Primordial Awakening: I Can Evolve My Skills Infinitely - Chapter 289

Chapter 289: The Final Gate of the Upper Realm, The Four Artifacts
Sam marched forward and entered the path where the mist split apart.

The thousands of crimson eyes hidden inside the mist still hovered on both sides of him, staring silently while he moved through the narrow corridor he had created.

They followed every step he took, blinking slowly, shifting within the fog like living flames.

But even as they watched him, Sam felt like their presence was different from before.

When he had crossed the path the first time, they had radiated hostility so sharp that it felt like the entire realm wanted to devour him alive.

Now they were almost… passive.

Not friendly, but no longer violent or oppressive.

Perhaps it was because he had defeated the two monarchs who had ruled over this place and forced these eyes and creatures into eternal servitude.

Or maybe it was because he now wore the artifact that controlled the entire mist itself, making him its new master.

Either reason worked, and either way, Sam knew nothing inside this corridor could threaten him anymore.

The mist still pressed around him, heavy and dense, but the moment it sensed the necklace around his neck, it rippled as if bowing out of the way.

He kept walking until he reached the very end of the path he had opened.

A final ripple rolled outward as he exited the corridor, and he stepped out on the other side of the [Road of Purgatory].

A normal awakener would have been forced to choose between passing through the [Heaven] zone or the [Hell] zone before they could move forward.

Those zones were trials designed to break the mind and crush the will.

But since Sam had been incapable of entering either of them due to their rulers’ interference, he had gone straight through the [Purgatory] path instead.

And in the end, it made little difference.

He had completed all the missions required to reach the final point of the [Seventh Zone].

The mist behind him sealed shut, returning to its original oppressive form once the passage closed.

Fwish! Ding!

[You have completed all seven missions of the “Upper Realm” and are now able to return to the “Lower Realm” too.]

Sam already knew this, so he dismissed the message without hesitation.

He closed his eyes and gave the command to test it.

Instantly…

Ding!

[Do you wish to return to the “Lower Realm”?]

“Hah…”

He could return now.

He could step back into the Lower Realm, return to Earth, and be one of the strongest beings walking across the planet.

He could live a life where nothing would threaten him ever again.

But he closed the panel calmly.

He opened his eyes and focused on what stood before him because it was far too strange to ignore.

Instead of another barrier separating the realms, there was only a massive dark wall stretching endlessly in every direction.

It rose so high that it disappeared into the fog above, breaking the skyline entirely.

This was the true limit of the [Upper Realm].

Nothing existed beyond it.

No mountains. No sky. No land.

Just this enormous dark wall that swallowed the horizon.

And in the center of that wall stood a single gate.

It was so large that the [Darkness Monarch] might have been able to walk through it without lowering his head.

The gate was made of smooth stone and shaped like a fortress door, embedded with four massive crimson symbols: an eye, a scale, a tendril, and a necklace.

[We all know where this is going.]

Sam kept staring at the symbols until he slowly grinned.

“Yeah.”

Just like in the [Seventh Layer], where he had needed the artifacts of the six Forsaken Lords to reveal the seventh one, this time he would require the artifacts he had taken from the monarchs.

The [Eye of the Void], the [Scale of Judgment], the [Tendril of Darkness], and the [Heaven and Hell Necklace].

All four items matched the enormous crimson symbols carved onto the gate.

Sam inspected the gate more closely and noticed additional details.

Each of the four giant symbols was carved on a stone wheel embedded into the gate.

Around each wheel were thick chains, easily larger than skyscrapers, wrapping around the stone before plunging deep underground.

The wheels were fully locked in place.

The chains themselves radiated an oppressive aura, heavy enough to remind him of the presence of the monarchs.

As Sam walked closer, he felt small.

The closer he came to the locked gate, the more he realized how insignificant his body looked compared to the massive structure before him.

Before each chain, there was a small pedestal.

Each pedestal had an engraved symbol, the same symbol that matched one of the artifacts he possessed.

[=)]

Sam could feel the aura behind the gate leaking outward like a faint whisper.

It felt ancient and dangerous.

[You have a really bad feeling about this.]

The system’s message carried an unusual weight.

Sam felt it too.

If he went through this, there would be no going back.

This path was final.

[The option to stand back is still available for us.]

Sam stood in front of the colossal gate, staring at its four locks.

He took a slow breath and thought deeply for a moment.

‘When we first entered the [Upper Realm], it said that anyone who completed it would be able to “ascend” to the last realm… but now… it seems like it isn’t the case?’

He realized it instantly. It had been a lie.

A simple way to motivate everyone.

In truth, nobody could reach the [Soul Realm] unless they defeated the monarchs and acquired all four artifacts.

If another awakener reached this place, they would indeed earn the recognition of being one of the strongest, someone capable of returning to the Lower Realm freely.

For many awakeners, that would be more than enough.

Sam knew that ninety-nine point nine percent of awakeners would stop right here.

Nobody else would even consider moving forward. Nobody else could.

And for the few who might have tried, they lacked the monsters’ artifacts.

Sam stepped closer to the first pedestal.

But before he touched it, another panel appeared.

Ding!

[If you wish to reach the “Soul Realm”, you will need to acquire every artifact by defeating the “Monarchs”]

“Hah…” Sam grinned, “I knew it.”

Nobody else could defeat the monarchs or find the artifacts.

He was the only individual capable of stepping through it, the only one in the entire realm who had cleared everything standing in his way.

‘The only other way would have been the [Ultimate Mission] they gave at the start too…’

—

[Ultimate Mission: Kill the Primordial.]

[Whoever manages to do that will be granted ten peak-rank skills, will be evolved to the max of the ten awakeners ranks, and will instantly be sent to the final realm, skipping the “Upper” realm.]

—

The reward was enough to turn someone into a God.

That was why the celestials had desperately tried to kill Sam earlier.

Now he had two choices.

He could move forward and embrace a future filled with danger that not even the system wanted to describe.

Or he could step back and return to a peaceful life with no more threats.

[This is the most obvious choice of all =)]

Sam looked at the message for a moment, then exhaled.

Spatial Inventory!

He opened the swirling hole of space beside him.

Then he reached inside and pulled out the [Eye of Void], the [Scale of Judgment], and the [Tendril of Darkness].

He held the items in his hands, their auras swirling together.

The next step was clear.

“You’re right,” Sam said, his expression growing darker. “This really is an obvious choice.”

Fwish! Ding!

He placed the [Eye of Void] on the first pedestal marked with the eye symbol.

Instantly—

RUMBLE!

The entire [Upper Realm] shook violently as the first chain began to unlock.

‘I can’t stop now,’ Sam thought, ‘I have to keep going.’