r18novel Chapter 5 All in
Chapter 5 All in
Snow didn't explain much. Fragments of Void Demons already lingered in his mind—an ancient race originating from the Second Age, completely different from the Void system of Azeroth.
Their progenitor was the "Void Demon," a subordinate god under the Demon King, one of the eight ancient gods, a terrifying being who simultaneously possessed the "Gate" pathway sequence 1 "Star Key" and the "Demon" pathway sequence 2 "Blood Duke."
Because the progenitors primarily used the "gate" approach, the Void Demon race is inherently drawn to abstract concepts such as spacetime, the astral plane, the spirit world, and the mirror world.
However, the Void Demons of this era are no longer a mad race that can indiscriminately consume extraordinary traits across different paths—forcibly merging powers from non-adjacent paths will only create half-mad monsters. Even if they can simultaneously wield multiple powers such as "space," "time," "filth," and "desire," they will ultimately be chaotic, insane, and deformedly powerful.
Nowadays, pure Void Demons can only choose to solidify in a single direction among the cross-category gate-related abilities, while the core power of the Abyss system will steadily increase with the sequence.
Snow now faced such a choice.
Wandering in the astral realm, traversing the spirit realm, lurking in the mirror world... each of these directions has potential, but as an intruder from another world, his thoughts are far more direct than those of the extraordinary beings native to this world.
"Space, space it is." He made up his mind without the slightest hesitation.
This is the most mainstream approach!
The Mirror World also has great potential, but it should follow the path of the Mirror Demon, not the Void Demon.
The affinity between the spirit realm and the astral realm will naturally lead to understanding when spatial authority is sufficiently profound. Only space is the most core and complete foundation of authority for any path. Given limited talents, rather than spreading them evenly, it is better to gamble everything and focus all the potential of all races on spatial affinity.
"You really are... as extreme as ever." Xalatas's voice echoed in his mind, tinged with a helpless chuckle. A dark purple phantom materialized beside him, its exquisite face full of amusement. "You've abandoned the physical enhancement and mental resistance that should be part of the Abyss Path Sequence 6, and even cut off the mastery of the three major spell domains of fire, poison, and filth, focusing all your attention on space. It would have been much more straightforward for us to choose the Gate Path directly."
She gave him the choice, but she didn't expect him to leave so decisively. Normal Sequence 6 demon advancement, even for specialized races like Mirror Demons and Shadow Demons, follows a balanced upgrade of "body-spirit-energy". Although the demon forms that are initially awakened are different, they cannot escape the core characteristics of the Abyss - a huge body of nearly three meters, ram horns covered with mysterious patterns, and bat wings wrapped in sulfur flames. These are fixed templates engraved in extraordinary characteristics.
What about Snow?
It was completely against the grain. What he held in his hand was not a Sequence 6 potion, but a set of extraordinary properties that combined Sequence 9 to Sequence 6. The overall energy level was just in the low to mid-sequence range that could be forcibly suppressed by Xalatas's high rank. Guided by void energy, he forcibly twisted this power, which should have been a comprehensive advancement, toward a single spatial affinity transformation.
This is not the normal path for promotion.
From Sequence 9 criminal to Sequence 8 fallen angel, and then to Sequence 7 serial killer, the advancement of ordinary extraordinary individuals is gradual, with the energy of the potion slowly digested within the body, and there is never the possibility of autonomously choosing the direction of enhancement.
Kosno's actions were equivalent to receiving a targeted blessing or contamination modification that only an angelic being could bestow at Sequence 6, directly raising the difficulty to a whole level. It was even more dangerous than an ordinary extraordinary person advancing to Sequence 5, the Desire Apostle, and almost touched the threshold of Sequence 4, the Demon's advancement.
His body began to change, not with the swelling and mutation common to abyssal demons, but with spiderweb-like cracks appearing. Dark void energy flowed deep within the cracks, like unstable spatial rifts with twisted and blurred edges, as if they would completely collapse and go out of control at any moment.
The excruciating pain of flesh being torn apart instantly swept through his entire body. Every inch of his skin was crumbling, his bones creaked under the unbearable strain, and his internal organs were reduced to dust by the erosion of the void energy. Snow could clearly feel his body going out of control, as if countless invisible hands were trying to dismantle him into the most basic particles and throw him into the endless void.
But he did not break down.
The Shadow Priest's mental power acted like a sturdy anchor chain, tightly gripping the crumbling soul and body, forcibly maintaining a stable structure.
The pain caused by this pulling was far beyond imagination. Every nerve was tormented by repeated tearing and rebuilding, which was more terrible than being burned by holy light and corroded by shadow at the same time.
But he held on—his past experiences exploring various powers such as Holy Light, Shadow, Arcane, and Fel on the continent of Azeroth had long since made his mind adaptable to the conflict and fusion of different energies; and his steely will, absolute rationality, and absolute trust in his own judgment, honed over many years, became his strongest support at this moment.
After countless tearing and rebuilding of flesh and blood, when the last trace of the demon's extraordinary power was tamed by his mental strength, Snow's demonic form was finally fully defined.
His body did not swell to three meters like traditional demons; instead, it maintained the outline of a human form, only slightly taller than before, about 1.9 meters, yet it gave off an eerie sense of alienation, as if it were "not of this world." His body was not covered with scales, but rather with a flowing, dark film. Beneath the film, countless tiny spatial fissures slowly writhed, contracting and expanding like breathing. Occasionally, tiny specks of light would seep through the fissures, vanishing in an instant.
He did not grow ram horns, giant wings like bat feathers, or a whip-like tail. His skin was an almost transparent dark gray, and his pupils were pure black, like the deepest spatial vortex. There were no sulfurous flames or strong foul smells around him. Instead, there was an extreme "emptiness"—objects that approached him would be slightly distorted and deformed, and even the dust in the air was being swallowed up by an unseen force.
"It actually worked..." Xalatas's whisper rang out again. The power of the void gently touched the fine, pore-like spatial rifts on his body, but was slightly pushed away. Xalatas was slightly surprised, then turned into an approving smile. "At the Sequence 6 level, you've achieved spatial affinity close to Sequence 4. Snow, you really always manage to surprise me."
Snow slowly clenched his fist, clearly feeling the slight vibration of space and the thin "membrane" of the spirit world appearing in his perception.
At this moment, he could easily use the power of the spirit world to open a passage that did not belong to reality, just like a Sequence 9 apprentice in the Gate Path.
Of course, opening the door for a Sequence 9 Apprentice is just a piece of cake; a Sequence 5 Traveler's Blink, in this demonized state, can also be achieved.