Sky Fall Legend

by Ivory Scott

  "This is the smallest form I can assume,” announced T’Zhane rather rudely, damaging Sylvester’s confidence. He now spoke in a less world quaking, but the still thunderous voice.

  "There is no way for a hollow soul to travel forward once banished in this river of time. Though you have used your divine powers to devour the power of those souls around you like a free buffet, it will never be enough power for you the destroy the banish seal on your soul flame, and that makes you a hollow soul. Escaping with your strength alone is impossible.

  “Even though your soul flame is rather…special. There is only one method left available to you. This path, however, is one full of peril and slaughter. It is risky, and the odds are totally against you. It will not be easy, but you play the key role. Knowledge of this path will be the remuneration for your cooperation.”

  The prince was quietly listening while displaying absolute indifference. It was as if this was utterly unrelated to himself. The truth was different, for inside his mind he was depressed. A mere hollow soul! His soul flame, which represented the majority of his being, was sealed away?

  Any practitioner worth a damn would be aware that the hero race was unique in that their souls and blood could somehow fuse with the soul's creatures of a different origin, granting them special abilities.

  Was this to be his fate? Was that the purpose of this endless river of souls? The reason they were in the form of infant humans? Was this the reason that his soul form’s likeness was currently that of his human form? Sylvester didn’t quite understand.

  During incarnation, your host soul must fuse with hollow souls for that person to have any hope of absorbing the energies of heaven and earth, or the heavenly forces. Hollow souls were incomplete beings who would never be whole on their own due to their soul flame's being sealed; thus this was a scenario that helped both parties. The hollow soul's form, once awakened, was dependent on the laws last imprinted in the soul flame. Therefore, they have a chance to grow and develop further, instead of being doomed into nothingness.

  The Event III:

  Not even The Main Character

  The ancient Buddha Sect started the practice of fusing souls with the power of fate. This sect was a long-lasting hegemonic power of the Divine Universe. The Founder of the Buddha Sect was also the founding leader of one of humanity’s first clans, the Battle-Saint Clan!

  Prince Tricko had hoped desperately that this was a joke. Merely, based on his knowledge he could be sure that these words were right. In the first place, if such a being had evil intentions or temperament, wouldn't it be simple to refine his soul and extract the memories?

  The prince's grandfather had told him of such miraculous and devious things during the early days of his youth. This man was a member of the ancient Heavenly Slaughter clan of the Titan race, after all! The law tattoos were a visible indication of his origin, as only the royal Heavenly Slaughter clan members would have such style. One of the 12 primordial races from antiquity or in other words one the first 12 races to ever exist in this universe, just like his mother! The Sky Fall Flame may protect his soul, but Prince Tricko didn't believe it was strong enough to stop a Titan if he genuinely wanted to destroy.

  "Your ancient blood is indeed the reason we may converse," said T'Zhane, “Your soul has a bloodline seal. That means your heritage is truly extraordinary.”

  “I don’t get it,” blurted Sylvester Tricko, “Why would you, a titan, be here in the samsara river of humanity?”

  The titan raised his brows, as he did not expect that this being was aware of his current location.

  “I have foreseen that whatever event that is occurring in this river of time connects to the destiny of my clan. It is what lead me to sift through this place for the past thousand years. Ten days ago a golden light was ejected from this realm and was transported by the supreme Samsara Fate laws in the chaotic space to a planet in an underdeveloped galaxy of the lower realms. Ejected just as you were about to be when I destabilized this spacial zone. I assume this is the kin you search for.”

  His words caused a shockwave to hit Prince Tricko's heart. Had Xavier made it out already? How strange… Then leaving through this method was now a necessity, he had to let the Titan take him to that planet! How could he just return without his punk baby brother after watching the boy give his life away?

  "You are a highly intelligent youth. Without asking me anything, you understand much already. Now tell me," said T'Zhane, "I know that there is a calamity approaching my people. What information are you able to offer me about this?”

