Immortal Paladin-Chapter 132 – Something called Life [28]

Honestly, it was hard to describe the place I found myself in. Or rather, even trying to put it into words, it felt impossible to accurately convey what I was feeling. I was immersed in a vast ocean of iridescent, vibrant colors, where every hue pulsed as if it had a life of its own. And in this almost dreamlike setting, all I could think about was how free... and at peace I felt. It was as if, somehow, I had finally returned home.

Colossal shapes, like clouds, surrounded me on all sides — their soft outlines stretched as far as my eyes could see, like pieces of mist suspended in the void. No matter where I looked, glowing orbs floated everywhere, placed with an almost intentional precision, like jewels carefully scattered across a velvet black cloak.

Even wrapped in the infinite darkness of the universe, these lights cast a faint, steady glow, illuminating the space around me like candles burning in a dark room. Yet, none of this light, no matter how hypnotic, could distract me from the presence before me.

I had many words in my mind to try to describe it, but none seemed right. None truly captured the feeling growing within me. In the end, I just stared at the entity, unsure of how to react — and, to be honest, not wanting to react. All I wanted was to observe it.

From where I was, it seemed unlikely that it would even notice me. Nekra and Althea never noticed me... so why would it be any different now? It was that thought I clung to as I watched in silence, as if the simple act of looking was sacred enough to be interrupted by neither words nor gestures.

By the way, I couldn’t even begin to describe what it looked like — it was as if no word could capture what my eyes saw. Saying it was beautiful felt like a foolish understatement, almost presumptuous on my part.

I felt tiny in front of it, as if my existence was just a whisper next to its immense presence. Still, there was no discomfort in that. On the contrary, it filled me with a strange joy. I didn’t feel fear — something within me just knew there was no reason to fear.

As I watched the entity, I could also feel its gaze upon me. Its eyes... were the very definition of the inexplicable — they changed every instant, reflecting everything one could imagine, as if each angle revealed a different universe. I didn’t know if it breathed, but if it did, it seemed like the very air would bow in reverence.

Then, it began to move closer. Its movement was almost divine in its grace — it didn’t seem like it was flying or walking. It was as if it simply wished to be nearer, and the universe, in silent obedience, followed its command. It wasn’t it that was moving toward me; reality itself was bending, compressing, to bring us together.

In the blink of an eye, the distance between us had shrunk remarkably. I blinked, astonished — from where I stood, it seemed that in an instant, the separation between us had simply vanished. In fact, I didn’t even notice when it happened. Suddenly, a soft, unexpected sensation brushed across my face.

When I finally regained awareness of the moment, I realized the entity — or whatever it was — was touching me with a delicacy so mesmerizing that I felt like I might break at any second, as if I were made of glass.

Its hand was strangely warm, a comforting heat that seemed to envelop my skin with an unexpected softness. I closed my eyes, surrendering to the touch, allowing myself to savor that moment of calm. When I finally opened them again, I noticed the entity’s lips moving slowly, almost hypnotically.

Even though it was clearly speaking to me, no words reached my ears. Its lips moved, but there was no sound. The silence around us seemed to absorb even the slightest noise, creating an even stranger, more inexplicable sensation.

It stood there, so close that I could feel the warmth of its presence, almost within reach of my hands. But I didn’t dare touch it. My hands trembled just at the thought, not from the cold, but from something deeper, something older.

It was something that seemed to come from within my bones, like an electric current coursing through every fiber of my being. I couldn’t keep my eyes on it for long; soon, I looked away, trying to escape that overwhelming sensation... but I was drawn back, as if an invisible force was pulling me toward it.

The need to see it again was almost physical. A thousand words were trapped in my mind, each one trying to escape, all about it, but no matter how hard I tried, I simply couldn’t say any of them.

It was as if the very essence of life was bowing before it. Not like a submissive servant, but like a daughter finally finding her origin, a lost link that resurfaces with power and clarity.

The existence around it became thicker, almost tangible — the air grew denser, heavier, as if nature itself were breathing more intensely. Even the sound changed, muffled and distant, as if the entire world were holding its breath, waiting for its next move.

Death didn’t seem to fear it. On the contrary, it stayed at a distance, watching it with an almost reverent calm, as if, somehow, it recognized something in it that commanded respect. It was as if it knew that, in its presence, even the end had to ask for permission before approaching.

Time itself seemed to hesitate, as if uncertain of its next move. A moment stretches, extending like eternity, and yet it slips away in the blink of an eye, fleeting and relentless.

There’s something in the way it looks at me, a gaze carrying a depth impossible to measure, that makes me feel, paradoxically, both newly born and consumed by the years, with the fragility of a beginning and the weight of a lifetime.

Chaos unexpectedly grows silent. It doesn’t dissolve, doesn’t disappear. Instead, it settles on the ground, legs crossed, like a child who, after all this time, has finally found someone who can understand it. Its silence is heavy, as if it were allowing itself, for the first time, simply to exist, without the need to keep fighting.

Order tries to approach, moving with the precision of one trying to control the unknown. It tries to label, measure, comprehend every last detail. But for every effort, it is met with a simple gesture, a softness in the gaze, and a calm smile that seems unconcerned with the weight of the world’s certainties. And then, all assumptions dissolve, like sand slipping between fingers, leaving a void that reason cannot fill.

