Apotheosis – Ascension to Godhood

Chapter 464: The Fate To Lead The World Of Chaos

The “warm current”, as Zen named it, felt like the warm caress of the summer seas. He had no idea what it was, nor had any explanation for why it healed him from any pain felt by his body. He didn't have any inkling as to what this energy coursing through him might possibly be.

'An enigma, ' Zen thought, a faint smile gracing his lips. 'One that I'm willing to embrace wholeheartedly.'

The thirst for knowledge to solve this mystery spurred Zen into training his body without mercy. His resolve and dedication had led him to be inflicted with various wounds and injuries all over, yet all these never seemed to last for long as soon as the “warm current” washed over him. 'It's another type of energy... One that I obviously haven't heard before.' Zen had mused before, his brows furrowing in frustration as he attempted to resolve his own inquiries.

“Primordial energy?”

Zen murmured as he finally knew what the “warm current” was after the red dragon told him.

The red dragon had helped to muster and run the primordial energy in his body. It started with the smallest flicker of flame. A fire that could easily be extinguished by sudden gusts of wayward winds.

It was too sudden; too fast, that Zen didn't even have the chance to recognize where and when the shift had begun inside of him. The flame flickered and spread all throughout his body like wildfire in a dense forest. It left no mercy; reaching every crevice and fissure in his compact body, until it engulfed him completely.

He thought that he could bear it. He thought of the summer seas, crashing waves and the salt lingering on his tongue; the warm caress that seemed to embrace him lovingly and healed him every time his body took damage. And, at first, he felt it—the careful, tender touch. Until, the heat grew and grew and he was choking, unable to breathe as the heat increased in devastatingly high levels. It scorched him from the inside out; every intake of oxygen became synonymous to burning acid sliding down his parched throat. He was being burned alive, his skin turning to black as his muscles convulsed, fighting a hopeless battle against the fire that relentlessly licked at his flesh.

“No! Stop!”

Zen screamed in despair, trashing wildly and blindly. He hated it, he hated this, hated that he was unable to do anything against the force that was trying to bring him down. He hated that he had no chance at all to alleviate his suffering. He had been determined to fight back, no matter how small the chances of success were in a battle, but here, he was robbed of all power. The pain didn't cease; only intensified and worsened to such a degree that his blood felt like boiling water. He was trapped in hellfire, with no possible way out. He was helpless, utterly and completely helpless.

Oracle City had begun preparing for the Martial Arts Contest, an event that was widely known and praised by people from all towns and nations. Meaning, it also became a leeway for merchants and landlords alike to profit off such a huge opportunity. From wares and food to inns and houses for rent, it became nothing short of a massive festival for small and large businesses.

The house Zen had rented was one of the abandoned properties that had only opened due to the event. It was simple and modest, as it was owned by an ordinary family. The only problem was that its location was disadvantageous to most because of its inaccessibility. Nevertheless, Zen took the liberty to live inside its quarters for the time being.

The owner's family lived next to the rented house, and ran a jade and jewelry shop on the side after securing a better location on the main street.

In their previous years, they had tried to scout tourists into checking in their old home, but it was always met to no avail. They were ready to accept that this year would be of no difference, having decided on labeling it as a futile attempt to raise quick money. Yet, this man—no, a cultivator, and an excellent one at that, approached them with the intention of renting out their former estate.

Cultivators were a kindred that possessed unimaginable skills and powers. To ordinary folks like the owner, they were a species that were closely regarded as fairies or gods. And so, it was also with great reverence and awe when the owner had told his family to never dare approach the rented house, in fear of bothering the young man occupying their past home.

It had been a quiet few days, since the cultivator had been living peacefully as their esteemed neighbor. However, this coming night seemed to be the long-awaited exception.

A sudden roar, and the following crash of tiles from the adjacent backyard shocked the owner's family into stillness. With pale faces and trembling hands, the feeling of unrest that settled on the household led the group to huddle close to each other in fear and terror.

Unbeknownst to them though, a particular girl in a flowing green dress took the loud noise as an opportunity to spy on the house next-door. She stacked a pile of tiles on top of the other to make up for her lack of height, and peeped over the neighbor's yard.

'A man in white... I wonder if that's part of his training?' She thought, after taking notice of the youth writhing on the ground. He was covered in dirt and grime from his yard, a stark contrast to the white of his clothes.

“He's the cultivator, isn't he?”

