility.

"I see. Your talent is terrifying," the hero said flatly, assessing the golem.

The essence of life represented the extreme Yang of earth laws. If someone was unprecedentedly talented, trying to invert that to reach its opposite—the anti-life—would be a logical path. Only the Behemoth could do it, as immense control was required both to create and to master it.

No one had ever managed to create anti-life and survive. It wasn’t impossible to create, but even if someone could, it was deemed impossible to stabilize. Everyone who tried had been consumed and killed by the anti-life they created. Attempting it was considered a suicidal act, which is why no one encouraged or shared such attempts.

The hero was clearly impressed. Was this golem the first mortal to wield anti-life and survive? He was a rare and precious diamond.

"What rank did he achieve?" the hero quickly asked the elder.

"First place, sir. Him and his wife," the elder replied.

The hero nodded in satisfaction. "Good. I’ll report everything. End the tournament and send him to the castle."

With that, the hero leapt away and vanished without looking back. The elder took a deep breath, still stunned, but quickly turned to address everyone in the arena.

They were the only survivors of the entire city, thanks to the three immortals who hesitated to attack the Tarrasque and instead protected them.

Alm and Bruno also sighed in relief. Those three immediately focused on shielding the people rather than assisting the hero. This spared them from major trouble while proving that, aside from the Djinn, these immortals weren’t entirely bad.

"The ten winners of this edition of the sacred tournament have been decided. As previously announced, these ten will live in the sacred castle, choose a master to learn their Dao from, and have a weapon custom-forged by the God of the Forge."

After the announcement, the elder waved his hand, and golden runes floated toward hundreds of youths in the arena. These were the marks of the winners, granting them permission to remain on the continent.

"All other participants may now return home. I will personally escort the people of the Caipora and Tarrasque continents," the elder said seriously, speaking as quickly as possible. "I declare the sacred tournament officially over!"

Everyone exhaled heavily. This tournament would undoubtedly be remembered forever. From start to finish, it was marked by intense chaos and countless surprising events.

The elder turned to the ten winners, and golden runes flowed toward them. "Go. These will take you to the sacred castle."

As the runes touched the winners, the space around them distorted, and all ten vanished. Within seconds, they found themselves standing before the gates of a colossal golden castle.

Looking ahead, the sight was so grand and magnificent that it seemed impossible to see where it ended in the skies. The castle pierced the clouds, and its aura alone was enough to make them drop to their knees.

In the next moment, a winged figure flapped its wings and appeared before them. He was a member of the Charming Eyes Race, male, thin, but radiating a powerful and intense aura.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

"I’m the one responsible for guiding you," he said curtly, scanning the group. His eyes lingered on the golem for a moment—no doubt the hero had mentioned him. Then, without another word, he turned and calmly walked toward the castle.

They followed closely, their steps shaky as they entered the indescribable castle. A massive hall unfolded before them, and the winged figure stopped.

"This place is where all the heroes live, and where the Sacred Goddess calls home. You’ve been granted the chance to become aides to the heroes and work for them—it’s an honor beyond compare. But you’re still too weak and young. Because of that, you’ll have a thousand free years to cultivate and learn as much as possible."

"At some point, the God of the Forge will meet with you to discuss the weapon you’ll receive. Until then, since you likely don’t know yet which kind of master would suit you best, you’ll have time to study in the library and decide..."

"We’ve already made our choice, sir," Ruri said calmly, interrupting the figure. "My husband is a forger, so he obviously wants to become a disciple of the God of Forging. As for me, I’ve heard rumors that Goddess Fey specializes in the laws of space-time; I wish for her to accept me as... to give me guidance."

The figure nodded indifferently. Then, he made a gesture, and golden runes began to move as if they were seeking information and communicating. A few seconds later, he closed his eyes and turned to the couple.

"Goddess Fey is available and is already coming to meet you. As for the God of Forging... you’ll have to go to him; he seems very busy and won’t come."

He spoke with no emotion. The next moment, space distorted, and a dark-skinned, divine aura figure appeared.

The Goddess Fey stared at Ruri for a moment, frowning in slight confusion. The young woman looked familiar... then her eyes moved to the side, where the round golem was. She almost jumped and immediately recognized it.

When she looked back at Ruri, memories of the Dragoness before started merging with the image of this small golem in front of her.

"What..." The Goddess Fey started to say something, but her eyes flashed, and she stopped in the middle of her sentence.

Bruno activated the celestial soul he had implanted in her, preventing her from saying more than she should. Technically, they weren’t supposed to be there at all, and Fey was the only one who could recognize them. Fortunately, they had already prepared a solution for this.

