Sovereign of the Karmic System

Chapter 668 The Endless Battlefield

"Suit yourself, mortal." The giant said in response to Der's words. His large left arm stretched outwards, and towards the mountains of corpses and the cries of battle as he added, "Horns come, your shadow will join my world for the rest of eternity."

Der grinned. "You speak too much, barbarian." He said as waves of oddly powerful immortal essence flooded every inch of his body.

The Endless Battlefield.

That was the name of the dimension Daniel and the others were currently in. A separate plain of existence not unlike melodia, the underworld, or the spiritual plain, but also somewhat different. What made the battlefield different from most other existential plains was not the way it had been created, but the way in which it was being used, for it was not being wielded by its creator, but by War, the one it had been gifted to.

Through the long history of the pantheon of existence, only twice had such gifts been offered from one aspect of existence to another, for their creation required an immense amount of unique existential power. Few knew how much of that power the aspects of Death and Spirit had been required to spend to create their own plains of existence, but that was not the case of their primordial counterparts.

Just like melodia, the endless battlefield had been created by a primordial aspect of existence as one of two gifts then given to those who more than any other aspect contributed to his nature. The Endless Battlefield, gifted to the first reincarnation of the aspect of War and now inherited by its successor, and the Hunting Grounds, given to one of War's closest allies, the aspect of Hunt. So had decided their creator, Conflict. 

Unlike the hunting grounds, which offered boundless worlds filled with prey and predators for the champions of Hunt to chase or be chased by in eternity, the endless battlefield was a place of death. In it armies waged wars to one another from the peak of their condition to beyond the moment of their deaths, for anyone who died in the endless battlefield was bound to join its background as remnant shadows that knew nothing but war.

Now free from the crippling fear, Daniel was finally able to properly observe this world, and soon, he noticed something peculiar.

While the battlefield was separated from the multiverse, and existed independently, in it Daniel could feel the presence of existential powers. What was peculiar, however, wasn't that there would be existential powers tied to the act of war, like the powers of Conflict, Death and War himself, but that the only powers present were those wielded by his current opponents.

The orange sky would occasionally flare with green hues of Control and Authority, soon to be replaced by the reds of War, Instinct and Sacrifice and the gray and blue of Deceit and Sentience, before showing blinding bouts of white and golden lights. What had surprised him the most, however, was the sheer quantity of each power. Within the confines of this plain Daniel felt each existential power at their peak potential, as if the endless battlefield was each aspect's core universe, including his.

What he did not know was that this was the true purpose of this dimension. To create the purest form of conflict by pitting entities against one another at the peak of their conditions.

Curious about the effect such a power would have on immortal cultivators, Daniel turned to look at Roley, now busy staring dumbfounded at his left hand, where a bead of primordial mana was being formed at ridiculous speed. A shock that he shared, but not for long, for his attention was soon caught by Der's body.

What he saw in front of him was not a man any longer. His body had retained its original shape, but he was now clad in a golden armor that had appeared without anyone noticing. His full visor helmet hid his face completely, but the immortal power his body emanated was boiling around him, around the longsword he carried in his left hand, and the large scale-shaped shield he held in his right hand.

"What-" Daniel staggered a step or two at the sight of him, shocked by the warrior's imposing demeanor. "What are you?" He then asked, convinced that the man that stood in front of him was not a human anymore, but one of the creatures mortals with no understanding of the multiverse or its true gods would pray to for blessings.

"Can you still take care of those three?" Der's deep voice emerged from his helmet, a show of domineering authority that chipped away at the sense of superiority Daniel was still getting used to after his ascension.

"I can.." Daniel responded with a nod.

Satisfied by Daniel's response, the warrior in gold turned to face the young man who, too busy experimenting with the boundless amount of power at his disposal, had failed to notice what Daniel had. As his gaze landed onto him, however, Roley felt a jolt of electricity run down his spine. His body straightened and he turned to his left in a hurry.

Just like Daniel, Roley had been shocked by Der's power and demeanor, but unlike the former, the young scholar had failed to perceive the true depths of his power. The same power that had led him to behave like a private during his first interaction with a general, and that was forcing him to pay the utmost attention to any word that came from the man's mouth.

"I need you to make three of those beads for me, but do them like this.." Der said to a dumbfounded Roley, who could only nod at every other word and follow his orders. Seconds later, Roley handed over three beads to Der, whom he casually kept while adding, "Keep Fear and lower tiers busy. Keep them off me and him until we are done."

"What are you going to do?" Daniel asked.

