Chapter 558: Secrets of Haven
"What is this?" I whispered, my fingers tightening around the shard.
The strange mana continued to flow into me, merging with the natural cycle of my own. Waves of tingling energy coursed through my body, sending shivers down my spine, but I couldn’t bring myself to pull away. It was like the intoxicating allure of mana when I first discovered it, awakening a deep-seated craving that could never be sated.
This power was distinct from the mana I knew, yet it felt natural the more I attuned to it. It was as if this new energy was the median point, with the familiar mana and infernal mana at opposite ends of a spectrum.
"Is this mana?" I asked, opening my eyes to look at the remnant.
Arantius raised his eyebrows, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Remarkable, you can already perceive it. What do you think of this power?"
I paused, letting another cycle flow through me before answering. "It’s...right. It feels right, like taking a breath of fresh air."
"An apt analogy," he said, nodding. "The mana you’re accustomed to is not true mana, no more than infernal mana is. It is as tainted as infernal mana, only in the opposite direction."
"I understand!" I exclaimed, a wave of comprehension washing over me. "It’s like sunpurge and corruption. This mana is the world’s natural mana, but the gods have corrupted it with their own power, using the shards to control its distribution."
"Precisely," the remnant said, looking impressed. "It takes a rare soul to awaken mana on their own, so the gods provide the shards to grant access to everyone. This binds them to the shard, and every time they use mana, it siphons a portion to feed the Divine. The demons, in turn, feast upon this divine mana, hunting down worlds with shards to increase their power."
"It’s the only way to ascend," Luke added, drawing our attention. "Shards of Omniscience can strengthen a demon’s soul up to the ninth level. From there, one must consume a world shard to gain the power to ascend and join the demon lords and emperors as equals in their realms. It’s the journey and struggle of every demon, and the only path I can walk to fight the gods on their own ground, to make them suffer as I have."
"Quite right, though your desires are a little extreme, to say the least," Arantius commented, a hint of disapproval in his ancient voice.