The Gentleman at the End
Chapter 566 - 564: Refusal

Chapter 566: Chapter 564: Refusal

The scene shifted from pure white to pitch black,

and William, having put on the Abyss Mask in advance, showed no discomfort in the darkness, kneeling on one knee, choosing to meet the Tenth Abyss with the demeanor of a gentleman.

He did not try to peek,

nor did he deliberately perceive the true form of the Tenth Abyss,

just displaying an utterly pure posture for the meeting.

Such a devout posture was hard to imagine considering William had been casually chatting with the White Patient just one second earlier, as if the elevation had never occurred, as if he had returned to the state right after completing his pilgrimage eight months earlier.

Even as the darkness remained silent for a while, William’s heart was still as tranquil as water.

Time slowly passed.

The Tenth Abyss tilted its head and observed the young man before it, reanalyzing his body structure, and clearly saw that the "Abyss Mask" had been fully controlled by the young man, turning into part of his ’back feature’.

The young man before it was the first abyss dweller to control the mask without Its permission.

What made It more curious was that despite the "change," the youth remained as devout as before.

For a moment, the Tenth Abyss felt ’intrigue’ towards another for the first time since its consciousness had formed.

Half a day passed,

and William remained unmoved, finally compelling the Tenth Abyss to speak actively, "Exceptional... special... unique... person, since your purpose has been achieved, why not choose to leave?"

William remained devout and utterly pure in his response:

"My initial purpose was indeed to seek the ’Path’ hidden within you. However, as I stepped into the veil you created and underwent Condensation to become one of the abyss dwellers, I developed another purpose.

My brain craves all the knowledge in the world,

this desire for knowledge drove me to meet such a unique existence as you, unfortunately, I was too weak eight months ago. After completing the final pilgrimage, my physical body was shattered, and I could only attach my consciousness to the mask.

This incomplete meeting, in my view, is really incapable.

Therefore, I chose to pursue the ’Path’ first, to meet you in a higher, complete form, only then can it truly be considered a real meeting."

"The Path... oh, I seem to recall such text descriptions in the memories of the envoys, but that layer of memory is completely sealed. Forcing it open would cause their death.

It appears to be a form of your advancement, although your advancement seems more perfected compared to those who submit to being my servants, at least apparently without any flaws."

"Correct, the Path is the necessary route for us, the Patients, to advance, or perhaps ’Completion’ is a more apt description."

"Completion... Incomplete..."

Hearing William’s words, the Tenth Abyss fell into a brief contemplation, seemingly pondering some issues about itself.

This contemplation lasted several hours, and William maintained his posture unchanged, silently waiting.

Until numerous candles formed from the darkness were lit around, spontaneously presenting an abyss painting of black and white colors, signifying that the youth before it had won the Abyss’s recognition, earning the permission to ’meet’ the Abyss.

The palm-structured mask gradually opened,

and William simultaneously looked up at the Tenth Abyss standing in front of him, but his gaze did not go beyond the top of the veil-like gown, not directly looking at the Abyss’s face, only gazing at its body.

Yet, even just staring at the Abyss’s ’body’ still made William tremble all over, his muscles tense, and even caused a nosebleed. If it had been his body before the Path, it would likely have disintegrated outright.

"You have met all the requirements I set and are the first abyss dweller to complete the meeting.

From now on, I will bestow the highest Abyss authority on you, you shall manage the regions currently dominated by the Abyss as the ’First Envoy,’ having dominion over other abyss dwellers and ordinary envoys, and you can also visit me at the bottom of the Abyss any time.

Let us establish a ’connection,’ faithful believer."

No sooner had the words been spoken than countless arms grew from between the Tenth Abyss’s long gown, which themselves were made up of innumerable smaller arms. Upon closer microscopic observation, one would find that even the black cells forming these small arms were shaped like arms.

All these arms reached for William, or rather turned towards his soul,

once they touched, they would directly imprint the identity of ’First Envoy’ deep within his soul. As a price of this right, William would be forever imprisoned here, unable to leave.

