Chapter 22: A Very Important Decision

"Summoning the Skull Lord itself here? You can do that as well?" Jason asked anxiously.

"Summoning a True God into a lower plane is indeed very very difficult. Usually, the most one can do is summon an avatar just like you mentioned. However, even that is a very arduous task and one must make huge sacrifices and the summoning will have a very narrow time limit. The reason why performing such a summoning is so difficult is that certain Universal Laws prevent Gods from entering lower planes. This is to maintain the balance of power and protect the lower planes from evil overlords."

"But with you in the picture, things are completely different!! The amount of soul energy that you can provide will make it possible for that Evil God to successfully defy the Universal Laws that are in place for a very long duration, maybe even for a day. Oh my God!! A True God in a lower plane for an entire day!!! That means that he can completely plunge this plane into absolute chaos with no one being able to stand up to him."

"What? Is this situation so bad? Then what should we do?"

"What can we do? What can we do? Haha, we can only wait for our deaths. Hahaha,"

Jane seemed to be going crazy imagining a True God rampaging around her beloved homeland. Her eyes were filled with tears as she thought about her father and only sister, the maids who had been with her since childhood, her teachers, all the citizens who had gathered together to celebrate her 20th birthday; Ah, all of them were going to die.

"Sob sob" Slowly, that hollow laughter turned into sobbing as tears started falling from her eyes.

Jason, who heard her cry, suddenly felt immense pain in his heart. Suddenly, he subconsciously reached out with his hand to where he though Jane was sitting. Somehow he managed to find her hand and took it as he consoled her.

"Don't cry. See, that stupid God has still not taken over me, right? Maybe we can find out a way to prevent this from happening. Weren't your people supposed to come to rescue you sooner or later? Maybe all we need to do is buy time till they arrive."

"Also, if the worst comes, I could try ending my life. That should cause the energy inside me to dissipate into the surroundings, making it unusable by the Skull Lord. Do you have any sharp weapon or something which I can use?"

Jason's words suddenly woke Jane up from her daze. This boy, will kill himself to save others?

'Don't worry. Mother is fine doing this. Just hide in this room and do not come out. Just remember, Mother loves you very much, ok?'

Those were the last words that her mother had said to her before she went out to face Reed even though she knew that she was going to lose. At that time, if Jane had just stayed in her room, there was no chance that Reed would have managed to catch her. And yet, due to her foolishness, she got caught, and her mother's sacrifice went in vain.

'Is another person going to die just trying to save me?'

"No, Not at all. I will not let you die like this. And you are not allowed to say such things to me ever again!!! Stupid" Jane shouted agitatedly as tears started falling from her eyes even faster.

"Ah ok ok. Please don't cry. Let us think of something together." Jason kept on trying to console her as he felt his heart growing heavier and heavier when he heard her cry.

"Alright..." Just as Jane was showing some chances of calming down, the duo heard some voices coming from the corridor.

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"Where did that boy go? How are we supposed to take him to the Pool of Damnation when we can't even find him?"

"Number Four, stop complaining. We need to find him immediately. Why don't we split up and search for him? This way it would be faster."

"Okay, let's do that."

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Soon, they heard the footsteps recede as the two monks went away from the corridor.

"It seems like they want to take me somewhere," Jason said. "Do you know that place?"

"The Pool of Damnation, that is a pool which contains a lot of evil and negative energy. It can corrupt the mind of anyone who stays inside it for too long."

Jason suddenly recalled about the bath that he had taken in a pool when he had initially arrived at the temple.

"It seems that I have been to this Pool which you are talking about. When I was there, I felt my mind getting filled with evil thoughts to a point where I could no longer control his thoughts or think about anything else. It was only a stroke of luck that I had left the pool or even I don't know what would have happened."

"It seems that they are trying to corrupt your mind so that you are unable to subconsciously maintain the shield around your soul. Oh God, the way those two monks were looking for you, it seems like Reed is speeding up his plans. We have to do something now!!"

"It is ok. Let me go and take a look. Now that I know about that pool, I think I won't be as affected by the pool as before. Anyways, as he is desperately looking for me, I don't think I can stay hidden much longer for long else Reed will become really suspicious." Jason proposed.

'He is looking for ... him... Wait, I have got it!!'

"Jason, listen to me. There is only one way that you and this plane can be saved. Only by doing this can we prevent the Skull Lord's summoning."

"Me and this plane? What about you?" Jason asked as he was having a feeling that Jane's suggestion was going to be anything but pleasant.

"Jason, listen to me. You will stay here inside this room and hide from Reed. Don't worry, he will not realize it and you would be safe. I shall strengthen this barrier using my soul energy just in case. You will definitely be safe here."

"I shall masquerade as you and go into the Pool of Damnation. I shall resist as long as I can and when I feel that I can take it no longer, I shall end my life. Don't worry, it shall not be in vain. Once I die, my people will be immediately able to locate the place where I die. Once they come, that bastard shall meet his maker. Hehehe" Jane laughed out maniacally.

"What?! I can't allow you to do this. Are you crazy? Just let me go and I will manage it somehow." Jason immediately rejected her idea.

"Jason, there really is no other way. If you go outside and somehow the Skull Tattoo takes over you, the entire plane is done for!! Even if you kill yourself, the tattoo might be able to absorb the energy that is getting dissipated into the surroundings. We cannot take such a risk."

"Jane, no..."

"Shut up, boy. Do you understand how desperate the situation is?" Jane shouted before softly continuing, "All my life, it has been others who have sacrificed for me. I cannot back out when it is my turn. Or else, how would I face them ever again?"

"Jane..."

"Jason, just listen to this last request of mine. When my people arrive and you can come out of the barrier, give my sister a necklace that I have left somewhere in this room. Don't worry, you will be able to find it easily once you are able to see. Also, try to search for my mother's soul once Reed is defeated. Don't blame yourself for me, ok?"

"I hope to see you again. Until then, goodbye..."

As she said that, Jane's voice slowly disappeared from the room.