Chapter 46: Chapter 49 – The Desolate

“You haven’t killed me, so I assume I’m not being forced. What’s in it for me?” Agamemnon taunted Theseus. If Theseus wasn’t manly enough to kill his enemies, he didn’t deserve the throne as King of Oceanus, otherwise known as the Zero Elder.

“What is it you desire?” Theseus wondered.

“One day, your throne.” Agamemnon didn’t hold back his motives and grinned sadistically. If he were to die, Theseus was the one who should do it. As a vicious Shade, Agamemnon fled here to escape Oceanus in the first place. It would be pointless to hide his intentions.

“Then, if you can defeat me, I will give it all to you.” Theseus smiled back.

“Theseus, you can’t-“ Centos tried to interject, but Theseus stopped him halfway through.

“Captain Centos, this man has potential, but he could never surpass me.” Theseus looked directly into Agamemnon’s eyes.

Agamemnon bit his lip in anger, and blood dripped down his chin.

“Fine! I’ll join you, just as I joined Lord Darkin. When I’m strong enough, I’ll surely take the throne. Make a Soul Contract with me if you have the guts!” Agamemnon boasted.

“Fine.” Theseus continued to smile. This Shade would never be strong enough to harm him. At the C Rank Royalty Realm with unfathomable foundations, Theseus couldn’t be touched by anyone in the Oceanic Realm. The only things that posed a threat to him lay within the Moirai Dungeon and the depths of the Desolate. Stronger than the former Lord Darkin used to be, it would be miraculous if anyone in Oceanus could catch up, much less this Shade with an obviously flawed Shade Core.

Signing the contract, Theseus send Agamemnon back up the path towards the barrier with an official document saying he was allowed back into Oceanus along with his group as a new Captain. Theseus was quite happy. With another power like this, the Oceanus Founder Skill was imprinted on this whole group, and his powers soared once again. When he got back, he would help this deranged Shade fix his core as well.

Theseus felt it was smart to send the weaker Sage Realm troops back with Agamemnon. They would become liabilities if they ventured any deeper into the abyss. The path was almost at a vertical incline at this point, and the weaker members couldn’t keep up.

There was one exception however, Ju Long, who forced his body to keep up despite the grueling conditions.

“Why did you give him a chance?” Ju Long curiously asked Theseus about Agamemnon hours later. He wasn’t sure if he would have done the same thing. Leo laughed to himself as Theseus translated their conversation.

“If only these plebs knew how your skill really worked! They wouldn’t think you to be this high and mighty person anymore.” Leo jokingly teased. Theseus frowned at Leo in their crevice but smiled at Ju Long.

“My skill allows me to grow stronger with Oceanus. When I get new Captains like this, I get progressively stronger.” Theseus hid nothing from Ju Long nor the present Captains.

“Wow you actually told them!” Leo gasped as Theseus translated the conversation.

“Really? That’s how you’re this powerful?” Naiad gasped. It all made sense now. The Captain Boot camp wasn’t just for the Suzerain War but also for Theseus to be strong enough to face Lord Darkin.

Despite Theseus and Leo’s fears, everyone wasn’t upset. Instead, they commended Theseus’s foresight.

“How strategic.” Vodyanoi remarked.

“Then did you really care about our growth?” Centos was slightly hurt compared to the others.

“As the Oceanus Founder, I need all of your strength, but I wouldn’t have made Oceanus my home in the first place if I didn’t care for you all.” Theseus reassured Centos, and it was all the truth. Theseus rarely shared the real reason his skill was so powerful, and he kept it close to his direct Elders and a few trusted Captains. These three Captains were trustworthy enough. None of the weaker guards were in hearing range of them anymore, so there was nothing to worry about, rumor wise.

“For the safety of Oceanus, this cannot spread to others.” Theseus warned the three Captains and Ju Long. Gemini wasn’t paying attention but was studying the surroundings, writing everything down. Already aware of Oceanus Founder skill’s mechanics, he was more curious about the new environment around him. Gemini was like a sponge, taking in everything he could.

“I swear on my life.” Vodyanoi bowed his head vehemently.

“I won’t tell.” Naiad shyly whispered. She didn’t think Theseus would share something so personal with them.

“You three are some of the oldest Captains of Oceanus, and therefore, you will take on more responsibilities.” Theseus lectured.

“Oh no…” Centos secretly thought. Responsibilities meant more inhumane training!

“Theseus, why are you in such a hurry to investigate the dungeon and the Desolate?” Centos asked with concern, thinking of the Captain Boot Camp.

“We have about ten more years until Oceanus will become unstable. It may seem like a long time, but the day-to-day operations are more or less taken care of by the other Elders at this point. This leaves me with the task of figuring out our long-term plans.

I can’t wait around for the Moirai or the Horror of the Desolate to destroy us while we scrounge around for food.” Theseus seriously stated.

Centos nodded.

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Gemini suddenly felt as if Theseus was under much more pressure than he initially thought. After taking the Zero Elder position, Theseus took less risks and had the burdens of the whole Oceanic Realm on his shoulders. Although he had the other Elders, Gemini understood that Theseus was feeling the weight of the millions of lives on his back, against his will.

