Cherreads

Chapter 25 - Ch 25 (The Fool Was born)

...And then, Shaw and Lee Jion appear with his cat at the gates of heaven. While Lee Jion stands watching the place, Shaw rushes towards his mother, who is running, and says: "Wait, Lee Jion, I'll be right back, just wait." As Shaw runs towards his mother, Lee Jion notices that the gates of heaven are open and sees black objects inside heaven, surprising him. Meanwhile, Shaw sees his mother Jessica running; tears stream from her eyes, and she appears deeply saddened. Shaw catches her, and the lady says: "Who are you, entity? Please, save me." Shaw then says: "Don't worry, ma'am, I am Servant Shaw." The lady is surprised and rushes into Shaw's arms, causing tears to flow from his eyes as joy appears on his face. Then Jessica says: "Where is Shaw now, young man?" Shaw replies: "He is in a place I am not permitted to reveal, but I will take you to him after finishing all this."

Suddenly, a place inside heaven explodes violently. Shaw grabs Jessica and rushes toward heaven, while Lee Jion has already entered. Shaw says: "Don't worry, ma'am, just wait for me here." He places his mother in a safe spot with many fleeing entities. Jessica says: "There are black entities and very frightening things everywhere; they have killed many." Shaw responds: "Don't worry, ma'am, I will return." Inside, where the ruler of heaven's angels is, the Angel of Death Oxford is now far stronger, almost on the same level as Lee Jion. The Archangel Lilith rushes forward, using the power of the Supreme Sun, which differs from the sun power an angel previously used against the Angel of Death—this sun is capable of annihilating and erasing any entity whose immortality is tied to a source, making it extremely powerful.

Shaw and Lee Jion, who had been waiting nearby, arrive. Suddenly, Loki says: "No, Father!" Then, the Archangel appears, having been stabbed by one of the servant entities that serve Death, stopping his power before it could reach Death. Death then uses his Siege and Abyss form to completely erase Lilith's existence as his wife Lyra screams. Lee Jion rushes in quickly to try and stop Death. Death smiles as he holds the three seals, raises them to the sky, and says: "I have completed my task, my master. Now it is your turn." Suddenly, Lee Jion retreats quickly as a black beam shoots up into the sky and descends upon Lyra, Lilith's wife. While Loki screams intensely, his mother vanishes from existence. Shaw and Lee Jion are enraged, and Lee Jion declares: "You will regret this, wretch."

Because heaven remained and was not erased, Lilith and Lyra return to existence. Lilith looks at him and says: "Your end has come, villain." Lilith, Lyra, Lee Jion, Shaw, and Loki—who is protecting Ferri—stand facing the Angel of Death, who laughs heartily and says: "There is no place for me here. My master is coming." Shaw thinks to himself: Why do I feel something strange, something I don't understand, as if events are accelerating rapidly?

Elsewhere, in a place without colors, an extremely powerful entity was sealed by the power of three gods. Three avatars—Amon, Cain, and Rakan—joined forces to seal this unknown entity, which draws its power from no god. After Death obtained the first seal from Valhalla, the second from the Kingdom of Light where the Alf reside, and the third from heaven within Olympus's territory, the chains break free. This entity, called True Death, laughs and says: "Hahaha, from now on, I will complete my mission, my master."

Suddenly, outside, where Lilith, Lyra, Lee Jion, Shaw, Loki, and Death stand, True Death appears, unleashing a suffocating aura that turns everything around him into nothing. Death laughs and says: "My master, True Death, can you now tell me where my three brothers are?" True Death looks at Death and replies: "Yes, indeed." He approaches Death, places his hand on his head, and suddenly extracts all his power and spiritual energy, transforming him into a very weak entity as Oxford's true form emerges. True Death says: "This is your reward." Shaw is shocked: This! It's Oxford! True Death raises his hand toward Shaw to erase him, but Lee Jion steps in front of him, saying: "Shaw, run now! You do not have the strength to stand against him. Just run." Oxford looks at Shaw with a faint, fading voice: "You are Shaw! It seems many things have changed. I was not evil, Shaw, believe me. I only wanted to save my three brothers." Then Oxford's existence is completely erased, as True Death, who gave him the power of death, is able to take it back. Shaw is astonished and thinks: Though this person caused my suffering, he seemed utterly sincere.

