Chapter 136: 132. Revelations

"Over there, everything is ashen and droll. The skies without clouds only a single tear that extends for hundreds of thousands of kilometers; we called this tear the [Torn Heart]. The Torn Heart tirelessly pumped out the gooey liquid, eventually called [Darkness]. At the bottom of the Torn Heart was a bottomless river of Darkness, its depths unreached, its reaches stretching across the world, or so others say.

 

"From this river rises Specks of Darkness, and, here, everything begins. This Speck of Darkness, at first, looked harmless, but it has instincts telling it to devour the other Specks of Darkness around it. The Specks of Darkness will consume as it aimlessly floats into the wasteland. It would eat and grow into a fist-sized wisp until finally into a shapeless black matter— a Shadow.

 

"Gaining the ability to move, Shadows would begin trudging on the wasteland, no thoughts, only instinct, fueled by the desire to feed and satiate their hunger. But this hunger cannot be filled by Specks of Darkness, only other Shadows, and no matter how much you devour, it would never feel satisfying, so it will continue to hunt until this sensation of void disappears. We will feed, eating to fill nothing but our lack of meaning.

 

"Eventually, in the rare occasion that a Shadow eats enough, it would become aware of its surrounding. An echoing would reach our ears, murmurs would turn to shouts, and like a doctrine, the Shadows would follow these whispers.

 

"Their hunger for other Shadows recedes; only their desire to be given meaning remains. Gossips, tall tales, folklore, Shadows listens for these, seeking the best stories to follow. Vivid stories would give one an idea, and they will morph to match the expectations of these whispers.

 

"When the Shadow gathers enough, it is fueled with stories; they will finally come alive. Flesh and blood do not exist, but soon, they will—that was how I was born. I know how I came to be, at least how I devoured to survive and gain meaning. I lived and eventually learned that beings like us are called Black Spirits.

 

"I am the Wechuge, the Spirit of the Black Frost. The manifestation of those who have lost their minds to hunger in the mountains. A creature who craves the flesh of man… or so I believe. That is all that I know, now…." The Wechuge looked at Lilith. Its eyes were devoid of any evil desire, only pleading to be free.

 

Lilith raised her brows, "Hooh, sounds like that Darkness place is quite something. But, even after all that babbling, you never said what you are or where you came from. Other than some vague explanation of where you came from, why don't you tell me something more concrete? Shadows? Darkness?"

 

The Wechuge bit his lips, "The exact truth is… unknown. No one was really interested in knowing who or what we were. No one wishes to admit it, but many fear spending countless hours searching for an answer that may not exist. Even if we do find it, and just learn that we are, but a cosmic mistake is—"

 

The Wechuge halted his words, unable to accept the possibility of things.

 

'Did you get everything, Alpha?'

 

[I did, and with our level 1 access to Hell's Archive, I noted something peculiar.]

 

'Huh? What's that?'

 

[That the Darkness does not exist. No reference, no mention of it. Hell's Archive is the culmination of knowledge brought to us by every soul in the Universe, yet, I got no word of its existence. The Hell's Archive is the most extensive library accessed only by a few existences, like the Gods and Goddesses of Knowledge, so nothing could slip their curious eyes. But, even then, I found nothing about this Darkness, much less Black Spirits. Try fishing out for more information.]

 

'I'll see what I can do, but do consider that, maybe, the thing about the Black Spirit and Darkness is expunged and is hidden in the very depths of the Archives. Or that our Access is too low.'

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[I will ask around. I think the Librarian God Mimir is wandering around Hell's Archive. But to do that, I need to send my thoughts over there; I will still be connected to as a System, but I need total concentration to send myself there... so, try not to die while I am away. I at least want to know how I die.]

 

'Yeah, yeah, good luck out there.' Lilith didn't bother asking about the existence of a God and the other things Alpha let slip. Alpha left for the higher realms while Lilith was left to collect information.

 

The Wechuge was only feeling the pressure of Lilith's silence, 'She had not reacted to anything I said, it is as though she expects the information I have, or is already aware of what I—'

 

His eyes were then drawn to Dhampy.

 

The undead remained still, her expression unchanging, but the Wechuge laughed.

 

"What's so funny?" Lilith asked, already ready to give the order to eliminate, "Remember that if you try anything funny, our deal is annulled, and I can kill you with a clean conscience."

 

"Are you still gauging how much I can tell you, Herald of the Beyond? Why not just tell me upfront that the Black Blood has already told you everything?" The Wechuge laughed even more, "Why aren't you saying anything? I'm right, aren't I?"

 

Lilith and Dhampy exchanged a look, and in that split-second window, the two snickered. The two looked down upon the confused Wechuge, the little Priestess letting out a snort, "So, you think she told me everything she knows? Then, you should know that you've been stretching my patience thin then. I've only stopped myself from killing you because there might be something you know that she didn't tell me. And seeing how confident you were just now, it appears you've caught on. I'm done playing; tell me what you know. and let's get this over with."

 

"Of course, I do! After calming down, I now know what will interest you. Information that someone like the Black Blood next to you does not know, who escaped the Darkness earliest chance he got!"

 

Dhampy held onto her sword tightly, but she stopped her urge to shut the mouth of the Wechuge for her Boss' sake. But that was not all. A part of her also wanted to know, what the Wechuge was talking about, 'It might have something to do with my unbalanced existence.'

 

She kept her hands at bay.

 

"Hooh, you seem really confident about this one. Look, this is the last chance you will get. The instance you fuck this up, your life will be forfeited."

 

"I know, but I am sure that this information is something you do not know. I know who opened the path from the Darkness into this world… I do not know who it is, but I managed to see his soul when I peered in the direction of the [Torn Heart] and saw something I have not seen in the Darkness before… A True Mortal... A Human!"

 

"A Human?"