In an endless dark space...
Carson's consciousness wondered aimlessly.
Darkness... All he could see was endless darkness. How long had he been here? Seconds, hours, days, month, or even years?
He didn't know. In this place where he couldn't even tell up from down, the mere concept of time seems to be meaningless.
However, one thing he was certain of was that he wasn't awake, indeed. He was most probably asleep. 'Is this what they call lucid dream?' He wondered.
As his consciousness continued to wonder through the void a change happened. Something glittered in the far distant as countless flashing light began to gradually illuminate the dark space. Once his vision stabilize Carson notice he was inside a room.
A very large and well decorated room, filled with golden embroidery and expensive looking paintings that hung up on the high ceiling walls.
Carson sat down in an elegant manner, that seem to be etched into the deepest core of his being.
To be more precise, he was currently sitting down on an extravagant looking golden throne. His deep crimson eyes gaze with indifference as three beings with powerful auras knelt before him.
"My lord, we had detected traces of spatial interference near our planet. The aura of the existence who appeared is not inferior to ours at all." A man with a slightly long black hair reported with a serious expression etched on his face.
However, the fierce lofty aura of a being who had been on the peak of power exuded from the red-haired man didn't change as he listened to their reports. It was as if he was the sole ruler and monarch that exist in this universe! Nothing could move him.
'Wh-What is happening?' Carson couldn't understand a thing. Even though he was responding to their words with indifference, he actually wasn't doing anything. His body was reacting to them on its own.
As though something or someone was controlling his body, while all he could do was spectate from the side. However, as strange as it maybe, he could vaguely feel a sense of familiarity from the three powerful beings before him.
"Your majesty, I suggest we try to make contact with the existence that appeared from the spatial crack. If their intentions are good, then we have nothing to worry about. However, if they're intentions are bad, then..."
"We should use our cannons to annihilate them." The man with slightly long black hair, standing on the left said radically.
However, the black-haired woman gaze at him and sighed in exasperation.
"Have you lost your mind? Although we are wary of their existences, the situation has not yet truly developed in hostility."
"Are you saying we should wait until it reaches that point? Why not annihilate them now? You also felt that strong presence before, didn't you? Those bastards are almost at the same level as his majesty. In battle, the one that strikes first holds the advantage. Such things should already be known by you, who is also a seasoned warrior."
"Sigh, such drastic and barbaric measures are so typical of you, Agnar." The black-haired woman, who was clad in female style armour huff through her nose with displeasure as she said that.
"Althea, you!" The black-haired man who goes by the name Agnar furrowed his brow slightly. He wore heavy armoury as he held a long sword in his hand firmly.
"Enough, you two! We are in his majesty presence. Show some respect." The man on the right with slightly long golden hair said, he donned an exquisite silver plate armour, his divine armament.
He was known as Elias a fallen hero. A being who was fated for greatness, at the age of seven, he had awakened his heroic soul, and had quickly rose to power. With ruthless detachment, he had conquered many higher worlds.
At his waist, was his most treasured sword, a sword that had already reached the level of God tier, standing on equal footing with the god of chaos reality destroyer, or even Eterna, the sword of creation wielded by the goddess of creation herself.
Just how many strong evolvers had he slaughter with that sword?
Just how many world ending threats had he annihilated with that sword?
Even he did not know. His emotions had gotten numb through the harsh passage of time, covering his heart in layers of ice.
He was famously known as, heavens wrath, the one who wields the sword of judgment.
"... My apologies." Althea said, lowering her head.
"But I do recommend we launch an all-out assault against them from the beginning."
Agnar stubbornly insisted. Agnar was a ruthless warrior. For him, all situations regardless of circumstances could be solved with strength.
He was raised in a harsh world, where the concept of survival of the fittest was most natural.
And thus, he stayed true to his nature.
Each of them was a powerhouse in their own right. While evolving on their own respective planets, they were revered highly as champions who had once saved countless dying worlds before swearing their allegiance to the god of chaos millions of years ago.