Suddenly, the place explodes without warning, and everyone is thrown out. Shaw falls outside, with Loki and Ferri nearby and his mother Jessica close by. Shaw says: "Loki, leave Ferri here and come with me." Loki quickly sends Ferri to a place where many entities are hiding. Shaw says: "Wait for me, don't worry. I will send you to Shaw's location after we finish." Ferri tries to speak, but Shaw disappears.

Meanwhile, Lee Jion senses danger for the first time and looks at True Death, who has no visible face—only void—clad in a black cloak surrounded by a black aura. True Death says: "What are you trying to do? Do not resist. There is no room for resistance." As Lilith and Lyra rush toward this entity embodying absolute death and evil, an object with a name appears in True Death's hand, glowing. As Shaw and Loki reach the battlefield, heaven suddenly vanishes, and Lilith and Lyra disappear from existence. Shaw is stunned and looks at the name in this entity's hand—it is The Empty! Standing there, Loki, Shaw, and Lee Jion—every entity, no matter who, forgets the existence of heaven and the two, Lyra and Lilith. However, Lee Jion, Shaw, and Loki, who witnessed this event, remember it for some reason. Shaw thinks: No! Not again! This cannot happen again. Loki charges at True Death in fury, and Shaw shouts: "You fool, stop! Do not do this!" Suddenly, as Loki attempts to punch, True Death grabs him by the neck. Shaw cries: "Loki, no!" Loki's existence is instantly erased.

Lee Jion is enraged. He draws his sword, the Sword of Chaos, and activates his Chaos Aura, which makes the distance between him and any entity attempting to touch him infinite. The more the entity tries to reach him, the more the distance multiplies, with the added effect that the Chaos Mist—a part of the Chaos Aura—gradually destroys the entity. True Death speaks in a terrifying voice: "So you are Lee Jion, Ruler of Chaos. Don't worry, I will soon kill Ashborn, the God of Chaos himself." Lee Jion charges at him in fury, and a fierce clash ensues, with blows exchanged at indescribable speed. Using the three seals above True Death, which glow with an indescribable black light, Lee Jion activates his Anti-Chaos ability, which renders all change in a state of perpetual stasis, making him completely invulnerable. He lands a powerful blow on True Death, knocking him down, while his cat rests on his left shoulder. Lee Jion says: "Don't worry, Shaw. Just go now." Shaw replies: "No, I will never leave you." True Death snaps his fingers, and suddenly, the cat transforms into one of True Death's death entities, severing Lee Jion's left hand completely, leaving a black substance in its place that prevents him from ever regaining it. Lee Jion is shocked, screams, and shouts: "Run now, for the prophecy, run!"

Suddenly, a shard appears, shining with a light as bright as the Eternal Sun, bearing the name The Empty. But this time, True Death manipulates Lee Jion's mind. Lee Jion, unable to resist, thinks: This thing that resembles the sun… it seems I must die for the prophecy to be fulfilled. Is this the end? With tears streaming from Shaw's eyes and Lee Jion's gaze fixed on him, Shaw flees, heading toward Ferri and Jessica. Lee Jion whispers: "The Empty." Then he vanishes completely. Shaw weeps bitterly like a child, thinking: Why? Why does all this happen to me?

