The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

Chapter 2245: Into the seventh layer of the Heart of the Root

Countless spawns were moving across the vast, pulsating body of the Heart of the Root. Their behavior was identical, each one acting with the mindless precision of drones carrying out a pre-programmed function.

Not a single spark of individuality existed among them—no ego, no will, no personal intent. They moved in massive torrents, flowing like rivers of corrupted flesh that defy gravity. Some streams crawled across the surface layer of the colossal tumor, while others dove beneath it, sinking into the deeper strata of the world-sized mass.

As two such streams collided and pushed against each other, one spawn moved with an unnatural fluidity. With perfect timing, it slipped from one stream into the next, matching its rhythm as it descended with the others. Its maneuver was too precise, too clean, far beyond what a true spawn of the Root should have been capable of.

Of course, this particular spawn was no spawn at all.

It was Cain.

While Anark had thrown himself into the horde the moment the battle began—his assault loud, violent, and impossible to ignore—Cain had quietly infiltrated the mass of spawns. And when the Heart of the Root ordered its minions to retreat, Cain retreated right alongside them, vanishing seamlessly into their ranks.

Showing the might of the Root to the powerhouses of the Nine Empyrean Suns Universe was important and a useful side objective. But that was not why Anark had risked his life drawing the attention of Radagon. The real goal had always been singular and far more dangerous: create an opening for Cain, a distraction so overwhelming that even the Heart of the Root could not detect its infiltrator.

Now, deep within enemy territory, Cain’s mind and soul were stretched to an intensity beyond anything he had ever experienced. Every second felt like a life-or-death decision. In a very real sense, it was.

Even the slightest deviation in behavior, the tiniest misstep, could draw the Heart’s attention. And if the Root discovered his true identity, his chances of escape would become nearly nonexistent.

After all, the Matrix of the Universe was not present here. In this place, the High Lords could unleash a much greater power, enough for a single one of them to put up a fight. Therefore, two could defeat him, and three could make sure he never left.

For that reason, Cain allowed no distraction, not even the smallest. As he pierced through the outer layer of the Heart of the Root, he analyzed everything with clinical precision. The interior was arranged in layers—each one serving as the "sky" for the layer beneath it. It was a grotesque parody of a world.

The landscape before him churned like a nightmare given form. It was a world forged from flesh, bone, and shadow, built from the remnants of things that refused to die. Towering above the chaos stood colossal spires, their forms composed of merged corpses twisted together with tendrils that dripped like molten sinew. The ground seethed with half-formed faces and limbs, constantly rising and sinking back into the living terrain. The ceiling overhead was a writhing amalgamation of mangled, decaying bodies—yet somehow still alive—leaking a pale and sickly light over the dark orange wasteland.

Every creature, every structure, every inch of the Heart seemed to be in perpetual transformation—shedding and absorbing parts of itself into the collective body. The air was thick with anguish, a dense spiritual oppression that pressed into the mind. And yet, beneath that torment, there was an eerie calm, as though suffering itself had become the natural order of this realm. Here, agony was simply the cost of immortality.

Cain could not help but shudder in silence as he witnessed this grotesque existence. His thoughts drifted back to the Root’s promise of eternal life. If this were immortality, then it was a fate countless times worse than death. Even his own Scarlet Throne—merciless as it was—would eventually numb the will and ego of those trapped inside it. But here, consciousness would never fade. Minds would remain awake, forever mutating, forever rotting, unable to escape the cycle.

The horror of that realization only strengthened Cain’s resolve. He could not allow his universe or his people to become this. Death was infinitely kinder than this twisted form of existence.

With that unwavering conviction, Cain continued deeper into the Heart of the Root. He shifted from stream to stream, always ensuring his movements matched the spawns around him. The deeper he descended, the more potent the cosmic force of the Root became. It was an aura that connected all things, granting "immortality" through continuous decay and endless reconstruction.

Progress was painfully slow. Cain couldn’t control the speed of the streams nor force a transition into a descending flow without risking exposure. This mission demanded absolute composure. Yet the longer he remained inside, the greater the danger of discovery grew. A small voice whispered to him to move faster, to finish sooner—but that was exactly what would get him killed.

So he crushed that impulse and pushed his will to the limit.

At long last—after three full months—Cain merged with a descending current of spawns that sank into the seventh layer of the Heart of the Root. And there, he saw them.

Cocoons. Massive, monstrous, fleshy cocoons stretching across the layer like dormant titans. Each one radiated immense energy and vitality, enough to twist the air around them.

Cain examined them carefully. As he probed the aura of the cocoons, his eyes sharpened.

Inside each one... was a Champion of the Root.

And as he counted them, his expression darkened.

"Eighteen." Deep within his mind, Cain felt his heart tighten. Eighteen Champions of the Root rested within this single layer.

Every one of them was capable of wielding power equivalent to a newly ascended Alpha-Omega Overgod—and each possessed strange, terrifying Gifts capable of bending cosmic laws. Combined with their immortal bodies, devoid of any true vital point, killing them was an ordeal even for the strongest beings alive.

This was a force capable of dominating an entire universe.