Currently, they were only ranked slightly below their leader, through their own efforts, they had reached the ranks of mid and peak stages of the primordial and higher primordial realms respectively, granting them combat prowess only inferior to the transcendental primordial, who stood at the pinnacle of the universe.
"Do you know how much mana it would take for us to use those cannons? Even with the help of our skills, empowering those things would take a tremendous amount of energy." Althea explained, as she heaved a sigh.
If the cannons were used now, it would take a considerable amount of time for it to be used again.
"Even the goddess of creation, lady Asteria. Was wary of them. We don't even know the forces of the other universe." Althea said, in a logical manner. Honestly speaking, they had an overwhelmingly lack of information, putting them at a disadvantage.
"Then... Are you saying we should let them do as they please?" Agnar asked, displeasure evident on his face.
"Of course not. We cannot allow those from another universe to wander freely. But we still do not know how powerful they are after all." Althea spoke, with a serious tone.
Elias chose to remain silent as he waited for the red-haired man's response.
"... Please allow us to—!"
"I shall personally meet them myself." The red-haired man said, cutting off Agnar as he stood up.
A terrifying chilling otherworldly pressure was released from his body as he got to his feet.
This was the presence of a peaked staged transcendental primordial, beings who stood at the pinnacle of strength. Just the mere act of moving could potentially shake the universe.
Strands of the man's long waist length silky red hair flowed smoothly down to his waist.
He donned an exquisite looking golden armour that had many embroideries embedded on the side.
And floating beside him, was a black sword that seem to be roughly three meters long, enshrouded with a dark and oppressive aura! Reality was being distorted, and space-time was thrown out of balance.
The sword, reality destroyer seems eager to end the lives of its opponents. It was thrilled to get the accumulated rust off its blade.
The three commanders shook their heads in understanding. Whenever their leader made a decision those who oppose him would surely suffer a fate far worse than death!
He was after all, the god of chaos!
...
The scene change...
Somewhere in the vast expanse of space...
Bang!
Two beings could vaguely be seen flying around as the sound of metal clashing together resounded.
A handsome man stood indifferently with his long silky red hair swaying back and forth in the absence of wind, as the blade of his black sword was writhed in black flames.
Standing a meter away from him was a humanoid creature with a pair of bats like wings.
Two light green horns, which shimmered like emeralds protrude from his head as he stared at the red-haired man with his glowing greenish eyes.
Carson observed everything as he watches from the perspective of the handsome man with long flaming red-haired.
'Wh-What is that?!' He wondered.
Just staring at it gave him a bad feeling as the emotion called fear began to surge up. It wasn't just its demonic appearance that caused such fear but the strange aura of the unknown creature. The beast of the apocalypse, the destroyers of universes, or so they were called.
However, aside from fear there was also another emotion... Rage, hatred, and the desire for vengeance!
Yes, he wanted revenge, he wanted to kill the creature that stood before him, he wanted it to suffer in agony before experiencing the most gruesome death possible!
This kind of anger was completely irrational it was clearly something he had never felt before, at least Carson was certain that he had never had this kind of strong emotional surge before.
The humanoid creature no, the apocalypse beast also seems to be extremely angered as it was releasing a lot of killing intent towards the red-haired man as though he had done something truly unforgivable.
Both sides wanted nothing more than to see the other suffer before dying in misery.
Suddenly, the red-haired man, Lucas was surrounded by an oppressive aura of destruction.
[Notice: The passive skill,
"We did not offend or initiate any hostile intention towards your universe, it was that bastard that provoked all of this!" Lucas bellowed, his crimson eyes flashing with murderous intent.
"... And in the end what became of it... My planet. My world was destroyed, and my followers were ruthlessly killed! Even if I have to wait centuries or even billions of years, this grudge will definitely not be unpaid!"
Good shall be repaid with good, while evil with evil. Who was he? He was the God of chaos!
Wouldn't it be the biggest humiliation if he allowed his enemies to go unscathed after attacking his universe?
