Demon Lord's Reincarnation

Chapter 202 - Special Chapter: Deep Within

It has been countless eons since he started his crusade, his final struggle against the being that toys with the fates of everything. He was who has been fighting for eternity was finally seeing the end of his road.

All of his reincarnations have been the strongest of that era. Unfortunately not one of them had the same level of power as he, but still, they were able to continue the fight. One of them was even able to kill a part of the ORIGIN.

After that victory, the original thought that the battles against the ORIGIN would get easier unfortunately for him, it turned out differently. After that victory, he noticed that the power of his soul was now weakening at an alarming rate.

It had weakened to the point that his current incarnation Ren had become the weakest reincarnation he has ever had. Though Ren still had the potential to become the strongest, his starting point was not as good as his previous incarnations.

Based on the progression of things, the next reincarnations would get weaker and weaker until finally, his soul would turn into nothing. He knew that this would happen eventually, but he always thought when the time came he would already have a plan to deal with the ORIGIN.

Yet until now he had formed zero plans, and could only delay the inevitable. Once his soul becomes nothing he will no longer be able to protect the mortal souls from the ORIGIN. With him no longer around to hinder the ORIGIN, the progression of all beings in every universe, in every dimension will stagnate.

The ORIGIN only wanted to maintain order and control, having the other beings progress in both knowledge and power threatened it. So every once in a while when a civilization gets too powerful the ORIGIN resets it. Most of the time the reset would be prevented by a reincarnation of the original, but it wasn\'t possible to save all from this fate.

Now that his soul was burning away there was no one else that had the power to fight against the being where all things originated from.

\'It might happen in this incarnation or the next, but the time for true death to take me is nearing...\' The original who had seen the birth and death of numerous universes was now feeling something he had long forgotten. He was actually feeling fear, he was not afraid of death as he should\'ve died eons ago. No, what he was afraid of was failing before dying.

He had sacrificed his entire being, from his name to his past even his fate was sacrificed for battle. His original allies have all gone and only he remains. Everything was lost for the sake of victory. Yet now there was a chance that he would actually fail, that very idea has revived emotions that he thought were long gone.

\'Is this it? Have I really failed to uphold the promises I made?\' Unlike all the other incarnations, the original shared each and every one of the incarnations\' feelings and memories. Throughout his battles, he had made numerous promises to different people from all timelines and dimensions. Yet the promise he made the most, was the promise of victory against the ORIGIN.

The resolve that was forged trough countless battles was now wavering. He the being that was hailed as the strongest of them all felt weak and powerless. He closed his eyes and recalled a scene from his past. The people that have been forgotten, those that only he remembers, all their faces flashed before his very eyes. Their hopes, their dreams, he remembered them all, and he promised those comrades of his that he would bring them glorious victory.

\'Back then I thought there was nothing I could not cut. Not even destiny could survive the slash of my blade... I gave up my chance to enter the wheel of life and death, to be a part of the normal cycle of reincarnation. I made my soul undergo this gruesome reincarnation cycle that eats away at my very being... All for the sake of battle...\'

It was at that moment the original remembered that which he forgot, that original spark that led him to where he was now. He did not do this for the sake of others, he did this because he was a selfish b*stard. He saved others out of selfishness, he protected others out of the same selfishness. Everything that he has done, all of it was done for the sake of battle.

It was then the original couldn\'t help but smile that vicious smile of his as he started laughing. His laughed echoed throughout his soul, and all of his incarnations heard him laughing. When they heard that laugh they could all understand what it meant, a battle worth fighting was approaching.

\'It truly has been a long time since I felt this excitement! This thrill that shakes my very soul! If the final battle approaches, then so be it. Even if I become weaker and weaker, I shall still fight until nothing is left of me. Even if defeat is inevitable I will show the ORIGIN the most spectacular battle!\'

The original\'s smile grew wider and wider just thinking about his final battle. He no longer thought about the consequences if he lost. It has been such a long time since he last felt anything like this, so he was muddle-headed for a time.

\'I guess like the ORIGIN, I too suffered from my own arrogance. Even if I fail, surely someone else will take my place.\'