Death laughs. As Shaw reaches his mother and Ferri, Death suddenly appears before him, saying: "Don't worry, I will kill your loved ones first." Shaw is stunned: Not again! He rushes at True Death, but suddenly, one of True Death's entities stabs him in the chest with a sword. True Death produces a strange, glowing object of incomprehensible colors, shaping it into a spear-like weapon, and says: "Here, this is your weapon. I will return it to you, Shaw." He stabs the weapon into Shaw's body and seizes Ferri. As blood flows from Shaw's mouth and chest, he pleads: "Please, do not do this." Ferri looks at Shaw and asks: "You are Shaw, aren't you? Answer me." The entity grips Ferri's head as she gazes at Shaw, bleeding and unable to speak. Shaw nods weakly. Ferri weeps: "Why didn't you tell me? I felt it was you the moment I saw you." Then Death beheads Ferri and seizes Shaw's mother, Jessica, for True Death can read minds. Jessica smiles at Shaw and says: "My son, I do not know what to say to you, but I will miss you." As tears fall from Jessica's eyes, she recalls all the beautiful moments with her son. Then True Death splits her in two before Shaw's eyes.

True Death looks at Shaw, who thinks: Hahahaha… this is a dream, isn't it? Why is everything accelerating so rapidly? What is happening? Shaw spits blood onto True Death, who says: "I will not kill you in the ordinary way this time." He forces Shaw to produce the Book of the Primordial God. True Death laughs: "There is nothing of value here." He writes the word "The Empty" on the book, causing it to explode and vanish from existence, stripping Shaw of all his previous skills and powers. Then True Death produces a colorless sphere—unlike any dream of the sleeping—and forces Shaw to touch it, saying: "Go to hell, to infinity, no escape. And let me tell you something: I am a servant and slave to the entity called The Empty."

Shaw disappears, and True Death smiles. He merges the seals together, saying: "I have no time now. I must activate these seals so I may ascend to a higher existential plane than this world, rendering this world nothing but fiction, a zero before me." He brings the seals down upon himself from the sky, and suddenly, he vanishes completely, as if he had never been there.

Shaw falls onto beautiful land with green grass, a massive sun overhead. As the black energy penetrates his body, he slowly begins to die. Within himself, he thinks: So this is the end. Life is not happy, and the end is not beautiful like fairy tales, is it? I lost everything in mere minutes, as if none of it had value. The world does not recognize value; everything you think is precious and imperishable, the universe sees as nothing. It seems death, in the end, is the only refuge for escape and peace. Praise be to the Perfect, after everything. Then Shaw loses consciousness as the mysterious black energy gradually destroys his body. He loses his horned form, reverting to what he once was: brown-haired, brown-eyed, with a muscular build. It is as if his race was destroyed, but something strange occurs—the strange energy was not entirely destructive. A mysterious dark energy undergoes a change, destroying his soul and external form, leaving his outer form weak and altering his personality to become two in one! Within Shaw's consciousness, he sees a completely mysterious, unknown entity. This entity, formed from the harmless part of the dark energy, speaks: "We have been given another chance. I am you now, but we are two personalities in one soul. You remain in control, and now we are in our memories. But who is that entity far away? I cannot see it clearly." Shaw replies: "Nor can I." He gazes at this entity—indescribable, incomprehensible, intangible, uncontainable—infinity itself. Suddenly, everything returns.

Shaw opens his eyes to find his body healed, yet he has reverted to a weak human soul. He thinks: I understand now. This world truly is nothing. Yes, the rapidity of events is chaotic and without order; everything comes suddenly. The power of entities in this world follows no fixed power system. It seems this entire world has been neglected by the gods to be a world without meaning, without purpose, utterly abandoned—mere fragments. No clear power system. Everything is absurd in this world where Lee Jion and my loved ones were killed. As Shaw struggles to stand, his body trembling with weakness, the entity within him speaks: "I am called Nihil. I am the mysterious energy. I am neither evil nor good. I will simply be with you to achieve what you desire. You are in control. You may command me to control your body as you wish. I am your powerful side." Shaw stands with difficulty, only to fall again as his legs tremble. He sees a small staff before him and uses it to try to rise, thinking: Hope is the only thing I must hold on to. Nothing but hope. Leaning on the staff, he walks, thinking: From now on, I am no longer Shaw. I am no longer who I was. From now on, I am simply called the Fool.

More Chapters