The girl muttered to herself, her eyes transfixed on the man who seemed to be under some unbearable pain.

Her inquisitive nature was understandable; it was a feeling that the majority could relate to. The people of the Oracle City mostly led normal, ordinary lives, just like other towns and places. Excluding the occasional flying chariots or cultivators in the sky, one would rarely have an opportunity to meet and much less, know any cultivators. Ꞧ𝐚ℕ𝘖BÈ𝐬

It might be because of this fact, that the hunger to observe such an unusual being, won over any fear the girl must have felt upon experiencing the unfamiliar. She was eager to drink up whatever she could take from the view over the wall. Yes, she certainly was, until she had a nagging realization that what she was currently seeing was simply beyond her expectations.

The more she watched the scene in front of her, the more horrified and repulsed she felt upon seeing the cultivator withstand such suffering just for the sake of training.

His voice was hoarse from his screams. The pain from the activation of primordial energy was unexpected for Zen, so he was totally unprepared for it. He had no concept of time while he was stuck in the realm of torture. He didn't know how many minutes, or hours he had already spent enclosed in this prison of searing fire.

He convulsed; tossing himself widely and violently on the ground, like fish desperately looking for water; looking desperately for the briefest amount of solace, as his mind fought to escape intolerable abuse of the white-hot flames.

“He's tougher than I have imagined,” the red dragon said in barely concealed astonishment.

“His soul has entered the Fighting Soul Realm, so he is able to withstand it for a long while before he passes out,” the cyan dragon replied.

“That's it… It would actually be his salvation if he were to pass out. This kind of torture is undeniably unbearable.” The red dragon shook his head in a pitying manner. “Although, it is true that one must always go through a series of hardships if he hopes to achieve his goal. Zen must understand what he is putting at stake for the future he will be facing soon.”

“Pang!”

The dragons turned to see where the resounding boom had originated.

It was closely followed by another loud crash, and they soon discerned that it was the sound of something breaking.

Zen, in his deranged state, had managed to crush a brown, stone floor tile into pieces after having tossed himself over it. Although, he didn't seem to take notice as he proceeded to stumble and stagger his way across the courtyard deliriously.

He was making a huge, chaotic mess. His body appearing to be possessed with the strength of a thousand soldiers; every accidental bump he had made with the stone pillars caused them to shatter completely. Still, he was blinded by the agony he felt that he was not yet to be made aware of the three rooms that had collapsed after he ran into them.

The ruckus in the manor made Zen's innocent neighbors cower in fright. The owner had summoned his family members to gather in their shop, and with a quivering voice, he tried to console both himself and his family. “Don't worry, the cultivator is only practicing. There's no need to fear. Just remember that no matter what happens, never go to his yard and risk disturbing him.”

The family all nodded in agreement. They were shaking, trembling so badly that the owner was almost certain that none had been able to even listen to his words properly.

'It's okay, ' he reassured himself. 'My wife is here, so are my children…' His eyes swept over the group, before they widened in horror. “Alice! Where's Alice? She's not here!” The room fell silent as everyone looked at each other in dread.

They all scattered in a hurry to look for the missing daughter, but ultimately failed to see any sign of her presence within the shop.

Oblivious to her family's turmoil, Alice had remained unmoving from her spot; entranced by the unbelievable situation on the other side of the wall. Perhaps, it was the child in her that led her to be so unperturbed by the dangers she was currently exposed to. With a gaze filled with wonder and disbelief, she whispered to herself, “Is that guy really as tough as iron and steel?”

“What's he doing? He's running into walls, and breaking them all to pieces… and he's unharmed? Is that even possible?” She pursed her lips in concentration as she tried to look for any signs of cuts or gashes on the man. “Not even a trace of blood! Are all cultivators as invincible as him?”

A barrage of thunderous noises cut off Alice's musings.

Zen rampaged like an angered, blinded bull sporadically wrecking whatever stood in his path. Despite this, Alice was still foolishly gawking at his strange behavior. That was, until Zen dashed out of the house and ran directly towards her direction.

Now, Alice was no fool. She had already harbored suspicions that this young man might not even be sentient, seeing as his conduct might as well label him as an irrational, violent beast. He could easily ram down the wall and crush Alice without a single doubt or hesitation in his mind. She began to panic. 'Will I be able to react fast..."

The sound of an enormous force smashing against stones resonated throughout the yard.

