My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 937 - 938: Why Do You Defy

He had escaped yet again, his life preserved, which was a fortunate turn for him. Rexagon’s fury still caused the ground to shake, with faraway shockwaves surging through the soil like the final pulses of a fading heart, but how did that concern Damon? He was already far from there.

He looked upward and spotted Seras with her fingers pressed to her forehead, her eyes shut as though she were pushing back against a pounding headache.

"You truly attract trouble like a magnet."

Damon felt a sense of injustice. He had warned her that this would occur. She simply hadn’t trusted his words. He parted his lips to protest, but then decided against it.

Seras let out a breath from her nostrils, then pivoted abruptly toward the rest of the group concealed amid the bones. She scanned over every one of them, making sure they were composed, before gesturing with her wrist in a wordless order.

"Move. Stay alert. We don’t know what lurks within this area."

The group all nodded in agreement. Grips firmed on their weapons. Postures grew rigid. The fear from before had transformed into wary vigilance.

Damon drew in a deep breath and trailed after her, his boots grinding lightly over shattered bone pieces. His eyes wandered across the whitish walls, then fixed on an inscription etched into the arch of a huge rib bone.

Why do you defy?

The inscription appeared in runic script, Soul Tongue. The tongue grasped by everyone.

This indicated it wasn’t crafted by someone from this realm.

Damon decelerated, then halted completely. He extended his hand and traced his fingers along the indentations. The bone felt icy.

A subtle but potent aura emanated from the carving, reminiscent of a lingering flash from a thunderbolt. It seemed as though an otherworldly force had inscribed the query there. A hint of intangible intent remained, bearing down on his awareness.

He bowed his head.

'Why do I defy.'

He echoed the query in his mind while he continued onward, his boots crossing a skull partially embedded in the cave’s surface.

'Why do I defy.'

It posed a fascinating query. He hadn’t pondered it lately. He resisted because he lacked any alternative.

But was that the full truth?

He crossed his arms over his torso as they ventured further into the bone formation. The faint glow from the entrance scarcely penetrated this depth. Darkness deepened. The atmosphere became denser.

Lazarak resisted in pursuit of peace.

Mugu resisted for the sake of love.

Ashcroft resisted to achieve control.

Defiance.

What did defiance truly signify?

Lazarak had once advised him to resist his own nature.

Was that the essence? To oppose not deities, but one’s inner self?

Damon’s jaw clenched a bit.

Lazarak had also mentioned that each person harbors a deity inside.

The inner deity surpasses in size the colossal foe we confront.

So why did he resist?

He descended from a slanted skull, his boots rasping against bone.

"Some defy for love. Some defy for hate. Some for vengeance. Some defy for their dreams. I defy for defiance’s sake. I stand where I know I will fall. There is no other reason. Defiance is the means and the end. I shall spit in the face of god as I am damned. Even in defeat I will rot in hell with those who dared to overcome impossible odds."

His fingers clenched faintly as he advanced.

That formed his response.

His defiance required no justification other than his decision to embrace it.

As soon as that realization took hold, the bone ridge quivered.

A deep rumble coursed through the cavern’s surfaces. Fine dust sifted from overhead. The inscribed words started to emit a soft glow, whitish illumination leaking from the cuts. Fresh symbols carved themselves into the bone, as though traced by an unseen edge.

Damon raised his head gradually.

A voice resounded, remote but personal, as if whispered straight into their minds.

"Which god do you serve?"

Seras halted at once. Her tachi appeared in her grasp with one fluid movement, the edge positioned downward while her gaze scanned the shadows. Her feet spread apart, balance moving to her toes.

She detected no figure.

The query startled her mildly, but only mildly.

"Who are you? Reveal yourself."

Quietness stretched for an extra moment.

Then the voice reemerged.

"Forgive my rudeness. Unfortunately, I cannot show myself. I am imprisoned in a place here and not here."

Seras kept her blade raised. Her hold intensified.

Countless threats existed in this realm. Certain ones couldn’t be destroyed, merely contained. Her eyes darted to the shining inscription, then to the empty void amid the ribs. She wouldn’t be shocked if this being aimed to lure some naive individual into releasing it.

"Who are you?" she asked again, her tone icier.

The voice hesitated.

"First answer my question. Which god do you serve?"

Damon’s eyes narrowed. He allowed his shadow perception to extend, touching the luminous words. Under their radiance, he perceived a force, understated yet overwhelming. An enormous entity probing the boundaries of their existence.

Seras couldn’t fathom its motive for asking. The voice lacked malice.

That heightened her wariness.

That’s precisely how they draw in victims.

"We are worshippers of the goddess of doom," she answered steadily.

"Ohh, I see. So you are of Doom’s faith. I am relieved. Though we do not share the same faith, we are still worshippers of god."

Seras’s brow furrowed a touch, but she stayed silent.

The voice proceeded, nearly affectionately.

"I am Morticai the Pure. I am the servant of a true god from beyond your realm."

Damon’s gaze intensified.

From beyond your realm.

An outsider.

He advanced a step, raising his chin.

"Which god do you serve?"

A short pause followed.

Then Morticai replied in a serene, devoted manner.

"Though you may not know my god’s glorious name, I shall speak it so you may be of the light. I am the lowly servant of the true god Obamion god of souls, emotions, and will."

"Obamion," Seras echoed.

The instant the name escaped her mouth, her tongue grew leaden.

Her air hitched.

Her soul quaked as if hammered by an invisible force. A wave coursed through her frame. Her fingers jerked on the tachi’s handle.

Then she sensed it.

Something distant.

Something immense.

It had noticed.

Her head swiveled slowly, drawn by unseen strings. For one stifling instant, she felt vulnerable, stripped open under an boundless scrutiny. No shield. No hidden truths. No barriers.

She couldn’t stir.

Her legs gave way.

The aura faded as abruptly as it arrived.

Seras collapsed to her knees, one palm striking the bone ground to support herself. Perspiration beaded on her forehead. Her breaths came ragged.

Damon moved toward her on impulse, his eyes constricting.

"My god has sensed you call his name. Fear not, he means you no harm. I am envious of your fortune. To be in the sights of the god of souls even for a moment is a great honor," Morticai said with awe.

Damon detected nothing.

He perceived no stare. Sensed no aura.

All he observed was Seras on her knees, shaking, felled by merely uttering a name.