  'A calamitous event involving the ancient Titans?' Thought the prince, as he willed the Sky Fall flame to cover his spiritual body in a barrier, preventing his thoughts from being free lunch. 'Surely he's referring to their imprisonment by the Sky Nova because of their ambitions to conquer the legendary realm, becoming the rulers of the entire Divine Universe.’

  The natural laws that governed the legendary realm were at least 1,000 times denser than the lower realm's laws. This resulted in a much more powerful society. Any life that formed there would be extraordinarily in comparison. Prince Tricko's ancestors had once told him that the ancient Heavenly Slaughter clan were the leading clan of the Titan race. Their might was excessive and tyrannical. These creatures had evil ambitions to dominate every other antiquity clan descendant, and the capital to do it.

  There were initially 12 primordial races from antiquity, but the Heavenly Slaughter race slaughtered or enslaved 7 of those races! In Prince Tricko's time, there were only five antiquity races left alive! The rest had been killed to nearly the last man, although there may be some remnants hidden.

  However, not soon after the titan race had begun their conquest the legendary forces of the Sky Nova race made their third appearance in the history of the Legendary Realm and decimated the entire titan race. They made the whole titan race surrender, before banishing the souls of all remaining ancient Heavenly Slaughter clan members, whom they could think of no way to completely kill.

  Those beings possessed truly undying bodies.

  Ancient Titans at the peak of their cultivation were almost physically invulnerable. Their life force reached an absolutely terrifying level, they had even surpassed the Draco Volos in term of vitality! That's more life force than that of the supreme true dragon race! If their supply of life force was intact, their top experts could live for billions of years before they begin to decline.

  Because of their insanely robust physique, they didn't even fear mental attacks. No shell was harder to penetrate in this world. However, the Sky Nova were truly mighty behemoths, directly separating the souls of the ancient Titans from their bodies and imprisoning the bodies and souls in different locations for all of the time. Legends say the Nova existed before the universe itself, and they rarely showed themselves. However, Prince Tricko had no way of knowing how true that was.

  Prince Tricko considered for a moment more and then retracted his nirvana flame to allow the giant to see his inner thoughts. Immediately following the withdrawal of the blaze, the Ancient Titan T'Zhane's body shook as his face paled sheet white. It was as if he had just seen the most horrifying event possible.

  After taking a few moments to collect himself, T'Zhanè spoke to the prince, "I would have never thought that my brothers would reach such a level of depravity. Perhaps it is already too late for my kind…”

  T'Zhanè sighed heavily, "The era you are in currently is most assuredly not your own. If I'm not mistaken, you've been drifting into the past for billions of years. As for your companion, I would say at least a few hundred million years. This one is particularly difficult to see through.”

  Sylvester Tricko was shocked, ‘Difficult to see through? Then what am I, glass? Furthermore, what is this about a billion years in the past?’

  Though he was able to speak at a mere two weeks old, something unprecedented for god beasts, he was still not omnipotent. How could he possibly know anything of the world a billion years ago?
What kind of barbaric lifestyle would he need to endure? In his mind, such a period like that was most likely to predate even the first hovercraft. It was impossible to survive like this. Would he ever see his mother again?

  ‘Of course, if this was the era of the ancient experts before the Titans were all annihilated then this should be the peak civilization of legends, the antiquity era!’ the flames in Sylvester’s eyes brightened once he thought to here.

  T'Zhanè then continued speaking, "I will now send you to the planet where we observed the golden light descend. Before that, you must know that you and your kin are currently hollow souls. Every life has a soul. However, the Hero race was once able to steal a heavenly dao element. Due to this, every hero descendant to date has not only owned a host soul, but they also possess a hollow soul for support of the main soul.

  "The fusion of these souls creates the Main soul. This means that the moment you exit this river of time, and once you enter that sealed planet, then you'll be forced into the hero race’s cycle of reincarnation by guardians of fate. This most likely results in you becoming a hollow soul for one of the hero clans on that planet. The elven clan's law practice is focused around these hollow souls. The human clan also use that law practice, but they focus more on the remnant heritage of the dao element. Since your destinies are tied to that golden beam of light, the three of you are likely to become bound to the same host soul that you are tasked to protect and serve.”

