“What the fuck’s wrong with you?” I asked, more annoyed than anything.
Supreme Heart placed a hand over his chest and looked genuinely offended. “What, would you prefer I kneel? Produce a ring? Ask the magical words? Perhaps a grand declaration beneath the stars? Is that what this is about?”
“Eww. Yuck. Fuck no.”
The man was impossible.
If he was so desperate for companionship, there were countless people across existence who would gladly throw themselves at him. Why he kept fixating on me remained one of the universe's greatest mysteries, right beside the exact reason he stuffed his tower on the Hollowed World.
Through my Ophanim, I watched countless people suffering beneath the tower's influence. Entire civilizations struggled beneath burdens they neither understood nor deserved. The sight only worsened my mood.
I fixed Supreme Heart with a cold stare.
“This is your last warning,” I said. “Stop this madness.”
Supreme Heart sighed dramatically.
“My condition remains unchanged,” he replied. “You know exactly what I want.”
“You cannot possibly be serious.”
“I am entirely serious.”
“You sound insane.”
“Many visionaries were called insane.”
“You are not helping your case.”
“Perhaps not.”
I felt a vein twitch.
“If you're still treating this like a joke,” I warned, “you're forcing my hand.”
I attempted to use my Ophanim on him, but the effort immediately proved wasteful. Supreme Heart was simply too large an existence. The Divine Qi required to meaningfully read or affect him would have been astronomical.
He noticed my attempt and grinned.
“You know,” he said, “there is a reason for all this. Contrary to your assumptions, I am not acting without purpose.”
“Could've fooled me.”
“Our Supremacy Traits are remarkably compatible. Together, we could reshape the Greater Universe. Think about it, Da Wei. An alliance between us would be unparalleled. The universe is filled with injustice. Corruption. Endless cycles of suffering. With our combined strength, who could stop us? We could build something greater.”
The offer sounded almost reasonable, except this words were coming out from the same guy who'd been targeting me, since like forever.
Then Supreme Heart opened his mouth again.
“Unfortunately, since you rejected the original arrangement involving one of my daughters, I was forced to become somewhat more proactive. But nooo, you had to play hard to get. Fine. If the idea of bearing my child directly offends your delicate sensibilities so much, then marry one of my daughters instead. I have plenty to spare. Beautiful, powerful, each one a gem forged in the heart of creation itself."
“I am not discussing this.”
“I have many daughters.”
“I don't care.”
“Many children as well.”
“I care even less.”
"Now, I'm just hurt," said Heart in feigned self-pity. "Come on! I believe we can do this together. I’ve sired more children than there are stars in some galaxies. My seed is legendary. Why, I’ve jerked off into the vacuum of space itself, creating great, glorious ropes painting the emptiness. And everything my semen touched swelled with life! Planets birthed new species. Nebulae quickened with my progeny. Even black holes have trembled and borne my lineage. That is the power I bring. So, I am fairly confident we won't even need more than one try. I got good aim."
"..."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. The man possessed a supernatural ability to transform potentially productive conversations into unbearable experiences. That was what made him so irritating. He would taunt whenever possible, present himself as benevolent immediately afterward, then finish with another taunt for good measure. Every sentence felt carefully engineered to provoke a reaction.
I was increasingly certain he was testing me.
“What do you think, Da Wei?” Supreme Heart asked. “Do we have a deal?”
My answer came in the form of Silver Steel. The sword flashed through space. Just before impact, I unleashed a War Smite. The strike detonated with enough force to move mountains.
Supreme Heart vanished from his position and shot backward like a meteor.
At the same moment, I raised a hand.
The ground ruptured.
An enormous arm emerged from beneath reality itself, blacker than night and darker than the void between universes. It seized Supreme Heart before he could fully recover and dragged him downward.
The Dark Veil opened, and the arm retreated.
Supreme Heart disappeared beneath the endless black.
“Da Wei,” Starshroud warned. “The Dark Veil can't hold him for long.”
“I know.”
