“When was the last time so many Royal Courts attended a meeting? Three hundred years ago? Or four hundred years ago?”
Theresa had convinced Theresis, and she had also convinced the other Lords of the Royal Court.
However, the two still had fundamental differences in their philosophies, so the Royal Courts supporting the Military Commission and those supporting Babel split into two factions.
Theresa and Xing Chen sat at the head of the round table, facing a stern-faced Theresis.
“I’ve forgotten. You know more about these things than I do,” Dukare was clearly displeased by Xing Chen’s presence, “but I do remember very clearly the last time an outsider participated in a Sarkaz address.”
Before, outside, it was Theresa’s home ground. Not only were there Lords of the Royal Court present, but also soldiers from the Military Commission.
Theresa had already lost her armed forces. As a bare-bones commander, it was already excellent that she could maintain a humble yet firm attitude.
If her posture was too low, it would make her seem like a failed Demon King; if it was too high, it would easily cause conflict.
They were the weaker side, so Xing Chen chose to remain silent to avoid provoking the Military Commission soldiers’ displeasure.
But now, in the Royal Court meeting, there were only the attending Lords of the Royal Court, and there was no significant power disparity between the two sides.
“I’ve tolerated you for a long time, Dukare,” Xing Chen suddenly stood up and pointed at the Blood Demon Grand Duke, saying loudly, “We are here to seek common ground while reserving differences. The Sarkaz can no longer afford another split. If you can’t accept that, you can choose to wait outside.”
No one expected Xing Chen to pull such a stunt.
He was both defending Theresa against Dukare and pinning the blame for disrupting unity on him.
Everyone present was a big figure, and they all valued composure in their actions. No one would just point at someone’s nose and curse them right away.
Dukare also didn't expect to be told to “get out” by an outsider with no power.
To curse back directly like Xing Chen would be beneath his status as a Grand Duke. To accuse him in a noble manner wouldn’t have the same impact. To read but not reply would make him seem to be backing down, and he couldn’t swallow that.</p>
Lama Lien covered her mouth and chuckled, and Theresa also narrowed her eyes, enjoying the Blood Demon Grand Duke’s predicament.
If an ordinary outsider dared to speak to him like that, he would turn into a puddle of red liquid the next second.
The problem was that several Royal Courts were protecting him, so he could only forcefully swallow his anger.
After the Blood Demon Grand Duke was deflated, the atmosphere of the meeting instantly lightened considerably.
“Then let’s first discuss the next course of action…”
“Please wait a moment, Nieci Lei,” Xing Chen still maintained respect for the teacher of Xiao Te and Theresa, “I want to say that if you cannot control Originium, anything you do now will be meaningless.”
Control Originium?
Xing Chen’s statement immediately drew everyone’s attention.
“Xing Chen… right,” Nieci Lei looked at his disciple’s boyfriend. As the Demon King’s lover, he should be trustworthy, “We will liberate the collective souls. The future Sarkaz will no longer be trapped by hatred.”
“Then have you ever considered that after liberating the trapped souls of the past, new souls will re-enter the Internalized Universe?”
Xing Chen knew that as an outsider, he didn’t have much say in the Sarkaz meeting, so to expand his influence and make the winners of the first half listen to him and Theresa, he had to grasp something substantial.
They didn't recognize nuclear missiles, so he could only use something they were familiar with, such as the original Originium.
“Internalized Universe?” The Lords of the Royal Court perked up at the new term Xing Chen proposed.
“It’s the name for the inside of Originium. The so-called Oripathy is the process of transcribing people from the real dimension into the Originium.”
Xing Chen didn't plan to discuss Originium knowledge further with them; it was too difficult for people lacking understanding to grasp.
“We must control Originium, and it must be complete control from the inside out, not simply holding Originium in our hands.”
The first time the Sarkaz used Originium, it not only destroyed the Divine and Ancient races, created Revenants and Shapeshifter Clusters, and a large number of Beast Lords, but also led to the susceptibility of future generations to Oripathy.
Such crude utilization was tantamount to giving a nuclear button to a monkey. There was deterrence, but it was bidirectional and uncontrollable.
Xing Chen wanted not only to strip Prythian of her authority but also to control that authority himself.
“Then do you have a plan, Xing Chen?” Lama Lien also became serious after hearing Xing Chen’s proposal.
“Hmph.” Dukare scoffed at Theresa and Xing Chen’s words. The Blood of Tikaz, used to summon annanah, was in his hands.
Without his assistance, they couldn’t even summon the original Originium, let alone enter the Internalized Universe.
“Of course, Lady Lama Lien,” Xing Chen turned his head, the black pattern of Originium already appearing in his eyes, “that is… with my blood and Theresa’s blood.”
Xing Chen needed to amplify his emotions to be on equal footing with the Lords of the Royal Court.
Theresa also stood up, white diamond shapes appearing in her eyes. For nothing else, but to suppress the troublemakers.
“The blood of an outsider and a hybrid?” Dukare completely lost his composure.
Xing Chen nodded.
According to the game's portrayal, all Originium share one Internalized Universe. This would mean that any Originium should be able to serve as an entrance to the Internalized Universe.
Theresa had once entered a special space with him, where countless Sarkaz could be seen crawling in long lines across the land.
Although it differed somewhat from the appearance of the Internalized Universe, the symbolic meaning should not be wrong.
Perhaps, sleeping together was merely a symbol of connection, and the normal effect of connection was to open a passage to Terra.
It could also be said that the symbolic mixing of two opposing forces would break certain symbolic barriers.
By this inference, if they connected on Terra, they should also be able to open a door.
Of course, two people couldn't sleep together in public, so blood would be used as the ritual material.
That time, it was a Crossing from his own world, and the discrepancy might have been due to the wrong method or the lack of a medium.
So this time, he planned to try again on Terra, using Terra’s Originium as the medium.
“Then you two try it. Make it quick, don’t waste our time.” Dukare was tired of the charade and just wanted to end the meeting as soon as possible.
“Alright,” Xing Chen said, directly slitting his wrist. Theresa immediately followed suit. Their blood slowly flowed out, gradually converging on the conference table and forming a vortex.
The two quickly stopped the bleeding, but the vortex continued to expand.
“…” Dukare stared incredulously at the ever-expanding crimson vortex. He looked up, only to find that Originium was continuously spreading across their bodies, starting from the wounds.
“So this is what Originium growth feels like.” Xing Chen had thought he had completely lost consciousness, but he didn’t expect the spread of Originium to give him physical sensation again.
“First time having rocks grow on you?” Theresa said to Xing Chen with a smile. She held Xing Chen’s hand with one hand and extended the other to Theresis, inviting him, “Want to come along, big brother?”
Theresis grasped his sister’s hand, and Originium spread over his entire body.
Under the gaze of All Royal Courts, the three disintegrated into Originium dust.
“So what do we do now?” Lama Lien asked.
“How about we chat?” The King of the Rot Eaters replied with a smile.