Who shall free me from this prison…? I shall be free, I shall be free!This time round, there was no vision or memory flooding his mind when he absorbed the laws, only a voice resounding in his head, one that he recognised as belonging to the Sun Lord.
"Prison…? Is the Sun Lord imprisoned somewhere?" Lars considered it for a while but dismissed the thought. He would just need to find out later. For now, what was important was reviewing the laws he had just received.
And digesting the wondrous event that had just happened with the power of Insight.
"Acies…" Lars whispered the word and felt his soul-imprint resonate. Looking inward, he could see a mixed ma.s.s of coloured mists which represented his soul and all the laws within him. The coloured mists were mainly a mix of blue (representing mana), faded green-brown (Earth Pulse), white (Divine Light), crimson (Prime Evil), purple which was dim in comparison (Distortion) and it was all held together by a colourless white-grey – Insight.
Currently, 5 characters had emerged and were embossed on the surface of the mists like an imperial seal – ACIES [p.r.o.nounced similar to ah-cheese]. This word was practically buzzing with domineering power that made the other laws cower around it, superseding other laws and taking the sole place as the ruler of the laws.
"My true name huh… I thought only demons and devils had such things…" shrugging, Lars reached out mentally towards his true name and quickly received an understanding of its powers – or rather, power in the singular form.
The power to subdue and a.s.similate other laws instantaneously!
Blinking repeatedly, Lars was shocked. Wasn"t this… Cheating?
Even though he did not have any substantive memories from the Sun Lord and Belic, he at least had a sense that the war angel had lived and reached her level of comprehension of laws in several centuries or even one or two millennia…
While the Sun Lord"s age would probably make even a millennia old powerhouse look like a child!
And he… Right here… Could just make their laws and comprehension his own in a snap of his fingers? Figuratively, of course…
Lars s.h.i.+vered. If anyone found out about this ability of his…
He could almost hear the G.o.ds, deities, demons, devils, saints, patriarchs, emperors, EVERYONE… Rolling in their graves, cursing him, crying out against the heavens at the sheer unfairness of it all!
They who would spend thousands of years to ascend the heights and comprehend laws…
And he who just needed to give a sideways casual look to copy all they had?!?[1]
Of course, as Lars slowly went over his true name"s powers more closely, he realised that there was a severe limitation – he would first have to hear, obtain, receive comprehensive knowledge or read the details of the laws before he could absorb them… Truly a severe limitation… Not!
"What rubbis.h.!.+ Ridiculous! This is, this is too much, too much I tell you!!!"
"It is just too unfair, too terrible!!!"
Lars roared in anger (in his mind) and spat out vehement objections about his own ability, even as he blushed in embarra.s.sment and tried to hold back a gleeful, gloating smile from his face. He even raised his head up to look at the sky to shout his objections to the heavens (in his head) while covering his mouth that had cracked open from ear to ear in a mad grin.
"How can it be so unfair to all the rest of the world… No, the universe…! How can they spend their lives cultivating, only for one undeserving such as I to waltz along and obtain all they have…?" he sighed, looking down as he wiped a (non-existent) tear from his eyes in mock sorrow.
"…For along with Insight, Acies… I have…"
"Gluttony!"
Lars" eyes sparkled with evil – ahem, I mean, righteous pa.s.sion as he hatched countless plots and schemes to devour the G.o.ds of this world… No, the entire universe!
Shaking his head once more, Lars came back to reality. He smiled beatifically like a saint or a monk who had reached enlightenment and was no longer weighed down by the red dust of this mortal world.
After all, how would the fate of mere mortals tie him down any longer? He who was born to be the G.o.dly cheat?
"Ha hahahahaha! Hah, hahahah!" he laughed madly while keeping the expression of a tranquil saint, his chest heaving as he walked towards the ball containing the laws of distortion.
He continued to chuckle until he was satisfied then reached out to plunge his hand into the orb without any hesitation.
"Oh, I forgot. I should have reviewed what I gained from the laws of Divine Light before I---GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLELUJAH!!!!!!"
And he screamed in severe mental pain as he entered a different vision this time.
* * * * *
The reason Lars screamed was that the vision began with him being face to face with a hideously scarred man who looked like he murdered his family then cut off their heads to use their skills as a urinal. He looked MEAN, so mean that Lars shuddered even while living through the memory fragment.
Lars found himself standing on a castle"s parapets overlooking a full moon night, clouds parting perfectly to allow the lunar light to be cast upon himself and his companion. The wind was billowing through their hair, or, for the murderer beside him, his bald head…
And despite his appearance, the robust man spoke gently as he raised his hands to touch Lars" face, causing him to struggle and scream, thras.h.i.+ng about mentally but unable to move an inch.
Instead, he felt himself, the body he was in, leaning into the disfigured man"s embrace and placing his (gulp) head on the burly man"s shoulder – shoulders that were so broad that they could be used as an ironing board for giants!
Lars cringed as he could smell the manly scent coming from the man"s (ugh!) armpits, as his host was so dwarfed by the large man such that Lars" nose was almost level with the man"s underarms…
"@@u0026*#($%u0026 what f****** bad luck is this!!! Why twice in a row!!!!" Lars cursed his fate in getting pulled into memory fragments, then froze in terror at the next scene.
He felt his gaze turning upwards and looking longingly at the horror-fying man"s face, his own face moving ever-so-close to the bigger man"s until he could feel the man"s breath.
To his fright, the killer-faced man blushed like a teenage girl as his eyelids drooped.
Then their heads moved closer and… The scene changed.
"Thank G.o.d!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Lars cried out, tears streaming down his face. He… Was so grateful. His mind and sanity and orientation, ahem, were preserved!
No matter what… The man was just too ugly! He could not accept that! He would rather kiss a��� Dragon!
Unbidden, the image of Charley Charlemagne with his l.u.s.trous flowing golden locks of hair came to mind, then the adorably cute boy-version of Astrid Estreya who had sneaked in a kiss in Gorun city…
Lars s.h.i.+vered. He channelled his laws, whichever would respond to seal and bind those memories and thoughts away forever and ever… Then he sighed and continued with the vision.
[1] [Copy ninja kakas.h.i.+…]