Asura in Arknights

Looking back at those people, Li Ang took a deep breath and strode into the vortex.

The instant Li Ang's body was completely submerged in the vortex, everyone surrounding him knelt down in worship towards the vortex, but unfortunately, Li Ang could no longer witness this spectacular scene.

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After entering the vortex, Li Ang thought he was going to encounter something terrible, but nothing happened.

There was no danger nearby, and Li Ang felt as if he had entered a hot spring. The warmth emanating from his body was so comfortable that he almost fell asleep.

Although it seemed as if he had lost gravity and was floating, Li Ang could control his body freely and float around without feeling any discomfort.

So the question is, why did Li Ang enter that vortex...?

“I’m here! Stay here!” Li Ang shouted, but there was no response.

Just as Li Ang frowned, feeling somewhat impatient, a certain consciousness, a memory... something that Li Ang couldn't describe in words, flowed into Li Ang's mind.

In the blink of an eye, when Li Ang came to his senses, he was surprised to find himself in the middle of a battlefield.

The shouts and screams of killing around him were deafening, and Li Ang had no idea what his current situation was like.

"Line up! Line up! No matter the cost, we cannot let these insects break through this defense!"

Someone shouted this loudly from afar.

Only then did Li Ang realize that the dim surroundings meant he was in a cave or underground.

Moreover, the fully armed soldiers around them looked somewhat familiar. They seemed to be fighting some kind of creature. As the voice had just spoken, a small person emerged from behind the lines.

...They are the Dulin tribe.

These short-statured creatures are rarely seen; legend has it that their race lives in the underground world. The fact that the Dulin clan appears in this place means... this is underground? And what about these warriors?

Just as Li Ang was wondering, the Dulin tribesman took out a golden apple from his pocket. As the source stone energy flowed into the apple, endless golden light burst forth from it, illuminating the entire dim space as bright as day.

Under the light, Li Ang was finally able to see everything around him clearly.

Fighting the warriors were a group of hideous insects, about the size of an average five or six-year-old child, covered in a chitinous carapace. Ordinary swords and blades could only leave a shallow white mark when they were slashed at, while their sharp pincers could easily tear apart ordinary iron.

Under the glow of the golden apple, these insects looked as if they had been splashed with sulfuric acid, white eyes constantly emerging from their shells, emitting a miserable "squeak" sound.

Those soldiers who were in danger took advantage of the opportunity to kill the insects in front of them and reorganize a new defensive line.

Li Ang could see that the underground space was densely packed with these insects, stretching as far as the eye could see. In the darkness where no light could reach, it seemed that parts of some huge creature's limbs flashed by...

What the hell are these things? Li Ang didn't see any records of these creatures in the library.

"Hold on! The 'Knight'... is coming soon!" Dulin encouraged the soldiers.

Not long after, Li Ang felt extremely heavy footsteps coming from behind the lines.

Turning his head, Li Ang was stunned.

What appeared before Li Ang was... the very person who had died at his hands not long ago.

'Knight', Willard.

Chapter 89 The Will of Originium (Part 2)

The appearance of an acquaintance awakened Li Ang's memories.

Only then did Li Ang realize where the sense of familiarity with those soldiers came from.

They... were tower sorcerers and a sorcerer guard responsible for protecting the sorcerers. However, the versions that Li Ang had seen before were all colorless, so he hadn't been able to recognize their identities in time.

In other words, this is Letania.

As Li Ang struggled to comprehend what he was seeing, Willard had already drawn his greatsword and charged into the swarm of insects as if they were nothing. The insects were utterly helpless against Willard's greatsword, and they couldn't even penetrate the thick armor he wore.

Even if Willard were alone, he could easily wipe out all the insects here.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the insects trembled all at once and retreated like a tide, disappearing back into the darkness.

The scene Li Ang saw froze, and after a brief pause, the scene before him changed.

This time, Li Ang arrived at a snowy and icy environment.

At this point, Li Ang realized that the mysterious being was obviously trying to tell him some information in this way, so he patiently observed everything he saw.

The howling blizzard severely obstructed Li Ang's vision. He could only vaguely make out some figures around him. Judging from the environment and the equipment these people were wearing, they should be in Ursus territory.

Like the Letanian knights, these Ursus soldiers were also fighting against some unknown entity. In a fleeting glimpse, Leon could see that it was a small, humanoid creature.

They move with ghostly speed, making them difficult to spot under the cover of blizzards. If their thin, sharp claws pierce a human body, the body will turn into a pool of black pus in no time, as if it had encountered strong acid.

Under the attack of these alien beings, the Ursus soldiers suffered heavy losses and could only fight and retreat, constantly withdrawing to the rear.

