Desolate Era

by RWX

  Book 40, Chapter 10 - The Autarchs Gather

  Within the sea of the prime essences of the Chaosverse. Inside the wooden cottage.

  Ji Ning and Autarch Skyfeeder were seated in the lotus position. They were going to patiently wait for the other Autarchs before talking business. While waiting, Ning began to discuss the Dao and its myriad mysteries with Autarch Skyfeeder.

  Over two hours went past in the blink of an eye.

  “Haha…” A thunderous laugh rang out, followed by the door swinging open and a muscular man dressed in loose green robes walking in. He had a pair of curved horns on his head, and his eyes were like an endlessly dark abyss. He emanated an aura of terrifying pressure that caused Ning to feel shocked, and his palms were quite large and thick.

  “Daolord Darknorth.” The muscular man smiled when he saw Ning.

  “Darknorth, this would be Autarch Ekong,” Autarch Skyfeeder introduced with a smile. “He is the only Autarch who rose from our civilization after the Dawn War against the Sithe concluded. He was incredibly talented and rose to become a Hegemon in a very short period of time. He caused quite a stir in his youth, and he has a rather special title – he is known as the Autarch of Annihilation.”

  “I’m actually a fairly nice guy and I rarely kill people, but my path was that of the Destruction Daobirth Essence. That’s why I’m known as the ‘Autarch of Annihilation’,” the muscular Autarch Ekong said with a booming laugh. “You can just call me Ekong.”

  “Ekong, hurry up and sit down,” Autarch Skyfeeder said. “Sit and chat with us.”

  “I can’t help it! I’m so happy to meet Daolord Darknorth. Our civilization has finally given birth to a master of an Eternal Omega Dao.” Autarch Ekong sat down.

  Ning couldn’t help but secretly sigh in approval. Every Autarch truly was an extraordinary figure. For example, Ning felt as though Autarch Skyfeeder was a transcendent figure that was quite unlike ordinary living beings; she was like the mother of all things who benevolently watched over all creation.

  As for Autarch Ekong, he emanated a heroic aura that was tinged with a terrifying, all-encompassing dominance that whispered of a hidden potential for destruction.

  “Ekong, you little drakeling! I can’t believe you actually got here faster than me.” The door swung open once more, followed by a bald, black-robed old man walking in with a smile on his face. The two fleshy antennae on his head twirled around, seemingly quite delighted.

  “Old man, can you knock it off with the ‘little drakeling’ thing? Just because you started training a bit earlier than me…” Autarch Ekong said helplessly.

  “It’s your own fault for calling me ‘old man’.” Autarch Titanos gave him a ‘hard’ look, then turned and beamed at Ning. “Darknorth, my young friend… we meet again.”

  “Respectful greetings, Autarch Titanos.” Ning smiled.

  “You’ve met?” Autarch Skyfeeder and Autarch Ekong were both surprised. Autarchs were quite hard to meet, and Ning had only trained for a fairly brief period of time. They had thought that Ning had never met with any Autarchs before.

  “Yes indeed. My young friend Darknorth once asked me to help him reverse spacetime to revive his Dao-companion.” Autarch Titanos let out a sigh. “Alas… the chaosworld his Dao-companion resided within was a world that was created from the godgems left behind by ol’ Awakener after he died. In fact, it was a world created from TWO godgems that collided together. I’d probably kill myself trying to bring her back to life, and it still probably wouldn’t work.”

  Skyfeeder and Ekong were both startled. As for Ning, he fell silent for a moment before letting out a chuckle: “What’s past is past.”

  “Come, let me offer you a toast.” Ekong lifted up his wine cup. “I’ve had quite a few Dao-companions in the past and thus have experienced the travails involved in reversing spacetime to bring them back. Thankfully, my Dao-companions resided in a mundane chaosworld, making reviving them much easier. I was a bit luckier than you, I suppose. Let’s drink together.”

  Ning lifted up his own cup and drank some of the wine.

  “I didn’t expect that you would actually have a connection to Awakener, Darknorth.” Autarch Skyfeeder let out a sigh. “Awakener was tremendously talented and was actually one of the first Autarchs to rise to power. The only one remaining from the oldest days is you, old man Titanos.”