  "So then I would become the tool for some brat to use until he dies?" The prince was finally forced to ask T'Zhane the question he had been dreading. Prince Tricko was enraged. This, this was a solution? Why on earth would be his exalted self ever become the servant of some lowly human or elven brat?

  Was he suddenly a parent now?

  He had to raise his own savior?

  Whose to say the brat wouldn't just refine his soul entirely once he realized the value of doing so?

  After all, Prince Tricko found himself to be outstanding. Just the Sky Fall flame alone was enough to arouse envy and treacherous thoughts. This clearly main character level talent! Shouldn't the story of the next life be his own? How could he give it away to someone else? In his youth, the fellow he's indentured too may not be a threat. However, once he reached the peak of strength that he was sure to achieve, how could he not covet such power? The prince wasn't satisfied by this at all.

  "Perhaps. Did I not mention your route of return? The only way for you to return to your original time is in this river of time. You must have your host break through to a level where he can comprehend the secrets of the bizarre zone and reinforce your soul with pure bizarre power. Just like the one who you keep next to you, but you would need a far higher concentration of bizarre power.

  “The chaos power in his soul seems to be innate and underdeveloped, so his bizarre power merely exists. It was never active. He is probably from a particle world. A pity…He is likely the best candidate for comprehending bizarre power." Thunder clapped T'Zhane while pointing at the orbiting ghost toddler. There was a mysterious glint in his eyes as he spoke these words, hinting at something unknown.

  "Freeze me for a second,” interrupted Sylvester Tricko, causing T'Zhane a moment of pause. The prince willed the Sky Fall Flame to wrap around the golden infant soul like a hand and snatch him out of orbit. He then pointed at the infant soul before continuing, "So you're saying that this little guy is bright gold because he has this so-called bizarro chaos power? If it is so mighty then why is he so useless?”

  "This is indeed the case. However, it should be said that if you don't want to damage the host's soul, you would have to wait for his comprehensions to reach into the infinity zone,” replied T’Zhane casually.

  “THE INFINITY ZONE?!” bellowed Sylvester Tricko. Finally a term he was familiar with! The Infinity Zone was one of the sources of ultimate power in the universe. Experts that could tap into that power were all responsible for changing the course of history. Such a thing was challenging to imagine.

  “Sigh…only then could he completely remove the seal on your soul without damaging his own." T'Zhanè stroked his chin and said. Prince Tricko had more questions, but before he could ask the Titan cut him off, "I cannot help you once you enter the cycle of samsara. We have drifted a bit...perhaps you'll have a few years ahead of your kin. We shall leave now.”

  With that, the Titan pulled out an odd orb and sucked Prince Tricko and his little buddy in orbit into it. Inside the sphere, everything was white like being in a vast but utterly empty nothingness. Time passed quickly. At some point, the prince was withdrawn from the orb. As he floated there in the void, he saw a very familiar blue life star. Although he did not get banished from this planet, he was born here.

  "What are the odds..." said the prince while frowning. “This planet should be the Anubis Great World…however, why is it so…different?”

  The planet in his memories was glorious and exotic, with pure energy conduits surrounding both the earth and it’s three satellite stars. However, the planet before him was totally regular. There was just nothing impressive about it. Could this even be considered a great world?

  "Souls are naturally pulled to their point of origin. At any rate...it is here that we separate." Said T'Zhanè casually. He behaved as if he had already seen through everything in the cosmos.

  "But before that...I'll give you my legacy. It does not suit you but..." T'Zhanè turned his gaze to the little ghost baby in orbit, “I do not hold any wild hopes of you rescuing my people. What is to come, will be unavoidable. Perhaps…if you do return to your own time you will be able to help my race prosper a new.”

  As T'Zhanè finished speaking, the orb was thrown over to the ghost baby before it fused with his hollowed soul then disappeared. When the prince looked back up, the ancient Titan was gone.

