As though the memory wanted to prove to him that all that he had just discovered was in fact all true, Hal found himself thrust into brief snippets of memories of every single individual that had ever had and used the Primordial Cosmic Grimoire.
Probably the only thing really unique about his cultivation journey was that he was the son of a Primeval.
No Primeval or godly offspring had ever had the Grimoire and the reason was simple; It was easier to mold youngsters and practical nobodies in regards to cultivation.
Every time he went to the Grimoire for information and any time that it revealed information to him without even being prompted, the manipulation had gone on.
Even him becoming a dual cultivator which had actually been largely aided by the fact that he was the son of the Devil queen, was t unique.
Various dual cultivators had made use of the Grimoire just as there were many others with different approaches to cultivation.
To be fair, Hal had known this already since the start since Grimoire had revealed that it had other hosts before and had also said that the Primordial Cosmic Art would take any form that best suited the host.
Some of the past hosts were smart about having the Grimoire and succeeded while others were stupid about it and had gotten themselves killed... Driving the Grimoire to go forth and search for another host.
The raising of a host who would proceed to one day possess the Sovereign Dao, the true power that was second only to the Primordial forces of creation, required the sowing of roots from the very start.
At this point, Hal was no longer actively delving into the memories and was directed by something that seemed adamant about letting him know everything.
The more Hal saw and the more he wished to deny the fact that everything he had ever wanted was because of the Grimoire, the more it was hammered into his mind that he never really had free will...
... That all that he ever did and all that he ever accomplished was only because of what a powerful force wanted and was all leading up to a supposed strengthening of the said powerful force.
When Hal first arrived at the Cosmic realm by reincarnation and upon the awakening of the Grimoire in his mind space, he had not had the wish for an eternal reign...
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtIt was only as his cultivation journey began and as he found himself looking more into the Grimoire that he developed this desire/wish...
Weak and on the mend as Chaos was, it could select someone to secretly manipulate to become Sovereign but it couldn't just make that individual Sovereign instantaneously.
It was due to one of the downsides to the battle between Order and Chaos which was that both Primordial Forces of creation had so messed up the realms that they had created and now needed to obey rules that usually should not apply to them.
Chaos could not reveal the strongest Dao to the host of its Grimoire as that would risk he/she being unable to comprehend it...
If a host of the Grimoire comprehends a Dao besides the Sovereign Dao, he/she is killed by the Grimoire and the Grimoire moves on while Primordial Will (acting through it) refines its secret manipulation techniques...
... Hal had seen this happen to quite a lot of the hosts.
This reveal felt worse than having the piece of Order ripped out of him...
"Really? That is it? You learn so much and it destroys your will... It destroys your plans to establish an eternal rule... I have to say, I am disappointed." said a voice that caused Hal to pause his pondering and look around as the area around him that had been littered with memories for him to snoop through, became thick with nothingness.
The nothingness was hard to describe because it was completely void of anything and that includes Darkness and it reminded Hal of the times when the two concepts of Order and Chaos were the only ones to exist.
The one who had spoken was a formless chaotic figure that required no introductions.
"It's hard to care about something when you find out it never really had anything to do with you," Hal said with shrug and quite a stable voice.
"How so?" Chaos asked.
"Do I really need to explain? You know it all... You DID it all. As it would seem, I never wanted anything I thought I wanted.
Even my desire to keep expanding my harem is because of the outrageous cultivation demands of the Primordial Cosmic Art... A cultivation technique I have you to thank you for by the way" Hal said with a snort.
Chaos had no face but every one of its expressions was passed directly into Hal's mind so he knew Choas was feeling annoyed at the moment,
"That's the closest thing to Gratitude I have ever heard from you," Chaos said.
Hal chuckled,
"Is that you actually asking me to be grateful? After you manipulated me?"
"It was either me or your mother. If my Grimoire had not bonded with you and destroyed her reincarnation ring, you would still be stuck in her cycle of manipulation." Chaos said.
Hal shrugged,
"Better her manipulating me than you," he said which was a lie as he hated being manipulated by them both and Chaos could tell... It just decided to play along,
"How is it better?" it asked.
"Because she's my mother. She knows best" Even as he said it, Hal knew how cringe and silly he sounded but now was not the time to back down from his words... He was building up to something,
"Hahahahahaha, That is the lamest sentence I have ever heard and I have existed before the existence of time. By that logic, I should be higher up the hierarchy since I am you Grandfather... kind of" Chaos said and Hal's face scrunched up at those words.
Chaos was right and this was actually shaping up to be some kind of family drama and Hal was not open to that... He preferred the impersonal approach where he just saw Order and Chaos as two formless manipulative bastards.
A brief silence passed and Choas eventually decided that Hal was not going to speak so it spoke instead,
"You have nothing to complain about. Unlike Order, I did not specifically select you to use and cast aside. As long as you live, you all remain in my corner.
Do you know why the Grimoire is still with you even though you have already comprehended the Dao of Sovereignty? It's because I am not yet done with you.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmComprehending Sovereignty is not the end of your journey and although that has truly strengthened me by deviating from the natural order, the end of your journey is when you cement yourself as a power above the Supreme Primevals.
The day you surpass them and have them bow to your rule, that is when every deviation I have caused becomes permanent. That is when it becomes set in stone."
"And if I die?" Hal asked in a somber tone of voice.
"Well, if you die, the Grimoire moves on. I need a host and a Sovereign who will go all the way" Chaos said with a callous tone and Hal's face and expression changed to one of complete annoyance,
"That's it? You subvert my free will, make me work for your stronger return and the readily toss me aside when I am no longer of use? What makes you better than Order? You're both the same" Hal said with spitting venom and as he spoke, the feeling that Chaos radiated became one of anger as it vanished suddenly from here it stood to appear in front of Hal until there was only a foot of the distance separating them.
"Don't you Dare Compare me to that Monotony-loving fool!" it said but Hal just sneered and looked quite ready to spit in the face of a Primordial force of creation.
He did not let out any phlegm though and settled for words,
"I'll compare you to whoever or whatever I wish to compare you with. Also, I am not wrong, there's no difference between you and Order.
You are both so alike that your plans are likely to end in another disastrous stalemate or at the very least cause another catastrophe that ruins the three realms... But you already know the destruction you will cause, don't you?ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novelenglish.net . Fire(.)nᴇt
When I looked into Order's memories, I could tell that it was not averse to the idea of destroying the three realms and letting new, much more solemn, lifeforms without any emotions rise.
Something similar already happened once..."
By something similar, Hal was referring to the mortal realm...
After the Great Catastrophe (battle between Order and Chaos) all lifeforms in the mortal realm were destroyed but that destructive blast still acted a tad similar to the spark of creation and saw the rise of new lifeforms in a few habitable worlds in the Mortal Realm.
Lifeforms that were weaker than they were supposed to be and were incapable of using Cosmic energy which was no longer in the Mortal realm.
Earth that Hal had lived before his rise to the Cosmic realm was one of such worlds.
Hal continued,
"I bet that's what you're planning too... Complete annihilation and a clean slate... A clean slate you plan to fill with lifeforms that better conform to your idea of perfection.
Realms without Order... containing nothing but chaos."