The Demon Monarch System

Chapter 308 - Another Unknown Presence

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"What's the matter? Why are you looking at the doorway like that?" Geneva questioned, noticing Apollo's weird actions. This was something that never happened before. Usually, every student who appeared before the Origin Room's door would be enthused to enter. Yet, a weird situation was taking place.

It appeared Apollo didn't wish to enter at all. It wasn't due to fright, but due to the lack of awareness, 'This sensation...it doesn't feel human nor does it feel like Xezym's.'

One must remember, Xezym's species was birthed and resided within Darkness. They were close to the embodiment of darkness. However, unlike the darkness Demons could manipulate, theirs wasn't as despicable.

It was like comparing acid to water. In certain situations, water could be extremely dangerous, however, acid always carried with it great and immediately apparent dangers.

"What is locked behind this door? It doesn't feel like it used to. What has changed?" Apollo muttered after a bout of silence. Despite his attempts to discern the origin of the calling, he failed to do so. The defenses of the Origin Room proved to be sturdier than his mental strength. 

There were no lapses in the defensive formations for him to take advantage of. This rose another set of flags in his mind. If he couldn't look beyond, that meant the thing resonating with him was beyond his scope of power. To put it simply, entering that door would introduce him to unknown dangers.

Be that as it may, Geneva didn't sense what he did. Thus, she was at a loss, "Nothing. Except for the display that took place not too long ago, there have been no other changes," Geneva answered. Then, she paused as something else dawned upon her, "Why, what have you learned?"

Typically, Apollo would answer, but he didn't have one. As a result, he was left at an impasse, "That's the thing...I don't know. For safety precautions, enter with me. I don't know how much of a help you'll be but we'll see," Apollo responded after some time.

Since he requested reassurance, as a Headmaster, Geneva obliged, "Very well, I will do my best. If any signs of danger arise, I'll try to shield you to the best of my abilities."

"Yes, shield me to the best of your abilities. I'm sure this existence shouldn't be able to contend against you...my greatest subordinate," Apollo answered before pressing his hand against the door.

Meanwhile, Geneva was nonplussed for a moment, "Subordinate? When did I agree to be your subordinate?!"

Unfortunately, Apollo didn't answer. He merely smiled as his body entered through the doorway. It was never confirmed whether or not his words were meant for her. But, one thing was clear, whoever he was talking to, it was evident he had complete faith in them.

If he didn't he wouldn't have used that specific choice of words. 

Moments later, Apollo arrived within the Tethered Shadows Origin Room. To his surprise, disregarding the sphere in the core of the room, it was empty! There wasn't a single student within the room. It was a stark contrast to the usually filled interior.

"Why aren't there any students within this place?" Apollo asked. At the same time, his gaze remained glued to the pulsating sphere in the core of the room. Now that he was inside, the beckon grew stronger, but the voice vanished. 

'That's odd. I  would think the voice would be even more clear now that I'm here. Why has the calling stopped abruptly?' Apollo questioned internally. 

On the other hand, Geneva finally answered his question, "Well, that's the thing. Just up until 3 days ago, this place was filled. However, when the orb projected your image, it stopped allowing others to enter with their consciousness, as well as emitting energy."

"Hm, it sounds to me like it was tired of allowing others to benefit from its power without receiving anything in return," Apollo muttered. While standing before the orb, he recalled that it was said an inheritor hadn't been found since the day this orb was placed here. Naturally, this meant the orb was always in a subpar state.

Without an inheritor, it couldn't display its true potential. However, now it had found Apollo, someone who had accepted its partial inheritance fragment on his first try amidst his first attempt. 

While others had also received it on their first try, it wasn't while undergoing their first attempt. In fact, it was normal for them to bond with it on their fourth or fifth attempt. Although this still depicted their potential as stellar, it meant there was still a weakness in their affinity for darkness. It wasn't pure enough.

