Chapter 144

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Chapter 144: One Falls and One Rises

Rasheda is already dead.

That "thing" was floating in the air, its presence as thin as a phantom. Tasha thought the mastermind was still partly hidden behind the scenes, or perhaps the Magic Demon Lord "Unidentifiable Object" Rasheda looked like this ghostly figure. Victor, however, knew better, having dealt with this colleague who was once the Snake of Lies for many years, he could see the issue at a glance.

This cunning individual, who had taken Victor’s former skin, seemed to be the mastermind behind the scenes and the eventual Great Devil. Just as they appeared, they were already dead.

"I really hope you just made a mistake and got yourself in trouble by accident," Victor sighed, "But it looks like you’re still going to surprise us… I know you can’t keep it to yourself, come on, Rasheda, it’s time to reveal the mystery of the game, let’s see what you’ve been up to for these hundreds of years."

He kicked away the broken bones under his feet, shrugged his shoulders, and with a click, he pushed the dislocated joint back to its original place. While Tasha was dismantling the reaper barehanded, the bloody lump of flesh turned back into an intact Victor, clean of blood and once again a good demon. He flicked his tongue against his ragged armor, casually tore off the torn cloth that used to be his shirt and tossed it away.

Victor looked relaxed, his casual stride was asking for trouble, even at a time like this, he still had the mood to joke and mockingly praised the tailor for the good job on making pants, suggesting Tasha should give them a raise for protecting Governor’s partner’s lower body so well.

"I have been waiting for you for a long time," Rasheda said softly, its figure undulating slightly in the air, like a kite that had been set far away, "I started preparing a suitable warm bed even when the downfall of this world just began showing signs. Even for me, it was a very difficult task. Creating your body was not the hardest part, it was completed thoroughly in just a few hundred years, but sending out an invitation… I have been failing for nearly a thousand years, even the most successful attempt had issues."

"Why be so polite? You should have said so earlier!" Victor waved cheerfully, but Tasha could feel his alertness suddenly rising, "We’ve been friends for so many years! If you wanted to invite me, you didn’t need to send an invitation, I would have come anyway."

"So, even the Snake of Lies wants to delude itself sometimes, hehe," Rasheda chuckled softly.

Victor’s smile faded.

"Haven’t you figured it out already, Victor?" the Magic Demon Lord said, "I’m not talking to you."

This time, no matter what Victor did or said, he couldn’t possibly attract the enemy’s attention.

The Magic Demon Lord was not fooled by appearances, it knew its purpose from the start. The trap was not meant for the exiled Demon Lord Victor, he was just a side target.

Rasheda waited for Tasha.

The mist lifted.

The ground looked the same, yet somehow completely different. It was as if a thick layer of snow had covered everything before, making it a vast white expanse when seen from above. And now, all that snow had suddenly melted away, revealing a diverse world beneath. The once barren abyss below the ground, which seemed full of disasters, now showed a variety of things. Though the surface remained empty, beneath it lay many things.

Beneath layers ranging from several meters thick to just millimeters thin, there were vast cavities. They were solid and efficient like beehives, yet complex and intricate like ant tunnels. Inside were glaciers and volcanoes, blood rivers and poisonous swamps, where numerous Abyssal Creations lay dormant, like hibernating pupae.

Tasha wasn’t supposed to see so much, not even minutes ago before she merged with the abyss, she couldn’t have seen so much. The power that allowed her to perceive all this wasn’t so much an increase as it was a "resonance."

Resonance among beings of the same kind.

It was a very large dungeon, stretching for thousands of miles underground, twisting beneath the abyss, surpassing Tasha’s position in the Primary Material Plane. It had a huge heart, so massive that Tasha wondered if all the materials in the abyss that could be used to create dungeons were concentrated here, resulting in the absence of the strong Abyss Outpost presence from the previous Decaying Disaster in this invasion of the Primary Material Plane. Above the Dungeon Core made of abyssal stone, there was a mysterious substance that was hard to comprehend. Seeing this, Tasha understood why Rasheda had died.

Sacrifice, she had sacrificed herself to this dungeon.

