Chapter 203 Status

"What in the 30,000 Worlds are you?!"

Dorian's eyes were focused as he ignored Kaladin, staring intently forward.

When Kaladin had called up the first Array access point, Dorian had felt an instinctive connection. Just as the Thunder Saint said, the Array was one built by the Demon Emperor, accessible only by other Demons.

Thus, accessing it was a cinch.

When he had activated it, he found himself surrounded by a flurry of lights. Various sensations washed over him as the Array seemed to scan him, his soul vibrating. The scan detected the various Demonic Laws he had gained, automatically accepting him as a Demon.

At the same time, he sensed a feeling of obstruction, as if he didn't have the authority to do anything despite being a Demon. It recognized him as someone that wasn't an enemy, but didn't give him full control.

As the scan finished, a familiar voice greeted him, tinged with confusion.

'Disciple Obelisk? Why are you in the central Array Control Zone?'

Dorian smiled.

'Master bubble!'

He sent a mental message back to the Array Genie in response,

'I am undergoing official business for the Demon Emperor. Please refrain from interfering and grant me full access.' His mental voice was authoritative, filled with absolute confidence.

'Of course!' The Array Genie didn't hesitate a whit. Immediately, the feeling of obstruction vanished as Dorian gained full access to the Array.

WHOOSH

Light blinded Dorian for a moment. Briefly, he could sense the chains that bound Moria shiver but eventually remain still. A faint Demonic Aura wrapped itself around him, causing him to frown slightly.

'There's the other Array Network Kaladin told me about.'

"You… you are recognized by his Signature Control Key?!"

Dorian ignored Kaladin again as he focused on the new Array network. He could sense it with his soul, feeling the various lines of energy and mysterious symbols it was composed of. The Magic was foreign to him, at its very core. He had never studied anything about Arrays and the Magic behind them.

'I'll add that to the list of things to learn about.' That and Magic itself were two things he hadn't had the time to grasp. He relied on his powerful forms, Abilities, and various Laws to show off his might.

'Hmm… I can feel a certain something resonate in my soul…' Dorian frowned, his eyes gleaming with light. When he touched the second Array Network, he could feel a level of familiarity. It wasn't quite like the first one, but it was still something similar.

It was as if the Array was recognizing him.

'No… it's not recognizing me!' He smiled slightly as he realized what was happening.

It was recognizing the fragment of Yukeli's soul that was partially fused with his.

"It's still useless. You might be able to access Karsos' Array Network, but the Array Network left behind by us can only be directly accessed by Yukel-"

A second circle of light burst into existence in the air in front of Dorian as he successfully managed to access the Array Network Yukeli had helped set up. When it detected the remnant soul of Yukeli, it automatically set about forming a connection, almost as if the Array itself was desperate to form one.

'Eesh, is it… clingy? Can an Array Network be clingy?' Dorian's face twitched as he sensed the response from the Array.

"W-w-what?! By Ausra's spatula, how in the 30,000 Worlds is that possible?!?!" Kaladin's words echoed his shock. For something to stun so powerful a figure as the Thunder Saint, it was doubtlessly something momentous,

"You can access Yukeli and Ausra's Array? It recognizes you?! How?!!"

Once again, Dorian ignored his words as he focused.

'Hmm? It won't let me do anything?' As he tried to make the Array activate and open up, commanding it to let them out, he felt something blocking him. Unlike how it was with the other Array, this one didn't seem to have given him full, unlimited access.

'Oh?' As he thought this, he felt a faint tingling in his soul.

This tingling sensation came from his Soul Spell Matrix, the complex collection of magical symbols in his soul that were connected with millions of lines of energy.

'It's… resonating?' When he ran into a wall blocking his access, his Soul Spell Matrix had started to vibrate and shiver…

"Even if you can access the network Yukeli and Ausra built, there is a safeguard that requires Ausra's presence to be-"

WHOOSH

In his mind, Dorian felt a connection once again form, this time between his Soul Spell Matrix and the Array. Specifically… Dorian felt it form between Ausra, his Soul Spell Matrix Genie, and the Array Network.

'Ausra? Can you unlock this Array and help us break past this last set of chains?' He instantly asked, excitement filling him.

'Scanning…' Ausra's cool voice echoed in his head.

The Array had detected Ausra's presence in his Soul Spell Matrix and seemed to accept that as a substitute for whatever requirements it had.

A perfect collection of coincidences had all lined up, through a trick of Fate or sheer luck, Dorian wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to let this opportunity go to waste.

