2221 2221. Curse

"You feel it, don't you?" The old rulers asked. "You know what's going to happen if you absorb us, but you can't help yourself."

Heaven and Earth didn't answer as they continued to absorb chunks of the old rulers' body. Some areas of the battlefield also went silent as the experts inspected the event. Their instincts were telling them that something big was about to happen.

"It turns out that severing pieces of yourself can work only if you decide to remain a mess," The old rulers declared. "You have tried to regain clarity, so you have understood that you need us."

Some privileged cultivators understood that the event wouldn't lead to anything good, so they teleported near the old rulers to interrupt the process. However, a series of barriers that belonged to Heaven and Earth and the old rulers hindered their path and made them unable to advance.

"Your leaders won't care about what you have to say," The old rulers mocked. "They only want to become whole again, so stay put and enjoy the show."

A few complaints resounded around the barrier, but the old rulers didn't care about them. They focused on Heaven and Earth and the meanings leaving their body. They could feel death approaching, but they faced it without fear.

"You know, they really have a chance," The old rulers sighed. "They are a bunch of crazy maniacs who are only one step short from killing each other, but they are strong. We would have liked to experience our journey with them."

A golden light slowly materialized inside the barriers. The radiance struggled to expand, but the old rulers seemed unable to stop that process completely.

The light slowly turned into an ethereal version of King Elbas. The expert inspected his surroundings before studying the effects of the white light. His ghostly figure had vague facial features, but a dark expression appeared anyway.

"You have gone past our traps without breaking them," The old rulers commented.

"I didn't," King Elbas snorted. "This is only a projection of my consciousness. It's far from a success."

"Your relentless search for perfection is the greatest flaw in your world," The old rulers joked.

"Only if I fail to achieve perfection," King Elbas proudly replied.

The two fell silent for a few seconds, but King Elbas eventually rekindled the conversation. "I can interrupt this process if you buy me enough time."

"Why would you do that?" The old rulers asked.

"Because saving your asses is my job," King Elbas revealed.

"That's our job too," The old rulers stated. "I guess having two experts in the same fields has always been inefficient."

"I'll take inefficient during these harsh times," King Elbas announced.

"Don't worry," The old rulers reassured. "We are here to make them slightly easier."

"You have made up your mind," King Elbas uttered.

"We did a long time ago," The old rulers declared. "We did when we realized that we couldn't escape our nature."

<br/>"You can always throw yourself away and start again," King Elbas pointed out.

"Would you do that?" The old rulers questioned. "Would any of you throw away what you have achieved throughout countless years of struggles in front of a mere hindrance?"

"The goal is to go past the peak," King Elbas responded.

"No," The old rulers contradicted. "The goal is to bring your worlds past the peak, the worlds that you have nurtured for so long. We are doing the same. Our end is simply different."

"Death is not a goal," King Elbas exclaimed.

"We won't die," The old rulers replied, "At least not immediately. You'll have to inflict the finishing blow."

"Why didn't you ask us to find another path?" King Elbas asked.

"Because we deserve this," The old rulers explained. "We have caused too many problems in the world, too much death. We have to pay for what we have done. We'll pay the price so that the scales of balance will return in your favor."

"What price?" King Elbas snorted. "What did you even do? You are walking on the cultivation journey. You use whatever works to get yourself beyond the peak."

"We will go beyond the peak," The old rulers chuckled. "That's when you'll kill us."

King Elbas and the others listening to that conversation understood what the old rulers meant. The latter had basically declared that Heaven and Earth's breakthrough was inevitable, but that event would give the experts a chance to kill them.

Still, killing Heaven and Earth would also destroy what they absorbed about the old rulers. The latter would technically go beyond the peak since they would be part of the sky, but their efforts aimed to pave the path for the landmass' victory.

"What about your assets?" King Elbas asked. "You know how we are. We'll loot your city and leave nothing behind."

"Everything we have ever represented already has worthy heirs," The old rulers revealed. "We actually didn't expect to find such suitable experts. I guess the same world is telling us that our existence is no longer needed."

King Elbas' eyes lit up in understanding, but he didn't say anything as he waited for the old rulers to make their announcement. He couldn't take away their last words.

"Our Breath has a new king," The old rulers announced as their voice spread throughout the higher plane. "We couldn't add a will to our energy, so it chose the expert with the strongest individuality as its new master. Divine Demon, make sure to remain the most selfish being in the world."

Divine Demon still couldn't speak through the communication devices, but he didn't need to give answers. Everyone knew how he would react. He raised a hand and created a cup of wine before lifting it toward the old rulers.

"As for our city," The old rulers continued, "Its contents, buildings, and assets will belong to the only expert who touched our peaks without abandoning his individuality. King Xavier Elbas, take care of our kingdom."

"Don't go around throwing burdens at people," King Elbas snorted. "Still, I guess your city would be wasted in those brutes' hands. It would be a pity to refuse it."

"Our only request is that you take care of our army," The old rulers stated. "You can ask Defying Demon's help if you don't know how to handle those creatures."

"Do you really want to use your last words to insult me?" King Elbas asked.

"That's how things work in Heaven and Earth's Cancer," The old rulers laughed as the light radiated by their body intensified.

King Elbas remained inside the barriers as long as possible, but the orange light eventually shattered his ethereal figure. The orange radiance then tainted the white rays connected to the sky and spread that different shade directly into Heaven and Earth's world.

Heaven and Earth didn't interrupt the absorption. The process quickened after the old rulers unleashed the entirety of their power, and the tainted rays soon retreated to return inside the sky.

Everything remained still when the process ended. Most modified magical beasts and buildings didn't know what to do now that the old rulers' influence had disappeared from the higher plane. They continued to carry their power, but they felt that their connection to that existence had disappeared.

However, Heaven and Earth didn't give the army the time to think since a deafening cry left the sky. The unclear roar slowly transformed until a distinct curse resounded throughout the higher plane. "What have you done?!"