William, kneeling on one knee and bowing his head, now glared wide-eyed.

The situation was drastically different from what he had anticipated; he had thought he would obtain an opportunity to converse face-to-face with the Tenth Abyss, similar to how the Magician Jia’en had established a connection with the Abyss and moved freely as its spokesperson.

However, with William’s perfect meeting, the Tenth Abyss offered no chance for discussion or interaction, nor did it inquire about William’s own desires before deciding to keep him by its side.

Freedom was William’s bottom line; he still had much to do and could not afford to be confined within the Abyss.

[Thinking]

For a moment, it was as if the blood vessels of a planetary ring were frantically supplying the Madness Brain with the most oxygen-rich blood, allowing the Madness Brain’s power to instantly shoot up to its maximum capacity for extreme operation.

Thousands of plans were conceived, but each one had risks and uncertainties, with no plan achieving a success rate above 60%.

At the critical moment, a cold voice suddenly emanated from the corpse embedded in his back.

"The 387th option is pretty good, William. Whether it’s you or me, let’s prioritize freedom first, shall we? Don’t you want to go back to the Orphanage and live that perpetually bound life?

The priority of freedom comes first, even if death is not a concern."

With Yi Chen’s suggestion, William’s gaze also turned resolute.

As layers of Abyss Arms overlapped and neared,

[Dead Man Makeup]

The most intense deathly matter seeped from his right arm, containing unknown Black Liquid and the Original Tomb’s Death Plague.

The completed Death Plague even actively cooperated with the Black Liquid, condensing a pitch-black blade on the surface of his right arm.

Slash!

Death swept across,

and the Abyss Arms were completely severed, scattering to the ground. These arms seemed to have independent lives, still trying to crawl back inside the body of the Tenth Abyss.

But halfway through, they completely died, turning into a pool of Black Liquid.

Instantly, a powerful pressure from the Abyss suddenly descended, and William instantly felt a real threat of death, as if he were about to be swallowed by endless darkness.

The next second, the swallowing did not come.

The Tenth Abyss extended a straw-like material from inside its body, sucking up the Black Liquid from the ground.

"This is not material from the Old World... Where did you obtain this?

"Other worlds."

"You come from other worlds? No wonder you are so special. Given your uniqueness, I will give you ten seconds to explain your earlier act of refusal.

If I am not satisfied with your answer, I will enforce slavery on you and transform your soul."

"I respect you, but my Madness Brain craves knowledge and does not wish to be confined here.

Rather than work for you here, I would prefer to be your ’Spokesperson,’ showing the Tenth Abyss to the external world, to those powerful Source Epidemic Areas, and even to worlds beyond the Old World.

Moreover, my Madness Brain can continuously attract external talents, those naturally inclined towards darkness, making them serve you willingly.

This is my thought..."

William bowed his head, suppressing his Killing Intent and maintaining a reverent state, quietly waiting.

Until a burst of exaggerated laughter spread through the Abyss, not only was the person of the Tenth Abyss laughing, but the entire Abyss environment was laughing uncontrollably.

The residents of the Abyss were so frightened by this laughter that they pressed their faces to the ground, not daring to move.

The laughter ended.

From beneath the curtain gown, a large number of arms sprouted again, several times more than before.

This time, William did not resist.

These arms immediately began disassembling upon touching William’s Physical, transforming into worm-sized ’little arms’ that crawled over his entire body,

burrowing inside or remaining on the surface

caressing every strand of hair, every inch of skin, every piece of flesh, even every single cell’s structure.

"It seems perfect, yet it is still incomplete; you have a long ’path of sculpture’ to follow... Staying here indeed hinders your development.

The Abyss Mask has become your possession and cannot serve as a symbolic function.

Since you want to be a ’Spokesperson,’ your body must exhibit characteristics related to the Abyss. Happily, there is one cavity that can serve as our bond."

As it spoke, countless small hands crawled towards William’s navel...