'…This Array is now accessible…' Ausra's voice responded mechanically. At the same time, Dorian felt a full, unobstructed connection form.

He now had full access to both overlapping Arrays, giving him full control over the Sealing Array Network.

With a single thought, he was able to bring all of the chains that were binding Moria up into the air, pulling them all taut. Light shuddered and flashed as he commanded this action, smiling fiercely.

"Who the hell are you?!" Finally, as Dorian safely finished concentrating, he looked over at Kaladin. The Thunder Saint had his hands in his hair, his mouth open as he looked at Dorian as if he was a lunatic.

"I'm Batma-, cough. Ahem." He patted on his chest lightly,

"I'm Dorian." He hardly went by his last name these days. Simply Dorian was enough.

"I've managed to gain control of both Arrays. I can sense that it's possible to pull almost all of the chains off of Moria, and at the same time, pull us out of here." He could indeed feel that all of this was possible. When he gained control of both Array Networks, almost everything within them was at his command.

'If I wanted, I could wipe out those Demonic Inheritances with a snap of my fingers…' He frowned slightly,

'But if I do that, that would be the same thing as basically cutting off an entire branch of knowledge.'

Laws were merely Laws. Despite their names, the Demonic Laws were not inherently evil. While they were Demonic in nature, there were examples, Dorian knew, of Demons that weren't evil in the past.

Most people had their opinions colored by the multiple Great Wars, but Dorian, an outsider, considered everything from an outsider's point of view.

'…Who am I to be the arbiter of what Laws can exist and what cannot? I myself am no longer even truly human. In fact, I study all of the Demonic Laws… yet I would not consider myself evil.' As this last thought ran through his mind, he made a conscious decision.

He would leave the Inheritances intact, protected and powered by the powerful Array.

"I can't remove all of the chains. I can see that some of them are set almost permanently into Moria, sunken and fused after so many years." Probably 15% of the inner chains seemed to be impossible to remove, either because of time or by design.

Just by looking at this, Dorian could tell that the chains would absorb enough energy to power the Array protecting the Inheritances, as well as keep the center of Moria a deadzone.

'The rest of the world, however, will return to exactly how it used to be. Flourishing with energy, with life. A renaissance of Law for Moria.' He nodded,

'A complete victory. With this, the Shades will have to acknowledge me and Helena, and our escape should be assured!'

"Hup!"

The chains that he could affect began to shake and tremble, stretching towards a breaking point. At the same time, a glowing doorway appeared in thin air, vibrating with warm yellow light.

Dorian walked up to the doorway. In the background, the chains continued to stay pulled taut, slowly stretching out. They no longer needed his full focus, pulling to a breaking point almost on their own now. This caused the world around him to vibrate, light and energy fluctuating in the air. A fairly normal occurrence for him at this point during his time on Moria.

"Are you going to come with me? I'm about to snap the chains. The moment I walk through the portal, they will break on their own." He turned his attention fully towards the Thunder Saint, asking him a question.

Kaladin looked at the glowing door, his eyes wistful for a moment before he sighed,

"Your performance today has exceeded my every expectation, Mr. Demon Dorian. I have never met a being quite like you before. You don't give off the vicious vibe that many Demons of old did. If anything, you seem almost human to me." He gave him a small smile,

"Unfortunately, I'm just a soul and Soul Spell Matrix. I might be able to live for a few hours, but unless you can create a body for me out of thin air-"

"Yep, I can do that, though I'll need some kind of genetic data." Dorian immediately interjected, nodding his head as if it was completely normal.

Kaladin stared at him.

"You… you can make a body out of thin air? You do understand how extremely difficult that is, right, especially if you want to make it suitable for a random soul?" His response was muted, for some odd reason that Dorian couldn't deduce, as if he was almost afraid of Dorian's answer.

"Yes, and yep." Dorian replied with an offhand shrug.

"…"

"Have you done this before?" Kaladin's unblinking gaze never strayed from Dorian.

"Yep. Not too long ago, actually. You could say I'm a bit of an expert." He shamelessly bragged, feeling confident. The rush of control from the multiple Array Networks, plus the excitement from knowing he could escape this trap and aid the Demonic Councilmembers, had won over him.

"…"

"…"

"…"

Kaladin stared at him again.

Dorian stared back.

Abruptly, Kaladin broke out laughing,

"Well alright then, friend! That's good enough for me!" The cheerful man walked up and patted Dorian on the back, apparently deciding that nothing Dorian said could be too far-fetched. His eyes grew serious as he looked at him, the many years he had spent alone in this world likely contributing to his willingness to believe in Dorian.

