Free Web NovelChapter 54: Abyss
"Hahaha, you’ll get used to it soon enough, sir. That’s simply the Beast Aura surrounding the Origin Court. After you’re exposed to it a few times, you’ll become accustomed to it like everyone else."
Lily laughed innocently at Rios’s reaction.
Rios looked at her with slight embarrassment. He wasn’t pleased that someone had seen this side of him.
After calming himself, Rios shifted his gaze away from the Origin Court and frowned when he looked at the next palace.
The palace was entirely golden.
Its walls were covered with moving images that looked completely alive rather than painted.
They depicted planets, moons, suns, stars, and galaxies revolving around one another in perfect harmony, their orbits never colliding or crossing.
Its gate consisted of two colors.
One side was black, engraved with a blue moon.
The other was white, engraved with a golden sun.
Above the gate was the emblem of three gears working together in perfect synchronization.
Above the emblem were the words...
"Let me guess... this is the Immortal Court, isn’t it?"
Lily landed on Rios’s shoulder, raised both hands, and clapped excitedly.
"As expected of my brilliant master! Correct!"
Rios flicked Lily on the forehead, sending her tumbling through the air before saying in annoyance,
"You’re becoming annoying."
Holding her forehead, she cried dramatically,
"Oooooh... Master doesn’t love Lily anymore!"
Ignoring her, Rios pointed toward the Immortal Court and asked,
"So, what about them?"
The moment Lily heard his question, her expression instantly brightened, her tears vanished, and she hurried back to stand beside him.
"The Immortal Court, Sir, is the most respected organization in the universe. They’re essentially the police—but on a far greater scale that encompasses the entire universe. They intervene in planetary wars once they reach a certain level, punish those who repeatedly violate the forbidden laws and spread destruction and chaos throughout the universe." She then raised a finger and added seriously,
"And most importantly, they’re the first line of defense—the guardians who protect the universe from the Scourge of Primordial Chaos." freewebnσvel.cøm
"The Scourge of Primordial Chaos? What’s that?"
Rios was startled by the term, and even more surprised that such a threat to the universe even existed. freёweɓnovel.com
"The Scourge of Primordial Chaos are creatures whose very nature has been corrupted by Primordial Chaos. They become twisted, many times stronger than before, and both their intelligence and instincts drive them toward the destruction of the universe and all living beings."
Lily shuddered as she described the horrors of the Scourge.
"That sounds like a huge problem."
"Of course it is, Sir. They’re far more than just a huge problem. Those bastards never disappear, no matter how many you kill or how many of their strongholds you destroy. They can never truly be eradicated because they’re simply mutated forms of naturally existing creatures." Lily shouted angrily before quickly calming down and shrugging.
"That is... unless someone decides to wipe out all creation or erase Primordial Chaos itself."
Hearing that last sentence, Rios looked at Lily with a strange expression.
Did I end up with an AI assistant... or a complete lunatic?
Letting out a sigh, he shifted his gaze away from the troublemaker and looked toward the second-to-last palace.
It looked remarkably similar to the palace outside.
Its walls were formed from folds of space filled with countless stars and galaxies, while its ceiling was made of multicolored clouds that made anyone who gazed upon them grow drowsy almost instantly.
Every phase of the moon was engraved upon its gate, and above it floated the emblem of a crescent moon resting among white clouds.
Above the emblem were the words—
The Immortal Eternal Night Empire Palace!
Noticing Rios observing the palace, Lily sat on his shoulder and proudly said,
"That’s right, Sir. This is the palace of the Immortal Eternal Night Empire—the empire that controls the largest and most prosperous marketplace in history. An empire that has endured since the First Era, predating the previous four courts by tens of millions of years."
"T-That’s... an incredibly long time."
Rios muttered with difficulty as he imagined such an absurd span of time.
Damn it... I haven’t even spent a full month in this world yet, and now you’re talking about tens of millions of years. Just how ancient are the civilizations of this world?
After finishing her explanation of the Immortal Eternal Night Empire, Lily pointed toward the final palace.
"This palace belongs to the oldest organization in the universe—the only court that has existed since the First Era, and also the very first among the Five Courts. They’re renowned for their immense knowledge and overwhelming combat prowess. They were the ones who began the First Era, led the first war between the Cosmic Realms, created the first Immortal Arrays, connected the Cosmic Realms together, and established the Path of Soul Cultivation."
"If the Origin Court is famous for possessing the greatest number of Immortals, then these people possess the greatest number of Immortal Soul Masters. They’re also known for being born from resentment and rage, ambition and greed, and an overwhelming love of battle and destruction. The rulers of the most famous realm in the universe..."
"The Abyss."
The moment Rios heard that name, his eyes gradually widened as he looked toward the final palace.
Unlike the others, which each projected a single, unified image, this palace was strange.
It was divided into two halves.
The left half was built from dark crimson stone that radiated destruction and ruin, shrouded in an endless black mist from which thousands of demonic spirits emerged, circling it while screaming and wailing.
The right half was the complete opposite.
It was built from radiant white stone that symbolized purity and tranquility, surrounded by a white mist from which thousands of pure white souls emerged, chanting soothing hymns that calmed the spirit.
At the center of this stark contrast stood a semicircular gate adorned with ten wings—five on each door.
The white doors bore five nearly living black wings, as though they were struggling against purity.
The black doors bore five nearly living white wings, as though they were struggling against destruction.
Above the gate floated the emblem of a deep black circle lined with razor-sharp fangs, from which white flames spread outward in the shape of ten slumbering wings.
Above the emblem were the words—
Abyss Court Palace!
