Death... and me



Gem continued after a few moments of silence. "Anyway, the Control Orb was what the Universe created to counter the Extinction Sphere. At the same time, it was a test."

"A test?" Roan and the others were naturally attracted to his words.

Soul Gem nodded. "The Universe Sentience would have a much better chance of achieving success in destroying the Extinction Sphere if it acted on its own. That said, why would it give the Control Orb to me?"

Rean immediately understood. "Although it was surprising that your formation stopped the Extinction Sphere's growth, it wasn't as if the Universe Conscience cared. It still had no intention of trying to save itself. If I'm not wrong, it gave you the Control Orb as a chance."

Gem was happy to hear Rean's words. "Very good! That's exactly what happened. That day when I was pulled into a separate space, the Universe's Sentience explained that that was a test. It didn't care about its own fate, so he decided to let the beings of the Universe decide the outcome."

"The Control Orb had the power to separate the Yin and Yang energy of the Extinction Sphere. However, just the Control Orb itself was far from enough. It was something that the Universe Sentience created for its own use. How could it show its true power in the hands of a human like me? So what if I was in the Divinity Realm? For the Control Orb, the amount of energy I could provide was the same as a drop in the ocean, and it needed an ocean to work."

"Still, for me, that was enough. I had created a formation capable of stopping the Extinction Sphere's growth. Unfortunately, I was completely clueless about how to destroy it. The Sphere was just too powerful, after all. Ultimately, the Control Orb gave me what I needed, a chance! Too bad that as soon as the Universe Sentience gave me the Control Orb, it sent me away straight away. I never had the chance to talk to it again. I had so many questions..." It was easy to see the regret in Gem's eyes.

Suddenly, Roan remembered something. "Then from where came the idea that the fragments could help one to surpass the Divinity Realm?" 

"Most likely, it is because it is no secret that they are part of the Universe's Foundation. But then again, it is like I said. You need all the scattered fragments if you want to get close to the Foundation Pillar. Whether it works or not, I have no idea," Gem explained. "The only doubt is why the Vruve Organization hasn't moved out to acquire them all. But that is a question we have no answer for."

Gem then continued from where he had stopped. "Now, with the Control Orb and its power, I knew what I had to do. It was thanks to it that I created the Severing Formations Array. Someone else would probably think about how to provide the Control Orb enough energy for it to counter the Extinction Sphere. But for me, that wasn't going to be enough. I wanted a guarantee. So instead of providing it with enough energy, I devised a formation capable of copying its power."

"As you already know, it was a success, even though Fila intervened in the end. In a certain way, it was because I had never told anyone about what the Control Orb really was that even Fila's attack wasn't enough to stop me."

Rean's eyes lit up when he heard that. "You intended to fuse with the Control Orb from the very start! Fila's attack only forced you to do that before the planned time."

"Hahaha!" Soul Gem gave Rean a thumbs up. "Yeap, that was the plan from the get-go. The only way for the Severing Formations Array to copy the Control Orb's power was to create a link between the two. This link had to be strong enough to surpass anything. Just using the Control Orb as the Severing Formations Arraw's core wasn't enough. The ultimate connection would be made through the use of my body and soul. No one knew it, but the Severing Formations Array had part of my soul inside it."

How could the others not understand? "That's why your soul is damaged, and you are constantly in slumber. It is because you lost that other part of your soul in the event."

Gem nodded. "Yeap. Thanks to you guys, however, I have recovered more than 50% of my lost soul. I hope you continue to gather more and more destiny points in the future."

Rean still had doubts, though. "Okay, we know that the plan worked, and you got the Extinction Sphere destroyed. But how did the foundation get damaged? How did the Universe get split in half as a result? How did the Soul Gem system come to life? If you were in a slumber because of the damage in your soul, how did you formulate the plan of going to the other side of the Universe to get someone from there?"

"So many questions..." Gem couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed.

"Just answer them one by one," Roan also added.

Gem pondered a bit and nodded. "Alright, the first question then. I was already expecting the Universe to be damaged when the Extinction Sphere was destroyed. However, I didn't expect it to split the Universe in half. That was way more than I intended."

Roan had an idea as to why that happened. "Fila's sudden attack, right? She was controlled by Tuana and attacked you. That forced you to start the destruction of the Extinction Sphere ahead of time."

"Exactly!" Soul Gem didn't deny Roan's words. "The Space-Time Formation that I created to stop Tuana's forces wasn't just to keep them at bay but to give the Severing Formations Array enough time to initiate. Or, to be more specific, to initiate in a well-controlled manner. Obviously, that didn't happen," Gem finally entered into the details of the event.