I Am the End of the World!

"Kid, my name is Aatrox!"

A voice came from within the Scythe Blade.

"You're the soul inside that sword?"

Bai Sheng asked.

"Indeed, kid. Even with that person helping you, earning my recognition won't be easy!"

As he spoke, a large amount of 〔Destruction〕 Path Energy surged from the Scythe Blade.

The Scythe Blade's hilt had already turned scorching hot. Before his death, Aatrox had been a fire-element 〔Destruction〕 Pathstrider.

He had gone very far down that Path.

"Bring it on! You think I'm scared of you?"

Bai Sheng stubbornly gripped the burning hilt, allowing the searing heat to course through his hand.

A surge of 〔Hunt〕 Path Energy burst from Bai Sheng's body, clashing against the 〔Destruction〕 Path Energy. The burning sensation continuously ebbed and flowed across Bai Sheng's hand.

Seeing that Bai Sheng refused to let go of the Scythe Blade for a long time, Aatrox could only withdraw his aura and slowly dissipate the heat from its hilt.

"Kid, you pass."

After saying that, Aatrox's presence gradually faded away and no longer revealed itself.

A little scare was enough. What if he really burned this little ancestor? If he upset that person and got his soul destroyed with a wave of her hand, that would be bad.

"That simple?"

Bai Sheng was rather puzzled. Judging from the sword's initial attitude, he had thought Aatrox would be a tough nut to crack.

"Yes. I'm just a soul now and don't have much power. Since you passed my test, I'll let you command me."

After speaking, Aatrox thrust his hand into his heart, pulled out a red crystal, and pressed it against Bai Sheng's forehead.

The crystal was like water, instantly melting into Bai Sheng's head.

"What was that?"

Bai Sheng rubbed his head. He had only felt a slight heat just now, followed by the sensation that the strength in his body had somehow grown greater.

"Think of it as a master-servant contract. From now on, you are the master of me, Aatrox."

No wonder Aatrox had risen to become the foremost Cataclysm Vanguard. He had directly planted his source power into Bai Sheng's mind. By doing so, it was equivalent to placing his life in Bai Sheng's hands. As long as Bai Sheng did not die, Aatrox could continue existing.

Even if this fragment of Aatrox's soul were to perish, he could slowly revive through the source power left within Bai Sheng's body.

What was vision? This was vision!

Aatrox felt that he was simply brilliant!

"Oh, right. Sister Pandora said she would build you a body. Do you have any requirements for its appearance?"

Bai Sheng asked. Though he did not know what Aatrox had planted in his mind, it was certainly beneficial to him without any drawbacks. So, Bai Sheng could let the soul customize his own face.

"I am the foremost Cataclysm Vanguard under the Lord of Annihilation! My appearance..."

As Aatrox spoke, Bai Sheng used his Spirit Puppet Talent to construct a vessel for him.

As the name implied, Spirit Puppets allowed Bai Sheng to provide souls with puppets, giving them puppet bodies.

Though this Talent seemed unimpressive, its enhancement to physical strength was the strongest in all of Kasantiya.

It granted self-healing comparable to 〔Abundance〕, strength beyond that of ordinary people, and specialized enhancements to the five senses. The "Golden Eyes" Bai Sheng had used before were a direct manifestation of heightened senses.

"You have so many demands!"

"What do you know? This is proof of my strength!"

Before long, Bai Sheng finished constructing Aatrox's puppet body.

"Done!"

Bai Sheng clapped his hands and looked at the dark-red puppet before him, which stood two meters tall.

Its dark-red face was covered by a pitch-black facial plate, with two black horns on its head. Its pupils shone red, the color of slaughter. Its shoulders were covered in black rocky pauldrons, and embedded in its chest was the red crystal from the Greatsword that had originally housed Aatrox. A pair of deep-red bat wings extended from its back.

As for the weapon, Aatrox said he was still accustomed to his original Greatsword. Bai Sheng simply took the lazy route and used that Greatsword directly.

He had merely added a layer of automatic-repair buff to it with his Spirit Puppet Talent. The blood-red greatsword exuded a dangerous 〔Destruction〕 aura.

"This is my body! I, Aatrox, have returned! Kid, let me in!"

Bai Sheng brought the Scythe Blade close to the puppet as well. The red crystal on the Scythe Blade quickly dimmed, while light appeared in the puppet's eyes instead.

"This is... my new body! Hahahahaha! After all these years! I, Aatrox, have returned! Mortals! Tremble! I am the end of the world!"

"Stop acting crazy!"

Bai Sheng punched the back of his head. Aatrox, meanwhile, grumbled inwardly:

"If that person weren't protecting you, I'd have split you in two with one swing of my sword long ago."

On the surface, he merely nodded unwillingly.

Then he spread the blood-red fleshy wings behind him and took flight.

Bang!

Without question, the fool immediately slammed into the ceiling of the ship.

"Pfft! Sorry, I've had professional training. Normally, I wouldn't laugh..."

Seeing how hard Bai Sheng was holding it in, Aatrox pulled his head out of the ship's ceiling and said indifferently:

"If you want to laugh, then laugh..."

Soon, Bai Sheng's laughter filled the entire ship...

Ten minutes later, Silver Wolf, Sam, and Blade all came over to see just how powerful Bai Sheng's first harvested soul was.

"So this is the final result of our wasted trip?"

Silver Wolf sized Aatrox up, not particularly interested. The sharp, blade-like fingers alone told her that this big guy definitely wasn't suited for gaming.

"Little girl! You're looking down on me! I am Aatrox, leader of the Darkin!"

As Aatrox spoke, he flexed the muscles of his current body.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. That race whose entire species got sealed into weapons, right? I know, I know."

Silver Wolf mocked.

The Darkin were a powerful race, and every one of them was battle-hungry. Most of their kin awakened violent offensive Paths such as [Destruction] or the [Path of the Hunt].

But they were far too flamboyant and believed themselves invincible. In the end, Diamond of the Ten Stone Hearts of the Interastral Peace Corporation personally led a team to seal their entire race into all manner of weapons with the power of [Preservation].

You might ask why Pandora had found it so easy to pull Aatrox out of the sword. Wasn't there supposed to be a seal?

Sorry, but that seal only worked on Emanators and those below them. As for anyone above an Emanator... heh, sorry, it was as fragile as paper. She hadn't felt a thing.

(PS: As for Aatrox, that was purely personal preference. I only incorporated a tiny bit of League of Legends lore. Don't argue with me—if you do, then baby, you're right.)