The battle turned around when several strangely dressed people joined the fray. These people wore almost no armor, only thick leather coats. Most striking of all were the octopus-like breathing helmets on their heads.

Several tubes extended from the helmet, penetrating deep into their backs, arms, chests, and other locations, their connections unclear. Judging from its shape, it didn't resemble a typical respirator.

These people... their strength far surpassed that of ordinary soldiers. Wielding a battle sword, they slaughtered the emaciated mutants as easily as cutting vegetables. After rescuing this group of Ursus soldiers, they did not communicate with the soldiers at all.

Instead, they continued forward, advancing deeper into the area where the soldiers were stationed. Before long, their figures completely disappeared into the wind and snow.

From these two different scenarios, Li Ang discovered several commonalities: both involved humans fighting against some unknown creature, while ordinary people had never heard of any related information.

And how many such things are hidden in the cracks of the world?

The changing scene that followed quickly provided Li Ang with the answer: he saw schools of fish flying into the sky from the ocean, giants hidden among the mountains, and dazzling light shining among the stars.

From the recently concluded Kazdel Civil War to the partitioning of Gaul by various nations decades ago, the nightmare Kheshig's expedition to the scorching lands, and the Sami witches unleashing a blizzard that will never cease.

Ursus's blade fell in Sunset Canyon, Iberia's golden fleet lost contact in the depths of the ocean, a rumble in the Rembito Mountains destroyed a city, and Pope Lateran perished from a falling star... As Leon traveled upstream along the river of time, he witnessed far too many incredible things.

He traversed the entire history of Terran civilization, even witnessing the legendary empire founded by the Sarkaz, yet he did not stop. Some force propelled his body ever forward, ever onward.

Until Li Ang reached the end of history.

In that instant, Li Ang witnessed an unbelievable sight.

Towering buildings pierce the clouds, and the sky is filled with high-speed spacecraft. At an even higher altitude, a massive artificial star ring revolves around the entire planet…

Even the world Li Ang lived in in his previous life... couldn't reach this level of technology. Is this... a world where Terra once existed?

Before Li Ang could take a few more glances, the scene before him abruptly ended, followed by a torrent of information that rushed directly into Li Ang's mind.

Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information, Li Ang's mind went blank for a while. Even though he was now present as a soul, his brain felt swollen. It took him a long time to gradually regain his senses.

The ever-changing scenery around him had stopped, and Li Ang was back in the same spot he had been in. However, he now had a feeling that if he wanted, he could relive those scenes at any time.

The only exception was the era that Li Ang last saw, which seemed to have been cut in half by something, and no matter how hard Li Ang tried, he could never go back there.

That fleeting glimpse that just appeared... could very well have been just a coincidence.

“This is really…” Li Ang looked at his hands with a wry smile, his eyes revealing a complex emotion.

Through the information that had just flooded his mind, Li Ang understood a lot, including what this place was, what those people outside were like, and most importantly... what he really was.

Yes, Adams is right. If we're talking about the definition of an apostle, then Leon is indeed an apostle.

However, what granted him power was not some immortal being, but a being of a higher level—the will of this planet, or rather, all the Originium.

Originium is the blood of a planet. It appeared in this world to combat those insurmountable disasters.

The original gods and immortals usurped power from the Originium, and in a sense, they and Leon were naturally on opposite sides.

This place is the interior of the Originium Will, recording everything that happens on this planet.

"..."

"What do you want me to do? Clean up those invaders, or reclaim the power from those gods?" Li Ang asked loudly.

The Originium Will did not respond.

But deep down, Li Ang had a feeling that it was time for him to leave.

Chapter Ninety: A New Perspective

The moment this thought arose in Li Ang's mind, he was kicked out of the Originium Will without being given any chance to ask questions.

However... even if Li Ang had time to ask the question, the Originium Will would not give him any answer.

Although it is called the Originium Will, it does not actually have any self-awareness. In Li Ang's view, it is more like... a program that operates according to some fixed rules.

Therefore, those immortals and gods can unscrupulously seize power from the Originium Will. Even Li Ang only cast a spell on him as usual before kicking him out without imposing any restrictions on him.

After that, Li Ang could do whatever he wanted without any problem.

"This is really..." Li Ang rubbed his throbbing head, unsure how to respond.

If we compare the Will of Originium to a computer system, this system is indeed riddled with bugs...

Upon closer inspection, Li Ang had returned to the spot where he had entered the vortex. The zombie-like people were still crowding around him, but the vortex behind him had now disappeared.

From the massive amount of information fed in by the Originium Will, Li Ang roughly guessed the identities of these people; they were the souls enslaved by Adams.

