BXBX NOVEL Chapter 253: Dreadful Reality
He heard about the induced psychosis so much, and it got him curious. He wanted to experience it himself to see just how horrible it was because many experts have been troubled by it, causing the majority to fail in their breakthroughs. He really didn't have any other reason beyond this. He didn't even need to do this since he already discovered and created Greater Essence Souls.
He just truly wanted to personally experience it, that's all.
Sadly, that's not what he got from this Demon Lord Soul. What he gained was far more valuable, though.
He got the memories of the Demon Lord; he didn't get all, only bits and pieces. They're disconnected too, making it challenging to make sense of it all. However, the fact that he's able to receive glimpses of it is already incredible. The energy contained within the Lord's soul was immense too, but for Cedric, this was just a bonus.
"The Infernal Fleet... 15 Galactic Ships, each one as big as an entire planet and could carry millions of people with self-sustaining ecology."
"Demon Lords, Demon Kings, Demon Emperors...Demon God."
Once again, Cedric didn't get all the memories intact. He only gathered bits and pieces from the Lord's soul he consumed. Nonetheless, it was enough to give him a decent perspective on what they're truly against.
And what he did did not make him happy; instead, it filled him with creeping dread.
From what he understood so far, the Demon Race was a wandering race. They don't have a home to return to; instead, they take their home with them on their galactic conquest.
He had seen glimpses of demons ransacking worlds, galaxies, and cosmic sectors to gather valuable resources. Basically, if they discover something valuable, they will attack and conquer that place to get their hands on it.
They're like cosmic locusts—pests—that needed to be purged. Sadly, they've gotten a little too strong.
The Demon Race has 15 galactic ships, each of which is as big as a planet. It would take a year and a half for someone to visit all the locations within the ship by foot, considering that their goal was just to sightsee. Even then, there are restricted places within each ship that only demons with authority could enter.
These restricted places vary in size; some are just offices, while others are as big as an entire realm inside.
Each ship had enough power to sustain all the life it carried. Demons have discovered a way to essentially produce the resources they need to support their constant wandering.
A Demon Emperor stands at the helm of each ship, meaning that there's at least 15 of them since there are 15 ships. It's possible that there were more since the memories weren't intact and there were massive gaps in the information he got.
What's important is that there were two of those ships stationed within the same galaxy that Prime Earth was in. Meaning that there's at least millions of Demons, hundreds more of Demon Lords, and two Demon Emperors on standby outside of this world.
It's been hundreds of years since the siege of Prime Earth began, and Cedric wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the galaxy they're in has already been reduced to lifeless planets or straight up ruined due to demon corruption.
Prime Earth was surrounded, and there's just no denying this. No wonder the Demon Race wasn't taking them seriously. The gap between their civilizations was just too great. Humans could barely carve out a space for them to exist in the very world they grew up in; how could they possibly surmount the real challenges waiting for them outside?
Even if humans were able to somehow repel those two galactic ships by some sort of miracle, how would they fare if all of the ships arrived? What would happen if that entity, the Demon God, personally made a move?
Could humans truly survive this?
Dark clouds seemingly loomed above Cedric's head as he discovered just how much of a of a gap he and his people needed to cross.
He felt weak and exhausted; he even seemed to have aged a few years because of stress. Even with his thousands of thought chambers, he couldn't discover a way to bridge the gap as he is right now.
This threat was so overwhelming that he felt his faith in himself crumble. He thought that he was already doing a fantastic job at giving his people hope for freedom, but in the grand scheme of things, he hadn't done anything worth noting just yet.
"Do the heavens really want us dead?" Cedric lamented bitterly. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration as he submerged himself in his consciousness.
Cedric briefly wished that he hadn't known about this. If only that were the case, then he might still be able to remain steadfast and faithful to his duties and responsibilities.
So what if he had discovered a way to counter democratic corruption? So what if he's the Sun Sage? So what if he was considered to be the most heaven-blessed genius to ever grace the human race?
In the face of his overwhelming strength, all of his previous achievements were useless.
He thought that he'd be helping his people take large strides towards peace and prosperity, but in truth, he hadn't done anything that could truly make a difference.
"Fuck, this is so sad." Cedric groaned in frustration.
He's now burdened with the truth, and he doesn't know how to handle this. If there's one thing he's certain about right now, It'd be that he wouldn't dare reveal this information to anyone else—maybe not even Acala, but he strongly suspects that she already knows.
Cedric retreated from his consciousness and returned to reality. There, he opened his eyes and disciplined his expression. Although he still felt the dread within him, he didn't dare to show any signs of it.
'Get it together, Cedric. Just do your best. If you can't do it in your time, then at the very least, do something to make it easier for the future generation. You have what it takes to at least prolong humanity's existence; start with that and go from there.'
'This is not the time to wallow in despair.'
Cedric took a deep breath and got rid of his unnecessary thoughts. Really, he can't afford to stop here. Humans don't have the qualifications to establish a peaceful surrender or cooperation with the Demon Race; their enemies won't show mercy to those who are weaker than them.
"Ah, I really shouldn't have done that." Cedric laughed mirthlessly, truly regretting consuming that Demon Lord Soul.
His curiosity has truly gotten the best of him. Being ignorant about the truth might've been better for his sanity.
Clicking his tongue, he closed his eyes and decided to focus on the abundant wave of energy coursing through his body, brought by the Demon Lord Soul.
The energy was foul, understandably so because it came from a demon and it's inherently harmful to humans. The energy contained within was also too great; even Cedric's evolved physique was feeling the burden. Therefore, Cedric decided to focus his attention on it.
He directed this energy to his entire body, circulating it and passing it through his core, which contained the evil-purifying trait of the sun left by the Aspect of the Sun. This got rid of the foul elements contained within the energy, turning it into something neutral.
After filtering it, Cedric circulated the energy some more, purifying it even further and increasing its quality before fusing it to his White Lotus Glazed Core.
The abundant energy was just enough to saturate the core, bringing him to the limits of the Glazed Core Realm. Giving more energy won't do anything at this point since it's full. What he needs is time, patience, and the right moment to move on to the next stage of the White Lotus Core Technique.
This might happen by the end of the day or a decade from now on; nobody really knows. This was one of the uncertainties of cultivating this technique. Either way, Cedric would continue nurturing it since it's one of the reasons behind his overwhelming strength.
Without the rampant wave of energy burdening his body, it regained its usual lightness.
Cedric stood up and stretched for a bit. The dread has been cleared from his mind. He deactivated the isolation array within the room and stepped out to take a quick shower.
As he absent-mindedly enjoyed the warm water washing his body, a pair of warm and delicate hands wrapped around his waist, slowly tracing the solid lines of his body until they ended up grasping his length. It was then followed by the sensation of two soft mounds pressing on his back. He also smelled the scent of lilies mixed with rosemary.
A smile appeared on Cedric's face as he gently pulled Erica to his front, reversing their positions. He took note of her needy and slightly embarrassed expression. No other words were needed from that point on. Chrissy joined them at some point, which ended with the three of them under the sheets of Cedric's bed.
Resting with their limbs attached to his body, Cedric was more determined than ever. The reality of their situation didn't seem as daunting to him as it was before.