Chapter 1456: Final One

"So, you guys started to experiment and found that, by killing the version of you in other parallel universes, you'll be able to plunder their source energy for yourself? That's how you strengthen the power of your father, Fang Lin?" questioned Sheyan coldly.

"Wrong!" spat Bind mockingly. "For ordinary people, even if they do that, they'll only get a tiny amount of source energy, almost negligible. But those who are an important node in the parallel universes have thousands of times the amount of source energy that ordinary people possess. They're the only ones worth killing!"

"Think about it. Before this, you're just trash that has unremarkable potential. You're not even qualified to be selected as a Chosen by your Realm. But why have you escaped danger again and again after joining the Nightmare Realm and kept growing until the way you are today?"

"I'll tell you the reason! When we killed the Fang Lin in other parallel universes, you've also absorbed a large portion of the source energy that escaped from them! Free source energy has very similar characteristics to liquid. As written in the research report, under normal circumstances, it'll preferentially flow into the identical biological important nodes nearby. However, if there's a strong existence in the distance, the strong existence will become like a whirlpool, actively pulling the faraway source energy to them!"

At this point, Bind expelled a sigh and said, "You lucky fool, you should've been able to keep benefiting without putting in any effort. It wasn't until I fought with you and found that you can actually control Evil Sword Apophis that we begin to suspect you. Only those with our special blood can use the sword. It so happened that an important servant of Father's has also recovered his most important soul fragment around that time. Father didn't tell us anything, but this attitude is a kind of information in itself. It wasn't hard for us to deduce the existence of the despicable tumour, the disgusting parasite, the lucky leftover that is you!"

"Wait a minute," Sheyan suddenly interrupted. "Didn't you say that source energy will only flow to the identical biological important nodes in other universes? What does your father slaughtering the other versions of himself have anything to do with me? In theory, it should be my dead father who gets the benefit. Why do I benefit too?"

"Because your father, the businessman Fang Lin, had also joined a Nightmare Realm! And he possessed the strength to go against us! In the end, he wasn't our match and ended up being killed, but his power was not to be underestimated. When we killed him, we were not aware that he had already prepared a contingency plan."

"Thinking back about it, he did not die on the spot back then. He had faked his death and hung on until he could see you. He passed on to you his precious source energy and prepared all kinds of protective measures for you before he truly died! And in retrospect, your mother's suicide was really suspicious too. Perhaps she didn't actually kill herself out of grief over your father's death, but to prevent us from getting any information about you out of her!"

Upon hearing that, something hot burned in Sheyan's chest. Comparing the things Bind told him with some of the memory fragments he recalled before, they felt so real!

Many a time, he had resented his parents who had cruelly abandoned him when he was so young! But now he knew the truth. The love of a parent knows no bounds! They loved him so deeply and fiercely that they did not hesitate to give up their precious lives for him!

The reason his memory before the age of three was so messy was probably something deliberately done by his father in order to prevent others from finding out his identity while he was still young and weak.

A storm brewed inside Sheyan, and he only managed to calm down after a while. At this time, he could not help thinking that, if he had a child, would he sacrifice so much for his child too? If he were to leave here alive today, he would definitely make a baby right away!

Bind certainly could not predict what kind of random thoughts were running through Sheyan's mind. But Sheyan quickly raised his head and stared at Bind with a mocking sneer.

"You claim that my father's source energy has been passed down to me. But if that's the case, why was I not even qualified to become a Chosen? Is source energy so worthless?"

"You're an idiot. It's hard talking to someone so ignorant," Bind sneered back. "Source energy originates from the Starting Point. It's the most mysterious type of energy that already exists during the birth of the multiverse and is the basis of all life! Even the Nightmare Realms can't fully understand it; they're just way ahead of most people in their understanding. It's not surprising that they can't detect it if it's deliberately hidden. Besides, do you really not possess the potential to be a Chosen? Do you really not have some natural abilities that are a lot stronger than other contestants?"

Sheyan wanted to say no, but his expression suddenly changed. Certain memories that he had almost forgotten surfaced in his mind.

