The Rest Is Up to You
Is this why you're willing to give up yourself and merge with me?
A long silence followed.
Uchiha Kei slowly raised his head and looked at the aged Heavenly Soul.
The Heavenly Soul pondered for a moment and said, "I have been traveling through the river of time for a full hundred million years."
"Over these 100 million years, I've tried many possibilities, but..."
Without exception, they all failed.
In the murky eyes of the Heavenly Soul, fragments of images seemed to flash by.
"Even if I possess absolute power, a power you cannot even imagine."
But I still failed.
Uchiha Kei was somewhat confused. "Absolute power? Surpassing a True Immortal?"
Heavenly Soul gave a bitter laugh, "True Immortal? When your strength is unparalleled throughout the ages, True Immortals are nothing but ants."
Uchiha Kei's pupils suddenly contracted.
Are true immortals nothing more than ants?
His current strength is only at the pseudo-immortal level, yet he has already dominated the Shinobi World.
Even against a powerful Otsutsuki Clan, Uchiha Kei was not afraid in the slightest.
But Heavenly Soul said that he once possessed the power to regard True Immortals as ants!
Such strength...
Yet, I still have no choice but to merge with him?
What exactly is the reason?
Uchiha Kei felt like his head was about to explode.
"It is not an enemy in the conventional sense; no matter how strong you are, it's all in vain before it."
A deep fear flashed in Heavenly Soul's eyes.
"So, you consider me its rival?"
Uchiha Kei recalled the terrifying eyeball from his previous memories.
Heavenly Soul shook his head. "I don't think so."
"Then you're still willing to merge with me?"
Uchiha Kei looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Because..."
Heavenly Soul shrugged dejectedly. "This is the only path I have left."
Uchiha Kei fell silent again.
"Come, Human Soul, merge with me, and you will possess two souls and five spirits. Only the Earth Soul remains to complete us."
Heavenly Soul struggled to get out of bed and staggered to his side.
Slowly, he stretched out his hand, as withered and aged as a dead tree.
Looking at those aged hands, Uchiha Kei was unsure what to do.
For him, the benefits of integration were undoubtedly enormous.
The complete Will of the Sword.
The power of a true immortal!
Even if it's still not as good as the Earth Soul, at least it has the possibility of giving it a shot.
But...
"You wander through time, once..."
Uchiha Kei paused for a moment, then asked, "Have you seen me before?"
Heavenly Soul seemed to have anticipated his question.
A smile appeared on his aged face. "I've seen him."
What will be my fate?
Uchiha Kei's heart tightened, and he quickly pressed for more information.
"The ending? I don't know."
Heavenly Soul slowly shook his head.
"Don't know? How could I not know? Aren't you able to travel through time?"
Heavenly Soul's answer greatly surprised Uchiha Kei.
"What you gain, you will inevitably lose; this is an eternal truth."
Heavenly Soul sighed, "The reason I look so old is because I went to see your future, and the result..."
Heavenly Soul looked sadly at his aged arm.
"This is what I've lost."
"What's the meaning?"
Uchiha Kei asked, puzzled, "You saw my future, that's why you've aged?"
Heavenly Soul thought for a moment, then slowly raised his hand.
A long, colorful river suddenly appeared in Uchiha Kei's sight.
"This is the river of time."
Heavenly Soul pointed his finger at the starting point of the long river, and a pure white light immediately appeared.
"This is me."
Then, at the end of the long river, a dark spot of light appeared.
"This is you."
Heavenly Soul waved his hand.
The white light drifted to the dark light, and the two lights were on a line of equilibrium.
"I went to your future, and so..."
The black light spot expanded rapidly, engulfing the white light spot.
The white light source teetered precariously amidst the black specks of light, its glow appearing and disappearing intermittently.
Final.
"Buzz--"
Two beams of light burst forth simultaneously, illuminating the river of time.
Exploded instantly!
The vibrant river of time was instantly shattered into countless fragments, transforming into tributaries that flowed into endless darkness.
"This is the result."
Heavenly Soul waved his hand.
The shattered river of time, the black specks of light, and the white specks of light all vanished into nothingness.
"Wh... what do you mean?"
Uchiha Kei was even more confused.
The Heavenly Soul shook its head. "I can travel through time, but I simply cannot travel through the time in which you and the Earth Soul exist."
"Why?"
Under Uchiha Kei's gaze, Heavenly Soul's expression instantly turned furious.
"Why? How should I know why! By the time I found out, things had turned out this way!"
"My abilities were also taken by A-Yi and given to you!"
"Why do you think so?"
"Cough cough cough..."
The Heavenly Soul roared in fury, followed by a violent cough.
The power of the Heavenly Soul...
It was taken by A-Yi and given to him?
Uchiha Kei was taken aback for a moment, then immediately thought of the Space-Time Mission.
Could it be...?
The reason why Space-Time Mission can travel through time is because...
Did A-Yi put the Heavenly Soul's power into the system?
"But it doesn't matter."
After a violent cough, Heavenly Soul's expression returned to calm.
"If A-Yi hadn't taken away his abilities, I guess he still wouldn't have made up his mind, so..."
"Alright."
Uchiha Kei paused for a moment, then slowly spoke.
Why did A-Yi do that?
Heavenly Soul pondered for a moment, "Perhaps it's also because... you're a person."
Uchiha Kei:...
That sounds so awkward...
"Alright, that concludes the Q&A session."
Heavenly Soul stretched his shoulders and suddenly grabbed Uchiha Kei's hand.
Moment.
A strange fluctuation appeared in the room.
Uchiha Kei felt a surge of heat flow from his palm to his heart.
"Human Soul."
Heavenly Soul's expression was exceptionally calm, with a relieved smile playing on his lips.
"The rest is up to you."