Chapter 991: Twelve Hundred Days
While the circumstances that led to him gaining this power were ones Arthur would never want to relive, the power itself was very real, and he couldn’t afford not to be in control of it.
However, it had grown so much that gaining control over it was easier said than done.
After all, setting aside his Aspect’s empowerment, Arthur had become a High-Tier Deity, and his base parameters had increased by several leagues.
He had to first get used to controlling his base power, then the power of his strengthened Authorities, before he could even begin thinking about his Aspect.
By the time Arthur achieved all of this, 400 days had passed, and it was now Year 9442 of the Draco Sirus Draconic Calendar. Given that he spent all that time in Barda’s pocket universe, he’d actually experienced 1200 days of time.
"3.4 years! It took me 3.4 years to get it all under control," Arthur grumbled, clenching his fist over a rock in his palm.
But despite the immense destructive power surrounding his fist, the rock looked perfectly intact, without even a scratch on its surface.
If so, then what was Arthur doing to the rock?
The answer was simple when one remembered the facet of Destruction his Aspect embodied.
He was doing everything from maintaining Selective Destruction on this very brittle piece of rock, made up mostly of a special element from the Dark Multiverse that would crumble to dust with the slightest touch of destructive energy, to eliminating every other element mixed into the rock, while avoiding the main element itself.
It was something Raikis had brought back from the Dark Multiverse around a year into Arthur’s training, meant to help him achieve more precise control over his power.
In the time that followed, Raikis was the only one among the Levites who had returned to Draco Sirus, and he was the only one besides Berlal who knew about Arthur’s encounter with Luka.
Also within that span of time, Elaine’s awakening had occurred a few days after Arthur began making plans with Alexia.
However, even though years had passed, something about Elaine’s reaction on the day she awakened still lingered in Arthur’s mind.
When he had rushed over after hearing from Berlal that she had awakened and had asked Elaine how she felt, the young godslayer had replied in a way that left Arthur uneasy.
She had looked at him with a complicated gaze, before wearing a very obviously forced smile and telling him she was "Okay".
Elaine had not behaved any differently from before after that day, but that reaction still worried Arthur deeply, so much so that Berlal had even asked if he wanted her to read Elaine’s mind and uncover what she was hiding.
Arthur had refused that offer, though.
Berlal’s suggestion once again reminded Arthur that all the Ultimate Realm Existences around him had some degree of mind-reading capability tied to their higher-dimensional existence, but simply chose not to use it.
He took that chance to have Berlal teach him something he should have learned long before, but had simply never found the time to properly settle down and focus on.
Telepathy.
In between weapon combat and power training, Arthur had worked that into his schedule, long enough for him to acquire the skill.
Now, he could transmit his thoughts directly into the minds of others using cosmic energy, even across extremely long distances at lightspeed.
Speaking of lightspeed, Arthur had finally reached it.
Light speed movement and reaction speed in and out of combat.
It was a domain that came with the High-Tier Deity Realm, and a whole new world opened up to Arthur upon breaking past that barrier of light.
The experience gave Arthur a new perspective on ’Time’, enough to enlighten him and boost his comprehension of the universal law.
Now, Arthur could boast of possessing 1% High-Rank Temporal law comprehension. As for his Destruction Comprehension, he had initially thought he wouldn’t see any increase anytime soon, but he was wrong, and rightfully so.
’Of course, mastering control over my empowered Aspect of Destruction would give me insights into the universal law and increase my comprehension. It’s only 1%, but that’s 1% of a Monarch Rank Law...’
"But still! 3.4 years!" Arthur shouted, the power around his fist overflowing and vaporising the earth beneath his feet, carving out a 50-metre-wide crater with him in the centre.
And yet, the rock in his hand was still completely intact, not an atomic particle less.
[Master, you do realise you achieved in a little over 3 years what others need at least a decade for, right?] Celestia asked with a deadpan gaze, brushing off the dust that had been blown onto her dress from Arthur’s earlier outburst.
"I can’t care less about the standards of the average person," Arthur shot back. "That’s still a lot of time as far as I’m concerned. I need to be faster."
