Rowan’s presence went unnoticed, but he knew that it would not be long before Thenos detected him, the titan may think he was safe for the moment so he had focused on healing himself first, but a being as wise as Thenos would not let his guard down for long, and Rowan would not allow this wily titan to slip out of his fingers. If Thenos was anything like him then Rowan anticipated that he would not remain in this world for long, he would simply pass off as much of his corruption as he could and leave for another world, and he would rinse and repeat this formula until he finished healing. The most powerful immortal here was barely a fourth-dimensional immortal, and he alone was carrying more than sixty percent of the corruption expelled by Thenos "Eva," Rowan softly called, and a shadow grew out from beside him, before separating from him and standing by his side. Rowan noted that before he summoned the Lady of Shadows, he was casting no shadow, it was after the appearance of Eva that a shadow appeared under him. Eva had also noticed this development and she looked at Rowan with a bit of worry in her eyes, knowing that she was standing before his dimensional soul, meaning that this was technically the first time she was talking to this version of Rowan, she wanted to express her desires to hear his thoughts on his mental states but she knew this was not the right time, and even if that was important, there were better ways to draw Rowan out of his head, and so she simply stated the purpose she was originally summoned for, "Working on the barrier, give me a moment… There, everything is in place, however, I will keep adding more barriers of sealing to it, and the more time you buy me, the greater the assurance that nothing will escape from here. The instant you give the sign, the entire planet will be shielded and covered by the Wooden Fortress. Thenos would be cut off entirely from reality." "Wooden Fortress? Interesting naming choice. You do know wood is one of the weakest materials I have in my coffers. Why would you give an impregnable fortress that name when you did not use a single bit of wood in its construction." Eva smiled internally, this name was chosen at this moment by her because she knew it would draw his attention, it would seem that despite gaining a new dimensional soul, Rowan’s fundamental essence had not changed, perhaps he may be slowly returning to his roots. "I never remembered you being this picky about my naming sense. I think I preferred the cold you, who surprisingly had a great sense of humor." "I do have a sense of humor, but that is not what we are talking about here is it? I know a bad name when I hear it. In your upcoming project, I wonder what would be your naming methodology, The Fluffy Sword, Bunny Shield? I miss those times when names used to have weight." The Lady of Shadows seemed to think about it and then she shivered, "Okay, it was not that bad… was it? Humph," Eva groaned in exasperation before she rapidly changed the topic of the conversation, "Is this what we should be focusing on right now? I know you are cold Rowan, but we are about to kill an infant, you should give this moment all the levity it deserves." Rowan shrugged, "He is not an infant, he was most likely conceived even before you ever born Eva, and there is something you should remember. We can mourn our dead, that is expected of us, but the moment we start killing others, we lose the right to bargain for a clean death or any deaths of our choosing. This does not apply to my enemies alone, but also to me and my children. If the day comes and I lose this endless war and I am about to die, if the enemy pisses inside my skull, I will not be protesting that they kill me with honor." "Rowan… that is disgusting." "Ah… you forget I have mortal roots." "You are not going to be fun at parties, are you?" "Most likely," and then Rowan smiled, "You know, it’s been a long time since I have attended a party, the last was on Trion when I was still a mortal, and I was on the periphery, I had a maid and a soul. To think that nearly a billion years later and this is the first time I am thinking about a party." "Oh, that’s a shame, we should fix that." "What has gotten into you Eva? Never took you for one that preferred mortal proclivities." "Your circles are still too small Rowan, nobody parties harder than immortals. However, I am tired of watching this atrocity, the shielding is complete and there is nothing more I can add to it, let’s just kill this little nightmare and go home. I can see inside the shadows of these people Rowan, their souls, and the things he is doing to them. I know you think you are evil Rowan, but this… this thing, he would rid you of that notion." Rowan looked at the inhabitants of this world, really looked at them. At first, he had been dismissive, knowing that Thenos was inside their bodies and was using it as a filter to eject the corruption into them, he already understood that all of them were dead, they did not just know it yet, and so he never bothered to look into their souls so he did not startle Thenos, but it was easy to share the sights of Eva, whose domain covered shadows, and in the shadows of the people here, he saw not just evil, but a creature that delighted in it. "The shield is ready, Rowan, say the words, and let us end this infection." Rowan was quiet for a moment before he said, "I want to save them." "Oh," Eva’s eyes widened, and then she smiled, "Then we would save them." ® "Why does this hurt?" Thenos asked the souls of twelve billion people as he skinned them alive and made them eat their skin. He asked this question but it did not seem that he was looking for answers because he began pulling out their bones, he did this extremely slowly while making sure that their soul could feel the maximum amount of pain that was necessary and he deprived them of the solace of madness as he consumed their madness. It was a delightful delicacy. "Why does this hurt?" He allowed a man to repeatedly butcher his entire family again and again in an endless loop using only his fist, making sure that the family was aware of everything that was happening… "Why does this hurt?" Every soul in this world was brought before a vast altar that had the shadow of Thenos hovering over it and their bodies were shredded into pieces and mixed together, yet their mind remained active, their sanity preserved, and even though they did not have mouths or lungs, they screamed and screamed… "Why does this hurt?" High above this vast expanse of suffering, hundreds of eyes peered down in excitement as they drew upon the glorious feast spread out before them, and in those eyes were dreams of all of reality bent to his vision. This was not nearly enough, he was just beginning his experiment, he wanted to know what it would feel like to have every living creature in existence… screaming, in pain, in fear, how high would the sounds of their lamentation reach? "Why does this hurt? Why…. Why…. Why…." He wanted it, that vision where everything became as… ’Wait… there was someone standing there, and he is not screaming… why is he not screaming?’ Explore more adventures at freewebnovel Thenos consciousness descended towards the lone figure standing in a last pile of butchered flesh and bones, that were shaking in mortal convulsion, his hundreds of eyes that were bigger than moons, filled with hands that were grasping at everything and nothing at the same time, stopped over the singular figure and he asked, "Why are you not screaming?" The figure however did not look at him, but at the endless fields of bodies, his beautiful masterpieces that were slowly taking shape. Thenos was quickly discovering that he did not crave mental anguish as much as physical distress… he wanted pain, he craved it because he did not know what it meant. His voice was curious as he asked, "Do you like to hear them scream too?"