He had managed to successfully save the soul cores of his followers and had stored them away inside his, "Ring of defiance" However, reviving them was going to be an arduous and long process to achieve.
His eyes became more piercing as his red pupils reflected the sight of the humanoid creature before him.
[Notice: Due to an intense outburst of emotion, the stimulation has inadvertently triggered the activation of the active skill,
[Warning: (Intelligence points) will gradually decrease the longer the duration of the active skill,
[Intelligence points are currently stable, as such phase 2 of the active skill
Lucas tightens his grip on the hilt of his sword as he skilfully brandished his greatsword.
[Notice: Someone had opposed your rule!]
[A new quest has been unlocked.]
[Description: As the monarch of chaos, execute the enemy who had foolishly chosen to direct their killing intent towards the god of chaos!]
[Rewards for completion: The monarch of chaos will receive a single Cosmic fruit of high purity.]
[Penalty of failure: Total reserve of mana shall be reduced by half the amount.]
'A cosmic fruit.' Hearing the rewards he'd receive for completion even Lucas couldn't help but feel a burning desire, a single cosmic fruit would easily allow him to reach greater levels. Cosmic fruits only grow every few decades on a dying sun.
However, his brow furrowed when he saw the penalty of failing to complete the quest, his mana was already draining with all the active and passive skills he was activating, reducing it by half will only make it even more difficult for him.
'This means I can't afford to lose.' His crimson eyes shone with fighting spirit.
[The unique skill,
Six pairs of shimmering wings with crimson and violet feathers that seems to be constructed from chaotic energy appeared on his back.
Each wings spanned roughly thirty meters in length. And as though the concept of distance was negligible in his eyes, he closed the distance between him and the apocalypse beast in one fraction of a second!
Using his six wings to propel himself forward. A storm of chaotic energy cut through the void, rapidly approaching the apocalypse beast.
BOOOOOM!
Lucas's sword connected with the spear of the apocalypse beast as a fierce shockwave erupted from the point of impact!
While watching all of this taking place, Carson felt the blood drained from his face as hundreds of spatial cracks opened up, leading to the endless void.
Several stars countless light years away crumpled and exploded like a joke just from the residual energy. And even countless planets were destroyed along with its inhabitants. Millions of lives were lost.
The dimension trembled, space twisted erratically, creating thousands of spatial blades that seem to want nothing more than to tear everything apart, and leave not even a single trace of existence behind.
The very universe itself seems to be under the brink of collapse. Yet both the god of chaos and the apocalypse beast kept up their ruthless attacks, unconcerned with the state of the universe.
The natural law and order of the universe fell into complete and total disarray as the two supreme existences continued their fierce exchange of attacks.
Each one fiercer and more ferocious than the next! At this point, all the stars at least three thousands of kilometres away were destroyed, leaving the endless expanse of space completely empty and devoid of stars.
Only an empty void was left, as darkness permeated the atmosphere as they locked weapons.
Lucas swept his sword sideways, attempting to behead the apocalypse beast, but the blade of his sword was blocked by the creature's spear.
They both mixed a series of feints into their attacks with the intentions of gaining the upper hand. Searing hot chaotic flames from the active skill, "Chaotic flames" and crackling black lightning from the active skill, "Abyss black lightning" engulfed the blade of his sword.
A thundering sound erupted with each collision of attacks. "Tsk." Lucas clicked his tongue, before launching a perfectly timed knee strike onto the abdomen of the apocalypse beast.
'So, sturdy.' Indeed, the armour covering the creature's body was extremely sturdy. Lucas frowned slightly, as he observed the exoskeleton of the apocalypse beast carefully. It seems to have complete confidence in its defensive capability as it ignored all superficial attacks, seemingly indifferent to all of Lucas's blunt strikes. Its overwhelming confidence was similar to that of the dragon god, the transcendental who boasted the highest defensive stats.
'Evangeline, do you know what material that Basterds armour is made from?' He asked his most reliable partner.
[Beginning analysis…. Analysis completed.]
