Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

Chapter 190: Meeting

--

Something happened during Cedric's slumber...

He found his consciousness arriving at a certain place. Where? He doesn't know. He doesn't know how he got here either, only that he's 'here' somehow.

At this moment, Cedric barely recognizes what's happening. It's as if he's half-conscious. His eyes were glazed, seemingly distracted by something else entirely.

Despite this, Cedric still roamed this place somehow.

He found himself in a vast expanse of white. He stood on a non-existent ground and walked as if he knew where he was going.

As he did this, his surroundings warped. Scenes of his life played out in a panoramic view, it's like he's marching in the hall of fame.

What's interesting is that, his memories were the ones playing on the expanse on his right side, on the left was someone else's. The scenes, albeit containing major differences, also had a strong resemblance.

If Cedric was completely awake right now, he would've noticed that the memories playing on the left were from the Godking - the entity whose eyes he inherited.

His and the Godking's memories were playing right next to each other as he walked in the middle. All of their struggles so far, their fortune and tribulations...

Cedric's experiences weren't as rich as the Godking had, which was understandable considering the differences between their age but they pretty much started the same way - as dregs of the society.

When it reached the point where Cedric's recent memories were playing out, the ones that happened right before he lost consciousness, he stopped moving.

He stood still as a humongous rune appeared above and below him, seemingly shrouding heaven and earth. Those runes resembled an eye of so far, and they pincers Cedric's consciousness in between their humongous sizes.

A rainbow-colored light scanned Cedric's 'body', seemingly inspecting him from head to toe. Once it was done, silence occurred for a brief moment before a great upheaval began.

The endless expanse of white erupted into all manner of colors. It swallowed absolutely everything, including Cedric's consciousness.

Space warped multiple times, tendrils of reality weaved, forming all manner of shapes in sizes. This continued until it reached a stage where nothing was making sense anymore.

Then, with a snap of...something, all activity paused for the briefest of moments before all hell broke loose.

When Cedric's consciousness re-gathered, he found himself standing in a vast expanse of a universe. He stood inside the nebula at the very center of it all, seemingly in control of every aspect of this place.m

"W-where am I?" Cedric stammered as he looked around.

He felt the strangest thing. First, he's unusually calm despite the initial shock. But more importantly, he could truly sense everything around him with crystal clear clarity.

The silverish swirls of stars were his memories, the mixture of purple, violet, and black that contained them was his soul, and the nebula he was at was his Spiritual Origin - the very thing that made him unique.

'Cedric Stormrider, was it?'

He was alarmed by a sudden voice echoing in his ears. He swiftly turned around only to see a blurry cascade of light forming a visage of a person. What left a deep impression on Cedric was the ghost's eyes.

Its eyes resembled the very same pair of eyes Cedric inherited - bright gold mixed with purple veins. Cedric's eyes weren't exactly this color just yet but he knew that these little differences represented his real mastery and ownership of these eyes.

"You are..."

'...merely a ghost of the past, nothing more, nothing less.' The ghost replied to his inquiry. 'Who I am before is meaningless now. I am but a fragment of my previous self. I do not hold the same reputation or power as I once had when I was still alive.'

'A remnant... a spiritual fragment or simply, a ghost, is what I am. You need not be afraid.'

Even though the ghost said these words, Cedric couldn't help but feel nervous still. How can he be so casual in front of this person knowing who he was?

Isn't this the real owner of these eyes? The Godking that clawed his way out of the slums and became a true god of billions of lives? Yes, what's in front of Cedric was just a tiny fragment of the real one but that hardly makes a difference, especially considering that this person was technically Cedric's master.

'You've done well, so far. I am glad that it's you who inherited my eyes.'

Those were a few simple and sincere words. Yet when Cedric heard it, he couldn't help but feel his heart swell. A flood of relief washed his entire being. It's as if a burden he didn't know he was carrying all this time, was lifted, allowing him to breathe more easily.

"T-Thank you." Cedric choked on his reply.

As weird as this sounds, he feels really emotional right now. He isn't one to seek validation from people because he's used to being a disappointment. All of the achievements he had during the past year or so, all stemmed from inheriting this person's eyes.

Simply put, Cedric was merely lucky. If it wasn't for these eyes, he would probably be dead by now because there was no way that he'd survive his Hell Dives without these eyes.

He knew this too, that he was simply lucky. He didn't believe for a second that he had truly achieved something noteworthy just yet. That's why he's extra harsh on himself and mad at other people who are wasting their precious gifts.

Cedric had been working hard to at least feel worthy of having these eyes. And to hear that his efforts have been noticed by the one person that mattered really validated his existence and his efforts. That person also said that they're glad that it was he who inherited the eyes, and that means a lot for Cedric. That's why he couldn't help but feel emotional.

He felt a cold, yet at the same time warm, touch landing on both of his shoulders. He looked up and saw that the same pair of eyes he inherited were now gazing directly at him.

'As much as I wanted to talk to you some more, I'm afraid that we don't have much time left. I've already overstayed my welcome here...it's time for me to move on.' The ghost calmly stated.

Cedric was stunned and felt sad about this. He then felt a gentle pat on his head before hearing:

'What a kind child you are...I'd love to personally see you grow and reach the same heights I've reached before...maybe even surpass it, but sadly, it's impossible.'

'If I insist on staying here, I will only be detrimental to your growth. Additionally, my existence isn't appreciated by this world, after all, I am not its native.'

'We must part ways here. But before I go, I want you to know that I couldn't have chosen a better inheritor myself. Having you as a new user of my eyes is not just your lucky chance, but mine as well. So stand tall and take pride in that.'

The fragment of the Godking's soul stated, causing Cedric to feel warm inside.

'My passing has come.' He said, 'Don't mourn for me, you know that I've lived well. As my last gift to you, I shall help you become the real owner of these eyes.'

On his words, a brilliant radiance erupted from the ghost's eyes. A huge maelstrom covered both of them, only, little by little, the ghost's visage was fading.

Cedric lost all sense of the present. Becoming completely immersed in the violent yet also comforting changes that he's feeling in his eye-sockets.

As he faded, the ghost of the Godking smiled one more time and nodded in satisfaction. He gave Cedric one last look filled with pride as he raised his head to the skies a faded completely.

...with that, the Godking was truly no more.

As for Cedric, an untold amount of time passed in his immersion. Once he opened his eyes, a brilliant gold radiance erupted briefly from them before fading.

Taking a closer look at his eyes, they were now bright gold mixed with faint purple veins - the same look as the real appearance of Godking's eyes.

When his consciousness returned, Cedric couldn't help but feel a sense of omnipotence. All sorts of insights and knowledge appeared on his mind even without his output.

His thoughts were already smooth before but they climbed to a whole new level after this. The ease of multi-tasking also became easier for him.

Beyond that, there is a feeling of completeness within him that he never knew existed, most likely because, before the recent events, he hadn't been the real owner of these eyes, just merely their inheritor.

Cedric didn't need to look around, he knew that the Godking had truly left and passed on. Only memories of his remained on Cedric's mind - things that he would never dare to forget.

As of this point onwards, Cedric was now the real owner of these eyes.

Deciding that he had rested enough, he willed himself to retreat from this place and return to reality - where he met a pair of ladies who were looking worriedly at him.

Wearing a gentle smile on his face, he greeted:

"Hey, girls. What did I miss?"