Chapter 1609: Reverend Madness' secrets

Chapter 1609: Reverend Madness’ secrets

Cain closed his eyes momentarily as his consciousness was transported to the Scarlet Throne. Immediately, he saw the soul of Reverend Madness trembling in absolute terror.

The instant the gates of the Scarlet Throne sealed shut, the overwhelming power of the Concept of Gluttony surged forward, flooding Reverend Madness’ soul like an unstoppable tide. This primal force began to consume the entity’s vast and extensive memories, integrating them into Cain’s mind and becoming inseparable from his own consciousness.

Yet, this consumption was only the beginning. Inside the Scarlet Throne, the power wielded by Cain through the Concept of Gluttony ascended to an unfathomably higher level. Here, the devouring force went far beyond mere memories—it reached deep into the core of Reverend Madness’ very essence, stripping away the soul’s spiritual force, fundamental insights, and foundational power.

Such a feat was similar in concept to the Eye of Gluttony, which Cain had previously wielded, but the difference in magnitude was enormous. The Scarlet Throne didn’t simply absorb the insights or copy them; it forcefully extracted entire Laws and Concepts directly from the ancient entity’s soul, permanently embedding these cosmic truths into Cain’s very being.

Cain quickly realized that this process would be both intricate and lengthy. Unlike absorbing mere memories or surface-level insights, integrating Laws and Concepts required meticulous precision and time.

Thankfully, Cain wasn’t impatient. The vast repository of memories and experiences from Reverend Madness was immense, spanning hundreds of millions of years. Even with Cain’s extraordinary processing speed and mental prowess, sifting through them would take considerable time.

As Cain navigated the sea of memories, his wounded body and fatigued soul slowly began to recover. Although he had severely overextended himself during the recent fight, Reverend Madness’ soul offered a treasure trove of vitality and potent energy, gradually healing Cain from the inside out.

After five focused hours, Cain opened his eyes, an enlightened glint shining clearly within them. He had yet to fully analyze all of Reverend Madness’ memories, as the sheer scale was simply too immense for such a short span. However, he had deliberately prioritized and extracted information specifically related to Reverend Madness’ death, his subsequent rebirth, and the underlying truth behind the mysterious Gu Contest.

Cain recalled rumors that when Reverend Madness first appeared in the Everstrife Empyrean World, he created immense chaos, eventually provoking the wrath of a powerful Primordial Deity. Under threat, Reverend Madness retreated to his home realm, disappearing into obscurity for thousands of years. Upon his return, he emerged with the strength and prowess of a Third Realm entity, profoundly changed and unimaginably powerful.

Until now, the events that transpired within the Gu World had remained shrouded in mystery, cloaked by secrets only Reverend Madness himself had known. Cain’s brows furrowed slightly as he unraveled these secrets, witnessing firsthand the sinister and ruthless nature of Reverend Madness.

Reverend Madness had been a truly vile entity. Driven solely by self-interest and insatiable greed for power, he held no moral restraint, willingly sacrificing even his closest kin. To achieve his ascension, he enacted a terrifying plan, deliberately fragmenting his Ego Wave, soul, and physical body into trillions of minuscule Gu seeds.

Each seed became a parasite, embedding itself secretly into every living creature—men, women, children, and beasts alike—across the entirety of the Gu World. Silently, these parasitic seeds grew and matured alongside their hosts, invisibly influencing their subconscious minds and waiting patiently for the perfect moment to strike.

When the seeds finally ripened, a command exploded within every host’s mind. “Kill everything and consume.”

The world immediately descended into utter carnage, plunging into an unprecedented bloodbath. Families tore themselves apart in mindless frenzy, and former allies turned on each other without hesitation, staining the land and skies red with endless rivers of blood.

After each killing, the Gu seeds within the victors absorbed the life essence of their victims, growing steadily stronger and eventually merging entirely with the surviving host. Eventually, only a single living being remained amid the slaughter. Yet, by that point, the individual’s original identity was completely irrelevant. Instead, he had become a mere vessel, holding the recombined essence of Reverend Madness, reborn stronger than ever.

This method, though extraordinarily risky—technically resulting in Reverend Madness’ death—had succeeded. With his dramatic rebirth, Reverend Madness immediately ascended, shattering his previous limits and emerging as a true Primordial Deity.

However, this horrific event had an unintended but profound consequence on the Gu World’s fundamental essence—its World Will. Normally, a world’s consciousness was deeply intertwined with the collective minds and egos of the sentient life forms residing within it.

Reverend Madness’ genocidal act fractured this collective consciousness so severely that the World Will lost its identity entirely. It became an embodiment of raw psychic power without any personal awareness or sentience.

“It is as if Ao faded from Aether’s World Will. The World Will persisted but became utterly incapable of independent action or self-determination.”

As Cain reflected upon this revelation, his gaze lifted thoughtfully to the vast sky of the Gu World. With his newfound Primordial Deity-level strength, Reverend Madness could have restored sentience to the fractured World Will. Yet, he deliberately chose not to. Without its own ego, the World Will became significantly easier to manipulate and exploit.

Seeing an opportunity, Reverend Madness parasitized the weakened World Will, harnessing the world’s psychic ocean to forge the Gu Insects. These insects would integrate with their hosts, birthing the deadly Gu Contest. Despite appearances, this wasn’t an altruistic act, nor was it meant solely to elevate talented individuals.

In truth, Reverend Madness was simply orchestrating an intricate harvest. Although the Gu Insect allowed the winner a powerful breakthrough, reaching new heights of power and understanding, it was ultimately a trap. Half of the energy cultivated through the winner’s ascension remained permanently anchored within the Gu World, creating a feast upon which Reverend Madness could feed greedily.

Through this cunning and ruthless manipulation, the ancient monster had gradually ascended beyond his initial Primordial Deity status, achieving the illustrious and rarefied rank of Archdeity.

Yet, despite all Reverend Madness had achieved through cunning, cruelty, and manipulation, the event leading to his eventual downfall was shockingly mundane.

Cain couldn’t help but shake his head bitterly at the irony. Ultimately, it had all come down to one simple, unavoidable reality.

Lifespan.

After striving desperately for hundreds of millions of years, Reverend Madness had reached the absolute peak he could manage, stagnating hopelessly at the lowest rank of the Archdeity Realm. No matter how desperately he struggled, he could not surpass his limit. Thus, after two hundred million years, Reverend Madness’ vast lifespan inevitably began to wane, gradually approaching its inexorable end.

Ultimately, it was neither gods nor heroes nor catastrophic events that finally brought down the legendary Reverend Madness—only the inescapable march of time itself.