"You and I are the same," the Death Sovereign said calmly. "We're the favored children of this world. From the moment we were born until we became Sovereigns, there has never been anything that could truly threaten our lives."
"But the beings of the material planes are different."
"From the moment they are born, their place at the very bottom of existence is already decided. At any given moment, they could be killed by some passing expert."
"That kind of fear…" She paused, glancing at Wawaya. "It's just like the fear you feel toward Locke right now."
"The only difference is that you still believe you can stop him from taking that final step."
"Whether it's what you've done with the Water Intermediate Sovereign, or what you might do to any future Water Chief Sovereign… I can guess it all."
"And I'm sure Locke can too."
Wawaya fell silent.
Even if Death Sovereign hadn't said it aloud, they all knew it was true.
Death Sovereign turned her gaze toward the Netherworld. There, her water divine clone was currently asking Locke about the deeper mysteries of World Freezing.
"Do you know why," she continued, "when Locke first became a Sovereign, he could have disguised himself as an ordinary Intermediate Sovereign—but instead chose to reveal everything so openly?"
"Why?" Wawaya couldn't help but ask.
This had been a lingering question ever since the last Sovereign meeting.
Back then, the three Chief Sovereigns had assumed Locke was simply an arrogant prodigy—too proud to hide his strength.
But from the way he handled Snowfall Sovereign this time, that clearly wasn't the case.
His methods were measured. Calculated.
Entirely different from the boldness he had shown before.
By all logic, Locke should have concealed his power.
If he had pretended to be merely a Intermediate Sovereign, then whether he chose to kill the Water Intermediate Sovereign—or later ambush and eliminate a newly emerged Water Chief Sovereign—it would have been far easier.
Only after securing a Water Sovereign spark would he reveal his true strength.
At that point, who could oppose him?
And yet—
he hadn't done that.
Why?
"Why?" Death Sovereign repeated, a faint smile forming on her lips.
"Because everything you've been doing… is already his retaliation."
"Locke rose from the material planes."
"And throughout his entire journey… he lived in fear."
"He feared anyone stronger than himself—afraid that a single bad mood from them could wipe him out."
"When he was weak, he feared Saints."
"As a Saint, he feared Deities."
"As a Demigod, he feared Gods and beyond."
"As a God, he feared even stronger Highgods."
"Do you know something?" she continued softly.
"The first time I met Locke, he had already reached Paragon in both the Water Laws and the Edicts of Fate. He stood at the absolute peak beneath the Sovereigns."
"And yet…"
"He was still afraid."
"Afraid that one day, for some trivial reason, a Sovereign might erase him."
"So, his two Paragon divine clones were always stationed in different planes."
"That way, even if one was killed… he would still have another life."
Wawaya didn't know what to say.
Who could have imagined—
that the first being in this world to reach dual Paragon through self-cultivation…
had been someone surrounded by fear?
"Sovereigns don't kill Deities without reason," Wawaya said quietly, almost instinctively.
"True," Death Sovereign replied with a faint smile. "To us, Deities are nothing more than ants. When have we ever cared about the life or death of ants?"
Her smile faded.
"We don't kill them for no reason…"
"But we do send countless soldiers to conquer planes… all for the sake of collecting faith."
"… "
Wawaya had no answer.
It was true.
They might not slaughter without cause—
but a single decision from them could still lead to the deaths of countless lives.
"Later, Locke grew stronger," Death Sovereign continued. "Around that time, the Destiny Sovereign spread that piece of information."
"So, Locke came to me and asked me to choose a target—a Lesser Destiny Sovereign."
"I told him."
"Do you know what happened next?"
"Before he even became a Sovereign…"
"He killed a Lesser Destiny Sovereign head-on—and took the Sovereign spark."
Wawaya's pupils shrank slightly.
"I've known Locke for millions of years," Death Sovereign said. "I know his talent. I know his potential."
"Back during the second Sovereign meeting, I asked him the same question you're asking now."
"Why not hide? Why not wait until he obtained a Water Chief Sovereign spark before revealing everything?"
"And do you know what he said?"
"He said…"
"He had feared Sovereigns for so many years…"
"…So, he wanted Sovereigns to experience what it felt like to fear him."
"As for what you're worried about—whether he'll kill the Water Intermediate Sovereign, or a future Chief Sovereign—"
"He doesn't even care about that."
"If he obtains a Water Intermediate or Chief Sovereign spark, then of course he'll refine it."
"But even if he doesn't…"
"Do you really think he can't surpass us?"
"Don't forget—"
"He reached Paragon in both Water Laws and the Edicts of Fate in just over a hundred thousand years."
"And in a few million years, he has already pushed fusion laws to a level comparable to the complete fusion of all nine profound mysteries of a single element."
"Given his talent…"
"In a few billion years at most, he'll break through again."
"For us Sovereigns, advancing further requires a Sovereign spark."
"But for Locke?"
"He can reach the pinnacle through his own power alone."
"Sovereign sparks are nothing more than icing on the cake."
"Nice to have—but unnecessary."
Wawaya fell silent once more.
She finally understood.
They had all overlooked it.
Locke's greatest strength had always been—
his fusion laws.
He had said as much during the meeting.
Yet none of them had grasped the full meaning.
Right now, Locke had already completely fused three Water Laws profound mysteries into the Edicts of Fate.
And if, as her sister said, he managed to fuse a fourth—
his strength would skyrocket once again.
Another thousandfold increase.
Far beyond anything they could match.
They couldn't stop him.
They had never been able to.
Perhaps…
this had all been deliberate.
A way to make them experience fear—
just as he once had.
Of course, Death Sovereign had held things back.
Everything she revealed was harmless—even if the entire world knew it.
But Locke's true secrets—
she hadn't mentioned a word.
The creation of the spatial divine beast Dijiang bloodline.
His cultivation of space laws.
Those were his foundations.
Their shared secrets.
And she would never reveal them—
not even to Wawaya.
After a long pause, Wawaya spoke again.
"Then… aren't you worried?"
"If Locke becomes the strongest Sovereign… what will happen to this world?"
Death Sovereign sighed.
"Wawaya… after everything I've said, you still don't understand?"
"The state of the world—that's something the Overgods concern themselves with."
"If Locke ever disrupts the fundamental laws of the universe, the Overgods will erase him."
"What you're really asking…"
"…is what will happen to us, isn't it?"
Wawaya pressed her lips together.
She didn't deny it.
No matter how noble their justifications sounded—
fear was at the root of it all.
Locke's growth threatened them.
Death Sovereign shook her head and drifted away.
Her final words echoed through the chaotic currents of space:
"Don't worry, Wawaya."
"Someone who grew up in fear…"
"…understands its weight better than anyone."
"So, if Locke truly becomes the strongest Sovereign…"
"…then perhaps what he'll try to do…"
"…is eliminate that fear altogether."
Watching her sister vanish into the spatial turbulence, Wawaya fell into deep thought.
She recalled Locke's actions—
both at the previous Sovereign meeting, and this one.
It was true.
Whether it was revealing his power before…
or paying a price now to protect a mere Deity—
everything he did seemed aimed at one thing:
Creating a stable world.
A world without fear.
But…
the ones he was protecting—
were always the weak.
At the second Sovereign meeting, his revelation secured his classification as a Law Sovereign.
Under the Sovereign Pact, higher-ranked Sovereigns could not casually attack those below them.
Which meant—
Lesser and Intermediate Sovereigns didn't truly fear him.
After all—
there were already plenty of Law Sovereigns and Chief Sovereigns above them.
One more…
made little difference.
(End of Chapter)