"Hundreds of years ago, the creatures of this world realized that the world would eventually fall silent," Rasheda said. "The naive residents hoped to work together, which was silly. Differences led to conflicts, conflicts created contradictions, contradictions turned into wars. A world without a unified will cannot come together, and the process of forming a unified will is enough to destroy the possibility of success. Short-sighted residents who want to plunder resources are not wise. If the big ship itself will sink, how can a small boat made from its old deck escape? Patched-up bodies have no chance of survival, only newborns can survive."

"So you want to create a new world," Tasha said, amazed by the grand idea.

"So," the Magic Demon Lord corrected with a feeble voice, "I created a world."

Within that chaotic and immense Dungeon Core, there was something even larger than the outside. Tasha couldn’t see through it and instinctively avoided looking closely, just like long ago when her soul first arrived underground in Aryan, staring at that alluring yet unsettling red stone.

A world?

"A world," Rasheda’s hand – or claw, or some other limb – gestured a small distance, "almost there."

First comes space.

Skilled artisans and wizards can create spatial storage devices, folding space within space is not as difficult as outsiders think. A Magic Demon Lord should be able to create a space easily, as it day by day attempts to fold space in the abyss. If all the separated small spaces expand, the total size would be able to hold a landmass of the Primary Material Plane. Creating these spatial spells is not a challenge and has not yielded much results.

Next is the plane.

Space looks like small bubbles. Space magic can create spaces that are big enough to amaze people. To become a plane, space needs to become bigger, more stable, and more complex. Even the smallest, shortest-lived plane can have its own system and sustain itself over time.

Any plane not naturally formed is called a "semi-plane" or "subspace." Tasha has seen this before. Ancient wizard Mage Towers and the Magic Core created below the imperial capital by the White Tower Wizard are both artificial planes. Wizards have made great progress in their studies of planes, even surpassing some naturally gifted space creatures in theory.

Rasheda is a Magic Demon, being both a high-level Abyssal Demon and an excellent wizard.

"What is the strongest Abyssal Demon? Which creation does the Abyssal Will favor the most? – For thousands of years, creatures from the three major Aryan planes have been debating this." Rasheda said, "It wasn’t until I started researching planes that I found the answer. It’s not the easily advanced Angry Demon, not the everywhere Little Devil, not the endless Demon Seed… it’s the dungeon."

It almost sounds like a joke.

A dungeon is the precursor of the abyss, but only just that. Most dungeons born in the abyss are destroyed by changes in monsters and the environment if they don’t invade the Primary Material Plane. Unlucky ones become food for demons, while luckier ones become places where certain demons live. Such immobile structures are seen as weak and unsuitable for survival in the abyss by demons. Rather than calling a dungeon a kind of demon, it’s more accurate to say it’s a special structure in the abyss.

Saying that this thing is the strongest demon or that the commonly seen Abyss Outpost is loved by the Abyssal Will is like claiming slimes are the kings of monsters.

But Rasheda was not joking, and now, Tasha can understand as well.

"Mage Towers exist in the subspace created by wizards, just a poor imitation of a plane. However, dungeons are naturally the seeds of planes." the Magic Demon Lord said, "It’s just that the latter is difficult to grow. This is also the limitation of the laws; the more powerful the existence, the harder it is to come into being. In this aspect, the decline of the world has actually provided me with an opportunity. When the laws begin to break down, newborn worlds get a chance to be born."

Space, dimensions, worlds. Mage Tower, dungeon… New world.

In the past, no wizard believed that a dungeon could compare to a Mage Tower. The Mage Tower was created by a legendary wizard, containing intricate runes and spells, balance, perfection, self-sufficient in a subspace overlapping with the natural dimensions. As for the dungeon, it was at best just a nest for monsters. It was the most ordinary of structures, with decent planning, lacking even space folding, let alone any connection to dimensions and high-level concepts.

But in today’s era, wizards would never consider dungeons inferior to Mage Towers. In the evolution of Tasha, she was already completely different from the ordinary Abyss Outposts.

Why? On what basis?

The answer that kept Tasha tossing and turning was now within reach.

"Did you use a dungeon as the ‘mold’ for the world?" Tasha asked.

"I used a dungeon as a nutrient base, or maybe I just irrigated the seeds of the world myself, I don’t know which truth it is," Rasheda shook her head, strange indeed, Tasha didn’t know where its head and neck were, but could feel it shaking its head, "I shaped the embryo of a world, but it was still not enough."