[ You are attacked by XXX and receive 7 points of damage. This damage ignores defence. Its precedence is: Domain precedence. ]

(No precedence < slight precedence < Authoritative < Domain precedence < Domain authority)

[ You are attacked by XXX. Your hidden innate ability, 'Endurance', is triggered... ]

[ Conflicting data detected, precedence determination in progress... ]

[ Data irregularity detected. Data irregularity detected. ]

[ Check ongoing... ]

[ Check passed. Your hidden innate ability, 'Endurance', reduces the physical damage by 25. ]

[ You will only receive 1 point of damage from this attack. ]

"....."

"The ability that enables me to conquer the Nightmare Worlds..."

"The frightening innate ability that can confuse the nearly omnipotent Nightmare Realm, leading to irregularities in data..."

"Is that the embodiment of the source energy that my father left for me?"

"Yes, it should be. If I just lead an ordinary life, the source energy hidden inside me will gradually affect my destiny, slowly helping me grow into an awe-inspiring figure who can influence the state of the world."

"However, because I joined a Nightmare Realm, the mysterious source energy materialised as an innate ability. Although it could no longer influence my destiny and help me become a great man, it protected me in the endless battles in the Realm!"

"The truth, is this!"

"Father... Father!!"

***

"You should have no more doubts now." The one who said that was not Bind. It was another man who had appeared together with Prince Pombaru while Sheyan was in a daze.

"So now, you can die in peace! When our Father killed your father back in the days, he lost three of his companions. The source energy that escapes from you after your death should be enough to revive them."

When Sheyan saw Prince Pombaru here, the truth behind the Big Ben Research Institute was finally made clear. The highest ranking institution in the Empire turned out to be the nearly dying first generation Nightmare Realm that Bind belonged to. All the technologies developed by the Big Ben Research Institute were built upon the technical support given by the Nightmare Realm.

Sheyan shifted his gaze to the strong, muscular man who had just appeared, then back at Bind again. He suddenly smirked.

"So you're Bind's second brother? The one named Soar? You guys must feel good about yourselves, don't you? But to me, you two are just really sad."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Bind and Soar both took a step forward at the same time, the anger in their eyes fierce enough to consume someone alive!

Sheyan narrowed his eyes and told them coldly, "I once carried out a secret mission for the Imperial army to explore a planet called Uplos. The planet is controlled by the Predators and is made into their hunting ground. They would catch all kinds of powerful beasts and breed them there to be hunted. On the planet, I met a test subject who was caught by the Predators after escaping from the Big Ben Research Institute! His name was originally Tom, but the name that the research institute gave him was Test Subject Type E No. 7. The experiment he was involved in was called the Ten Strongest Project."

Prince Pombaru had a really ugly expression on his face when he heard what Sheyan said. He forcefully cut Sheyan off. "Shut him up! This guy is just spouting nonsense!"

However, an ominous feeling rose in Bind and Soar's hearts. The short-tempered Soar swung his hand at Prince Pombaru's face, knocking most of his teeth off and sending him flying metres away! The prince sprawled on the grass and did not get up afterwards!

Sheyan looked at the two guys in front of him with pity in his eyes and continued, "That guy called Tom made a very strange request before he died. He said I must pay the Big Ben Research Institute a visit. I feel like he didn't make that request out of kindness. Moreover, he gave me a weird feeling. The whole time I fought with him, I felt like I was fighting with a living puppet. At the time, my combat order was too low for me to figure out what the problem was, but now that I'm an Arbiter and have the sensory threads as well as the micro-calculation ability, I finally understand that it's because he either had no soul, or his soul wasn't whole!"

"Because Tom left a deep impression on me, I collected some of his cell samples. The analysis done by the Realm showed that he had been cloned multiple times, likely because his body constitution was highly compatible with the cells of one of the Ten Strongest. That is to say, Tom was just a clone, and the memories that he had of his childhood and teenage years were either forcefully injected into his brain, or were something that were contained in the cells. But ironically, the strong emotional support he gained from those false memories enabled him to endure the experiments long enough for him to escape from that hellhole of a research institute. Oh, how fate toys with man!"

Bind and Soar were trembling all over, their breaths chaotic and their eyes bloodshot. They could vaguely guess certain things now, but they still refused to admit it. "What does this have to do with us?" Bind asked stubbornly.

Sheyan narrowed his eyes, then sighed dramatically. "Unfortunately, you guys give off the same kind of feeling that Tom did. My intuition tells me that you two and Tom are actually the same type of people - sad, pitiful clones that have incomplete souls! Your beloved Father is probably just using you guys as tools! You can be discarded any time he wants!"