Chapter 2470: Gratitude

"I swear on the graves of my ancestors, if I miss this because of you Erlang, I will repeatedly rob from your entire bloodline for all of eternity!" Wu Kong cursed under his breath as he used his spear like a walking stick, trying to make his way through the fog he had discovered.

He knew there was something amazing on the other side of the fog - he just needed to get there somehow. It was just easier said than done, and with all the time he had wasted with that nincompoop Erlang, he wasn’t sure he would make it to the other side.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the fog, Lex watched with great interest as the Nullith race worked together to carry on the mysterious ritual. There was just one thing he didn’t understand.

"Hey, you’ve experienced Nexus events before, right?" Lex asked as he leaned close to Cassandra. "Do they usually last this long? I thought that they lasted only for a very short period of time."

This time, Cassandra did not dismiss Lex. Instead, she merely nodded, and then nodded again. She had experienced Nexus events before, and they did only last a very short time. This was clearly some kind of anomaly, but it was one she could not explain.

The reason was naturally that without Destiny to arrest control of the destinies of the universe, the Nexus event could go on until naturally interrupted. Right now, with Eclipse acting, the Nexus event would go on as long as she needed.

"Your networking ability is quite poor," Eclipse said to Destiny as she walked up to her. "I was hoping for at least a couple more Archons to show up, but I guess we’ll just have to settle for Death. With him shouldering a bit of the universe’s strain for you, maybe you’ll live long enough to do your job. Just to make sure, though, I took this from Death. It’s neat, right?"

Eclipse held up a tiny string of karma which, upon undergoing a small change from Eclipse’s power, turned into a tiny scythe.

"I got this from your pal. It should negate your death for a while. Hopefully you’re strong enough that you won’t need it."

Nulli looked at Eclipse and sniffed suspiciously but before she could speak, Eclipse took a step back. If, after all this, Eclipse’s plan suffered a problem because of Nulli’s bloody nose, she didn’t know how she’d cope with that.

Eclipse clapped her hands and suddenly a number of Dao Lords appeared behind her, all of them getting into position and kneeling behind the Nullith. More and more kept appearing. At first there were hundreds, but quickly the number grew. One thousand, two thousand, three thousand...

A total of five thousand, five hundred and fifty four Dao Lords appeared all kneeling, shocking all those who watched! These were Dao Lords all from different factions, different races, different organizations, but right now they all worked for Eclipse, revealing just how deep her network went.

For the first time in history, the entire Dao Congress appeared all at once - an organization that was previously thought to only include a few Dao Lords that had grown out of the Primordial Garden.

"Members of the surviving races, descendants of heroes whose names history has forgotten, it is time for you to witness me completing my oath," Eclipse said out loud, looking at all the figures in the fog. "Before I do that, I would also like to thank you. The sacrifices of your people... have allowed me to fulfil my dreams. The Dao Congress will never forget this debt."

The Primordial Queen, the Dream Master, the Living Calamity then did something that stunned everyone - those watching from afar, those watching from nearby, and even her own people!

Eclipse bowed towards those in the fog. It was not a soft bow either, but a complete, ninety degree bow, as if to demonstrate her utmost gratitude.

Lex felt an unusual aura wrap around him. It made no significant impact to him or his destiny or anything like that - it was just a mark made on his very being, as if to show that he had once received a bow from Eclipse, she who had been recognized by the universe itself.

After a full ten seconds, Eclipse finally stood up straight. When she rose she wore a soft smile on her face - a kind that Lex had never seen before on her. It was as if a great burden had been lifted from her heart. No wait, that wasn’t it.

Lex narrowed his eyes, and then dismissed the idea. No it couldn’t be. That was impossible. With a sceptical expression he turned towards Cassandra to consult her once again, and then froze when he saw that even she seemed doubtful. It seemed she had noticed as well.

Eclipse turned back to Destiny and clapped her hands one more time, activating whatever ritual she had spent so much time preparing.

Suddenly, a deep and intense feeling of suffocation descended upon the entire universe, as if the universe itself had become hostile towards something. Yet try as it might, it could not locate whatever it was that it was looking for.

While the fog protected them from being affected by what they were seeing, since the entire universe was subjected to that suffocation, Lex suddenly found himself unable to move, or do anything at all really.

The sense of suffocation then began to increase drastically, as if something terrible was happening. If the Nexus event weren’t happening, the most profoundly sinful karma would have fallen upon Eclipse at that moment, or at least on Destiny who was shouldering this ritual.

Then Lex finally felt it. There was one law in particular being affected. Out of all laws in existence, out of the eight ruling laws, for as long as Lex had cultivated, there was only one law that neither he nor anyone with any sense dared to mess with. It was the law of time, and it was the most fundamental core of this universe.

The history of the universe, the continuation of all that existed, and the future that had not yet arrived all depended upon, and were connected through time.

Underneath the suffocation, Lex sensed that the law of time was not just stirring up. It was being grabbed and being manhandled the way Eclipse had manhandled Death.

<anno data-annotation-id="37147b1f-17ce-efaa-1fdd-58e41402573a" data-title="Eclipse turned slightly and glanced at Lex. Suddenly, he could not help but remember a conversation they had when they first met. He had made a joke about how it would take someone more powerful than the universe itself to turn back time.">Eclipse turned slightly and glanced at Lex. Suddenly, he could not help but remember a conversation they had when they first met. He had made a joke about how it would take someone more powerful than the universe itself to turn back time. 1 </anno>

The joke was meant to be that it was impossible to turn back time. After all, they had been talking about things that were impossible to do. That’s when Eclipse told him what it would actually take to turn back time, and that it would only be impossible until it was done the first time. She had told him so clearly, as if she knew just what it would take.

It would take someone to bear the entire strain of the universe upon themselves.

Lex’s pupils constricted as he seemed to realize something.