Lord of Annihilation

Chapter 251: Happiness.

"What do we do now? Kill it?" 

"Killing it would be a waste, I suppose. The Great Mother would be interested in studying it."

Having gathered before the frozen figure of Lucius were the two Greater Queens in a discussion. Their bodies continuously circled Lucius, as they studied him with keen interest.

Lucius' body was frozen stiff in the middle of a lunge with his right arm reaching outwards. Tangible murderous intent surrounded his body, with [Annihilation Energy] forming a protective layer around him. 

Lucius' eyes were wide open but seemed to contain no life within.

Currently, Lucius' state resembled that of an exquisitely constructed doll. He looked extremely life-like but seemed to contain no life within.

One of the Greater Queens neared the body and tried to touch him with her finger. However, the [Annihilation Energy] surrounding him immediately recoiled, burning her finger.

"Such violent energy. The murderous intent within it is truly massive." 

"Indeed, it seems that this creature has taken innumerable lives. Its techniques during the battle were also flawless."

"Could it be a [Killer]?"

"It appears so. Although the aura isn't the same as the one recorded in the archives, it is very close. The aura of [Killer] recorded within the archive belongs to a Wild Beast, therefore differences are permissible."

The other Greater Queen then reached out to the console of her vessel and pressed a few buttons. Lights flickered within the vessel followed by a ray of light directly falling atop Lucius' figure.

A screen quickly appeared next to her and showed strange numbers and characters.

"Incredible." The Greater Queen reading the recordings exclaimed.

"What?" Intrigued by her partner's exclamation, she asked.

"Although the creature's conscious was separated from its body and transported into the world made by our Domain, the soul power within its body is still flowing to a set pattern. It's like the creature is executing a technique purely out of instinct without any conscious control!!"

Hearing that the surprise on the other Greater Queen's face was unmistakable. 

It had to be said that {Ideal World} was a very potent Domain. 

Unlike other Domains that affected the outside world, altering it to fit the Rules of the caster, {Ideal World} affected the conscious world of the target.

It isolated the target's consciousness and separated it from their body. It would then create an elaborate illusion, depending upon the target's deepest heart desire. 

Since their connection with their body was cut off, the target would have no access to their soul power or their innate abilities, purely having to rely on the strength of their subconscious mind.

The world that was built by the Domain was structured in a way that the deepest desire or the greatest wish of the target was fulfilled delivering them ultimate happiness.

Some desired ultimate power.

Some desired unlimited wealth.

Some desired absolute authority, with their race reigning at the very top of the Universe.

Some even desired love.

Within the {Ideal World} any and all desires no matter how unrealistic they were, would be fulfilled.

And while the target was immersing themselves in the ultimate happiness, their bodies were completely defenseless and under the mercy of the Greater Queens.

It was safe to say that this Domain was one of the most sinister and troublesome Domains to exist.

Once caught under its effects, it was near-impossible to escape. The only method to break the illusion was to subconsciously forsake their greatest desire.

No matter how unfeeling, emotionless, or unmotivated a person was, all living beings have desires.

Not having any desires at all was a desire in and of itself. 

In this regard, Lucius was no different. Although his life and its events had forced him to do many things and sacrifice much more, it was incorrect to say that he had no desires.

Wanting to kill the Lords and rid the Universe of its detestable Rules was his greatest desire.

However, buried deep within his heart was a greater desire. It was a desire which even Lucius was unaware of. Or perhaps, he was aware of this desire but did not dare to admit it.

And it was this desire that trapped him. 

"It's a strange desire, isn't it? I've seen many creatures wish for power, wealth, life, and many other things. However, this is the first time I've seen such a desire." The Greater Queen remarked.

"Indeed. This creature wishes to live in a world where the likes of soul power do not exist. An ordinary, boring life within an ordinary, boring world. There is no desire to be exceptional at all." The other replied.

"Well, enough time has passed, I suppose. He should be deep enough into the illusion to the point where he can no longer wake up. Let's take the body with us and sacrifice it to the Great Mother."

"Indeed. The Great Mother is sure to reward us greatly."

Speaking of that god-like existence, made the two Greater Queens feel extremely reverent.

"Your vessel is greatly damaged. Let's take mine." The other Greater Queen offered to which the first one nodded her head. She then reached out with her hands to grab onto Lucius' body. 

While they had been conversing with each other, the two Greater Queens assaulted Lucius' body with their slowly recovering soul power, exhausting the layer of [Annihilation Energy] surrounding him.

Having lost all of its defenses, Lucius' body was completely open and vulnerable.

Grabbing the body with her arms, the Greater Queen was just in the process of dragging it alongside her, when Lucius' outstretched arm suddenly moved and grabbed onto her throat.

An expression of incredible shock appeared within her eyes. Just as she was about to vocalize her shock, Lucius abruptly crushed her throat and decapitated her.

Thud!

Feeling the connection of her partner suddenly disappear within her mind, the Greater Queen who was outside the vessel suddenly stopped and turned around to face the broken golden sphere.

Barely having turned, her eyes caught the flashing silhouette of a dark figure. Moving purely with her instinct, she took a step back.

SLASH!!

Lucius' claw-shaped hands had ripped a layer of skin atop her throat. Having narrowly escaped instant death, she looked at the figure with complete shock and exclaimed.

"How are you awake?!!"