  “That’s because I’m not tired of living yet!” Autarch Titanos stared at her. “But you, Skyfeeder… you’ve trained for a shorter period of time than me. Are you thinking of taking the same route which Awakener and Entropos took?”

  “There are no other paths to take. That was the same conclusion they came to. However… thankfully, our civilization has finally given birth to someone like Daolord Darknorth, a master of an Eternal Omega Dao. As a result, I can relax a bit and won’t rush off to give it a try.” Autarch Skyfeeder smiled as she glanced at Ning.

  Ning couldn’t help but ask, “Awakener and ‘Entropos’; who were they?”

  “Two other old fellows,” Autarch Titanos chortled. “The three of us were the originals, the ones who lived the longest – Entropos, Awakener, and myself! A great deal of time passed before Skyfeeder and the others made their breakthroughs. Alas, Awakener and Entropos have already died.”

  “Both of them died? How did they die?” Ning couldn’t help but ask.

  Autarch Titanos, Autarch Skyfeeder, and Autarch Ekong exchanged a glance. Autarch Titanos then let out a chuckle and said, “Darknorth, my young friend, don’t be impatient. We’ll discuss this matter later, and I’m sure you’ll come to understand. This actually is connected to the reason why we need your help. Let’s wait for the other two to arrive. Actually… hah! They’ve already arrived.”

  Ning and the others all turned to look towards the outside. The seams between the wooden logs were quite large, allowing one to clearly see what was going on outside. Right now, two figures were walking side-by-side towards the cottage. These were the two remaining Autarchs of the five who were meeting today.

  The eight Domain Rulers and the Flamewing God continued to wait outside in the courtyard, their eyes growing wider and wider. “They just keep coming…” they mumbled breathlessly.

  Every single person who came was an Autarch. Each time, the nine could sense that invisible aura of might and pressure. Even the normally brash Flamewing was now on his absolute best behavior.

  “Two more Autarchs?” Flamewing and the others all stared as two figures emerged from the sea of prime essences and walked into the courtyard. The two glanced at the eight Domain Rulers and Flamewing but didn’t say a word, simply walking straight inside the cottage.

  “Five Autarchs.” Flamewing muttered to itself, “What do these five Autarchs want from my master?”

  “I’ve been alive for an eternity, but I’ve never seen five Autarchs together.”

  “Even I have only seen three of them.”

  “Five Autarchs have gathered together. How rare must this be?!” The eight Domain Rulers were all speechless. Autarchs were incredibly hard to find; even during the Dawn War against the Sithe, the Autarchs had commanded separate troops of Hegemons. Some of the eight Domain Rulers had taken part in this war, but none of them had seen all of the Autarchs.

  All eight of the Domain Rulers and Flamewing stared towards that wooden cottage with curiosity. That ordinary looking cottage actually held five Autarchs and a Daolord who was the first person in the Chaosverse to master an Eternal Omega Dao. All nine of them were curious… what was being discussed inside?

  Inside the room. The two final Autarchs walked in alongside each other, and Ning couldn’t help but smile when he saw them. Compared to Autarch Ekong or Autarch Titanos, Ning could be considered quite handsome. Even Autarch Skyfeeder wasn’t all that attractive… but the final two Autarchs who had just arrived were both ravishingly handsome men of empire-toppling beauty. Ning could use every single superlative in his vocabulary to describe their appearance, and it wo
uld all be completely justified.

  The one on the left had white hair. He had a rather tired aura and his face was unshaven, but he was without a doubt a truly handsome man. He seemed to be walking the line between life and death; he seemed like the font of all life, but he also seemed like the final resting place of the dead. All living creatures would feel an uncontrollable sense of yearning towards him… but of course, major powers like Ning wouldn’t be affected.

  As for the one on the right, he was an incomparably noble figure. He had black hair, bore a smile on his face, and seemed to be a truly perfect person. Even someone whose Dao-heart was incredibly strong like Ning couldn’t help but feel somewhat attracted to this man, who seemed to embody the very essence of beauty itself.

  “This is Bolin.” Autarch Titanos pointed at the tired-looking white-haired man, then smiled: “This fellow has been ruminating on life and death, or something like that. That’s why he looks so terrible. When I first met him, he was quite a dashing and imposing figure. He’s the master of the Claw Daobirth Essence, but now he looks like this… tsk!”