[Answer: Unable to determine the exact materials of the armour. It is highly probable that it was made from materials not found, or unavailable in this universe. Unable to determine the origin of the apocalypse beast.] Evangeline answered regretfully.
Evangeline could be said to be an artificial intelligence which is connected with the foundation of the universe, the akashic records, the roosts of all existence.
Be it magic, skills, or even information on every planet, or life forms that existed within the current universe.
She had access to information on everything, regardless of the past, present, or future. Evangeline could gain all information.
Through the godlike creation abilities of the akashic records along with the divine essence of both the god of chaos and the goddess of creation, Evangeline was created. She was born to be an assistant with the sole purpose of granting him knowledge.
Although she wasn't able to gain access to information on a multiversal scale like the akashic record, she could on a universal level.
However, she was now having trouble finding the information regarding the materials of the exoskeleton of the apocalypse beast. Which most likely means—
[Perhaps all information regarding universes separated from ours are all unavailable.]
Evangeline's emotionless voice held a sliver of unwillingness. Although she was created to be the most intelligent existence in this universe, there was naturally a limit which prevented her from gaining more knowledge.
She was vividly aware she was not the true system which governed the universe. Indeed, somewhere far away, there existed another entity which ruled over the multiverse.
Whether it was the higher or lower worlds, timelines, magic, skills, abilities, or even the fundamental laws of reality, the akashic records had complete authority over it all.
Evangeline could connect with that system, but she didn't have full access to its functions.
The god of chaos and the goddess of creation were both bound to this universe, so they had no way of knowing what lies within the universes beyond their own knowledge. And so—
[Beginning analysis to update the current active skill,
To comprehend information of various universes beyond its own understanding, Evangeline needed to evolve its skill, "Universal perception" into something more, something capable of not only observing different universes, but also understanding them.
And so, it was trying to acquire the unique skill, "Space-time observation" which could potentially grant its desire.
Hearing this, Lucas furrowed his brow. Usually, Evangeline would await his orders before Initiating any further actions of her own, but now she was actually evolving one of her skills without his instructions.
Was it because she wasn't able to find the information he sought?
Or was it because her pride was wounded for failing to gain any information regarding the knowledge she seek?
Either way, Evangeline had already begun the evolution of the active skill, "Universal perception" to the unique skill, "Space-time observation" to gain knowledge of other universes.
Upgrading an active skill, to a unique skill will take a long process, Lucas's crimson eyes flash as his grip on his sword tightened.
He decides he couldn't wait until the process completed.
"My pain resistance nullified some of the pain, but… My kick didn't seem to damage its armour."
His knee strike just now had enough force behind it to easily wound an unguarded human. Although his knee strike was perfectly timed, aside from knocking it off balance, he had failed to damage its armour. However, despite its outer appearance appearing seemingly unharmed, the apocalypse beast was also having a hard time as it was enduring the continuous effects of "Aura of destruction", gradually weakening its body.
The apocalypse beast wings unfurled as it roared in fury. Its eyes glinted with not so friendly intentions.
'In that case.' Lucas flapped his six chaotic wings. And suddenly, his body felt as light as feather. His body moved fluidly with lethal swiftness.
For a brief moment, he had activated the active skill, "Gravity manipulation" allowing his speed to increase explosively in a single instant. Taking advantage of his increased speed, he twisted his body, as he closes the distance. He swung his blade in a deadly dance.
The apocalypse beast could hardly keep up with his sudden burst of speed. Each time it attacked, it merely slashed at Lucas's afterimage, failing to land a single strike against his body.
Lucas closed in on the apocalypse beast, slashing at its body with his sword. The apocalypse beast roared in frustration. But even then, it was being pushed back with each collision of attacks.
The sound of metal striking against metal rang out, along with faint sparks as both weapons clashed continuously.
Lucas didn't give it any time to catch its breath, each time the apocalypse beast parried his sword, he would swing again with more force.
Black abyssal lightning incinerated the space, while chaotic flames scorched the dimensions.
His chaotic wings of annihilation cleave through the depths of space, attacking the apocalypse beast with devastating power.
