Chapter 28: Chapter28-Projection of the Goddess of Space
"Right now, I can only gamble everything on this!"
John gritted his teeth, a ferocious look spreading across his face.
In his mind, he roared, "System, can I sacrifice my attribute points in exchange for a temporary boost to a designated attribute?"
The system remained deathly silent. There was no response.
Rumble!
At the same time, more and more Astral Colossi stepped out from within the towering walls, and the boundary of the World Bubble began collapsing even faster.
John almost shouted out loud, "System, answer me!"
At last, a cold notification sounded.
[Detected an intense will to sacrifice from the host. Do you wish to sacrifice half of your current attribute points in exchange for a god-tier temporary boost to a designated attribute?]
Sacrifice half of his current attribute points?
John hesitated for barely half a second before confirming without hesitation.
"Sacrifice!"
"Designated boosted attribute: Agility!"
[Sacrifice commencing!]
[The host has sacrificed 50% of his current attribute points. Agility has received a god-tier boost!]
At that very moment, one of the Astral Colossi had already discovered the Goddess of Space’s Authority Fragment.
It stretched out its enormous hand, reaching toward the fragment suspended in midair.
A source of power at this level was enough to trigger the instinctive greed of every living being.
Even though these Astral Colossi had already been corroded until they were half-dead, they still could not resist the attraction of an Authority Fragment.
Just as the Astral Colossus’s hand was about to close around the Authority Fragment, a blur suddenly erupted from the ground.
John’s figure flashed into existence, the ground beneath his feet collapsing into a deep pit from the force of his step.
In the distance, Lord and LoranBlade, whose eyesight was sharper than most, both noticed John’s movement.
Their pupils shrank. They were just about to call out and stop him, but in the next instant, their voices died in their throats.
John’s body had been seized in the Astral Colossus’s palm, together with the fragment.
Crack!
A crisp shattering sound rang out from within the Astral Colossus’s hand.
And then—
The platinum-white suit on John’s body suddenly erupted with a dazzling white radiance.
[S-rank Lord Suit effect triggered: Unconditionally blocks one attack from an enemy of S-rank or above!]
Seizing the brief opening created by the suit blocking the attack, a massive amount of fire element rapidly gathered in front of John’s chest.
Boom!
White light flashed, and terrifying energy erupted in an instant.
The Astral Colossus’s palm was blown apart on the spot.
In the next moment, amid the dust and falling stones that filled the sky, a streak of white light shot out like a meteor, whistling over everyone’s heads.
It was none other than John, who had successfully seized one Authority Fragment.
He did not stop for even an instant. Instead, at his absolute maximum speed, he charged toward the locations of the remaining three Authority Fragments.
John was moving so fast that only a very small number of high-level players could even catch sight of him.
That white light crossed three different directions in just a few breaths, leaving three long trails across the air.
In less than three seconds, John successfully collected all four Authority Fragments.
[Goddess of Space’s Authority Fragment]
[Quality]: SS-rank special item
...
Looking at the four silver-white fragments quietly hovering in his palm, John did not hesitate at all. He immediately attempted to fuse with them.
He swallowed them in one gulp, intending to forcefully fuse with them through devouring.
However, the fusion process was far more dangerous than John had imagined.
The moment the vast authority energy entered his body, it erupted like a flood of god-tier catastrophe.
Under the scouring force of that flood, his blood vessels shattered one after another, and countless cracks spread across his internal organs.
His entire mind was instantly plunged into blankness.
Everything around him froze completely in his vision.
In a daze, John saw a familiar projection gradually approaching him.
A silver-white long dress. Hair cascading down like a waterfall.
It was the projection of the Goddess of Space!
Before John could speak, the Goddess of Space spoke first.
Her voice was ethereal, illusory, and difficult to pin down.
"Long time no see, old friend."
John opened his mouth. He wanted to ask many questions.
For example, where was she now?
Why had her authority shattered to such an extent?
But in the end, all those countless thoughts turned into one sentence.
"Are you all right?"
The Goddess of Space’s face was blurred and indistinct, but John could sense that she seemed to smile faintly.
The Goddess of Space said, "Old friend, time is short, so I will not waste it on idle talk.
"I know this is not the first time you have experienced this cycle."
That single sentence alone left John completely shocked.
The secret he thought only he knew had actually been known all along by the Goddess of Space.
The Goddess of Space continued, "At present, the only ones who know the secret of the time reset are you, me, and the God of Time.
"As for this secret, the God of Time and I conducted an in-depth investigation."
John’s heart tightened. He immediately listened with full attention.
"According to our observations, the gods and powerful existences of various universes have all once fought a war against a mysterious being known as the God Hunter.
"That God Hunter travels between different universes, specifically plundering and collecting the authority and divinity of gods.
"In the previous life, under his assault, the gods were forced to retreat again and again, until they were already on the verge of total collapse.
"Therefore, the God of Time ultimately paid the price of breaching the River of Time and forcefully restarted this universe once."
At this point, a trace of emotion entered the Goddess of Space’s voice.
"But this method can only be used once.
"Afterward, while the God of Time and I were sorting through the connections between the various universes, we discovered that the universe where the Old Empire was located was an extremely special anchor point.
"It could serve as a transmission hub connecting multiple universes.
"In other words, the Old Empire universe was actually an incredibly important strategic location."
Hearing this, John forcibly suppressed his shock and asked, "So that is why the Old Empire suffered destruction?"
The Goddess of Space sighed. "Correct. In the end, we were still one step too late.
"That God Hunter had already descended into the Old Empire universe ahead of us and begun dismembering and remolding that world.
"He was attempting to transform that place into a cross-universe transmission node belonging exclusively to him."
The Goddess of Space’s tone turned solemn.
"In order to restrain him, I forcibly cut away an important region of the Old Empire. That region is the place where you are now standing.
"I preserved it inside an independent World Bubble and left behind countless Astral Colossi to guard its boundary.
"I never expected that the Astral Colossi I left behind would ultimately be corrupted by the God Hunter as well.
"And the authority I left behind in that place was also detected by him. He sensed a trace of its aura and realized that I was still alive.
"So the God Hunter immediately began hunting me down.
"Now, I can only speak with you in the form of a projection. My true body is still in exile."
A god who mastered the power of spatial distance and proximity was actually being hunted?
When John heard this, disbelief filled his face.
At that moment, the Goddess of Space spoke again.
"There is one thing I must remind you of. No matter who the God Hunter is, he must never be allowed to continue collecting more divinity and authority.
"If the power of those gods is gathered and controlled by such an existence, the consequences will be unimaginable.
"That is why you must ascend to godhood as soon as possible. Only after you become a god will you have any chance of stopping his final plan."