Der's hands tightened around the handles of his shield and sword, and his head turned to the giant in fiery red armor. His immortal essence lingered over the shiny surface of his armor, threatening to escape his control and dart ahead, but not daring to. It boiled quietly as Der said, "I will fight their general."

Der's odd demeanor had surprised the other aspects of existence the same way it had Daniel, leaving them to argue with one another in a state of shock. The only ones who could maintain their calm were the aspects of War, Order and Instinct.

"He was right." Instinct said, "Bringing them here was a mistake."

While taking notice of his words, Order and War kept staring at their three opponents. Both had failed to understand the magnitude of the potential of Daniel's companions before bringing them to a world of honorable conflict, but it was too late now to change their minds. Once inside the endless battlefield, the only way to leave was to win the war.

Despite their initial surprise, the immense power at their disposal did a good job to ease their minds, or in War's case, to excite him.

The giant was staring at Der's figure, his hand tightly wrapped around the large battleaxe as smoke emerged from the cavern in between his lips. He had heard Der's words, and now, he was eager to meet the man in battle. Someone he had hardly even noticed before, but who now felt like a creature he could fight with for the rest of eternity.

Order immediately noticed War's crazed state of mind, and immediately worried. Even though the latter's power was not at his level, he was still the aspect of War. He was the most qualified of them to lead others in battle, and that was the task he had been given in exchange for a chance to participate in the trial, or so was the plan. The giant was now trembling in excitement, uncaring for the commanding side of his nature, and instead delving deeply into the concept of confrontation. That could not go on any longer, Order thought, but before he could calm him down, the deafening sound of a war horn blew through the reddish skies, warning the participants of the commencement of the battle. Immediately after, the figures of Der and War disappeared from their original positions, reappearing in the very middle of the battlefield where they had engaged in battle.

To the right side, Roley found himself to face five aspects of existence. Authority, Control and Fear of the mid tier, and Deceit and Sacrifice of the low tier. Entities who would have liked to engage in battle with worthier opponents, but that would only be a burden for the tight cooperation of Sentience, Instinct and Order, and a hindrance to the brutal fighting style of War.

As they headed for their opponent, however, they were forced to rethink their original approach, for in front of them was a creature of primordial might, who lingered in the air surrounded by dozens of the very same beads that just minutes ago had managed to hurt them.

On the other side of the battlefield, Daniel was facing the remaining three aspects of existence. His power was at the peak of its capacity, and flowed through his body and into his golden weapon like a boundless river. The first clash between his golden spear and Order's white sword was extraordinarily heavy, making the latter's wrist tremble upon impact, and forcing his body to back away a few inches.

Inside his helmet, Order looked at Daniel with shocked eyes. "How was he that strong?" He asked himself as a second blow came upon him. This time, too quick for him to parry it properly. *CLANK* The clash brought Order onto one of his knees. Alive and unharmed, yet trembling uncontrollably in an attempt to shake off the residual power of Daniel's attack. His mind, on the other hand, was blank.

Making use of Order's shock, Daniel brought his weapon down once again, but before his spear could impale the white knight onto the ground, a demonic hand of red and black skin emerged from underneath his feet. Its long nails reached for Daniel's thigh in an attempt to sink deep into its flesh, but Daniel had noticed it.

He immediately backed away, and with a twist of his wrist, he directed the golden spear at the ground he stood on. The thought of sinking the weapon into the blood-soaked ground formed in his mind, and carried through his muscles with a jolt of electricity, but then, his mind stopped for a moment. Too short to stop Daniel from performing the attack, but long enough for a hidden Instinct to back out of a mortal injury.

After witnessing Daniel's might, the three aspects of existence backed away. Order, once calm and dignified, was now panting and adjusting the hold onto his greatsword. Instinct pressed one of his hands tightly against his left shoulder, where Daniel's spear had pierced him in its downward motion. Sentience was the only one physically unharmed, but his wide eyes reflected damages of different nature. 

Horror appeared in his eyes at the realization that the power which had once been able to numb Daniel's mind, was now even less of an annoyance.

The three looked at one another, finding comfort in their shared shocked state of mind before turning to look back at Daniel. Their hearts calmed down slowly, as they prepared to once again engage in battle with focus and attentiveness that was unheard of in battles between aspects of equal tier.

But, alas, the gazes of the three did nothing but cause Daniel to grin in amusement. A feeling of excitement took over his mind as he realized that, for the first time, he could go all out. After all, he was now within a world where his influence was as vast as that of aspects who had lived for billions of years, further fueled by the malevolent creatures which, stuck within their individual hell within Daniel's body, were being put out of their misery to provide him additional karmic power.

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