Lord of Annihilation

Directly making his way back to his room, Lucius did not care to stop and make friends with the other students present in the ship. Talking with Reyna was exhausting enough.

Entering his room by swiping his ID, Lucius made his way to the bed and sat down upon it cross-legged.

His soul cultivation was almost at Mid level, Liquid Phase of Stage 1. Lucius been postponing his breakthrough due to not being able to find a suitable place to do it.

Seeing how he was alone in a pressure locked room, he decided to take his chance.

Adjusting his seating, Lucius started to apply his unique breathing technique and began adjusting his body to its optimal condition. Breaking through was a dangerous ordeal. Even someone with his level of experience had to be extremely cautious, especially now.

Since Lucius had not achieved Stage 1 the traditional way, with his advancement being a mystery. He was not entirely sure whether he might successfully make it into Liquid Phase.

'Worst-case scenario, due to the barrier not being broken yet. My soul might not be able to gather enough energy and might simply dissipate.' he thought to himself.

The reason why Alex and Olivia were unable to break through into Stage 1, had to do with this 'barrier' that surrounded our universe. The barrier served, both as a form of protection and as concealment from 'certain' things.

As long as the barrier existed, humanity would not be able to cultivate their soul energy, past Half -Step Stage 1.

The 'event' which was about to occur on February 9th, served the purpose of breaking this barrier, allowing humanity to achieve greater heights. Along with thrusting the entire race, into a very dangerous predicament.

Even so, Lucius decided to take the risk. Having more power would pay off in his endeavours.

If this was before he had boarded this ship, Lucius' current level of strength was more than enough to deal with what was about to come. But now, since he also had to ensure Reyna's survival, Lucius found his current level of strength to be lacking.

Protecting someone demanded greater strength, than simply being in the offense. This was especially true for someone like Lucius who was not used to protecting someone.

'This matter just became too bothersome.' he inwardly mused.

Continuously adjusting his breathing, Lucius waited for the spaceship to enter hyperspace.

'My chances of breaking through will increase while I am in hyperspace.'

Hyperspace is a form of sub-dimension that existed within our space. It greatly reduced the distances travelled, becoming one of the most important breakthroughs in human scientific technology.

What made it different from normal space was it's Rule. The Rule which dictated hyperspace, were ranked higher than that of normal space. It also exceeded the classification of three-dimensional space, therefore being ranked higher in the 'Rules of Dimensions' as well.

If Lucius tried to breakthrough in hyperspace, the effectiveness of the 'barrier' would be lower due to the interference of these Rules. This will in turn greatly increase the chances of success.

Achieving a state of resonance with his mind, body and soul, Lucius instructed Ka'lor'ah.

'Carefully watch for a region, where the Rules are greatly concentrated. Inform me immediately and I will begin my breakthrough.'

'You can count on me.' Ka'lor'ah also adopted a serious expression.

She was not in the mood to play around since this matter directly corresponded to the life and death of her host. If Lucius died at this stage, all their planning and preparation would go down the drain.

Lucius' body was absolutely still as he slowly melded into the his surroundings. His presence disappeared into the room. Even if someone stood directly in front of him, having their eyes closed they would not be able to feel his presence at all!

This state of complete resonance meant that Lucius was on the verge of a breakthrough. He had successfully established a connection with the universe, only waiting to draw upon its energy to advance his soul.

Time seemed to pass on endlessly asn Lucius continued to be unaware of the happening outside. He had completely sunk into his subconsciousness returning to that area, where he found and drawn his soul of the very first time.

The previously reddish-black cloud had solidified to resemble flowing water. A vague human silhouette that seemed to comprised of water, stood in the middle of this flowing water.

This was his soul. The soul of a [Killer].

To breakthrough into the Liquid Phase, all Lucius had to do was connect his mind with his soul, establishing another link.

At Stage 0, one would link their soul and body.

At Stage 1, one would link their soul and mind.

Due to him absorbing the souls of the people he killed, Lucius had unknowingly reached Stage 1 with the assistance of that hunger state. He had never really connected his mind and his soul. Calling Lucius a Stage 1 cultivator was not exactly correct. It was similar to having very good hardware, but outdated software.

Him wanting to break through meant that he had to 'update' this software to comply with the better 'hardware' he was getting. This process was absolutely necessary.

After an unknown amount of time, Lucius suddenly felt prick in his consciousness. Knowing that this was Ka'lor'ah way of informing him, he did not hesitate and directly led his consciousness into that vague human silhouette.

Lucius' mind immediately blanked. Darkness covering his vision.

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On the outside, Ka'lor'ah felt great pain surge through her crystal body.

In order to inform Lucius to go ahead with his advancement, she had voluntarily cut the soul link between the both of them, while shouldering the majority of the pain.

The pain of having one's soul cut was hard to describe. It kind of felt like stabbing a thin, sharp needle, right in the middle of one's nerve junction. It was simply unimaginable.

This was especially so for a being like Ka'lor'ah, whose body consisted of her soul, in a crystallized form. Every time she cut the link, a very small part of her soul was lost forever, returning to wherever souls go.

The crystal shrunk by a imperceptible amount, with its brightness rapidly fading.

Trying her best on to scream, Ka'lor'ah forcibly suppressed the pain she felt. After what seemed like an eternity, the pain receded and she was capable of rational thought once again.

Staring at Lucius' youthful face, she suddenly felt a little melancholic. She recalled Lucius telling her about his life, after she had taken him in as her disciple.

He never explained about his past, that is, his life on Earth in great detail. Lucius always gave the excuse of not remembering most of his early days.

Now looking at his youthful gaze, Ka'lor'ah suddenly realized.

'He was barely 18, when mankind had entered its struggle for survival. With no one to reply upon, he somehow made it past the 30 years, eventually becoming it's only survivor.'

Although he never spoke of it, how had he felt losing his entire kin back then? Lucius had an uncaring and indifferent attitude currently, but he was the same as the other kids his age back then. Lucius did not possess the life experience he had now, so then how did he accept it back then?

How did he have the strength to move on? To continue striving towards a goal, without ever giving up.

Even with all the knowledge she possessed, Ka'lor'ah simple could not imagine.

Ever since Ka'lor'ah had met him for the first time, Lucius had the same expressionless face he had right now.

'Before I knew it 30 years have passed in his company. We lived together, worked together, learned together. Not to mention plotted against the entire universe itself.' Ka'lor'ah suddenly laughed.

'What would my life would have been like if I hadn't met him? Would I have continued being 'Their' slave? Always working under their command for tens of thousands of years, only to eventually die like my ancestors?' Ka'lor'ah had wondered about this for a long time.

'To think that an old freak like me, would fall for a guy like him. How embarrassing.' Alas there was not a shred of embarrassment in her voice.

Looking at Lucius, her voice became determined as she spoke in a low voice.

"Even if we were to fall here. Even if we eventually fail in our fight."

"I will never regret meeting you that day."

If her face could be seen, Ka'lor'ah's face would sport a bright smile.

The most dazzling smile, she had ever presented in her entire life.

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In one of the rooms aboard the spaceship.

A figure dressed in complete black robes, paced back and forth in restlessness. It's fists were clenching and unclenching repeatedly, as if to show the mental struggle it was undergoing.

It's mouth seemed to be constantly uttering some incomprehensible words, that did not make any sense.

Continuing this routine for a few minutes, the figure suddenly came to a halt.

With its head bowed down staring at the floor, a faint sound leaked from its mouth.

"I have decided. I shall take away everything that you hold dear. To bring you down into this Hell that you sent me to."

An extremely resentful voice spat out.

"LU! CI! US!"