Consuming Earths, Devouring Skies

That nearly indistinguishable word was infused with such hatred that Yan Zaizen’s refined heart fiercely trembled. Looking at Ezekiel, Yan Zaizen stayed silent. "Ariel..." Etching this name into his heart, he no longer sought to agitate Ezekiel with questions.

However, Ezekiel didn’t seem to see Yan Zaizen’s gesture at silence. He inhaled deeply and exhaled a wad of turbid air. Those beautifully mesmerizing silver eyes of his seemed to contain a trace of peace and resolve.

"Do you wish to know? Know why?" Ezekiel asked solemnly. He understood that Yan Zaizen was a sovereign, much like himself, and their personalities were likely remarkably similar. If Ezekiel was asked to kill for another person, he would want to know the why and judge for himself if he would do so, even if the person possessed something he required.

This was about pride and choice. The pride and unwillingness to be another’s tool. The choice to decide if that person deserved death.

In truth, Ezekiel’s instincts were spot on. Yan Zaizen truly wanted to know, but out of gratitude for helping him reach this point, he held his tongue. Not to mention, Ezekiel only asked to help, not to do the deed himself. This was much easier to rationalize with his dao.

That being said, Yan Zaizen wouldn’t refuse the offer to know the story. "Yes, I do."

"..." Staring at Yan Zaizen for a long while, he nodded. "It started thousands of years ago, before the fall of my father, the Chaos Origin Heavenly God. I visited a realm, the Central Realm of the 17th Heaven, the Crimson Devil Realm."

"I...fell for a woman, Ariel Vladislaus. Our times were unforgettable, our adventures glorious...At the time, I hadn’t decided my feelings. When I did, I proposed...and she accepted." Ezekiel’s last words seemed to drop by several levels in terms of sound volume. It was nearly a whisper at this point.

Yet, when those words were said, Yan Zaizen opened his eyes and could see the pain that stemmed from his aura.

"However, my father lost his throne soon afterward. His death marked by a new ruler of my home. Our race was driven out like animals, only capable of escaping to other heavens, searching for a new home. I continued, continued on my path."

"I entered the Fortune Cemetery, obtained a Soul Defying Celestial Heart, an item that can produce a soul remnant regardless of one’s age with no drawbacks from splitting the soul. With this, I had a second life. The life I have now. My courage and ambition erupted. No longer did I need to live in fear, I can risk it all for it all. So I did...and I succeeded every time. Even entering the 27th Heaven and stealing from a peak Heavenly Monarch wasn’t scary! My cultivation base rose fiercely as a result."

"Who knew...this would invite...calamity. I didn’t realize how much...she hated me. Maybe it was because I no longer had my status or because she never loved me, but she betrayed me."

"They knew I had a second life and laid a curse on me to wipe out my existence, effectively eliminating all possibilities of revival. Luckily, my father left a Samsara Star of Origin in my soul. A star that can use the power of Samsara to dispel all curses, whether physical, spiritual, or existential. I survived and escaped..."

"Then, I met you." His words ceased.

Yan Zaizen expression was slightly dark. He knew the rest of the story from the clues. After dispelling the curse, he used the compass to travel to another heaven to hide, attempted to extinguish Yan Zaizen’s soul and control his body.

The rest of the story was thoroughly known. However, after being devoured by Yan Zaizen’s bloodline, the Soul-Defying Celestial Heart that produced a soul remnant for him, even after birth, gave him a second life.

"Despicable!" Yan Zaizen coldly thought. The issue he had was Ariel, even though Ezekiel didn’t state it, she likely used her position in his heart to have him drop his guard and deliver the curse. If she didn’t love him, why say yes?

Sure, it may be more complicated than what it seems, but it’s also that simple. Not only did she agree to this marriage proposal, but she also betrayed his trust and revealed this hate she had hidden at the time of his assumed death. It’s possible she wanted to kill him from day one.

Yan Zaizen had no pity or sadness towards a person like this. However, he also didn’t narrow-mindedly believe in a single person’s account. Ezekiel may have viewed the events as such, but it may have a broader story that he couldn’t know or see due to his position.

For example, Yan Zaizen believed that the Extreme Rebirth Heavenly God might have had a hand in this or those allied with him. Its also possible the Heavenly God of the 17th Heaven had a hand in it too. If Ezekiel, a talented son of a Former Heavenly God appeared, it would threaten your position.

This was only unclear assumptions, but this was what his feelings were pushing him towards.

"I know who my enemies are," Ezekiel coldly added. Yan Zaizen felt a chill. Turning towards Ezekiel, he saw eyes filled with dense, icy-cold killing intent.

"Of course...If I can come to this assumption, how could he not?" Yan Zaizen thought.

"My mask," Ezekiel flatly said.

Yan Zaizen’s eyes flickered. His first instincts were to reject. After claiming things from others for so long, he had lost the feeling of giving them back. After some pondering, he waved his hand and sent the illusory mask towards Ezekiel.

With a swipe, Ezekiel caught the mask and analyzed it. A slight flicker of helplessness appeared in his eyes. "The mask’s physical alteration capabilities have been thoroughly removed."

Yan Zaizen calmly shrugged. They were fighting, and the mask’s physicality was devoured and consumed, how was it his fault?

"The mask can hide my aura, but not my appearance." His silver wings flourished revealing beautiful and brilliant motes of silver light. Those silver lights seemed to contain Ezekiel’s dao aura, suffused with the dominance of a sovereign.

"Bloodline?" Yan Zaizen was curious about those wings and their effects. His first assumption was that they were refined to be Dao Treasures, but that didn’t seem to be the case. The wings felt as if it was deeply interconnected to Ezekiel’s existential core, carrying faint traces of his dao as a result.

"Origin...Chaos..." Mumbling softly, he felt like he understood a trace of meaning behind the name to the Chaos Origin Heavenly God.

Ezekiel placed the illusory mask on his face. The moment it did, it conformed perfectly, as if it was made for him. His aura was no longer brilliant but filled with chaos and an indistinguishable feeling. Only his physical body which seemed to contain the explosive power of a Herculean remained.

However, unlike before, his wings remained. Not only that, the mask vanished and his face was perfectly revealed. Yan Zaizen could see Ezekiel’s expression visibly grow darker by the moment. In the end, only a sigh was released.

"So it’s made up of two parts, physical and spiritual. Interesting..." Eyes as bright as lanterns, Yan Zaizen felt enlightened. He felt that this knowledge was incredibly vital to his cultivation, the co-existence of spiritual and physical.

"Let’s go," Ezekiel indifferently said. He stood up in the nothingness and soared in what seemed to be the upwards direction. Yan Zaizen followed along, his mind ruminating over his findings. A light of profundity flickered in and out of existence.

"Physical and Spiritual...Life and Death...Soul..." The mist within his stomach, the byproduct of his Regalia bodily fusion surged and twisted about. A faint rumble echoed from within his stomach.

Ezekiel heard this rumble, turning towards Yan Zaizen in shock. "Is he hungry?"

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