Han Shuo felt a bit stunned. Was this still Pandemonium? The surroundings seemed completely deserted, most of the buildings that should have been there were gone. Pandemonium had been completely reduced to flat land. All that could be seen were large cracks in the ground and ash falling incessantly from the sky. There wasn't a single roof tile or person to be seen. The silence was deadly.
Suddenly, Han Shuo had a strange feeling. It was as if he had returned to the past, as if he was on the desolate, lonely moon. He couldn't move his body at all as he desperately watched the lifeless sight in front of him, waiting for his audience with the great equaliser.
This sight before him was so similar to the one he had seen before. It was just as lifeless, full of craters, and he was just as powerless. He was reliving his past.
He looked around weakly, trying to find a single living person, trying to move a single limb, trying to inspect the condition of his body.
"Father, are you alright?" Han Hao sent to the depths of his soul.
"Where are you?" Han Shuo asked, seemingly drunk. Hearing Han Hao's voice, he seemed to have rediscovered himself. He was able to make sense of his senses again, and as a result he began to realise his concern for Han Hao.
"I am underground. I'll be right up," Han Hao replied.
A sound was heard from the small pile of rocks beside Han Shuo. Suddenly, the rocks were blown apart by the giant white bone throne. Han Hao's reappearance seemed to cause some sort of chain reaction. Beside Han Shuo, the sound of rocks being blasted away continued as one emaciated figure after another appeared.
Judas, Dhaka, Isaiah, Regis... The Hegemons appeared one after the other, still alive. Their faces were as pale as paper, reflecting their vulnerable state.
"Bryan... you... what have you done to us?" Ossora muttered weakly. He seemed far worse off than the others.
Han Shuo didn't understand what he meant. He himself felt much weaker than before. Scowling, he said, "What do you mean?"
"Why does it feel like a part of me is gone? Why is the earthly divine power in my body permanently reduced by a certain amount?" Ossora shouted.
It wasn't just Ossora; Dhaka, Isaiah and the rest seemed to be piqued by what Ossora had said. It was as if they were suffering from the same plight. They turned to Han Shuo, expecting an explanation.
"You're saying you lost your divine power?" the Light Cultivator Judas suddenly said. All the Hegemons nodded. It was clear to them that their divine power had permanently decreased.
Judas looked at Han Shuo in disbelief. One moment he was ready to kill, the next he seemed hesitant. No one knew what was going through his mind. Han Shuo himself was still unaware of what was going on.
Suddenly, a strange sensation was felt in Han Shuo's consciousness. He suddenly felt as if he had many more eyes. When he willed it, he pinged the cauldron and his two avatars. The moment he did so, thirteen blurry figures emerged from the large cracks in the ground.
"Huh? What's that?" Han Shuo himself was equally shocked to see these figures.
The cauldron rushed back to Han Shuo, but he no longer felt the presence of the demon generals within it. It was now completely empty.
However, he felt a similar sensation coming from the thirteen figures. Not only that, but he seemed to have a unique connection with those figures. It was as if he was the shadow of the Thirteen, and vice versa.
What on earth is going on?
"Master, I don't know why, but all the demon generals have experienced a change. The energies they had cultivated when they were alive resonated and merged, eventually causing the Demon Generals who cultivated the same energy to merge into one. As a result, thirteen lifeforms were formed based on the thirteen energies and imprinted with your soul. They're a new type of avatar, one that's even more unique than the Demonslayer's Edge or the Skeletal Staff. In fact, I'm not even sure what classification of life form they belong to," the Cauldron Spirit said.
For a moment, Han Shuo was confused and couldn't understand what he meant. "What about my two avatars?"
"They exploded after the great force struck. However, their souls and power seemed to have merged into the new avatars. You can feel it for yourself. The Avatars of Death and Destruction should already be fully synchronised with you without even having to adapt to you."
Han Shuo tried to sense the aura of the thirteen figures. Gradually, he realised that they did indeed have some sort of strange connection to him. The thirteen shadows included Darkness, Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning, Fate, Space, Life, Light, Death, Destruction and Combat Aura. The Avatars of Death and Destruction felt more distinct to him than the others. When he willed it, he felt a strange sensation enter his mind.
"Hahaha..."
"Hehehehe..."
The two avatars that were more distinct than the rest suddenly laughed, but they sounded different. Han Shuo felt like he was controlling three bodies with a single soul. Compared to before, it didn't feel any different than a synchronised soul. In fact, they were even more closely synchronised than before. The feeling of unity was truly miraculous.
The Death and Destruction clones exuded the purest aura of their respective cultivations. Gradually, they transformed into humanoid figures about five times the size of Han Shuo, moulding themselves to look exactly like him.
"What the..." Judas shouted. He was completely stunned. It was as if he had noticed something suspicious about the thirteen figures rising into the sky. Even Dhaka and the other Hegemons just stared at them.
"The thirteen energies... What the hell is going on here?" Dhaka cursed.
"Wait a minute, could it be those things that took our power...?" Ossora could feel familiar earth energy coming from one of those figures.
"As long as he doesn't die, we will never have peace. One day we will all die because of him!" Dhaka screamed, though he could not even control his beating heart.
The Hegemons were united now, and no longer seemed to hesitate. They had made up their minds to kill Han Shuo once and for all.
At that moment, the Avatars of Destruction and Death fused together, merging the two energies into one as they formed the Hybrid Domain of Divinity. The shadow of the overlapping avatars shimmered as it absorbed the lightning figure, adding the power of lightning to the Hybrid Domain of Divinity and doubling its power.
Han Shuo's face was contorted from the effort of controlling the three avatars. Leaving his injured body unattended, he focused his full attention on them instead, causing the figures of Darkness, Wind and Water to overlap.
The strain on Han Shuo's consciousness grew exponentially as each avatar fused. Once the Darkness, Wind and Water Avatars had been superimposed, his consciousness, as powerful as it is, reached its maximum working capacity and he could no longer get the other Avatars to fuse. This was the limit his consciousness could bear.
The new figure formed by the superimposed avatars of Death, Destruction, Lightning, Darkness, Wind and Water slowly fused into a humanoid that looked like Han Hao but felt nothing like him. The combined six energies all manifested within the new Domain of Divinity.
"Die!" Ossora felt a primal fear of Han Shuo's new body and was the first to charge in. The new Han Shuo gave him a casual glance and simply raised his hand. Boundless, unprecedented energy gathered and engulfed Ossora.
In an instant, Ossora's body disintegrated and vaporised. Even the strongest earth armour he could make was useless. In the end, he fell to the ground in bloody tatters, from which a grey soul emerged. The Cauldron wasted no time in sucking the soul into itself, sealing it forever.
The Hegemons, who had witnessed the effortless kill, looked different now. They exchanged glances as they retreated in fear. They no longer had the courage to face Han Shuo.