"It lacks a soul," Victor whispered heavily, he now fully understood.

Rasheda attempted to create a small world, letting this world absorb nutrients from Aryan to grow, detach from Aryan when fully grown, and gain new life. It discovered the potential of the dungeon, performed various spells and sacrifices, but was ultimately blocked by a final issue. Just like how the resurrection spell of the Undead Sorcerer could only revive zombies, this new world catalyzed by the Magic Demon Lord lacked some almost imperceptible yet essential element.

"Yes, I have completed all the preliminary parts, now all that’s left is to wait… but there is no more time. Anything tangible can be catalyzed to life, but intangible things cannot," said the Magic Demon Lord in a withered voice. "After thousands of years of growth, this world has produced a faint will of the plane. How could a ‘soul’ be generated in a world I forcefully catalyzed within hundreds of years? The easiest way is to fill in one myself, but my own soul cannot fill the void, and no other beings, whether from the Heavenly Realm, the Abyss, or the Primary Material Plane, can either. After countless failures, I realized that no soul in this world is suitable."

The lingering question seemed to have found an answer.

Tasha sighed and replied, "We need souls from beyond the realm."

That was the reason.

The concept of the Astral Plane disappeared from the minds of Aryan beings until Tasha revealed it. The path to the outside world was blocked, and the beings of Aryan couldn’t escape, but Tasha could move in and out of the barrier because she didn’t belong there. If a new world was filled with Aryan souls, it would be bound to Aryan once again, only able to exist or perish with that world. Only souls from beyond could bring change.

"Are you kidding?" mocked Victor. "If you had the power to seize souls from beyond, why would you need to make such a big effort to escape? Wanting to lift the whole new world up to the heavens? I didn’t know you were so kind-hearted."

"Indeed, I cannot do that," Rasheda admitted openly. "I can only wait."

Rasheda waited for hundreds of years, until one night in a distant world. A place in that world was filled with thunder and lightning, and amidst the raging storm, a common human named Tasha drove a car into a dark sky and collided with a spatial crack.

The chance of being struck by lightning while walking on the road is one in a few million, and more than a handful of people die from lightning strikes in a year in a country. The odds of winning a multi-million-dollar jackpot are even lower than being struck by lightning, but every few years, the world media always shares stories of the newly minted lucky ones. What are the chances of encountering a spatial crack, being swept into it, and safely arriving in another world? If that number were calculated, it might be infinitely close to zero. But in the endless worlds of the Astral Plane, along the long timeline without a visible beginning or end, as long as this chance is not zero, there will always be a lucky one or an unfortunate soul.

"According to the perfect plan, the soul from beyond should have appeared directly in the abyss, in the body I prepared for you," sighed Rasheda. "But some unexpected events occurred, leading you to the Primary Material Plane instead. I made many preparations to help the bodiless soul from beyond enter the abyss quickly, but no one expected to find an abandoned dungeon that was disconnected from the abyss and still inhabitable."

"I still won, even though I died before you," grinned Victor.

"It’s not over yet, we can’t determine the winner just yet," the Magic Demon Lord said with a tired voice, a hint of a smile appearing. "Now, it’s time to correct the unexpected."

The Dungeon Core opened.

The giant heart opened towards Tasha, like a lantern being uncovered, instantly illuminating – there was no visible light to the naked eye, but Tasha felt a sense of brightness and clarity.

A whole new world?

A whole new world.

At that moment, a tremendous impact shook Tasha’s soul, like a child seeing a vast land for the first time after the clouds parting. So much information rushed in an instant, overwhelming Tasha, connecting them to the abyss. How to describe it? It felt as if they had transformed from an insulator to a conductor, like being soaked and changed by flowing water. What had just been half-believed or understood only through faith now became vividly real.

Magic Demon Lord Rasheda had truly created a new world.

It grew on Aryan like a parasitic plant, absorbing nutrients from the mother tree. Its tendrils spread out and connected every corner of the world, using the abyss as its anchor. The Abyssal Will conspired with it, and when Tasha accepted the abyss, she also accepted it. By linking to this incomplete new world, she connected to the whole of Aryan.