Lucius' forehead bulged with his nerves as an inordinate amount of pain assaulted his consciousness. The attack that would've normally struck his target in a single attempt had missed due to his incongruous state.

Lucius' thoughts were in absolute chaos and the lid suppressing his emotions was slowly coming loose. He used all his efforts to keep his mind under control as he could not afford to lose control of his body once again.

Whilst sorting the chaos that was his mind, Lucius was also battling a Stage 3 being. With both entities being in weakened states, they were unable to instantly deal fatal damage.

Lucius' disordered, wild swings were able to barely scratch his enemy, while the Greater Queens attacks were imprecise due to the shock within her heart. 

"Tell me, how you escaped the Domain?! It should be impossible to subconsciously go against your heart's desire!!"

Lucius did not reply but continued with his furious assaults. He did not have the energy to spare for casual dialogue.

Of course, the Grater Queen did not care for his state. All that mattered to her was to find the answer to her question and fix the flaw within her Domain.

Formicians were creatures that endlessly grew from their battles and learning from their enemies. They had an inextinguishable greed to improve and become perfect.

Being the leader of her species, the Greater Queen was no different.

"Tell me!! Where is the flaw?! How did you escape my {Ideal World}?!"

"Aahh! SHUT UP!!" Lucius roared.

He then instinctively used [Void Step] and disappeared from before his opponent. Just as the Greater Queen's movements slowed from the sudden change, Lucius appeared behind her and pierced her chest, crushing her heart in the process.

With her heart crushed, and [Annihilation Energy] wrecking havoc within her body, vitality started to rapidly leave her body.

Still, her eyes contained a furious thirst for knowledge, as her mouth muttered one final time.

"..tellme..h-owple..ase."

Looking into those eyes which contained the purest desire for knowledge, Lucius loudly sighed and explained.

"There are no flaws within your Domain. Your trap was perfect and the illusion was faultless."

"..th..enhow?"

A serious light flashed within Lucius' eyes. Without the slightest of hesitation, he replied.

"The core of your illusion was trapping your targets within their own happiness. And I"

"deserve no happiness." 

A look of understanding flashed within the Greater Queen's eyes. Her mouth moved to speak something, yet her voice never left her. The final bits of vitality had left her, marking her death.

The moment she had died, Lucius felt two more locks release within his soul. An incredible amount of energy laid in wait for him to unlock that final lock.

His soul cried in excitement as he was only a single step away from reaching Stage 3. However, faced with such a fantastic achievement, Lucius felt no joy.

Even the tremendous pain assaulting his mind felt very distant.

Overcoming that Domain resulted in Lucius remembering certain events from his previous life. 

Memories which he had forced himself to forget and sworn to never recall.

'Indeed, I deserve no happiness.' 

His eyes became void of all emotions and feelings achieving true nihility. Lucius' aura also changed, becoming extremely sharp and unapproachable, while carrying an inexplicable majesty within.

Had Ka'lor'ah been here right now, she would've instantly recognized the feeling which Lucius was projecting right now.

'I, a monster who killed his own wife and child to reach Stage 6 deserve neither happiness nor redemption. Neither solace nor closure.'

'A sinner like me only deserves death.'

'But alas, it is not time to die yet. The Great Plan remains incomplete and my sacrifice is required for its completion.' 

His entire being felt exactly the same as his Stage 7 counterpart!

It felt like the emotionless killing machine of the past had returned to the present.

Spreading his darkness, Lucius activated [Devour] and started to devour the two Stage 3 corpses. Just eating the first one made him feel full, yet Lucius forced himself to eat the second one. 

An incredible amount of void energy filled him.

Even so, a good portion of the energy remained outside his body unable to enter it for the lack of space.

Controlling the increasingly restless void energy, Lucius used it to activate [Void Travel].

Entering the void, Lucius' figure vanished while traveling towards the Core Territory of Mankind at incredible speeds.

There was no more hesitation. No more doubts.

'Let's go and face this Lord.'

Only eerie calmness and determination filled his mind.

-------

AN: This marks the end of Lucius' character development (for now). An appropriate amount of his past was revealed, alongside his motivations, ideals, and final goal.

Some might ask, what's the point of all this development if he goes on a full circle and returns to how he was previously? Wasn't everything pointless?

And my answer is...that's the entire point.

Lucius' character was never meant to grow or change in a short period of time.

His three-hundred-year-old mentality makes it incredibly difficult for him to accept change, especially so when he isn't trying to change.

The removal of his emotional dampener, the desires of his Void Eater body, the truth about his past, his admittance of killing his family for power, while all of these events might shock him and introduce challenges, they are incapable of changing him.

His guilt, helplessness towards his fate, and self-loathe make him unable to accept change and fuels his self-destructive behavior. 

Will this change in the future? I honestly do not know.

Rather than shape the plot around the character, my approach with this novel is to shape the character around the plot.

If the plot demands for a character to die, for the story to be more natural and progressive, then I would write it as such. If Lucius becoming more unfeeling and self-destructive improves the story, then that will be the case.

Is this approach right? I'm not sure. I'm still learning while trying different things.

Rest assured, I have a solid outline for the story. More so, then what I had in the beginning.

Vol 2 will end in 7-8 chapters, following which there will be three more volumes before the end of the story. 

I hope for your continued support and apologies for the long AN. I just wanted to share my thoughts on the character, unsure of whether I have done a good job in properly representing him.

Author out!