Death… And Me

Chapter 4555: The Plan

Azerion had never had any intention of letting the outsiders get close to him. In fact, when he first saw Rean in the underground area of the Rosvelt Sect, his immediate thought had been to kill him. After all, the only other outsider he had ever met had betrayed his trust and love before nearly getting him killed. Worse, Tany’s betrayal had been the very reason part of his soul ended up merging with the sealed space in the first place.

In Azerion’s mind, outsiders would only come to Woster for one reason: the Power of the World. Or, in the twins’ case, the Echo. He still remembered the way Tany had looked almost mad with excitement when she absorbed the Echo while holding his projection inside the sealed space. That memory alone was enough to make Azerion extremely wary of anyone who came from outside Woster.

However, everything changed when he discovered that the twins’ group already possessed an Echo of their own.

Don’t misunderstand Azerion, though. He already knew from Rean that one of the outsiders’ objectives was indeed the Echo inside his sealed space. That meant they would need access to the Womb, and potentially his own death, since the sealed space would collapse without the Womb supporting it. If Rean managed to obtain the Echo but destroyed the connection in the process, Azerion would also pay the price.

The good thing was that Azerion had truly been given an enormous amount of time to adapt to his strange existence and learn more about the Echo. During all those years, he had thought of countless ways to free himself from the sealed space. Unfortunately, every single one of those methods had failed in the end.

Except for one.

Many years ago, Azerion had tried using the Echo itself to sever a part of his soul. Rean had done something similar a few times in the past, although he had never used the Echo for that purpose.

In Azerion’s situation, however, it was absolutely necessary. The sealed space was maintained because of the Echo, and part of Azerion’s soul was merged with it. Therefore, the only thing that could potentially cut that merged portion of his soul away from the sealed space was, as one might expect, the Echo itself.

Unfortunately, Azerion had been deeply disappointed with the result.

For the method to work, the Echo needed to be controlled throughout the entire process. The only person capable of controlling the Echo inside the sealed space was Azerion himself. That created a problem he simply couldn’t overcome. He couldn’t simultaneously cut his own soul and control the Echo with enough precision to make the process succeed.

That wasn’t to say he hadn’t tested the theory.

Azerion hadn’t dared to actually cut away the merged portion of his soul. Instead, he used only a tiny amount of the Goslau Echo to make an equally tiny cut. He needed to at least confirm whether the Echo could really damage the connection between his soul and the sealed space. Surprisingly, despite the unbearable pain the attempt caused him, he succeeded in creating a small cut.

That result was already enough to prove his theory.

He had previously tried using his Godly Energy, Laws, and Elements, but none of them had worked. The Echo’s power was simply too resistant to ordinary forces. Or maybe he simply didn’t have a cultivation high enough for them to work. In any case, only the Echo could affect the Echo in a meaningful way.

There was another problem, though. Since Azerion was the only one capable of controlling the Echo inside the sealed space, asking someone else to perform the process for him was useless. Even if another person possessed enough power to make the cut, they wouldn’t be able to properly control the Echo. Worse, Azerion would have to leave his body unprotected during the process, and he was quite certain the Rosvelt Sect would kill him the first chance they got.

Thus, he had discarded the idea.

At least, until Rean appeared.

One could only imagine Azerion’s shock when he moved to kill Rean and ended up sensing the power of the Echo inside him. It was slightly different from the Echo he had spent countless years studying, but there was no mistaking it.

It was the Echo.

That was when the crazy plan from so many years ago suddenly returned to Azerion’s mind. For the first time in ages, he had found something that could potentially change his situation.

Obviously, Azerion had to make sure Rean wouldn’t escape, let alone be captured by the Law Gods of the Rosvelt Sect. That was why he brought Rean into his own isolated barrier. The barrier had also been created with the help of the Goslau Echo, which was precisely why the Rosvelt Sect had never managed to get past it.

And believe it, they had tried.

Now, Azerion had someone carrying another Echo who could potentially cut the merged portion of his soul away from the sealed space. How could he possibly let such an opportunity slip away?

That became his plan.

Above all, Azerion knew Rean also wanted the Goslau Echo. He needed access to the sealed space, and only Azerion could provide that access. If everything worked, Rean would help him sever his connection to the sealed space and, in exchange, Rean would gain the Goslau Echo he had been searching for.

It was a win-win situation.

Of course, it was easier said than done.

The first and most important question was whether Azerion could trust Rean. He had spent the first few hours sitting quietly on his throne thinking about exactly that. How could he make certain that Rean wouldn’t simply use the opportunity to obtain the Goslau Echo and then harm him in the process?

Unfortunately, there was no point at which Azerion could simply stop the procedure once the cut began. The process itself was dangerous, and Azerion wasn’t even certain whether he would survive it.

The only thing that gave him some confidence was what Rean had told him. Rean had performed similar procedures before, meaning he wasn’t completely unfamiliar with the risks involved. Even better, Rean had explained that he could use his Light Element to protect Azerion’s soul during the process.

In the end, Azerion came up with a safety measure.

He used his connection with the sealed space to ensure that it would only react to his own instructions. He certainly hadn’t been capable of doing something like that when he first merged with the sealed space. However, after countless years of adapting to his new existence, he had developed enough control to accomplish it.

Rean didn’t mind that Azerion hadn’t simply trusted him. If he were in Azerion’s shoes, he wouldn’t trust himself blindly either. If anything, the safety measure made the plan more reliable. Both sides would have their own guarantees.

Now, why was it necessary for the High-Elders to leave?

Obviously, once the process started, Azerion wouldn’t be able to maintain his Echo Barrier. Without it, the High-Elders of the Rosvelt Sect would have the perfect opportunity to enter the area and deal with him. He needed them gone before the procedure began.

Above all, he needed them to continue believing that Azerion was nothing more than a skeleton that had long since lost its life... although he still had some skin and meat left.

As for giving Rean enough time to perform the procedure, that was even more crucial. Fortunately, Roan had found a way to make every single High-Elder leave the underground space without any of them realizing what was actually happening.

He had created a convincing farce that made the Rosvelt Sect believe the intruder had already escaped right under their noses. Azerion couldn’t help but admire the cunning of that plan.

Now that the underground area was finally clear, Azerion sat on his throne once again and took a deep breath. "You know how the deal goes. If I die, the sealed space will close itself permanently. Forget about taking the Power of the World in the middle of the process. I don’t know if you’ll be able to find a way back in on your own if I die, but I’m sure it won’t be easy."

Rean smiled in response. "It is up to you to believe me or not. All I can say is that even if you hadn’t left behind the safety measure, I would still fulfill my part of the agreement. I’ve never gone back on my word before, and it’s definitely not starting today. I will save you."

Azerion nodded slightly. "I hope that is truly the case."