Tasha felt "complete."

Rooted in the abyss, this dungeon connected her rooted in the Primary Material Plane. Aryan’s last two planes were now linked together, allowing isolated information to flow again. Centuries of abyssal history flashed through Tasha’s mind. The shattered clues on both sides pieced together into a complete trajectory. Unlike the impact faced in the Astral Plane, everything in this world was overwhelmingly awe-inspiring, making one feel reverent, amazed, and excited, but not hopeless – this could be understood.

In that moment, Tasha understood this world.

Was there any sound? Any flash? Probably not, just a small switch flicked in the mind. The previously chaotic reorganization progress bar suddenly filled up, it was complete, and then it vanished.

"What’s wrong?" Victor blurted out.

They had known each other for so long, and Tasha had never heard him speak in this tone. Victor sounded startled, almost scared. Tasha touched her face, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"It’s okay." Tasha shook her head and said, "I’m fine."

She was fine, better than ever before. All the mysteries had been solved, all the fog cleared, and the path ahead was clear. Tasha wasn’t about to cry, she was just resonating with two worlds. Newborns cried, dying people wailed, conveying a nameless yearning for life. At that moment, Tasha understood everything, even more than Rasheda who had set this up. Her appearance in the Primary Material Plane was not a random accident, it was the world’s self-rescue.

"One city falls, one city rises."

"Souls from beyond will eventually wear the Crown of Thorns."

The prophecy wizard calculates the future probabilities, while the Astrologer Witch reveals all. As things have progressed to this point, looking back at Gabriella’s prophecy, these few sentences really make sense no matter if Tasha wins or loses next, no matter if Aryan’s future is life or death.

She is not destined to win, nor is she destined to fail. The future is in her hands, all choices are hers to make.

"Oh souls from beyond, only one last question remains." The figure of the Magic Demon Lord gradually faded, "Are you willing to take your throne, become the ruler of the new world, let the new world thrive on the ashes of the old world in decay?"

Inside that Dungeon Core, in the place where Tasha was supposed to settle, a newborn world is slowly growing, feeding on the flesh and blood of the old world. Centuries of extraction have turned the Abyss barren, and it will take less time to drain the Primary Material Plane because the world’s growth and collapse will accelerate like a snowball effect. This is a choice that ensures victory, at the cost of one world.

"I’ve already made a similar choice before," Tasha chuckled.

She once made a decision in the Mage Tower of the Astral Mage, where she gave up the vast Astral Plane and chose Aryan – now, a new world is not enough to change Tasha’s mind. She has never regretted any of her decisions.

"What a pity," Rasheda said, "the process of integration and supplementation always involves so much unnecessary loss."

"Oh, that’s why we don’t get along," Victor said. "When I say those things, I’m being sarcastic, but when you say them, you’re being sincere and it ruins our fun time together. Are we still playing or not? No, you’re too serious, so you’ll just have to cheer us on with your words."

"We shouldn’t disturb them," said the Magic Demon Lord. "This is the merging of spirit and flesh in the new world."

"Then I definitely should join in," Victor raised an eyebrow and said, "Speaking of spirit and flesh merging…"

"Hold on, think about the mood before speaking," Tasha said with a headache, feeling that the solemn atmosphere of the big decisive battle had been half lost. "Don’t make inappropriate jokes – okay, continue."

"Then I have nothing more to say," Victor said seriously.

…Are you here to tell jokes before the battle? Tasha wondered.

She didn’t have time to say anything before a strong force grabbed her as the huge heart of the dungeon pulsated, pulling her inside.

Victor quickly followed, charging forward and braking sharply in front of a blazing fire. He turned instantly, speeding so fast he almost became a blur, but then he was hit by something, causing him to fall from his high-speed movement.

"I considered this," Rasheda said. "So, to avoid being disturbed, I have prepared some measures."

The raging fire and the shadow blocked the way in and the way out.

Shadow Fiend Lord "Shadow Walker" Casper, holding the Shadow Dagger that once killed a god, flashed behind Victor for a moment, then melted into the air again. The Balrog Lord rumored to have been killed by it stood in front of Victor, flames twisting the air.

"Come on, I am ready to watch the fight," Rasheda said, "Pawn to pawn, king to king."