These souls flowed into Li Ang's body, which meant that a connection was established between them and Li Ang. When Li Ang entered this world, he also brought them in with him.

It's somewhat of a coincidence that, under normal circumstances, Li Ang is currently unable to directly enter the Originium Will, not because of his strength, but simply because his soul strength is insufficient.

Those souls weaker than him couldn't even maintain their own selves in this world; only their remaining instincts drove them closer to the Originium Will.

The combined strength of these souls and that of Li Ang perfectly met the conditions for opening the gate to the Originium Will.

However... there won't be such a good opportunity next time.

Li Ang glanced at the dazed people, shook his head, and said, "Let's go."

The next second, the scenery in front of him suddenly changed, and he was back in reality.

At this moment, only a dozen seconds had passed since Li Ang fainted. The core reactor had not yet completely stopped operating, leaving only a beam of light as thick as a forearm.

However, the world in Li Ang's eyes has now undergone earth-shattering changes, and an unprecedented power fills his body.

Upon entering the Originium Will, Li Ang's gains were naturally not limited to just that little bit of information. His soul also received a comprehensive and thorough enhancement, and now there are several thousand souls stored inside his body. To some extent, Li Ang can also draw upon a portion of the power of these souls.

And so... for the first time in history, Li Ang 'saw' color in this world.

What is the essence of human vision? Why can humans distinguish different colors?

Because visible light is essentially an electromagnetic wave that can be observed by the human eye, and the color of an object is the degree to which the object absorbs and reflects this electromagnetic wave.

Light passes through the lens in the eye and forms an inverted, reduced real image on the retina. The photoreceptor cells in the retina are stimulated, and the image is converted into a neural signal that is transmitted to the brain. The brain then processes the signal to create a normal image without any inversion. Finally, this image is combined with information perceived by other organs to form the world as we see it.

This means that as long as Li Ang can perceive and observe 'electromagnetic waves', he can see colors again.

"So...this is what the world is like..."

Walking to the crack slashed by the evil light, feeling the cold wind blowing from high above, Li Ang murmured.

It turns out that the answer to this problem that had troubled Li Ang for so long was so simple: it was simply because Li Ang's brain, or soul, was not capable enough in processing it.

Previously, the information received from perception alone was already overwhelming for Li Ang's carbon-based brain, even requiring him to actively block out some useless information. Under such circumstances, it goes without saying that the ubiquitous electromagnetic waves would be added to the mix.

Now, Li Ang's soul has been strengthened, and with thousands of souls assisting him, his information processing ability has skyrocketed, as if he has been upgraded from a Celeron to a Supreme. Because of this, Li Ang is now seeing a more colorful world.

The brilliant and colorful radio waves, like a thick layer of neon, pressed heavily on the sky above the entire city. Countless colorful ribbons floated up from the ground, connecting to some corner of the city. Only a few very thin ribbons extended outward from the city, their destination unknown.

This is also an electromagnetic wave.

Human vision is limited to visible light, but beyond the spectrum, there are radio waves, infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, X-rays, and so on. Li Ang's perception is naturally not limited by this.

The light bands he was seeing were electromagnetic waves used by humans in communication. In places with dense signals, such as communication base stations, the light bands extending from there could drive people with trypophobia crazy, but fortunately, Li Ang did not have such concerns.

In the high skies above Terra, there seems to be some special substance that severely blocks the transmission of electromagnetic waves. This makes it difficult for mobile cities to establish communication, and a large number of signal relay stations must be laid to maintain signal transmission.

The cost of doing so is unaffordable for most people, except for large mobile cities, which led to the emergence of the profession of messenger.

"...That's about enough."

Although Li Ang cherished this feeling, he also knew that these powers did not actually belong to him.

These dazed souls... most of them have no chance of regaining their senses, but Li Ang cannot continue to exploit the remaining value of these souls for this reason. Otherwise, what difference would there be between Li Ang and Adams?

"You and I are different."

Li Ang said calmly, controlling the souls as they left his body one by one.

Those souls exposed to the natural environment did not slowly disappear, but instead returned to the Originium Will, the origin of everything on this planet. As for the remaining souls that could be saved, Li Ang took a portion of Originium energy and sent them back to their bodies through the connection.

When Li Ang personally sent away the last soul, his senses had returned to normal.

Then, Li Ang remembered that there was one thing left that he hadn't had time to deal with.

Looking at the crystallized soul left behind by Adams after his death, Li Ang thought for a moment, then picked it up and put it in his pocket.

With the enhancement of the Originium Will, his soul strength had long surpassed that of Adams in his prime, so he no longer needed to fear the side effects of this crystal.