Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

Godslayer woke up in a slow daze. He felt as though he had entered his slumber just yesterday, so being made to wake up only disoriented him.

“Alex? Are we out yet?” he asked, his mind still struggling to come to him just yet.

“He’s not the one who woke you up,” Bladedance said. “I did.”

Godslayer heard those words, and his daze vanished immediately. He looked at his surroundings and found the long black-haired, fair-skinned woman standing close to him.

If he had eyes, they would’ve been wide with fear right then.

“B-Bladedance? What are you doing here?” he asked out loud, quickly searching the surroundings for Alex. He found Alex in the back with a serious expression.

“So you do remember my name,” she said. “But that is not enough. I’m here to kill you, but I won’t, so long as you prove to me you’re not Godslayer.”

“I’m not Godslayer,” Godslayer said quickly. “No, I am. But I’m not the same Godslayer.”

Bladedance remained expressionless. “He said you remember who you were.”

“Yes, I was the Artifact God,” Godslayer said.

“And who told you that?” she asked. Not many people, even among the gods, were aware of that information. Bladedance wasn’t sure of it either truthfully, but there was an abnormality to Godslayer that could not come from just a Sword Spirit.

It was this abnormality that had led her to make a guess that Godslayer was a mutated Sword Spirit that had somehow managed to combine with another Soul, likely the very first victim—the Artifact God—which was why they had failed to stop it until then.

Only after all of that had she come to a single guess at how to stop him.

Since Godslayer couldn’t be killed, the only way to stop it was to seal it away.

To seal a sword spirit, she needed a sword. To seal a soul, she needed a Creation. Hers was the only Sword that was also a Creation strong enough for that.

And that was the entire reason she had sacrificed her Creation—because they had run out of options to do anything to Godslayer without it.

Her plan had succeeded, and Godslayer was locked away. That was also evidence that her understanding of who the Godslayer was was possibly correct. She had never told anyone else about it, however, since she didn’t have concrete proof.

And as time went on and she lived without her Creation, she had begun losing her mind.

Now, she barely even remembered that they had won the war.

Staring at the crystal orb before her, she was brought back to that moment in the past when she had captured him. The danger he posed, the reason nearly a dozen gods had come together to capture him, was coming back to her.

So, she was serious and ready to do anything to kill it should she be given a reason to.

“I am— I was the Artifact God,” Godslayer said simply. “I don’t need anyone to tell me that. I have my memories. I have more memories from when I was an Artifact God than I do from when I was merely Godslayer.”

Bladedance remained the same. “And what changed?” she asked. “Why did you not take over him? You take over everyone else.”

“I didn’t change of my own volition,” Godslayer said. “He changed me. I tried to take over him too, but he’s far too strong for me.”

“Far too strong for you?” Bladedance asked. “That’s nonsense. No matter how weak you are, your essence is that of corruption. You should have an easy time corrupting others.”

“Or so you think,” Godslayer said. “But not against him. He is a single anomaly that I cannot do this against.”

Bladedance frowned, turning to look at Alex. “What is he talking about? What did you do?”

“I…” Alex hesitated a little.

“Do it, kid,” Godslayer said. “Show her how you stripped me of all my strength.”

Alex still hesitated, but he saw this as another opportunity to get Bladedance to strongly consider his request. His hesitation lessened as a result, and he did what Godslayer asked.

Yellow fog grew up out of the water, strong and vibrant, quickly overflowing the entire sea, covering all parts. They rose high into the air, covering most of the region around them.

Bladedance looked around with a strange sense of fear. She couldn’t tell why she had to fear the Spiritual Sea of a mere Immortal. She calmed herself down and reached toward the yellow fog, trying to understand what it was.

“No!” Alex spoke up quickly before Bladedance got too close. “It’s dangerous.”

“Don’t do it,” Godslayer said. “Or you will die.”

Bladedance’s eyes finally widened in surprise. “I will die? From this?” she asked.

“Yes,” Godslayer said. “It destroys everything it comes in contact with. Any soul, strong or weak, it will destroy it. I’ve seen a remnant of a Divine soul die while he was merely a Saint. This fog consumes all. Do not touch it.”

Bladedance took a few steps back, no longer going toward it.

Alex let the fog slip back underneath the water.

“What… what was that?” she asked.

“A perk of my body constitution,” Alex said. “It allows me to devour things that are in my Spiritual Sea. Many souls have died right here.”

Bladedance frowned. “And he survived?” she asked.

“I did,” Godslayer said. “But you know I cannot be easily killed. This protective shell of mine is invincible.”

Bladedance couldn’t argue there. “And so what? You’re invincible from the fog, so how are you changed?”

“I am invincible, but my aura is not. He destroyed everything, leaving me with just myself and my thoughts. All Death and Darkness that corrupted my thoughts until now were gone, allowing me to think things more clearly. After a while, my memories started returning too. At that point, I realized who I was. And who I could no longer be.”

Godslayer looked up at her. “Whether you believe it or not, I have changed,” he said. “But on the off chance you don’t, here is the good news too. I am dying and will most likely die in a couple of centuries.”