  “Eh?” Autarch Bolin looked at Ning, rather startled. “The two of us are actually connected by karma?”

  “There is indeed some karma between us,” Ning said with a laugh. “Autarch Bolin… you don’t know me, but I actually benefited through your actions. That Chaos Primordial outside? I actually tamed it due to the verdant azuresoul you left behind in one of your beastworlds, Autarch.”

  “Oh?” A hint of a smile appeared on Autarch Bolin’s face. “Yes, long ago I did in fact leave behind quite a few estate-worlds throughout the Chaosverse. I was worried that we would lose the final battle and wanted to ensure that the seeds of rebirth and resistance would be planted for our civilization. However, we ended up winning, making the estate-worlds of limited use. I stopped paying attention to them as a result. I didn’t expect that they would end up helping you out, Daolord Darknorth. It seems my work wasn’t wasted after all.”

  Ning felt a sense of tremendous admiration for Autarch Bolin. Autarch Bolin clearly walked the path of the Claw Daobirth Essence, but he had reached such incredible heights in the Dao of Life that he had been able to create an entire race… the race of Aeonians!

  * * *

  Book 40, Chapter 11 - The Source Of Everything

  Ji Ning had just heard Autarch Titanos say that Autarch Bolin was studying the secrets of life and death, which was why his aura had changed so dramatically. Based on this, Ning surmised that the Aeonians probably represented certain accomplishments Autarch Bolin had reached in understanding the mysteries of life. What, then, were his accomplishments in the mysteries of death? And… why was an Autarch even researching the principles of life and death?

  “And this gentleman is Stonerule.” Autarch Bolin pointed at the perfectly beautiful man next to him and chuckled, “Stonerule become an Autarch via the Dao of Illusions. His divine body is filled with boundless magnetism and charm. Those of us who have perfect Dao-hearts aren’t affected too much, but Hegemons and Otherverse Lords who run into him would be instantly charmed and would willingly do whatever he commanded.”

  “Illusions?” Ning was shocked. So Autarch Stonerule’s path was that of the Illusion Daobirth Essence? How impressive!

  “Respectful greetings, Daolord Darknorth.” Autarch Stonerule smiled. “My little parlor tricks are nothing to you, Daolord. We have been waiting a long, long time for someone to finally master an Eternal Omega Dao, but we never knew when it would finally occur! Very few can even become Daolords of the Fourth Step through an Omega Dao, while the Daomerge for one would be even more incomparably difficult!”

  “It truly was hard.” Ning nodded.

  “Although you failed, Daolord, you still managed to master an Eternal Omega Dao. This truly is a blessing for our civilization,” Autarch Stonerule said.

  “All of you, sit down. Look at how antsy you all are,” Autarch Skyfeeder said.

  Autarch Bolin and Autarch Stonerule immediately sat down. Now, all five Autarchs and Ning were all seated. Ning felt a sense of anticipation. He knew that it was finally time to discuss business.

  “Shall I go first?” Autarch Titanos swept the others with a glance.

  “Go ahead, old man,” Autarch Ekong said. The other Autarchs all nodded.

  Autarch Titanos looked straight at Ning. “Darknorth, by now you should be aware that the Sithe have not been truly exterminated, right?”

  “They haven’t been truly exterminated?” Ning was astonished.

  “You didn’t know?” Autarch Titanos was rather surprised. “Haven’t you visited the legendary Sithelands?”

  “I’ve heard of the Sithelands but haven’t visited them yet,” Ning said. The Sithelands were indeed quite famous. Ning had heard Emperor Waveshift speak of them and had discussed them with several major powers. The Sithe had arisen from that place, and to this very day it held more Sithe treasures than any other place. Major powers often went there to go adventuring.

  “Weren’t the Sithe exterminated after losing the war?” Ning asked.

  Autarch Titanos chuckled. “I would’ve assumed that after you failed the Daomerge, you would’ve gone to visit as many of the famous places in the Chaosverse as you could prior to dying. I thought you visited the Sithelands already. If you had… given your current level of insight, you probably would’ve seen the truth. You would’ve understood that the Sithe are not truly extinct. Rather, we’ve completely sealed them away, making it impossible for them to return once more.”

