---
It was ironic how, even though they were at the top of the universe, these gods were still insignificant compared to the true gods, beings that no one knew or even knew where they were.
---
"Finally," Kayden muttered as he removed the last past life that existed in his body. His mind was crystal clear to an absurd degree, able to remember every detail of his life with incomparable perfection. With a few simple simulations, he saw his path blossom frighteningly, without any impediments like before. His talent problem was completely solved, and at that moment, he was at the absolute peak of the universe in terms of learning.
His personality did not change at all. He did not even waver in his ideas; it was unbelievable how robust his mentality had become. The pain he had endured for millennia while taking away his past lives, could not be described in words. After that, Kayden found himself without any goals. He had nothing else to do regarding this matter, so without hesitation, he simply switched his goals and continued studying his soul.
His current life was engrained as the only memory he had. Whenever he tried to remove a piece of his soul, it would simply regenerate based on his past life, with soul fragments coming out of nowhere. As much as Kayden understood about the soul, he was still a layman in this field and had many questions that he could not find answers to. This was one of them: where did the soul fragments come from if he no longer had past lives?
Without any clear goal, Kayden focused on his path and his soul. Immortality seemed to exist in this place; now it was a matter of Kayden learning its secrets. It would probably take time, but this was the only life he knew at the moment.
---
"Your strength has grown so much, how?" Aries was clearly in a worse condition than the other two. It wasn’t a one-sided fight, but one side was winning.
"She’s always been on top, son." Those words hit Aries like a bolt of lightning when he saw his father being honest. That meant the last fight was a complete rehearsal, where Zeus lost on purpose. It seemed trivial, but being able to hide so much strength from a god of Aries’ level meant the difference in power between them was much greater than it seemed.
"Why didn’t you try to go further? Why did you let me try when you had so much more chance?" Zeus looked at Aries and smiled.
"Because you are my son." This was a crushing answer that no one expected. Divinity, more often than not, breaks any emotional bonds over time. Those who managed to maintain their mortal emotions were dangerous. This happened because their mentality was completely solid; even when elevated to divinity, they did not change their actions or their choices. It was a level of certainty that few could achieve.
"I see. And why are you trying to stop me now?" Aries had already practically accepted his defeat.
"You have already failed, and now it is time to give my other children a chance," Zeus said patiently, without any emotion in his eyes.
"Don’t you have any greed? Why didn’t you try to reach that realm?" The realm beyond divinity, a legend among the high-level gods. Zeus had potential, but…
"Do you know what the beauty of existence is? It ends. That’s what makes it beautiful. I achieved this strength practically only with my talent. I was blessed like no one else in this universe has ever been, and it also made me understand that the next kingdom is not for me."
Zeus’s words resounded like a thunderbolt in the minds of everyone who heard him. Reaching this level of wisdom and denying a realm of absolute strength was something completely terrifying. This was the mindset worthy of a god, someone who maintains his ideals in any situation.
"Did I get close?" Aries was starting to prepare for the end of his existence but no one paid much attention.
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"No."
BOOOOOOM!
The universe shook as a ten-ray existence exploded its existence without even hesitating. Space was entirely consumed. Zeus and Athena were thrown into the corners of that protection and then surpassed it as everything shattered.
Time was shaken in the region, and space no longer made sense. Those who were watching suffered a huge mental shock. Their souls began to tremble with a ridiculous intensity. What Aries did was to set everyone’s souls on fire with the laws of the end. Many mortals in the universe simply died instantly, without any second chance. Those who survived went through the greatest pain of their lives, suffering strong shocks to their personalities and souls.
These problems had no cure. Aries had practically damaged the entire universe because of his resentful emotions. It would take dozens of generations for everything to return to normal, or at least it would have if Athena and Zeus hadn’t blown themselves up in the same way.
All it took was a meeting of eyes between the two for them to make this sacrifice. Their time had come to an end, and what better way to thank the universe for everything they had than this? The difference is that their explosions calmed the souls and made them flourish. It was a balance. While Aries removed pieces of the souls with his law of the end, Zeus and Athena regenerated them using the past lives of these souls.
Most of the people who survived the Aries attack were healed by the second blast, and in addition, they gained some unknown talents and memories. A unique event occurred in the universe.
"I said your path was unique, but it was also your downfall," Thoth muttered as he watched Nyc fight off the hundreds of souls that had awakened in hunger from Aries’ attack.
Licht was having his soul consumed without any mercy. It was complete chaos. All the hundreds of souls he had absorbed had awakened and were struggling, trying to protect themselves from the cold. If it were just a few weak beings, it would have been fine, but unfortunately, it was the greatest talents in the universe that were in Licht’s prison. One of them was Kayden, who was... not even paying attention.
The second explosion did nothing to help Nyc; in fact, it only hindered him further, as the souls were now healed and even stronger. In just a few seconds, Licht began to fall apart. His soul was taking such severe damage that it was reflected in his physical form. The pain was too intense for him to even try to get rid of the souls, and besides, he had no idea how to get them out of himself.