"This is a favor I will never forget, till the day I pass. Let it not be said that I, the Thunder Saint, am a miser. As a show of trust, allow me to gift you this, young Demon." Kaladin tapped Dorian one more time, on the head. This time, however, his finger glowed with white light when it made contact.

WHOOSH

"Huh?!" Dorian felt energy coalesce and swarm around his soul. Raw, natural energy that thronged with power, pulsating. Despite the vast amount of energy, all of it remained relatively calm and safe, not pressuring or damaging him.

It was still a huge amount of energy, despite that. The large amount caused some slight amount of pain, though nothing too significant.

This energy began to seep into Dorian's soul, soaking in deep and empowering him.

"Over the hundreds of years that I have spent here, I've built up quite a large store of purified energy, something known as Soul Essence, thanks to my Angelic Class Soul Spell Matrix. The amount I lent you should be enough to greatly enhance yo-" Kaladin cut himself off.

"Mmm, that felt great!" Dorian smiled as he sensed the feeling wear off, checking the effect on his soul.

"Is that all of it?" He looked up, his eyes eager. He could feel a notable increase in his personal strength. He would check his Status in a moment to see the exact growth.

"Err…" Kaladin looked at his finger and then shrugged,

"I guess you aren't really a normal being." Instead of a finger, this time he just openly smacked Dorian in the head, literally slapping a vast amount of energy into Dorian's soul.

WHOOSH

"Ahhhhhh!" Dorian yelped out loud as equal parts pain and bliss filled his soul, an overwhelming torrent of energy serenading him.

"It hurts so gooood!"

Right as he finished yelling out loud, before Kaladin could even give him a weird look, the Thunder Saint's eyes widened.

When Kaladin smacked Dorian, he had accidentally sent Dorian tumbling into the doorway. The moment this happened, 85% of the remaining chains burst, setting everything in sight to a chaotic explosion of light and energy.

Without hesitation, Kaladin dove headfirst after Dorian, grabbing onto his shoulder as they both vanished into the glowing doorway.

"Hahahaha, great job, Mr. Demon Dorian! I really admire your decisiveness!" The Thunder Saint shamelessly complimented Dorian as if it had been his decision to dive into the portal out of the blue.

Dorian didn't have time to respond as he put all of his focus into having his soul devour the energy Kaladin had bestowed on him. A few seconds passed as the world warped and twisted around them. This shifting didn't last long, however.

Just moments later, the duo appeared exactly where Dorian had been before, landing back in the sealed-off throne room.

Dorian's soul devoured the energy Kaladin had imbued within it voraciously. It took only a few seconds for him to absorb almost everything he possibly could manage. Only about 10% of the Soul Essence went to waste as a rather full feeling settled upon him, making it very clear that even if Kaladin wanted to share more energy, his soul currently couldn't handle it.

This method of sharing Soul Essence to boost another being's soul was one very few people could attempt, and not many could gain much from it. The minimum requirement to attempt it was to be at the Angelic Class. As for receiving it… one would need a decently strong soul that had a somewhat low understanding of the Laws of the Universe, open to a large amount of growth.

As he arrived back in the throne room, Dorian didn't hesitate and instantly did something he'd been planning on for a while.

'Status.' He opened up his status, checking over all the various gains he had made from acquiring multiple Laws to taking in the energy that Kaladin abruptly gifted him with.

"…"

"…"

"Oh my gosh, what?!" He stared at this status in complete shock.

The numbers… they were simply too ridiculous!

-

Dorian - Soul Status

Soul Stage: Lord Class (Pseudo-King)

Health: Perfect

Energy: 500,909/533,221

-

He had already fully surpassed the average Energy Level of an Early King Class being, despite still being in Lord Class!

His Energy Level was double that of the Vice-Head of the Diamond Department, someone considered a freakish Lord Class genius with an abnormally powerful Energy Level!

Something that was supposed to be functionally impossible to achieve, the gap between the two Classes considered nearly insurmountable!

His Energy Level had, after all this time, more than doubled!

"This…" He blinked, smiling ferociously,

"This I can use."

.

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Next chapter on Friday (maaaybe Thursday, but expect it Friday, just in case). I know it's a few days, but these climatic chapters take a lot of planning to write and are very important; I want them to be perfect. I rewrote this chapter alone twice, making it match my vision. Also, I'm tired hahaha.

I'd rather post slowly but steadily than need to take a long hiatus/break or anything like that, eventually working our way back up to a semi-daily schedule.

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