  Ning continued to listen attentively.

  “Long ago,” Autarch Titanos said, “The vast Chaosverse arose, giving birth to countless living beings. Slowly, some embarked upon the path of cultivation. Entropos was the first Autarch, and he was followed by Awakener, then by myself. Next came Autarch Skyfeeder, Autarch Bolin, Autarch Stonerule, and Autarch Mogg.”

  “Back them, we lived without any worries or concerns. Entropos died trying to take the final step, but that didn’t matter; everyone was seeking their own paths, after all. But then… all of a sudden, and without any warning, the Sithe emerged.

  “The Sithe were both mysterious and powerful. The prime essences of the Chaosverse sent us a warning, ensuring that we could subconsciously sense that the Sithe posed an enormous threat to us,” Autarch Titanos said. “Have you seen any Sithe Exalts yet?”

  “I have.” Ning’s eyes lit up and he immediately said, “I saw the Sithe Exalt imprisoned in the Earthfire Continent. If I’m not mistaken… that Sithe Exalt had the insights of an Autarch. Logically speaking, he should’ve been an Autarch… but his actual power level was far lower. He was probably just on par with the Domain Rulers outside this cottage.”

  Autarch Titanos nodded. “Yes. They are Autarchs.”

  Ning was stunned. “They really are Autarchs? B-but their power…”

  “They aren’t Autarchs from this place,” Autarch Titanos said. “Although our Chaosverse is almost infinitely vast… outside the Chaosverse there is a truly infinite and endless region which has other living creatures within it. The Sithe race stems from another Chaosverse located within the Infinite Void!”

  “A different Chaosverse?!” Ning had yet to even leave this Chaosverse.

  “Once we became Autarchs, we were able to glean some secrets from the prime essences of the Chaosverse,” Autarch Titanos said. “The vast and endless void is filled with a number of enormous celestial bodies, with the largest being the Chaosverses! But even in the Infinite Void, Chaosverses are incredibly rare and few in number. The most powerful and most invincible of all beings in the Infinite Void are the Lords of Chaos, the controllers of the Chaosverses!”

  “If you wish to become a Lord of Chaos and master a Chaosverse, you must first become an Autarch! Then, you must master and bind the entire Quintessence of that Chaosverse, which would give you full control over all the power that Chaosverse has.” Autarch Titanos looked at Ning. “You should understand by now how much stren
gth would be needed to take full control over the power of the Chaosverse.”

  Ning was stunned. Of course he knew! The power hidden within the vast Wellspring Seas of the Eight Domains was already vastly beyond the power which Autarchs could command. The power of the entire Chaosverse? That would be insanely, indescribably vast. Taking control over all of it was completely inconceivable.

  “The Sithe come from a different Chaosverse which already has a supremely exalted Lord of Chaos controlling it! This was why their civilization has reached such incredible heights, and why they have so many marvelous techniques at their disposal,” Autarch Titanos said. “But because their Chaosverse already has a person in control of it, there’s no way for a second Chaoslord to arise… and so they have invaded our Chaosverse and seek to dominate it instead!”

  “But they are foreign invaders, while this is our home. Here, they will suffer invisible pressure which ensures that they aren’t able to gain any additional power from the Dao here. Even their Autarchs are weakened by this invisible pressure. Without the power of the Dao supporting them, they are naturally much weaker than they should be,” Autarch Titanos said.

  “They are completely different races from us, because they were born in a completely different Chaosverse… but once they are able to take control over our Chaosverse, they can transform it and make it suitable for them. As for those of us who were born here? All of us will perish! From that day forth, all creatures born from our Chaosverse shall be like them – Sithe.” Autarch Titanos looked at Ning. “This is literally a war of survival. We cannot shirk our duty.”

  Ning asked, “So the enemy Lord of Chaos is afraid to come here?”

  “He wouldn’t dare.” Autarch Titanos explained, “The wellspring of his power is his Chaosverse! He’s able to make use of that power anywhere in the Infinite Void, which is why he is invincible. But… if he was to enter our Chaosverse, he would lose access to that power and would be suppressed, just like everyone else. That’s why he wouldn’t dare to enter himself.”