Alm and Bruno saw that meteor radiating deadly power coming closer. In their minds, everything started to move in slow motion. In a second, their souls instinctively merged, without them even realizing it.
On the ground, whether allies or enemies, everyone felt solid death looming over their heads. This went far beyond celestial annihilation; it wouldn’t just kill the cultivator but turn everything below into a land of death. That blow would hit in ten seconds.
First, they thought about putting it in the inventory, but instinctively felt that if they did, they would die. This element was terrifying enough to surpass spatial laws.
The second obvious option was to use that cyan sphere the succubus had gotten. It could traverse universes and had enough power to be used one more time. But they felt this was the wrong choice.
It would probably be considered cheating by the celestial laws. Despite the annihilation being terrifying, it still followed the laws; the level of the enemies had a clear limit. This challenge was clearly the last one. But, if they didn’t face and overcome it with their own strength, the laws would have free rein to go beyond. They couldn’t give the celestial laws any leeway, or they would really fall into an unsalvageable situation.
Alm and Bruno reflected with unbelievable calm and speed. ’He said it was possible to use his bloodline to the fullest and reverse the poles of this element... Behemoth is the manifestation of mortal nature: life, death, and earth. This anti-life element is basically the fusion of the three basic elements using his bloodline as a base.’
Even united, they were still the purest Yin and Yang and could feel it easily. The earth laws had always been something external, existing in the body they used. From the beginning, they only used this bloodline and laws because it was powerful and convenient. But now, even though they clearly felt all the origins of that element, the earth laws there were something far beyond their understanding.
9 seconds.
The whale’s eyes pulsed at maximum strength, its tattoos glowing intensely, reaching the pinnacle of this terrifying technique: Wuji, the primordial state.
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In this state, all its consciousness connects to the origin of all souls. They transcend all natural limitations. Fundamental laws or basic Qi become insignificant. Although it was very limited in the divine world, it could be useful now.
The whale looked up for a second, and something became clear. ’I can see, feel, and manipulate the surface. But that’s all... The primordial state is like observing the world from above. Nothing can be changed or fully understood. In other words, the pinnacle of the technique doesn’t reach a limit or really do anything... it’s incomplete.’
8 seconds.
If the whale had time, it would sigh deeply. The technique had five levels, all steps to reach Wuji. But now that they had reached the maximum, they felt that the creator failed in trying to go beyond.
On that ascending planet, this state literally transformed them into gods. But this was due to the simple and incomplete laws. They always wondered what the purpose of Wuji was. It didn’t seem useful, or maybe they hadn’t discovered its uses yet. Now, trying to interact with something they had been in contact with for a long time, they realized it was just a high step leading nowhere.
’What’s the next step?’ He thought, but didn’t have time to reflect. The only thing they used was their will and instincts to respond. ’It doesn’t matter. Life and death don’t matter. I am immortal, but in the end, everyone ends up being. Nothing really dies, and nothing really lives because it was always alive. What I need now is power... not to destroy, but to change...’
7 seconds.
The whale’s eyes returned to normal. The primordial state was like standing on top of the mountain contemplating mortal life below. He didn’t want to contemplate, now, what he wanted was to change reality. And to change something, all his life as Bruno, as Alm, and now as Denil had always shown him the same path.
’I need to work. As Bruno, I was born trapped but worked to free myself and change reality. As Alm, I was free but saw people around me trapped, and I worked to have the power to change reality. Now, I’m working to... to... change other people’s reality, and in doing so, change mine.’
At that moment, he realized what the true path the Heaven’s Will had been guiding them towards from the beginning was.
6 seconds.
They had always been compelled to form bonds and unite. Everyone they connected with ended up staying by their side, even when they didn’t want it. Even those they saved from other universes, the Heaven’s Will found a way to bring them back into their path.
After reaching Wuji and feeling the initial origin of all souls, everything became clearer.
’All souls come from the same place. Even after being destroyed, various fragments connect and form new consciousnesses as if nothing happened. This means everyone is essentially the same thing. Consciousnesses are made of a unique power... I’ll call this the Law of Origin. This power seems infinite and unbelievable.’ He thought, vividly recalling when they experienced Wuji for the first time and felt everything happening.
’I was divided into two opposite poles... and the Yin and Yang tattoo technique always seemed destined for me... then came the Array, useful but never essential... then I was compelled to create my own law... what if all of this was a clue?’
5 Seconds.
The whale looked at the death meteor, just meters above and closing in. He focused and decided to take a risk.
His eyes closed.
The tattoos on his fists lit up again. One side was Yin, the other was Yang. Then the fists came together. The principles of their self-created law were pushed to the limit, while the array and the power of the tattoos combined...
At that moment, everyone in the array below felt something subtle... they couldn’t identify what it was; it was like something inside them had awakened, but they couldn’t discern what.
