NOVEL FROG Chapter 48: 13 Curses of Void
The cube didn’t give him any new skills or stats. It just showed him what he already had. It was like a mirror that allowed him to examine himself.
If before he was fumbling in the darkness to find a correct path, then this was a torch that would guide him on the way.
Now he had a clear destination, and how to reach there was completely up to him. Of course, the cube had another use besides this.
It would allow him to use the power of origin while hiding from the eyes and ears of the Eternals.
[Authority: 13 Curses of Void]
He who rules the 13 Curses shall wield the power that eclipses immortality.
Curses created: 2/13
Curse of Collapse: Spatial Stab
Curse of Nothingness: Shackles of Nihility
‘I wonder what will happen when I have all of them,’
Zyrus walked in circles as he thought over his future plans.
Although he wanted to join with the rest of his troops, he had more pressing matters to attend to. Silver crown and the final phase of the crown hunt had to wait as his first priority lay elsewhere.
‘Things will be easier now that I have the powers of the abyss…’
Each attribute had its own strengths and weaknesses. Fire made one’s magic explosive whereas water had a calming and uniform property. Earth attribute gave resistance and resilience against other magic, wind was fast and sharp, lightning gave penetration, and so on.
This didn’t mean that one with a specific attributed mana couldn’t use other attributes. It was quite the opposite. One with lightning mana can use a wind spell and imbue it with the lightning element's penetrative property.
If a player with neutral mana wanted to use these powers, they would need specific mana stones to cast the spells. For example, Healers and buffers always looked for water-attributed mana stones to harmonize with other powers.
The Abyss was a real place that existed outside the sanctuary. It wasn’t an unfamiliar place for arcanists as they often summoned creatures from the abyss and other planes of existence. They were a bunch who were willing to do anything for their research of arcana.
The abyss was the most notorious plane among them all. It had a straightforward but annoying ability, the power of corrosion.
If water harmonized everything to make each of them stronger than before, then the abyss was the exact opposite. It corroded and consumed all mana to become stronger. It could ignore defense and spread indefinitely if it wasn’t taken care of. Only by purging it with a vast amount of mana could one get rid of it.
Of course, one had to pay the price for the great power as well. The power of abyss assimilated and devoured everything, and this included the person who was using it.
Only one fate awaited those who dared to use this corrupted power. Every time they used this power, the abyss would corrupt their very existence. Some would lose their emotions and become a husk of what they used to be, while others would lose their sanity and cause havoc and destruction.
According to ancient records, the abyssal creatures were born from the essence and memories of those who were devoured by the abyss. In rare cases, there were some strong individuals who had enough willpower to resist the corruption and keep their sanity.
Even then, they couldn’t completely escape from the grasp of abyss.
Once you gaze into that deep and bottomless chasm, there was no coming back.
Zyrus knew the risk behind his power, and he also guessed why the seemingly powerful Sylvarix race was wiped out. He recalled the description that defined them as ‘A species that has no limits for evolution.’
From the fact that he had dormant abyssal powers in his bloodline, it was apparent what they attempted. They tried to evolve using the power of the abyss, and unfortunately, they succeeded.
Zyrus didn’t have to travel back in time to see what happened afterward. They wielded the power of abyss and became strong, stronger than any species. They must have believed that they could control the corrupted power with their evolutionary trait.
Every time one of their members fell, the others could evolve in a way that negated that specific scenario. With innumerable attempts followed by countless trials and errors, they would eventually acquire a power that was capable of controlling the abyss.
It was a scary thought, and the fact that their plan could have worked was even scarier. Zyrus knew that if it was him in his previous life he would have agreed with the Sylvarix race.
It was a logical conclusion and there was nothing wrong with it. But now, Zyrus knew that there were powers that defied logic.
The Sylvarix were living in a dream bubble that resided in the sea of nightmare. It didn’t matter how long or how sweet the dream was.
Their end was decided the moment they approached the bottomless sea.
Why did Aurora allow Zyrus to have that power then? It was because he could handle it. Or rather, he had to handle it.
She knew better than anyone that although Zyrus was lacking in wisdom compared to other arcanists, he was a genius in his own right.
There was no way that someone with all brawn and no brain could become the strongest in the sanctuary. She got along with Zyrus despite his arrogance because she knew that he had the right to be arrogant.
What he had accomplished in a mere 1000 years was something that others couldn’t even dream of in millennia.
Zyrus knew that as well. Now, he had an inkling as to what the attributes of mana were. They were laws of origin that made the world.
If people like them could use the powers of origin, then why couldn’t Abyss?
It wasn’t a living entity, but so what?
And if he was correct, then the solution to the age-old problem was also simple. Not to mention he had the perfect power to counter the corruption of abyss.
‘I can either be consumed by the abyss or erase it with the origin of Void.’
Zyrus chuckled with cold eyes and used the cube’s power.
[Would you like to return on Planet Earth?]
[Yes/No]
[Note: You can stay on Earth for 1 month. This chance to return will expire once you reach Lv 20]
Zyrus clicked ‘Yes’ without hesitation.
‘A power that spreads indefinitely and a power that erases everything it touched from existence…’
He was really itching to check out his hypothesis against the aliens.
…
When Zyrus got over the nauseous sensation, he was greeted by a hellish sight. He was standing on the mountain where he had started his journey. However, everything had changed apart from the rock he was standing on.
‘I hope it’s not dead,’
Zyrus clenched his fists in anger as he recalled his friend who always greeted him whenever he came back to earth. His eyes became red with fury, resembling the sky above.
Black clouds covered the far horizon, And ears trembled with each lightning bolt that flashed in the distance.
‘I had expected as such from Aurora’s report, but this is hard to see…’
Zyrus summoned the ophidian warriors with a surge of sadness and anger in his heart.
*Shatter*
Space crumbled in front of him as three portals formed in the air. 7 ophidian warriors walked out from within and knelt in front of Zyrus. As if they had felt his emotions, their eyes were just as red as his.
“Rise.” Zyrus waved his hand and gestured the warriors to stand behind in groups of five. He only had a month to finish the task, and he didn’t plan to waste even a second of that.
[Alert! A crisis had occurred on Planet Earth]
[If not resolved the planet will be destroyed]
[Countdown: 300 days]
Instead of being alarmed, Zyrus was rather relieved by the red status screen that came out of the cube. He was already aware of the planet's destruction. The red sky and lighting that came from the black clouds weren’t just for show.
[Map has been unlocked!]
[Previous missions have been changed]
[You have gained a temporary title: The last Apostle]
Although Zyrus was surprised by the title, he checked out the map before anything else. He had to figure out where he was and where the enemies that escaped from the dungeon were.
A hologram appeared in front of him when Zyrus clicked on the ‘Map’. The entire planet was covered in yellow and orange zones. He wasn’t a newbie to games and he immediately realized what they meant.
Yellow areas were the places where the aliens had yet to invade, while the Orange Zones represented the areas infested by aliens.
When he rotated the globe to look at the other side, what he saw made a chill go down his spine.
Apart from the ones mentioned above, there were red areas that showed the location of the ‘Boss’ monsters of the dungeon. Zyrus was able to see two of them in the first half. One was located in the forest he was at, and the other was on a separate continent.
Although the second monster zone was bigger, Zyrus wasn’t afraid of it as he had faced monsters that were as large as entire cities.
‘But How big was the fucking dungeon for this to happen!’
Apart from the two large continents that Zyrus saw, no land was left on Earth. On the other side of the globe was nothing except the ocean and a red zone that was as big as an entire continent.