CHAPTER 242: WHAT IS DEATH?

Ash was so consumed while reading the books that he lost track of time. Even though his body and mind were tired, his thoughts remained clear, absorbing everything written in those pages with surprising ease, as if the words were meant for him and him alone.

"Without Death, there can be no life, and without life, Death waits unfulfilled."

Death was not created by anyone. Death simply was. It had always existed, silent and unmoving, watching the birth and fall of all things. It did not hunger, it did not rage, it simply observed, as patient as the endless void.

When life appeared, Death did not hate it. Death did not try to destroy it. Instead, it became life’s silent partner, walking alongside it without ever speaking a word. For life without an ending is not life at all, it is endless suffering without rest.

Death is not the enemy of life, it is the balance that makes life possible. You breathe in, but one day, you must breathe out. A river flows, but it must eventually meet the sea. Flowers bloom in beauty, but they must return to the soil that birthed them.

Without Death, the world would be crowded with things that never leave, never change, and never grow.

"Death is not darkness, for darkness can be banished by light. Death is not void, for void can be filled."

To understand Death is to see that it is not a straight road that ends, but a circle that turns forever. What is gone will one day return in another form. Death is the gardener who cuts away the old to let the new grow. Death is the tide that pulls back the waves, only to send them forward again with renewed strength.

To those who fear it, Death feels like pain and loss. But to those who accept it, Death is gentle, like a final lullaby before a deep and peaceful sleep.

Ash found himself engrossed in the book, as if the words carried some addictive pull. Each sentence seemed to pull him deeper, and to his surprise, he found the experience strangely captivating.

When he finally finished the book, a satisfied smile appeared on his face. Closing his eyes, he attempted to convert his mana into Death. He could feel the mana stir, the particles colliding, trying to change into something else. Some of them darkened into pitch-black fragments, but each time they flickered briefly before fading away into nothing.

Yes, the particles died.

And the same thing happened again and again.

Time passed, but the essence of Death never took form.

"Looks like I need to read more about it..... though, let’s rest for a while.... I need to meet with Nancy as well, time is nearing."

It was already late, 9:45 in the night. Both Elysia and Ash met at sharp 10 o’clock, and they would spend a few hours together before sleeping. It was their time to rest and relax after the intense workouts and training sessions both of them had endured.

Rising from his chair in the Soul Library, Ash willed the bookshelf beside him to move. In the blink of an eye, it was replaced by another, this one bearing the title ’DEATH’. A single book rested there. The real version was still in Ash’s hands, but here, its contents had been preserved in the form of a memory.

Hmm..... Rather than Soul Library, I think the name Library of Memories suits it much better...

Thinking thoughts like that, Ash exited the library and appeared in his Soul Space.

It was still the same as before, the same Soul Tree adorned with beautiful and colorful leaves, a bright sky above, and the endless pitch-black sea beneath.

.....exactly, his Soul Sea was the same as before, filled with nothing but... negative emotions.

While it was true that memories did not trouble Ash anymore, but the negative emotions amplified by Dark Ash still remained, heavy and unmoving. They had not vanished, nor had they faded.

These emotions were strange, almost foreign, and he could not wrap his head around them no matter how hard he thought.

Even Ash himself could not understand why this was happening... why his emotions were present in his Soul Sea, and why only the negative ones remained, with not a trace of the positive.

Though...

Yeah... my life was filled with more sadness than happiness...

The ratio between his happiness and sadness was like one to ten, so it was obvious why the negative ones were far more prominent.

Do they also serve as water for the tree?

It was just a passing thought, a small curiosity, as if wondering whether his emotions acted as nourishment for the Soul Tree, silently feeding it from the depths of the dark sea. And the reason why his Soul Tree bark was black.

He did not know, but it was a question worth pondering over.

Strangely enough, Snow had already found his home. He lived in the Soul Vault, making piles of gold coins into his nest, curling over them most of the time like a lazy snake draped over its treasure.

What was strange was that Snow did not eat anything while in the soul. Yes... exactly, if he stayed here, he needed no food at all. Yet outside, Snow would drain Ash dry without mercy.

Looks like Snow likes shiny things...

It was definitely a cute thing to watch, but Ash was in a bit of a hurry. If he wasted more time, he would be late to meet with Elysia.

He would play with Snow later.

After that, he left the Soul Space.

Ash stood up in his dorm room, stretching his hands and body, the stiffness in his muscles making him let out a quiet sigh. He rubbed his eyes, which still begged for sleep and rest, then walked toward the window, gazing at the beautiful moon and the countless stars scattered across the sky.

"At least this world has a clear sky..."

There was no pollution here, so the night sky was pure and endless, painting a breathtaking image that felt alive and untouched. To him, it was nothing less than spectacular.

As he stood there, his thoughts drifted like clouds, following the pale light of the moon...

Then his eyes suddenly widened.

"DAMN!!!"

"How could I forget that???"

Ash almost jumped out of the window in shock. He had finally remembered what he had been forgetting all this time. He had completely forgotten to take back the Moon Stone and Star Stone from the dwarves.

"But they are all dead... did the stones even survive the explosion?"

He did not know, so he did what he had prepared as a countermeasure long ago. He tried to sense the Anchor he had placed on the boxes containing the stones, but...

.....he sensed nothing.

His expression tightened as he opened his status, quickly going into the skill description of Transcendent Step.

**

Skill: Transcendent Step

Rank: Saint

Description:

-Transcendent Step allows the user to instantly teleport to any location they have previously visited and any point within their direct line of sight.

-The user can also mark physical objects to act as teleport anchors, and teleport at that anchor point.

Current Anchors : 1/3

**

The anchors were only showing 1, which meant...

"The other two anchors are destroyed..."

The last anchor had been with Elysia all along, but with the other two missing, there was only one conclusion that made sense.

Ash exhaled slowly, his gaze heavy. Looks like both the stones got destroyed... in the explosion...

But still... I can’t ignore the possibility that someone took the stones first, and then destroyed the boxes...

If that’s true... I need to confirm it myself...

The suspicion was not without reason. After the blast, once his mind had cleared and the dizziness faded, Ash had immediately set out to find the Rune in the other cities of the Dwarf Continent.

Everyone in the Iron hall city had been wiped out, so finding the Rune — the very thing he had come here for — became his top priority.

Yet the moment he entered the next city, an all-too-familiar unease washed over him, the same unsettling feeling he had experienced back in Iron Hall City.

Trusting his instincts, he used Elemental Sight... and there they were — Hollowborns, drifting through the air like silent shadows.

He left that city at once, his expression growing darker.

Then he went to another city... then another... and another.

But in every single one, a Hollow Mother awaited him.

The only place he hadn’t set foot in was the Central City.

With Hollow Mothers guarding each city, his search for the Rune was impossible. Every time he entered, the dwarves would attack him with full force, giving him no chance to investigate.

What disturbed him even more was how quickly the Hollow Mothers themselves reacted. The moment he stepped foot into a city, they would move against him directly, almost as if they already knew who he was — as if they knew he was an enemy.

It made him wonder if they were connected, sharing some unseen link. Otherwise, it made no sense for them to target him so quickly and with such hostility.

Because of this, Ash was unable to obtain the Rune... at least for now.

Thus, his attention had shifted to training his sword, putting aside the search for the time being.

But now, recalling all of it, the unease began to stir again. That lingering what if’ circled in his mind, refusing to leave.

...Sigh... I will think about it later...

This was not the moment to dwell on it. Time was slipping away. Only five minutes remained before the clock struck 10 p.m., and he had to meet Elysia.

Without wasting another moment, Ash teleported away.

***