  Sylvester Tricko stared at the planet in front of him as he felt some nostalgia. Suddenly the void shook about two meters in front of him and opened an oval portal of darkness about the height of an average adult male. Three skeletons with red lights for eyes wearing black robes drifted out of the entrance and quickly stood on the void right before him.

  "I suppose...it is time." After these words left Prince Tricko's mouth the Sky Fall flame suddenly erupted. After spending so much time with this flame, he knew it had magical abilities he had never imagined previously. He looked indifferently at the now platinum toddler in orbit around him.

  'Hollow souls...T'Zhanè seemed to be hinting that I should cultivate you. Hmph. You're not even conscious. I'd rather deal with being human myself…’

  The three skeletons quickly fell victim to the ferocious sky fall flame. As a nirvana flame, it was the bane of all souls by nature. No soul could resist the natural laws of nirvana. The abundant, pure, soul power that flowed into Sylvester’s soul form at this time bypassed himself went directly into the little golden baby in orbit. The baby suddenly glowed bright white and grew to about the size of a six-year-old. The prince deducted that by now the kid was perhaps aware to some extent. Merely, he was utterly ignorant.

  "Another burden. Could it be I am destined to not be the main character in the story of our return? Hmph. We will find this host soul that dares to summon my little brother and decide what to do next after that. Yes.

  The prince then jumped directly into that dark portal with the golden toddler floating in orbit behind him.

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  Jodye Trill rubbed his eyes as he woke up in a dark room. Wait a second. Room? No, never mind this wasn't a room. Less of that, not even his eyes were open. In fact, did he have eyes? Why did he seem to doubt that? He couldn't even feel his face. Feel? He couldn't feel anything, in fact. This was...nothing?

  'Am I dead?' This was Jodye's first thou
ght. 'No, that's not right. Or rather, I had already lost my body but somehow not my life. Logic dictates that if I were now dead, I wouldn't be able to think clearly or remember who I am, right? Am I still just a soul? Well, this ain't much different from being dead. Damn it, I am dead.' Jodye was utterly distraught, and he couldn't help but think in circles, as he couldn't be sure of anything. The last memory he had was being blasted into dust by a particle beam from an exaggeratedly complex, and highly advanced weapon technology. One that Jodye felt shouldn't even exist on the market. After all, the military had yet to finish weaponizing it.

  'Wait, for the military? Was I a soldier? That feels not quite right…why can't I remember…it feels so long ago somehow…’

  Suddenly there was this insanely obnoxious, and powerfully loud voice booming in his mind, selfishly blocking out his own thoughts.

  "T'ZHANE GREETS THE REVERED LORD. REVERED LORD, DUE TO MY SELFISHNESS WE ARE NOW ON THE SAME KARMIC WHEEL,” Said the voice.

  'Okay there, big guy. First off, I'm digging the form of address. Revered! Yes. This is nice. Okay now, to the second matter of concern. Um...loud much? Sheesh, lighten up. Now,' Jodye Trill paused his thoughts for dramatic effect, 'Tell me, what is a karmic wheel? Can we not share it? You sound mad manly, and I don't swing that way bro. Also, why are you apologizing? This isn't a great sales pitch yo.’

  "CHOSEN ONE! SOUL OF INFINITY! OUR DESTINIES HAVE BEEN TIED TOGETHER! YOU ARE THE ONE AND ONLY HOPE FOR MY PEOPLE NOW. FOR OUR PLIGHT, THE FAULT IS MINE! BUT WITH MY MIGHT YOU'LL BE DIVINE! I WILL GIVE YOU MY LEGACY. YOU WILL BE MY FIRST TRUE DISCIPLE. HOPEFULLY, ONE DAY YOU WILL LEAD US TO OUR SALVATION.”

  This time, after the voice of ETERNAL BOOM faded away, Jodye's mind consciousness was directly flooded with a sea of information. Just when he thought he would lose his mind, he felt as if a burst of power washed over him. He suddenly was able to think much more clearly.