[...]
Celestia frowned at Arthur’s words, then a sigh slipped past her lips as she thought to herself.
’Master’s getting impatient...’
However, she couldn’t really fault Arthur, especially considering the event that could be called the source of his impatience.
[What about the Geass you got from Berlal?] she asked, and at this, Arthur calmed down a bit and shook his head.
"I can’t use it now. The restriction I’ve got in mind is too strict. With how many loose ends I haven’t tied up between here and Valmone, I’d end up breaking it if I use it now."
This response made Celestia uneasy about what kind of restriction Arthur intended to place upon himself, and what benefit he was aiming to gain from it.
Whether Arthur noticed those thoughts or not, he tossed the rock in his hands up and opened a portal into his subspace for it to drop inside.
Then, with a snap of his fingers, he created a portal leading outside the pocket universe, stepping out onto Planet Chazat.
’I don’t know if Alexia’s done with her preparations, but I have to go to Valmone now.’
Layla, Nicole, and Esna were still on Nienope in Valmone, and Arthur needed to check on them and bring them back since he planned to return to Hell once he was done with Alexia.
’I also have to lay the groundwork since I’d be away for a VERY long time. I need to register the godslayer King Authority so Stelan and the others can have an easier path afterwards.
There’s so much to do...’
Arthur first sent a message to Alexia to inform her of his intention to head to Valmone first, then, using the Cosmic Teleporter that had been charged to full capacity by Berlal, he opened a Cosmic Gate leading directly to the Valmone Universe.
While the artifact formed the spatial channel across the Second Multiverse, Arthur held his left wrist, rubbing the empty space where the Stellar Guard once was before its destruction by Luka.
At present, it was in Berlal’s possession, as she, after studying the existential records of the artifact, had located the universe where Lucifer had obtained it and gone there to find its creator.
’Alright, Arthur. You lived your life for years without it. It’s just back to how things were meant to be.’
Just as that thought crossed his mind, a familiar voice echoed in his ears.
"Arthur? Where are you going?"
Arthur turned to meet the cross-shaped pupils of the now 23-year-old Elaine, the young woman looking not a day older than when she turned 20, a natural result of her extremely slowed ageing due to her racial characteristics.
She was now only an inch shorter than he was, and not a trace of the childishness that once lingered in her facial features could be seen anymore. Her mid-back length black hair was tied into a half-updo style that suited her well, while also revealing her ears and the shiny diamond stud earrings pinned to them.
"I’m going to Valmone," Arthur replied. "I told you, didn’t I?"
"Huh? Already?!" Elaine exclaimed in shock, closing the distance in an instant. "But you said you were gonna talk to that Alexia woman first!"
Arthur silently lifted the smartphone-like device still in his hand, the message he had sent to Alexia displayed on the screen, and seeing this, Elaine realised that when Arthur said he wanted to ’talk’ to Alexia, he hadn’t meant an in-person conversation.
"You could’ve specified! Geez!" Elaine grumbled before opening a portal leading to the pocket universe, but before stepping through it, she grabbed Arthur by the collar, leaning in close and warning him.
"Wait. Right. Here. I’m coming with you."
Without waiting for a response, she jumped into the portal and hurried over to the residence she shared with Arthur, grabbed a few things, tossed them into her subspace, then jumped back out again.
"Alright. Let’s go."
Arthur just shook his head with a wry smile and snapped his fingers, forming a barrier around Elaine with his Spatial Authority, one meant to protect her from the intense spatial turbulence they would encounter within the channel.
As noted before, the stronger Arthur became, the faster his spatial travel through the Cosmic Teleporter grew, as the artifact judged him capable of enduring higher speeds with greater time dilation effects.
Subjecting Elaine to the same conditions, however, would outright kill her, so Arthur had to protect her, even though the Cosmic Teleporter would slightly reduce its speed due to her presence.
It was the 19th of Sixth 9442 D.Y when Arthur and Elaine left, and when they arrived in Valmone, it was November 30th, Year 1151 of the 50th General Calendar, just over 3 years since he had last been there.
