Chapter 137: I Become a God and Open the Underworld for the World

Even without understanding the precise implications, one could already feel the astonishing scale of the endeavor.

"It's the errant souls of the entire world!" Charlotte burst into laughter upon seeing the Cthulhu evil god's astonishment. Her body rapidly ascended to the sky, completely opening the magic box and quickly widening the gap. "Pandora, let's begin."

A thunderous roar erupted!

With a sudden boom, the spectral image of a colossal black box slowly materialized in the sky. Countless dense energies from within began to converge towards the darkened heavens, forming a gigantic black arched gate. It resembled the Gate of Truth from the Wizard World. The gate's threshold was intricately carved with countless dark patterns and characters, appearing ancient, vast, and weathered. At its front, two colossal carved pillars pierced into the clouds, their ends lost to sight, as if supporting the entire sky.

Inscribed on the awe-inspiring, jet-black arched gate was "Erebus." In the native tongue of the wizards, "Erebus" signified: Gate of the Underworld, Gate of Hell, or the Realm of Returning Souls.

"The Underworld! Is Armin not just aiming for godhood, but also...?" the Cthulhu evil god suddenly roared.

"Damn it!" He lunged forward with all his might. Yet, the invisible pressure emanating from the sky's arched gate forced his body to sink heavily. Armin, hidden within that space, now possessed power no less than his own.

"You're insane! You intend to use Pandora's Box as a vessel to create a minor dimensional space for gods to inhabit!" he roared, exerting himself. "Greedy human wizards! Gods are sacrosanct! If you dare to create another realm for deities, the gods in heaven will surely punish you!"

In the central clearing, Armin's spectral form sat cross-legged, sighing slowly. "I finally understand now," she murmured, "that so-called gods are merely 'little people in a box,' transitioning from a barren earthly cage into another divine realm, a cage of concentrated energy. But I still desire freedom, and I wish to bring freedom to this land!"

Armin, seated amidst the mountain of corpses and sea of blood beneath the altar, seemed to occupy the world's apex. With one hand, she gently raised a snow-white hand bone to her nose, as if daintily sniffing a rose. "Wandering spirits and lingering souls of the world, please heed my call...."

Boom! A clear sound, like spreading ripples, resonated in all directions.

This incantation was "Summoning the Dead," a sorcery developed by Emperor Medusa to communicate with, revive, and guide the deceased back. However, combined with Armin's life-force ripples, it could now sense soul vibrations throughout the world, creating a terrifying qualitative transformation, as if to communicate with and summon every soul across the entire land.

Across the world, low-level witches stood guard in various locations: mountains, rivers, oceans, and deserts. Alchemy totem poles, emitting a luminous glow, shot straight up into the night sky. These totems miraculously encircled the three great kingdoms, forming a colossal circular array to amplify the power of this "Summoning the Dead."

"To the realm of returning souls... to the realm of returning souls..." A faint, overlapping call faintly drifted from the sky, transforming into an inexplicable hymn. The sound was sorrowful, gentle, calm, and solemn. Through vibrations and life-force ripples, it spread throughout the Cthulhu royal capital, pervading the three great kingdoms: the Rose Kingdom atop the mountain, Babylon, and the Orc Kingdom, reaching across the land, mountains, and fields. People across the world looked up, simultaneously hearing this inexplicable sacred chant.

Throughout the entire Wizard World, every wandering remnant soul of the powerful deceased felt and heard the vibrations and ripples emanating from their very essence, and under that inexplicable song, they were unconsciously drawn. The next moment, countless long-floating souls silently looked up. They heard Armin's "Summoning the Dead" directed at them:

"Deceased of the three great kingdoms for a thousand years! I am Armin, Emperor and King of Babylon. Please heed my call and return, infuse your life into my body, and allow me to become a deity."

Armin? Who is Armin? In the mountains and jungles, their fragmented and dissipating remnant souls faintly struggled to recall. Armin... Armin... Ah, yes, it's the King of Babylon, the great Wizard Emperor, the benevolent monarch who protected her people. In life, we were sheltered by her, but now that we are dead, how can we hear... Is this Emperor Medusa's wizardly domain?

"Deceased, please listen to my plea! Our world, this barren land, cannot foster godhood. I have become a wandering spirit; please help me become a divine specter. When I achieve godhood, I shall open a divine path for the world, establish a divine realm for humanity, and all who attain godhood may ascend. This world is not in the heavens but beneath our feet, corresponding to the divine realm. It is called the Netherworld, the resting place for all spirits. I am the Emperor of the Netherworld. All who believe in me, serve me, worship me, or kneel before me shall, upon death, not reside in oblivion but in the Netherworld, under my protection, becoming my subjects. May everyone in the world live a second life; may death not be the end."

As these grand vows were made, the souls between heaven and earth fell silent. This was a promise to them, and a path laid out for their future, urging them to offer their very existence. Ancient legends speak of innate gods in the heavens, inhabiting a divine realm called "Achilles." Mortals on earth, upon cultivating into acquired deities, ought to create their own terrestrial divine realm: the Netherworld. Emperor Armin, is she truly going to open the Netherworld for the myriad beings on earth?

Under this "Summoning the Dead," they let out a soft sigh:

In life, she averted disaster for the living,In death, she forged the Netherworld for the deceased.

A bitter pang struck the souls, and they were profoundly moved. This was their ruler; whether alive or dead, Emperor Armin had dedicated her life to protecting her people. She was now safeguarding the lands of their three great kingdoms and needed their strength.

Whoosh! Countless wandering souls suddenly soared into the sky. They had long since endured enough of such an existence. For countless years, wizards pursuing truth seemed like a people cursed by fate. While the souls of ordinary people naturally dissipate quickly, wizards, with their formidable spiritual power, have souls that linger in the world for a considerable time after death before completely fading into pure energy. Moreover, this Wizard Age was too brief, and the development of wizardry remained incomplete. Apart from Emperor Medusa, who specialized in the domain of death and souls, and could communicate with the deceased across the world in unique ways, other wizards could not perceive their existence. To others, they were merely faint energies drifting between heaven and earth. If fortunate, drifting into a wizard battle and being dispersed by a wizard's spell might have been their only liberation. But for most of these lingering spirits, they could only silently await true death, silently becoming the regretful remnants of wandering souls, tossed by the wind. The wait for the day they lost all self-awareness was far too long.

"Is our Emperor going to open a paradise for the future dead of this land?" wisps of wandering souls drifted upwards. "In this world with incomplete rules, if a Netherworld exists, it would complete a missing piece of the world, and wizards who pass away after us would not have to endure such suffering."

"The history of humanity's struggle against nature is a history of courage and anthems! Generations of glorious history are driven by us, created by us humans! History will record the glory of wizards on this day: with the opening of the Netherworld, humanity is poised to conquer death!"

The translucent remnant souls, like wisps of willow catkins, drifted towards the vast sky, tinged with a hint of darkness. The low-level wizards at the various alchemy pillars, having activated the alchemical totems, also committed suicide, transforming into members of these very souls. They served as guides, leading the deceased from all corners of the world to converge.

"It has begun: the Netherworld Transmutation Array."

The Edward brothers stood at the core of the Totem Transmutation Array, overseeing everything. Looking at the vortex of summoned souls in the sky, they couldn't help but whisper, "This land cannot foster godhood. So, wizard civilization has gathered the accumulated deceased of a thousand years, countless lost lives, into a single being, solely to allow one person to achieve godhood."