My Ophanim agreed. Every future I examined reached the same conclusion. Attempts at sealing Supreme Heart ended in failure. The difference lay only in how long the seal lasted. Using the Dark Veil itself as a conduit, I hurled him beyond the boundaries of the Hollowed World.
I followed and appeared outside moments later.
A fragment of the Dark Veil flowed from behind me like a living cape, writhing through space as though reality itself had become my shadow.
Far ahead, Supreme Heart emerged from the darkness. Not a scratch marked his body. He straightened his robes and dusted off his shoulder.
“I suppose that's a no,” he said in a disappointed tone. "Ah. How ungentlemanly of me. But I suppose I'll have to do this the hard way.”
I cast Divine Favor upon myself.
Divine power surged through every corner of my existence. My strength, speed, perception, and every other measurable attribute skyrocketed. The universe itself seemed to slow as my awareness expanded.
At the same time, I tapped into the First Mystery.
Who.
The burden of nearly omniscient perception descended upon me.
Countless possibilities unfolded. Endless threads of fate stretched across existence. Information flooded my mind in quantities that would have shattered lesser beings. Through the First Mystery, I could finally perceive Supreme Heart with a degree of objectivity.
He was calculating, apprehensive, and an opportunist.
Most importantly, he never committed to a decision without examining countless outcomes beforehand. It was difficult to explain, but beneath all the confidence and ridiculous behavior, there was a constant tension coiled within him, like a man perpetually preparing for disaster.
I narrowed my eyes.
"You know," I said, "you look like you're suffering from some sort of curse. Are you really going to be fine fighting me in your current state?"
Supreme Heart smirked.
"Oh? You noticed?"
His grin widened.
"How about you find out for yourself?"
Annoying bastard.
As the Hollowed World boiled behind me, the Dark Veil spread across its surface like an endless sea of black fire. I raised a hand toward my world while my Ophanim calculated countless formations simultaneously, warp formations rippling outward across the planet’s dark shell.
At the sphere's inner center rested the Hollow Star, transforming my world into a weapon. Space itself groaned in protest, and then I swung.
The Hollowed World accelerated with impossible velocity as it hurtled toward Supreme Heart, and he immediately zigzagged across space, entire dimensions folding and twisting beneath his movements as he narrowly evaded the incoming planetary strike.
The laws surrounding him churned violently, and a moment later, an enormous beam of incandescent energy erupted from his position as feathers exploded into existence by the millions, then billions. The beam crashed into me, and I raised a hand.
"Divine Protection."
The impact detonated, divine power exploding across the battlefield as shockwaves tore through nearby dimensions and feathers scattered in every direction. Then those feathers transformed into malformed angels, their bodies possessing too many limbs, too many eyes, and too many wings as golden divine energy poured from their distorted forms while they rushed toward me.
At the same time, golden clouds began gathering around my position, a byproduct of Divine Myriad Nebula. With this clouds, I cast and pointed upward.
"Heavenly Punishment."
Countless enormous golden swords burst from the clouds around me, and the angels died in droves as divine blades pierced their bodies and reduced them to fragments of radiant power.
Through my Divine Zone and Ophanim, I sensed movement and ducked just as a spear passed inches above my head. Supreme Heart appeared immediately afterward, and our weapons collided, Silver Steel meeting his spear as the resulting shockwave shattered nearby stars.
Heart pressed forward aggressively, gravity distorting around every strike while divine power accompanied every thrust, the two attributes intertwining seamlessly to create attacks that were simultaneously crushing and piercing.
I cycled through the Smite Series from War Smite, Divine Smite, and Holy Smite, each attack carrying different properties and probing for a different weakness. Unfortunately, Supreme Heart saw through all of them. Every movement, every feint, every trap was met with his spear redirecting my attacks with infuriating precision.
I activated Divine Step, folding space as I appeared within his blind spot, and without hesitation unleashed a True Divine Smite. Supreme Heart merely smiled before unleashing a True Divine Smite of his own. The collision generated a catastrophic explosion of radiant energy that consumed entire stretches of outer space.