The activation caused Fey to feel a subtle influence in her mind. It was almost instinctual, like a whisper in her ears: ’Stay silent, they’re not a threat.’

"What’s going on?" The winged figure turned to Fey, confused.

The Goddess Fey took a deep breath before answering, "The mutation of this small golem is remarkable. She’s perfect for me to teach; I was just a little surprised."

"Great. These two are a couple, and they seem to match. Since you have some connection with that idiot dwarf, take this other golem to the forge." The winged figure spoke calmly, then turned to the round golem and added, "He has already received the message of his desire. Just show your talent. Even if the dwarf thinks it’s not enough, you’ll still have a chance to learn the Dao."

The three of them nodded, and the Goddess Fey used her spatial power to take them away.

The couple found themselves in a room. The space seemed to distort, and soon they were in a small forest surrounded by natural life.

The Goddess Fey stopped before them and stared at them coldly. "Who are you?"

They both smiled, but in her mental sea, Bruno fully activated the celestial soul. The moment it did, Fey’s eyes widened, and her vision went dark, causing her to faint. She didn’t realize, from start to finish, that it was within her.

Alm and Bruno sighed in relief; they needed to act quickly. They approached the unconscious Fey and focused inward.

Unfortunately, they had learned from Caipora that if they simply removed the mental dominion over Fey, the heroes would easily find out. In the Queen’s universe, they could do that to people with no problem, but in front of the immortal heroes, it would be noticed immediately.

Still, if they couldn’t return, at least partially, Fey’s freedom, she wouldn’t be useful, and they’d quickly lose control of the situation. The only solution was to use the same method the Goddess of Void had used on Caipora.

They had to keep the dominion intact over body and soul, but at the same time, return her thoughts and freedom to act when needed. As long as she didn’t break any rule or order imposed, she wouldn’t be discovered.

Caipora had explained everything she knew about the method the Goddess of Void had used on her. She had used her own Dao. Something Caipora received fully and then passed on to them without hesitation.

Alm and Bruno focused completely. Meanwhile, Caipora, who was in the inventory, anxiously watched as Liumi worked. Liumi was minimally stabilizing a newly arrived soul fragment.

Yes, it was the Tarrasque. He was immortal, and only an initial healing would allow him to slowly recover efficiently. Later, when Alm and Bruno had another opportunity, they would fully heal him.

Earlier, when Alm and Bruno attacked the Tarrasque with anti-life, Ruri had also acted discreetly. Using the space-time laws at an immortal level, along with mental power, even an inattentive hero didn’t notice her quick movement.

She extracted a tiny fragment of his soul. So, when the hero attacked and killed him, that small fragment took over all his consciousness.

The hero was sure he had destroyed the Tarrasque body and soul. The power of anti-life had left him weakened, and with a full-on attack, killing that primordial beast seemed simple.

However, killing him was a foolish decision, no matter the reason. It would have been wiser to capture his soul and investigate it. But a hero is like that: someone who can’t stand losses and reacts impulsively and recklessly. The Tarrasque dared to face him? That was enough to hurt his ego.

He even hesitated at first, but Alm and Bruno’s encouragement was the spark that made him unload his anger. In the end, he was subtly manipulated into doing it.

An hour later, Alm and Bruno read the introduction to the Dao of the Goddess of Void. Just that was enough for Bruno, with his divine knowledge of the power of faith, to understand what needed to be done.

That Dao was truly unique. It merged with the power of faith, using it in a singular way. In other words, it was a Dao that could only be used by those who cultivated followers and had that law at their disposal.

However, there was a problem: a bit of the power of faith was needed. So, they took out the handbell and the statue hopefully.

They were technically the same as this goddess, but now they were invoking her power as if they were believers. It was confusing, but she managed to understand what they wanted. In seconds, they gained a small fraction of her power of faith.

With that, they finally replicated the method on Goddess Fey. Soon, she opened her eyes and realized that, in her mind, countless chains had been set free.

Ruri smiled. At that moment, her katana, which was stored in a ring, appeared. Immediately, Les’s spirit emerged from it, jumping toward Fey eagerly. "Master!"

***

While Goddess Fey regained part of her freedom, in a distant place, in the underworld, a golden figure showed a sinister smile.

At that moment, the soul of the Behemoth, who held a special universe, felt all of its existence begin to fragment, and its strength dissipate.

He originally had enough power to block the entrance for five thousand years. However, he underestimated the situation, thinking that only the heroes would try to invade. He was naïve to think that his ’son’ would act discreetly. Soon, he became so alarmingly noticeable that the queen herself decided to intervene and open the universe.

Now... she had finally broken his defenses. He wouldn’t be able to keep the place safe for even a single month.