Hope cries, yes, but she also smiles, with a serene sweetness. Her smile, though gentle, carries the lightness of someone who has finally found what they’ve been searching for. As if, deep in her soul, she recognized in that moment the home she never had, but that had always been waiting for her, hidden among life’s winding paths.

Fear... Fear kneels. Not out of cowardice, but out of deep reverence. Because even it understands there is something sacred in that presence. Something so vast and inevitable that it cannot be challenged—only accepted, with a silent surrender that echoes deep in the soul.

I felt the gentle touch of the being sliding from my face to my hair, smoothing it with an inexplicable tenderness. I didn’t know why, but this sensation wasn’t unfamiliar to me. In fact, it was surprisingly comforting, almost like a shelter in the midst of chaos.

There was something nostalgic about it, as if it were an echo of something lost in time, something familiar. At that moment, I began to realize I no longer cared about a realization that, for some time, had deeply troubled me: Nekra, Althea, and all the others who would still appear... I knew them.

When that thought fixed itself in my mind like a confirmation, a soft sound finally emerged, a delicate laugh full of happiness. Looking up at the being, their lips curved gently, forming a smile so beautiful it seemed sculpted by the very hand of an artist. It was like gazing at a living sculpture, a perfect reflection of serenity and grace. That was the last image my mind processed before being swallowed by complete darkness.

***

(POV - Victor Hale)

“This is the perfect time for you to come up with a brilliant plan!” Victor commented, his tone urgent and almost desperate, echoing through the environment as his eyes fixed on Arthur, waiting for a quick response.

“In this situation? Unfortunately, I don’t believe my plans would work. I’d say I’m more suited for a silent infiltration than a desperate escape” Arthur replied, his eyes quickly scanning the area, evaluating every detail with care.

Both remained atop the building, accompanied by the [Angel of Death]. As she touched the flower, an unusual silence filled the air. The imposing figure of the entity stood motionless, as if time had frozen, while the delicate, radiant flower emitted a golden light that pulsed softly and steadily.

However, something strange was happening: the anomalies, previously scattered across the streets of the city, began to stir. As if awakened by an invisible force, they started climbing the building, their grotesque, unstable forms trying to reach the top at all costs, as if the very glow of the flower had triggered a desperate reaction within them.

Victor and Arthur managed to hold off the anomalies’ advance for a time, handling the situation with precision. Arthur caused controlled landslides, making the ground give way strategically, while Victor, with his anomalous weapon, fired powerful bursts that obliterated everything in its path.

However, no matter how many anomalies they brought down, new ones appeared relentlessly, as if the very air were saturated with them. It was as if, suddenly, the giant flower had issued a silent order, a command reverberating through the city streets, summoning even more distorted creatures, with no sign of it coming to an end.

In the end, Victor’s anomalous weapon simply stopped working, as if it had lost all its energy in an instant. Victor, growing increasingly frustrated, tried to get the weapon to react, giving it small hits, but he knew that if he forced it, it would likely work again.

But he had seen enough in his tests to know what would happen next: when physically forced to act, the weapon wouldn’t hesitate to retaliate, attacking anyone daring to challenge it.

Even after all these observations, Victor still found it hard to believe that a single weapon could be capable of killing so many disposable subjects. And to make matters worse, a being watched them silently from atop the debris, as if all that chaos and destruction meant nothing to it.

With this thought, Victor looked away. The being created by the [Angel of Death] watched them silently, its red eyes glowing intensely. However, it didn’t seem like the being would take any action.

Victor didn’t know exactly why, but there was something about its posture that indicated it wasn’t going to intervene. Maybe it was because its creator wasn’t in immediate danger? Victor had no idea what was going on in the mind of that entity made of mist.

The thought quickly crossed Victor’s mind, but before he could delve into it, he was forced to look back at the edge of the building.

Giant claws, resembling sharp pincers, suddenly appeared, tearing through the concrete, followed by a relatively large body that violently erupted.

It was a monstrous crab, one of many grotesque beings trying to climb the structure in search of the top. The sound of metal being shredded echoed as the creatures advanced, relentless and hungry to reach whatever lay above.

“Shit! We’re cornered!” Victor exclaimed, his eyes quickly scanning the surroundings where more anomalous monsters appeared, scaling the building walls with terrifying agility.

A magma wolf, its incandescent eyes glowing in the darkness. A lizard equally made of molten substance, its scales emitting a fiery glow.

Praying mantises, with their long, menacing legs, and even flying insects, whose wings, made of volcanic rocks, prevented them from taking flight. Grotesque beings, with multiple legs like centipedes and giant spiders, crawled and moved with unsettling agility.

From Victor’s point of view, it looked more like a nightmare—a Halloween that came too early, or perhaps a distorted nightmare taken over by infernal fury. Victor, believing there would be no escape this time, was momentarily stunned when an intense golden light began emanating from his body.

Or rather, it seemed to come from behind him, reflecting off his skin, as if something was manifesting within his very being. When he turned, his eyes widened slightly in astonishment. In front of him, the flower was finally blooming, its petals opening with an almost ethereal gentleness.

Floating before it, the [Angel of Death] materialized, its eyes sparkling with a mesmerizing glow in multiple shades, as if reflecting all the mysteries of the universe. The atmosphere seemed to fill with a sinister serenity, as if time had slowed in the face of that awe-inspiring vision.