As Adam struggled to go in, Gorael's gaze became uncertain and annoyed.
A small fraction of his spiritual power went towards the gate and scanned the coordinates before disappearing.
"You wait here. Don't move!" Were the last things the Arch Devil said before his eyes in the sky disappeared.
Adam stood perplexed, but the wait wasn't long.
In less than five minutes, Gorael's projection appeared once again, his eyes now filled with rage as he gazed down on Adam and the rest.
"Your old realm is too weak! Such a realm can't bear this great one's physical form, nor my spiritual essence!" His eyes glimmered with disbelief, a deep reluctance to accept that his investment had been for naught.
"Was your old world a dying one?!?"
Adam was also very confused and completely lost as to the reason why he couldn't cross into his old world.
He had placed a good portion of his hopes on having his 'fun' on his old world.
It was supposed to be a simple, albeit tedious and expensive, procedure. Yet now, he was lost.
His hand pressed against the thick, mercury-like layer, his thoughts running adrift.
He had learned of the soul link at that time, when he received the vast amount of knowledge, but his reaction wasn't anything special since every devil would have a link to their old world.
The world where one was born would always leave a mark, their souls being intricately and mystically linked. Though, the soul link was only a key; to build the door, time and resources would be needed.
It was only after Adam had obtained the nexus point, that he realized he could expedite the process. Using his old home world to cause mayhem, obtain souls, and grow in power.
Most devils that had were capable enough to form a dimensional gate would usually choose their old worlds as their 1st target; the convenience of already having coordinates made it so that they could save a lot of time.
'Well, maybe since the portal is useless, then there is a chance to escape Arch Devil Gorael's magical contract,' Adam's mind went blank as he suddenly thought of something. 'Magical, magic… did my old world even have magic?'
Adam's mind went blank as he suddenly considered a terrifying possibility.
'Did my old world even have magic?' He repeated in his mind.
He had assumed it did; hell's very existence was proof of an underlying cosmic energy that fueled magic and sin. But he couldn't recall a single instance of magic or supernatural power on earth.
His limited time of awareness as a human also didn't help.
He pressed his hand against the thick, mercury-like layer of the dimensional gate, his thoughts running adrift.
He could see his old world through the deep connection he had with it, a soul link that was an extension of his past life. A mysterious link that was created and existed within the soul during his creation on his past world.
He could see its vast, blue oceans and sprawling green continents. He could see faint lights that signified cities on the planets dark side. Yet, everything was slightly blurry.
His physical body was prohibited from passing when he tried to get through.
As he tried to push his body through, he was able to feel a strong resistance. Like a cold, pour of water that tried to put out a flame, but he was the flame. It felt as it the other side tried to forcibly calm the raging and potent mana that filled his body.
'No, it's not my body,' Adam suddenly realized, 'It's the mana that courses throughout my body!'
Because of Adam's deep connection to the place that had originally given birth to his soul, he was able to feel and 'see' more than even the Arch Devil.
And what he saw was a universe that radiated perfect harmony, abundant life force, and unyielding laws.
Chaos forced into order…
It wasn't that the realm was weak; it was that the laws that governed that universe were too strong.
They naturally and vehemently rejected the cosmic powers that Gorael radiated from his body.
Gorael, however, in his arrogance and immense power, had simply thought the realm was too frail to support his descent; like a shark forcing itself into a fish bowl, but in reality he was crashing into a steel cage, believing the cage too weak to hold him, when in reality, it was too strong to break.
A bold, cunning thought crossed Adam's mind.
Gorael's voice boomed down from the sky, snapping Adam back to the present. "I will ask you once more, fiend. Was your old world weak?" A shimmering wave of power descended from Gorael's eyes, a telepathic probe meant to see through lies.
Adam straightened, his face a perfect mask of bewildered frustration. He chose his words carefully, weaving a truth into a lie.
"The strongest beings in my old world would be a complete pushover for any demon here. Humans stood no chance in physical confrontations with these higher beings."
Which was true; they wouldn't.
A demon would tear through a human effortlessly.
Gorael's eyes narrowed, a deep scowl forming in the projected visage.
He had set up a divination to search for a new soul link, to a world untouched by other devils, an untapped resource point. Yet, he had unexpectedly gotten one that was too weak.
He had made a losing investment.
Feeling his patience run out, Gorael asked one more question, desperately trying to salvage something from the situation.
"Is there at least a lot of pure souls to harvest?"
Adam, smirking internally, his inner hatred almost seeping onto the surface. "I didn't see many of my kind while alive; very little in fact. But each one I did see was a despicable, dirty, and selfish soul worthy of the finest tortures I can think of."
Adam had been blind for most his life, so he wasn't telling a lie when he stated that he hadn't seen many being while he was alive; while those he did see were the worst part of humanity.
Gorael's rage erupted, his senses grasping nothing but truths from Adam.
"WORTHLESS! A FEW PURE SOULS FROM A DYING WORLD ARE A PITIFUL CONSOLATION!" His eyes burned with a furious, disappointed light before they vanished, and the immense pressure was lifted as quickly as it had appeared.
The dimensional gate that Gorael had so effortlessly created suddenly shimmered, and then dissolved, as if its power source was gone.
Adam, forgotten, and surprised, was finally free.
He stood alone in the basin, surrounded by his terrified, prostrating horde.
He had been a pawn, but a lucky pawn who had walked into a trap that, by sheer coincidence, was useless to his captor.
A long, deep sigh escaped his lips.
His journey for vengeance was no longer bound by a master's will.
This was his chance.
He had been given a clean slate and a treasure trove of possibilities.
Adam looked at the nexus point, a silent power source waiting to be tamed. He looked at his demon horde, now trembling but seeking leadership.
He smiled, a cold, dangerous smile.
His risky dance with the devil had succeeded!