This was something no one should have to do alone, but because Theseus was the strongest, he naturally had to face the existential threats of Oceanus head on. Gemini looked down at his hands. As they continued deeper down the path and into the Desolate, past the Borderlands, Gemini had a burst of inspiration. As the First Elder, he couldn’t stay in Theseus’s shadow. With Theseus, it all felt like a big game a lot of the time, but with the lives of millions at stake, Gemini knew he had to grow up quicker.

Being in the top five strongest in Oceanus was not enough. One day, he had to reach past the current Theseus and up to the peak, up to the likes of Lachesis. Only then could Theseus’s burden be lifted off of his shoulders.

“Theseus, how strong is the Horror of the Desolate?” Gemini asked with passionate eyes.

“According to the rumors, it should be at the low Deity Realm.”

“D-D-Deity… Realm?” Gemini exclaimed. Ju Long shook his head. This reminded him of the times they faced the Heavenly Trials against the Deities of Heaven. They faced many Heavenly Trials. Some were overseen by Royalty, but on the Fourth Floor, their party faced two Deities:

The Rank F Goddess Aurora, and

The Rank C Goddess, The Fairy Queen Fayette.

He hadn’t lived long enough to meet any of them, but after hearing the stories from Theseus, he was glad he didn’t. Aurora killed Astrid and ravaged Alvaro.

On the Third Floor though, they briefly ran into the mysterious Beast God Bellerophon, and

strangely enough, Theseus never talked about Bellerophon, but almost every story from Heaven led to the inevitable story of how Theseus gave his life in the fight against Fayette.

When Ju Long saw the Beast God, he was sleeping, and Theseus was one of the few to have seen it speak firsthand.

Still, Ju Long had personally met the King of the Third Floor of Heaven, Ouzo, and he knew from his experience there that Theseus was still weaker than Ouzo at this moment. Ouzo was Ju Long’s goal, for similar reasons to Gemini. After being unable to carry the party to the peak of Heaven, Ju Long now vowed to help Theseus in the afterlife. Ouzo was even stronger than the current Theseus, so if he could reach that level, Theseus would be able to help him track down the people who brought him here. If he could discover the truth behind his appearance in the Oceanic Realm, he could one day track down the other dead members of their party too.

Ju Long felt like the Moirai were the culprits behind his appearance in Hell from what Theseus told him, but he had no direct evidence of this. Part of the reason Ju Long begged to join the expedition party with Theseus was to out find the truth. One thing was for sure, either the Desolate or the Moirai Dungeon held a clue to his destiny. It was a whim, but he pushed past his physical limits to see what these dangerous places held. Even though Ju Long was still at the mid-Sage Realm and nowhere close to his peak in Heaven, he was slowly recovering his true Aura Realm.

Soon, he knew he would be able to match up to a Captain, which was around his old peak. Then, Ju Long would rise to the level of a Suzerain Lord. Then, Ju Long would surpass Theseus. As Theseus’s old senior, it was only natural. Ju Long didn’t like seeing Theseus face Lord Darkin. Powerless on the sidelines, Ju Long could only watch as Theseus risked his life for Oceanus. Although Theseus fought Lord Darkin with all the Elders, in the end, Theseus dealt the majority of the damage to Lord Darkin. The others slowed Darkin down and gave him trouble at times, but only Theseus could reasonably face him one on one for a prolonged period of time.

“If only I could have fought side by side with Theseus again as a peer, just like in Heaven…” Ju Long sighed inwardly. Maybe he was just being nostalgic.

After walking for hours upon hours on end, the expedition party grew quieter over time. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts, and gradually, the atmosphere of their surroundings changed. It felt darker, somehow. The path grew narrower and narrower until the party had to walk single file. After a day straight of walking, Theseus stopped everyone. The Captains all caught their breaths. Leo and Gemini were still in peak condition, but everyone else was exasperated. Ju Long was in the worst shape since his Aura Realm was the weakest.

Sighing, Ju Long looked at the expedition party. There were three Captains approaching the Royalty Realm, as well as the Royalty Realm Elders, Gemini, Leo, and Theseus. Surprisingly, it ended up with a group of seven, just like their previous party, but this time, Ju Long was in Theseus’s position as weakest. Shaking subtly, Ju Long felt a chill of reminiscence. Fear sprout in his heart.

“Would this end the same way as our old party?”

Like the previous Alvaro and Theseus, he and Theseus held a friendship different than any other in the afterlife, but this time, Theseus’s role in the expedition was reversed from weakest to party leader.

There would probably be no romantic drama from Naiad and the other men in the group, but Ju Long couldn’t rule it out. Scratching his head, Ju Long felt a wave of flashbacks as the new party spoke to one another.

Centos was boisterous and joked with Vodyanoi and Naiad, as he and Berringer had once acted as they climbed the weaker floors of Heaven.

Gemini was quiet yet powerful, like Hama.

Theseus was the most powerful like Alvaro, but he retained his knowledge and adaptability of his former self.

Leo was a beast, and as such had a prime physique that was strong for tanking attacks, like the abilities he once used.

But here he was, weak and unable to do anything. Even back then, Theseus was still sharp and came up with the entire outline of climbing Heaven as a truly skilled navigator. However, he had none of those skills to compensate for his glaring deficiencies.

Breaking up Ju Long’s thoughts, Theseus spoke.

“Alright everyone, I think this is the end of the path. From now on, this is the true Desolate. Prepare yourselves. There are beasts wandering around here that could be as strong as a Suzerain Lord, or even stronger…”

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