Unknown by anyone present on the Empire's main planet, even less by those who were on different planets, a being that reached the pinnacle of evolution, the highest realm that humans could achieve in their mortal form, someone who could now ascend to the next level—such a being had appeared.
It happened a couple of minutes before the Holy Mother's harvest, around the territory of the Fenrirus clan.
A young man, Adam Von Kepalta, took four powerful humans, possessing extremely destructive power all by himself.
However, he wasn't scared. His determination didn't waver, but he was not a monster of some kind; he was a human and would continue to be one. He was just free from all restrictions, after discovering the way to becoming a God. He knew that his opponent's struggle was meaningless.
Their attack didn't reach him; the ground trembled, and the sky rumbled but it didn't affect him. He looked at what was happening without doubting victory.
The Emperor, the one who thought that he had Adam dancing in the palm of his hands, was now feeling Adam's immediate change. He was a completely different person.
The authority of Autonomousity had allowed him to become a different person. This was the result of his 50 years of thinking, trying to solve the mysteries behind his power and finally reach enlightenment. He fulfilled the condition required.
No matter what kind of attack his opponents used against him, it didn't reach him.
"My reality is here," Adam said, pointing at his head. "Most humans think that what they see, what was given to them, their life, was everything they got, so my way of thinking would be seen as a delusion to those ignorant. But if you have the power to turn your imagination into a reality, why also accept the suffering that doesn't even belong to you? No matter what happens in this world, in this reality; no matter what you do, it won't affect me. As long as I am alive, not a single one of them is dead. I remember them."
Adam didn't act as if he was bragging. On the contrary, he was calm and collected. His words exhibited a powerful certitude that only the strong could exert—A superior being.
To simple humans, living every day doing their best to be happy, Adam's words wouldn't make any sense. However, that was why he was approved by the Autonomousity to ascend to the next level. He was not a simple human, because he understood what other humans didn't, he knew about the possibilities, he had the power to make them a reality, and he no longer hesitated.
"You should have stopped me while you still had the chance. Now, your end is inevitable. This is my requiem." Adam reached out his hand, as he said these words.
Then, he addressed his companion, not the Emperor, muttering, "See you again." In front of him was the body of his fallen comrades, of a person that could have shared precious feelings with him, but he didn't waver—He didn't feel any sadness.
"Calm."
…
…
There was no sound, no burst of power, no bright explosion—just tranquility. This was Adam's domain. A place that didn't exist anywhere, yet there. A neutral space filled with only nothingness.
That was where he needed to start if he wanted to create the perfect world, Adam understood. However, he couldn't move, he couldn't do anything. Just being able to observe this space for a few seconds—that was his current limit with his mortal body made of flesh and blood, even as a superior human.
Adam was not omnipotent, and his power was not limitless. He could only remain within this space for a few instants.
He could feel that his body couldn't keep up with the power that he was wielding, causing his flesh to wither, to the point that he looked like a mummy—he couldn't even open his eyes. Fortunately, he had his reliable cape to prevent him from falling from that height.
It was the effect of the equivalent exchange. More power equaled more life force taken from him. He had probably only one day left to leave if he didn't do anything about his body.
However, Adam wasn't even surprised, nor was he shaken. He had already taken this into account, and for the moment, he could convert neutral particles into energy. He had also used his power to create flesh and organs inside of his body.
It was a delicate process, but Adam had learned everything he needed to know about the human body when he had the time. He knew the composition of the flesh, the bones, and the organs down to the single atoms. Converging the nearby particles was not the hardest.
When he finally managed to open his eyes, all that was left was the damage down by the battle.
Now, he had to take care of various things before planning his next big move. He had to find out the way to use the fragments to ascend to the next levels, but he still needed to retrieve them. But first…
*****
Inside a dark room, a man stood in front of a wall, looking at a beautifully painted portrait of a woman, displayed in a large golden frame.
"I have done it," he muttered. However, there was no hint of satisfaction in his voice. He could feel the ground shaking, but he didn't move away from the portrait.
The man desired immortality more than anything else. He had amassed a lot of wealth, and obtained a lot of power, increasing his influence, and creating his own empire. However, he would still die—it was inevitable.
Once this thought crossed the man's head, he suddenly felt that everything was worthless in comparison to immortality.
As such, he didn't stop to anything for the sake of finding a way to prolong his life. He performed inhuman experiences; explored every hint, everything that had reference to immortality. It had become an obsession. And the more he get older, the more he became scared.
No matter what, he had to find a way. At first, he included his family in his plan, but soon, he didn't even care anymore, when first, his wife condemned his vile actions.
Well, long as he was immortal, he could do anything. Even if they were gone, nothing would change, he concluded. Even his children were replaceable.
"So, this is how it feels to be immortal," he muttered to himself.
Boom! Boom! The whole tower continued to tremble as if someone was demolishing its foundation.
"Has it begun?" He asked himself, thinking that the trembling was related to that man's plan.
That man, the Emperor, was the one who made his wish a reality. He was now more powerful, and immortal thanks to him, but he didn't intend to remain under his control forever, the man thought.
"So you were here, the head of Fenrirus," the young man, Adam Von Kepalta, who appeared in front of him said. He was holding a transparent cylindrical container in his hand—with a severed head inside.
Zen Fenrirus knew the face, one of his daughter's so-called friends. Zax was her name, or so he recalled. He thought his daughter was quite stupid, thinking that she could take his dream away from him just because she was one of her children. Like her brother, she didn't deserve to be standing there with him, now that he had reached a higher realm. They should have been there with him now, but they decided to be restrained to their pointless morality.
He had also heard about this man. The one who had influenced his daughter to kill him. Even the Emperor was wary of him—but now that he met him, he was nothing special. Another kid who didn't know anything.
Compared to him, with his newly muscled body, long black hair reaching his hip, and two long horns that symbolized his superiority, Adam's skinny body and messy white hair were more of an old man.
"Puf—hahaha!" Zen couldn't help but laugh. He felt that he had no longer anything to fear. He had a lot of things to do from there, including conquering the Empire. "They should have believed in me. No, they would never be able to understand." He was talking to himself but the arrogance of his voice was striking.
"You—guh!" Before he could say anything more than he did, a hand grabbed him in the face. He struggled to free the hand from his face but was unable to do so.
Then, Adam rose in the sky, his hand still grabbing Zen's face.
With his power, Zen tried to fend Adam off, by trying to transform into his newly acquired astral body, but…
"You don't deserve to be forgiven," Adam muttered, and then Zen felt a sudden change happening to his body.
"Aaaaa! What is this?" His body was returning to its original form little by little.
Adam used his power to force every atom that formed his body to regress down as if time reverted for him. What is this? What is this? Zen couldn't believe what was happening to him. Everything, his power was about to be gone. Why? How? He was confused. He didn't understand what Adam did to him.
"So you can make a face like this?" Adam asked, his voice containing no hint of emotion. He just found the old mad pitiful.
After that, Adam injected iron particles in Zen's joint, making him unable to move, and then, left him to go on a free fall down to the ground from that height.
Maybe, Adam thought, he regret his actions while falling. Some Gods may give him a second chance and he would be reincarnated, or so Adam thought. Though, he could only a black dot appearing on the ground from where he looked.
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