The apocalypse beast, perhaps out of caution, suddenly made an unexpected turn of its body. It promptly tried extending the distance between them, while attacking using long range attacks.
Powerful blast of energy was released from its spear, each attacks had enough force behind it to shatter countless cluster of stars. Each blast moved at light speed.
However, the force of the attack didn't seem to have any effect on Lucas's body, that was because, the activation of his active skill, "Space manipulation" was already in effect, allowing him to move between space freely. Furthermore, Lucas had used "Void divider", a sub-skill derived from both his active skill, "Space manipulation", and "Gravity manipulation", the universe trembles.
The ultimate offensive attack in his arsenal, was released. Void divider swallowed all its attacks, trapping it inside a sphere of concentrated gravitational force.
This was Lucas's most powerful technique, as a combination of space manipulation and gravity manipulation.
The attack traps the target with a powerful sphere of gravitational force where concentrated energy of gravity and space was the most potent.
Space and time bent irregularly, becoming a singularity, trapping the apocalypse beast within the centre of the sphere. Its enormous size expanding continuously, filling the void.
The attack could easily erase entire subspace and dimensions instantaneously.
The regions of space where the apocalypse beast once stood was completely annihilated, reduced to nothingness.
At the same time, the apocalypse beasts large frame was completely engulfed by the power of void divider, its large body crushed by the force of the unstable gravity. Cracks appeared on its exoskeleton, as green blood spewed from its jaws.
'It's still alive?' Lucas widened his eyes in astonishment. For a moment, he even doubted his eyes. He was certain, even the goddess of creation who held the greatest vitality, or the dragon god who boasted the highest defensive ability would be reduced to nothingness had they taken that attack head on, and yet—!
'Just what is that exoskeleton made of? For it to resist this much, even with my void divider!' Lucas felt frustrated.
[Description:
[When using this manipulation type skill, the user is able to freely move through the invisible barrier which separates the dimensions. In addition, it is also possible to sever or extend the distance between the user and a region of space as the user desires.]
Suddenly, Lucas appeared behind the apocalypse beast silently, with the intention of finishing it off.
The apocalypse beast promptly felt the distortion of space and swung its spear behind it instinctively in a swift, pre-emptive strike.
Fortunately, Lucas had already predicted its action, as he caught its spear.
The moment he made contact with its glowing spear, the apocalypse beast let out a howl of agony, its body had become sluggish, as though a large mountain had fallen onto its body.
[Notice: Your
Lucas had activated his, "Gravity manipulation" type skill, preventing it from retreating. Space bent and twisted by the high concentrated gravitational force.
His muscles swelled, using the activation of his, "Berserker" type skill to the limit, he pummelled his fist into the exoskeleton of the apocalypse beast.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Argh!" The apocalypse beast groans in pain, its body bent from the powerful force of the attack. It was still suffering from the effects of void divider, which slowed down its movement. Fierce shockwave erupted from each blow.
Lucas once again closed the distance, swinging his sword vertically downwards, but the apocalypse beast slashed with its sharp claws, it packed enough force behind it to forcefully tear open a rift through space-time.
The unexpected attack caught Lucas by surprise, his expression changed slightly as he was knocked off balance, losing his footing for a brief moment, the blade of his sword veering off course.
Seizing that opportunity, the apocalypse beast once again slashed out with its sharp claws. "Guh." Lucas hurriedly defended with the gauntlet equipped onto his right arm.
Before spinning his body 360 degrees with a horizontal swing. The apocalypse beast countered with a swing of its glowing spear.
Streaks of energy cleaved through the depths of space continuously, distorting the dimensions, as colossal cracks appeared in the void.
It didn't matter whether it was meteors, planets, or even stars, the vicious attacks of both sides tore them apart equally.
Under the intense attacks from both beings whose prowess had transcended ordinary realm, space-time became chaotic and was distorted, the dimensions shattered.
And multiple galaxies were annihilated, reduce to a boundless abyss of darkness.
BOOOOOOM!...