I surged through the blast using Divine Step, and Silver Steel descended, cutting Supreme Heart cleanly in half, or so I thought.
The figure dissolved into a ghostly illusion. A trap. Infernal chains erupted from every direction and wrapped around my limbs, torso, neck, and sword arm before I could fully react. The chains pulsed with sinister power, but then they suddenly blackened as rust spread across their surfaces and the metal rapidly decayed.
Starshroud laughed. "I got it handled!"
The chains crumbled into dust moments later.
I immediately searched for Supreme Heart, and my expression darkened when I realized he was moving significantly faster. Not only that, but he continued displaying abilities from entirely different paths; one moment he wielded divine authority, the next he manipulated gravity, followed by illusions and then infernal powers. His versatility was becoming increasingly concerning.
Without hesitation, I summoned Red Hare. The demonic shapeshifting horse emerged beside me with an excited snort, and I mounted immediately. Together, we charged, following the traces left behind by Supreme Heart as I swung Silver Steel repeatedly.
The darkness of outer space lit up with explosions of divine power, infernal power, gravitational collapse, and even concepts colliding against concepts, transforming the battlefield into a beautiful apocalypse.
Neither of us gained a decisive advantage as the fight stretched onward for a year, then ten years, then a century. Two Rulers of Laws continued exchanging blows across the cosmos without producing a clear victor, and it was becoming frustrating.
Eventually, both of us stopped. it was not because we were tired or injured, but because I felt a faint premonition of danger, something I imagined Heart also felt. The longer we continued, the greater the probability that something else would become involved, something powerful and something neither of us wanted to deal with.
Across from me, Supreme Heart grinned. "Did you feel that?"
"I did."
"Trust that instinct, Da Wei. It's unfortunate, but our battle has to be postponed." Supreme Heart placed a hand over his chest and let out an exaggerated sigh. "Ah, what a tragedy. What a genuinely miserable outcome. Do you have any idea how rarely I find someone capable of keeping my attention for more than a few exchanges? And just when things were becoming interesting, fate decides to interfere."
He shook his head dramatically.
"I haven't even seen the full extent of your abilities yet. You've been holding back far too much. No Dao Domain. No truly reckless gambits. No desperate trump cards. I was looking forward to discovering what other absurd things you've hidden away."
His expression became one of theatrical sorrow.
"Honestly, Da Wei, you're breaking my heart. Here I was, prepared to spend another century or two appreciating your talents, and now we're forced to stop before the main event even begins. Cruel. Absolutely cruel."
This entire fight had merely been a warm-up.
"How about we go at it one more time?" I asked.
Supreme Heart scoffed. "Hah~! Truly, a battle maniac at your core, huh? I liiike it! "Sadly, I'd rather continue with a different contest."
My eyes narrowed. "Oh?"
Heart's grin became mischievous. "Hm. Maybe we should place a wager on it."
That immediately caught my attention. The tower was still sitting on my world, and the sooner it disappeared, the better, so I pointed Silver Steel at him and declared confidently.
"I'm game."
In the end, our battle was declared a draw. Neither of us had managed to overwhelm the other, and neither of us seemed particularly satisfied by that conclusion. I felt a familiar impatience stirring within me. Part of me wanted to ignore the warning entirely and continue fighting until a victor emerged. Fortunately, reason prevailed. Barely.
Lowering Silver Steel, I asked, "What kind of contest do you have in mind?"
Supreme Heart shrugged as though he had only just thought of it. "Oh, I know the perfect place."
Before I could question him further, space folded around us.
The next moment, we stood inside the tower.
I immediately recognized the oppressive atmosphere surrounding us. Countless layers of laws intertwined throughout the structure, forming a bizarre realm that seemed detached from conventional reality.
Heart spread his arms grandly. "Since we're both such refined and reasonable individuals, I propose a game of luck. A simple game, really. Snake and ladders."
"..."
Then his grin widened into something deeply concerning.
"But with real people."
I immediately had a bad feeling about where this was going.
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