4 Seconds.
Time seemed to freeze for Alm and Bruno.
They felt deeply connected to all the people below them... and also felt their brother, distant yet as if he were right next to them.
They felt their frustrations, their desires, their fears. But above all, they felt something uniting them: everyone seemed to follow in their footsteps, and they were the physical and spiritual union of all. With a thought, an unknown power, coming from everyone, flowed smoothly into the whale.
The entire array that connected them changed... if anyone else could feel the river of souls, they would be completely astonished to feel the array now. It was like a miniature version of that cosmic flow.
The whale was the epicenter of everything and could do whatever it wanted with those connected. With its desire, they could accomplish something much more sinister than the queen’s mental domination. If he could do something like this, why would the queen, with all her power, bother to create such a flawed technique to enslave everyone?
’So that’s it... she just controls part of the celestial laws and can mold them to a certain extent. If everything followed her will completely, I could never grow outside her senses and would already be dead. There are rules even she can’t change,’ they reflected calmly.
’The queen enslaves people’s minds because she can’t break these rules. She doesn’t have direct control over the Law of Origin. So maybe this slavery is to slowly harvest that law. This is a law on the same level as the celestial laws. Without the Law of Origin to create consciousness, there’s no life; without life, what’s the point of the laws existing? She wants to completely dominate everything, so she needs to steal everything from people.’
’Wuji connected me to the origin of all life and showed me a power the queen never reached. I must... damn,’ Suddenly, everything clicked for him.
Before, they felt despair thinking about the Queen’s power and how they could defeat her; it seemed impossible. At the same time, they never understood the goals of Heaven’s Will or why it always put them on a specific path. But now everything became clear.
The Laws of Chaos give rise to all basic laws and everything physical. The Celestial Laws and cosmic programming; they manipulate and care, ensuring that all races and forms of life exist in the universes.
However, the origin of the consciousnesses that inhabit the world in bodies has always been a mystery.
The three powers of life — soul power, vital energy, and mind energy — only exist when there’s a body. The soul, naturally, is formed by soul power. But what commands consciousness? No one knew. Until now. They understood that all consciousnesses are formed by the Law of Origin.
’If the queen forcibly controls the Celestial Laws, competing with that would be truly impossible. The Law of Chaos is rare, but for the queen, it must be easy to get. I must master what she never could...’ All the pieces seemed to fit together, and then the conclusion became clear.
’Getting the Law of Origin by force must be impossible due to the nature of these laws; even the Queen can’t do it directly. So I must take another path, and become Supreme and Extreme. Using the array’s connection, I must become a new channel, a new river of souls. People accepting me and willingly giving me everything allows me to gain this power... and a method the queen would never use, nor would I... but now it’s too late... so much work...’
1 Second.
Everyone below felt their lives being drained by that overwhelming anti-life power. It was at this moment that the whale opened its eyes.
At the same instant, the world lost its colors.
The whale waved gently and became the only existence in the world. The meteor stopped... that anti-life law froze completely. The whale sighed, and a rune formed in the air. It glowed in opposite colors and constantly changed; it was the law of Duality of Shadows.
That singular rune stuck to the meteor, and all that power was sealed. In the next moment, the whale put it in its inventory.
’This will be the sixth level. I’ll call it Taiji: the Supreme and Extreme state.’ They chose an Eastern name they knew from Earth, which had a meaning close to what they achieved.
Then, all the colors of the world returned. That power coming from the people connected to the array was small and lasted only an instant, practically a breath.
In the skies, the behemoth’s shadow was silent; its eyes, however, were wide open.
’How... this power... yes, it’s something I felt only once, at the birth of the universe,’ it mentally murmured to the whale.
Suddenly, before that figure could recover from the shock, a slash advanced in its direction. A black saber made a violent move and split that shadow in half.
Alm and Bruno wanted to talk and ask more questions, but it wasn’t worth the risk; if the Behemoth used that again, they wouldn’t be able to block it.
In the end, that was just a remnant of will and soul, manipulated by the celestial laws. Even so, it helped Alm and Bruno greatly; the Behemoth was a complete idiot, but everything conspired to help them.
That should have been the last challenge of annihilation. But... that slash advanced and split everything in half.
"This time, you went easy?! Where’s the terrible fury of the heavens?!"
The whale spoke dryly, leaving all the demons on the ground on the verge of collapse. At the same time, everyone in their group took a deep breath, their eyes shining in the whale’s direction.
The annihilation power, which already had little energy, condensed furiously. All this energy began to form a blade of final judgment. Everything was focused on the whale, and the celestial laws spared nothing. By their own rules, they couldn’t bring more destructive energy; but they could still use what was left.
"It’s time." The whale’s message echoed inside the inventory.