The orb sought someone that could live and thrive in darkness. Someone that didn't hold qualms against traveling a path of bleakness. After all, darkness was always present and in opposition to light. When in the presence of darkness, there was nothing else. The darkness is what welcomes the void. 

"Precisely, we came to the same conclusion as well. The orb must have sensed something and is reacting to it," Geneva agreed. Afterward, she continued with a slightly impatient tone, "Hurry and find out what this is about. It has been long enough."

Silently, Apollo glanced back at her before chuckling. While he didn't answer, his reaction was more than enough. Geneva frowned at his actions. Sadly, she couldn't say anything else to him as he was already taking the next step.

Apollo's soul began materializing as he closed his eyes. It continued to solidify until finally, it took on a somewhat corporeal. Because it was made of mental energy, it didn't exactly seem like a body, but more like a phantom.

Apollo's soul form then paused over his head and spared Geneva a glance before rushing toward the orb. At first, there was resistance from the orb. However, once it verified that Apollo was in fact the one it awaited, the resistance ceased and Apollo was allowed within the defenses of the orb.

"I knew it. Something is odd about that boy. It seems that everything is either attracted to him or against him. There is nothing I have come across that is neutral," Geneva muttered to herself. Even among the instructors, some didn't like his actions, and some applauded them.

Yet, there wasn't a single one of them who lacked an opinion. This rang true for those who didn't know him personally as well. 

On the other hand, the moment Apollo entered, he noticed a substantial difference in the inner atmosphere of the orb. At a glance, it was fascinating. There was a spinning black vortex expanding from the center of the orb.

However, despite its appearance, it lacked a suction ability. It was like the calm before the storm. It seemed as if everything was merely in preparation for something. As for what that something was, Apollo couldn't tell for the moment.

Be that as it may, his attention was still invested in the vortex about, "Should I grow closer to it?"

As he asked himself this question, he lowered his head and examined the numerous gates. Compared to before, they looked different. The one he had entered already was once again resealed, but they were reinforced with a different chain type. As for those he didn't even think to enter priorly, their chains seemed to be vanishing.

"Hmm?"

All of a sudden, something caught Apollo's eyes.

Upon closer inspection, Apollo came to realize the fading chain's energies were congregating at the core of the vortex. Slowly, the momentum of the vortex continued to rise. Yet, despite this, the suction that usually accompanied such a thing was still nowhere to be found. 

Then, realization struck Apollo and the crux of the problem dawned upon Apollo, "This vortex isn't due to it swallowing everything present...these gates are summoning something!"

After a short pause, Apollo approached one of the gates he had already entered. Without delay, he pressed his hand against the door and attempted to pass through. Sadly, his expectations weren't met. His soul form failed to enter the gate as the chains restricted him from doing so.

"You summoned me here, but don't allow me to enter? What is the purpose?" Apollo grumbled as he approached yet another gate and repeated his prior actions. Unsurprisingly, the same conclusion was met.

Then, his gaze fell upon the unique gate that awarded him the partial fragment inheritance in the first place. Different from the others, its gate wasn't chained up. The door was wide open, but something happened that caused Apollo to marvel.

A large amount of energy was being siphoned from the opened gates. Unlike the rest, this specific gate was being used as an exceptional fuel source. In comparison to the rest, the energy it provided was at least 10 times larger. Subsequently, this caused Apollo to ponder over some possibilities.

"Could the reason I've been summoned have something to do with my origin? No, I don't think so. If that was the case, this should have happened the moment I came in contact with this room before," Apollo mumbled to himself.

As he recalled his experiences, he was almost certain his assumption was wrong. The last time he entered this place, he was already a full-fledged demon. But, he overlooked one large difference; he was on the cusp of becoming a Greater Demon!

Moreover, Apollo stumbled when a lofty voice resounded within the atmosphere, "A Demon? This is ironic. After all these years, the one that had presented enough affinity is a Demon? I guess this is just my condemned luck."