Infinite Evolution System Made Me Too OP!

Chapter 227: The Truth, An Inescapable Past

...…

"What…??"

Azmodeus was even more confused than before, as he never would've expected the God of Darkness to be so strong, especially when considering that the Goddess of Light was only of the Late Star Radiance Rank.

It was this realization that led to him setting down Primordial Checkpointers in locations even further than where they were previously placed.

One world-shaking discovery after another may have been thrown in front of him, but he refused to allow himself to lose his cogent state of mind.

"..."

The God of Darkness stared at the crimson-haired man trying his best to control himself, causing the god to inwardly smirk.

He is truly better than all the ones that came before—one worthy to inherit everything that we lost in the battle with the 10 True Astral Princes, oh, so many years ago…

Following this thought, he focused on the topic at hand and said, "I will be frank with you and tell you that your existence is akin to an experiment—an experiment conducted by versions of yourself from a future yet to come to pass."

"...Me from the future…" Azmodeus muttered with a tone of disbelief.

"Yes, I was the latest in line of Azmodeus's—someone who came from a time period so far into the future that nothing of today is still left the same in my time."

The God of Darkness waved his hand once more as he conjured up numerous dark/white lights, attempting to display the long vicissitudes of time.

He allowed a seemingly unlimited number of memories to flash by, depicting events that have not yet happened.

From those memories, Azmodeus was able to understand that nothing the God of Darkness said was in jest, as these memories were of him…

All the way down to his birth and the very first moment he obtained the system—a system that the Goddess of Light was somehow completely unaware of, even though she knew almost everything about him.

"Do you now understand why it is that I have come here?"

Azmodeus was taken out of his thoughts by the inquisitive voice of the God of Darkness, as he wasn't sure how he should digest everything recently transmitted to him…

However, after a moment of hyperthinking, he calmed his nerves and said, "I now know that you and I are the same, but I don't understand the Goddess of Light's involvement in the Astral Plane… Why does she know so much, and what is her purpose…?"

"The Goddess of Light…"

The God of Darkness seemed to recall faint memories from long ago. Then, with an ancient tone, he said, "I was the one to create her in my run, and she was created for the sole purpose of finding and assisting the version of me capable of achieving what I could not.

You see, in the beginning of my run, I took a similar path to yours. But after meeting the Demon God, Lord of the Demon Empire, in the same manner as you met me, I was unable to overcome what the Demon God asked of me…

It was because of this failure and the countless failures that occurred before me that I opted toward a different approach—one that had a high-risk, high-reward outcome.

You see, all of us had the Infinite Evolution System awaken when we died in the Yang Sect, and after a few years of evolution, we eventually ended up meeting the one who came before—a version of ourselves that ruled over the world just as you're about to achieve.

In my case, it was the Demon God. However, unlike you, the Demon God had no exterior rival… He was the unrivaled #1.

It was this very existence—someone who transcended the Star Radiance Realm—that asked me to achieve or pass on what he could not… what none of us could achieve…

After I followed the same line of defeat as my predecessor, with the Ten True Astral Princes sealing off all routes of escape, I decided to veer away from the usual options that we take…

I created the Goddess of Light and played with the strings of fate enough that you didn't encounter me within the first ten thousand years.

With the Goddess of Light working against you on the outside and helping you on the inside. Then, to also have my intangible presence looming over your other shoulder, you were given just enough pressure to activate a yearning for power that none of us ever had…

You may not understand what I'm talking about, and you may never truly understand. But just know that the Goddess of Light was a copy of an existence I caught a glimpse of in a crack between dimensions.

And as I was the only one to get so close to what the 10 True Astral Princes hid from us, I was the only one to receive something other than eternal solitude—I received the opportunity to create and manipulate the Goddess of Light—the only person capable of deriving and creating systems from a higher plane of existence…!

She was supposed to be our salvation—the salvation who would lead us one step to whoever or whatever created the Infinite Evolution System and gave it to us!

But in the end, nothing ever goes right in our lives—our excruciatingly long and lonely lives…

All versions of Azmodeus met people, befriended a few, and even married women of both Prometheus and the Astral Plane.

However, there was never meant to be any happiness for us, as our path to power was blocked…

The women around us died to limited lifespans, and those we met along the way became one with the dirt below our soles…

Even so, we continued to try…

My predecessors lived out their lives, lasting a number of Epochs, all in hopes of overcoming our eternal curse or finding someone who would.

But even after so many years of trying everything all of us could think of, nothing ever worked…

Jue Mei refused to interfere in the matter… No gods answered our calls… No one heeded our pleas for help…

The Gods abandoned us, the people despised us, the world wanted us dead, and this cage kept us trapped here…

We were forced to live out lives filled with a mental form of torture far more painful than the measly pain inflicted upon us by the Infinite Evolution System's 'Cost for Power'—a power that was restricted to us from the very beginning."

The God of Darkness's voice became indescribable after reaching this part of the retelling.

He ascertained the reaction of the younger version of him and was surprised to find out that his expression emitted nothing but indifference and unwillingness.

He is truly different from the rest of us…

There might be the slimmest chance that he does the impossible and accomplishes something that the rest of us could only uselessly grasp at…

The God of Darkness had an untold number of complex emotions flash past his ancient gaze as he walked over to a nearby window seal and looked up at the full moon.

He wondered exactly how he ended up alone and on his last legs…

But regardless of his resistance against a fate already set in stone, he turned his rapidly decaying face in Azmodeus's direction. Then, he said, "You are different, not because of your companions or power, or even your talent, but because of one simple thing… You were born with the world against you right from the get-go.

And without any room for respite like the rest of us had, your will stands the highest chance of overcoming the restrictions set in place by the Ten Astral Princes."

Azmodeus was still immersed in the previous words of the God of Darkness when he suddenly realized that the god in question had started to visibly dry up and flake off into the air.

Just as Azmodeus was about to ask about his condition, the God of Darkness spoke first and said, "You are different… You will be different….. Promise me that you will be different….. I don't know how much more we can take of this eternal suffering…"

His voice became strained toward the end as it started to crack and disperse into the infinite void of nothingness.

Although Azmodeus was still in the process of hyper-comprehending everything being said, he had the necessary lucidity to respond, "I will achieve greater power, and I will never stop my search. This will remain true for far longer than an eternity… Absolutely no one will prevent this eventuality. That much, I swear to you."

After hearing the invigorating response uttered by Azmodeus Crimson, a smile nearly formed in the God of Darkness's cracked face. "I do hope you remember the promise you made today…" He muttered.

~Whoosh~

With a melancholic breeze similar to the one that started it all, the God of Darkness forever vanished…

His life had been nothing but an eternal nightmare—a nightmare that was now no more… as he finally became… free.

It was a sense of freedom that transcended all limitations and forced a smile upon the once-handsome face of one who tried to escape the cycle.

"..."

Azmodeus watched the God of Darkness disappear, as he couldn't help but recall his promise—a promise that he would either achieve or die for.

It was with this resolve driving him forward that he blurred away from the Kingdom of Darkness.

His whole existence moved him toward the next step on the path to Infinite Evolution.

End of Volume 2.