Alice, in pure, unaltered instinct, miraculously dodged in time before the wall she was leaning against was powdered down by Zen. Through the haze of dust and stone particles covering her vision, she regarded the motionless man lying before her with curious, sparkling eyes.

“He passed out…?”

Alice murmured, looking at Zen's dirtied face.

His twisted expression gradually disappeared as his consciousness slipped, allowing him a break from the torment he had been forced to endure. Alice took a closer look at his face, and saw a young man beneath all the grime that tarnished his otherwise smooth skin. She frowned, her habit of keeping things clean made her feel peeved and uncomfortable while looking at his dirty face. With that thought in mind, Alice turned around and ran back to her house.

Her father felt immense relief flood in his veins after seeing his daughter arrive back home. “Alice...”

Alice paid no heed to his father's calls, and instead busied herself in finding the things she was looking for. “Mother, where did you put the barrel? I need it to help clean the cultivator's face!”

The owner paled, realizing what she was planning to do.

“Alice! Alice! We shall not meddle in his business!”

Her father was afraid, admittedly, as all common people would be. They all feared what they did not understand after all, and so they wished for no involvement or association with the cultivators.

Alice was seen as the odd one, what with her fearless attitude in approaching the unconscious man. She returned to where Zen was situated, carrying a barrel of water and several pieces of white cloth with her, before kneeling down and cleaning his face for him.

While Alice was occupied with her task, the two dragons in Zen's mind were too caught up in their own conversation to even notice the arrival of the strange girl.

“Brother, are you sure you're right about your conjecture?”

The red dragon asked, solemnly.

"Yes, of course! Zen has the fate to lead the world of chaos!

Both his talent and luck demonstrate his growing potential for the position,“ the cyan dragon nodded as he replied. ”Our training and cultivation for him will pay off. At any rate, I guarantee that we will lose nothing."

The red dragon's face turned graver upon hearing this, “The ability to lead the world of chaos not only depends on those two traits. Remember what our oldest brother once said? The one who is destined to lead the world of chaos shall have both characteristics, and the guidance of destiny to go with it.” It was a well-known fact, that no matter how much talent and luck one possessed, it was all meaningless if the fate they hoped to achieve was not the one that was carved for them. Many had tried to pave their own trails, and those many had failed. “Zen is indeed a genius in the arts of cultivation, and the rare opportunities he has been presented with certainly prove his luck… But I have not seen any signs of the guidance of destiny in his life!”

The cyan dragon grinned knowingly. “Of course you cannot see it. Zen's destiny guider is not here with him right now.”

“Oh?”

The red dragon pondered as he looked at the other expectantly. 'Since he awakened earlier than I did, he must know many things, ' he thought.

“Zen has a sister named Yan, and I think she is his destiny guider!” The cyan dragon said it with a certainty that made it hard not to believe his words.

“Zen's sole purpose in being here is to save Yan. He encountered various challenges along the way, but he persevered until he was finally able to hold her hand.” The cyan dragon said, "His salvation was shortlived though because of Yan's Purple Power Body, and thus she was taken away by Eddie in the end.

His defeat led him to continuously face obstacles in order to chase after Yan again, and all that made him stronger by leaps and bounds. That is why I think that Yan is Zen's destiny guider."

“It sounds reasonable, brother! But, I think that it is still too early to be sure of it. If you're right, Zen should have been led into a much wider world, instead of this small Central Region,” the red dragon countered.

The other companion agreed with a nod, “Indeed, my conclusion is not yet final. If she really is who I suspect to be, she might be taken away by somebody again.”

Both dragons fell into quiet contemplation before they sighed, “If our eldest brother were here, he would've known the answer to our speculations!”

The red dragon grumbled in dismay.

Fate was elusive, akin to traveling a rocky, deserted terrain with no clear destination in sight. Even the most powerful beings like the Genuine Dragon Race were unable to get a hold of the whole picture. Zen's superb abilities and his unusual destiny were first found by Kenneth, but even he knew of nothing about his fate to lead the world of chaos. It was only intuition that led him to believe that Yan played a role in guiding Zen forward.

Unfortunately for Zen, he was excluded from the topic regarding his own future, as his consciousness had not yet returned.

Zen woke up after a long, much needed rest. Disoriented and aching all over, the first thing that had come to his senses was the sweet smell of a young girl hovering over him as soon as he opened his eyes.

With a throat dry from dehydration, he asked, “Where am I?”