★297
Back to the Trail.
"You're right. As The Voice of Aether, The Silence of Nether follows. I am not The End. That's not me. I am the refusal of it."
This wasn't transcendence. It was inapplicability. Those words weren't meant to be spoken, not here, not now, yet Ego's provocation pushed The Nameless Law, causing the whole simulation to shatter.
The Nameless Law stood amid the Unknown another Early Immortal Being. This wasn't your orthodox immortality. It doesn't make it divine, undead, eternal, or perhaps a primordial freedom, shaped like a soul.
No, the Early Immortal Being is a state that only those of its kind can truly fathom, and in this case, that privilege belongs solely to The One Without Name.
THE ONE WITHOUT A NAME POV
"Is it complete?"
I asked.
"Almost."
It replied.
"Your True Body cannot process the Heart. Your finest and most absolute form, the one created by the Self Cause, might be enough. The Astral Body… was it?"
'The Star God is the Self Cause?'
The thought struck me immediately. If my Astral Body could withstand the Etherheart, then there was far more to the Star God than any of us truly understood.
I didn't dwell on it for long. The Astral Seal shattered on its own, and my Astral Body began to take form.
Just as a vessel is less than ten percent of our True Body, I could immediately feel the overwhelming difference between my Astral Body and my True Body. The gap was immeasurable, boundless by mere presence.
My True Body and Battle Form manifested at the same time before both were consumed by a white glow. Pure white light condensed into long strands of hair flowing behind me. I rejected conventional clothing entirely and allowed my cosmic skin to form in its place.
The moment that transformation stabilised, the two Arts merged and the Etherheart began to manifest.
"You have successfully completed the Third Step: Equilibrium, and the Fourth Step: Transcendence. The Heart is now manifesting."
Ego's voice remained mechanical and emotionless.
'Finally.'
I gave a soft sigh of relief. Now came the final part.
"Did you succeed?"
I asked.
"Huh, what are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb, you dumb omniscient ego."
"I don't.."
It never finished before I made my move.
Ego had no body, no shape, no true form that could be touched, yet my hand closed around its essence all the same.
"What are you?"
It asked, unable to properly process my being. I could feel it trying to reach my mind, only to fail.
"This trial was a sham, wasn't it?"
I asked, my voice calm but sharp enough to cut through its confusion.
"It's not..."
"Ever since we started interacting, I noticed contradictions in your words. Mistakes. From the trials to the Steps and these so-called limits… there was never a limit, was there?"
I tightened my grip, forcing its essence to distort beneath my hand.
"I could have obtained the Etherheart the moment I acquired both Arts."
"You're right."
It admitted, its voice growing unstable.
"But without the trials, your existence would have collapsed. You would've been unable to contain the Heart. Your will be a mortal with unable to comprehend and utilise it's powers."
I laughed quietly, though there was no amusement in it.
"Exactly. If the Astral Body forged by the Star God was enough to contain the Heart, then I could have done this right after defeating Xamidimaru. Instead, I was attacked at that exact moment. Then I woke up here and was forced through your trials."
"It was Etheric… but it wasn't me."
"Oh, I know very well who it was."
My icy cold azure eyes narrowed.
"But you want me dead, don't you? You may have resurrected me simply to make it seem natural when I woke up."
"You're thinking too far ahead..."
I squeezed harder. Its voice faltered, losing certainty with every word.
"The trials were never about transcendence. They were about exposing my true nature, weren't they?"
A brief pause followed before it answered.
"It was. I wanted you to understand that you are the only one. Only you possess the power to wield the Etherheart."
An answer. A slow smirk spread across my face.
"You could've simply told me the story instead of forcing me to live through it."
It tilted towards me, its voice carrying something close to amusement.
"There would be no value in that. Without anything at stake, it means nothing. As Entares once said, desperation fuels transformation, and transformation is growth."
I exhaled softly.
"Fair enough. Then what about the Steps?"
"As an ego, I created that structure myself. But despite that, the Steps are properly designed to lead one towards the highest state."
"Okay."
I went quiet, but a thought lingered in the back of my mind.
'But I don't remember creating someone capable of forging the Steps…'
"What about the mistakes you've been making? The location of the World of Doom, the meaningless time you've added, and the fake limiters that reset my progression. Not to mention the hatred you bore that day."
"That is how I was programmed. To slow you down and force you to question my processes. It was all intentional… and you fell for it."
"Hmm."
I stared at it, my expression unreadable.
"So you were created after all. And whoever made you predicted my actions, a little too perfect. Tell me who it was. The First Ethereal Light?"
She was the only one I could think of. The only one who had played with me before and seemed more than willing to do it again.
'That ridiculous light.'
"No. She has nothing to do with this."
"Then who?"
"That information does not exist within me. She is not your enemy. She is just..."
I clenched my fist. Its essence shattered in my grip before it could finish.
'Ego was a puppet just like Aya. Manipulated by the First Ethereal Light to get me within her range. If that's true, she knows about the real me.'
"The question is, how much?"
"An insignificant amount."
An uninvited voice breached into the Unknown, the Nameless Realm, my personal Ether Domain. I was omniscient, yet I couldn't find how he did that.
"Like a baby with little to no knowledge."
He added.
'To be able to read my mind and know more than she does. It's him. It can only be him. The Lord of Mysteries...'
"It's you."
I said.
"Yes, it's me."
I need not blink, but when I did, he appeared before me. Long black hair holding gleams of starlight. That's a signature I'll never forget.
"Grand Lord."
I call out, my voice barely a wispher.
"Please, call me Veldanava."
He replied.
...
...
...
Back to the Star Realm.
A thin, transparent barrier unfolded across the expanse, shimmering faintly before revealing the Omnis beyond it. However, their confusion gave them up. None among them possessed the power to conjure such a construct, let alone something so utterly indestructible.
As the barrier dissolved upward, a figure emerged, standing before the Omnis with unshakable poise.
Clad in dark silver armour that gleamed like tempered starlight, his wings stretched wide, casting vast shadows across the void. In his grasp rested the legendary spear, Auxilia, humming with celestial resonance.
That Star was Zhou of Serpens, the one whose name stirred awe and unease alike. And now, before the eyes of the Omnis, the only Star who could rival them was poised to surpass them.
[[IMAGE]]
[[IMAGE]]
"The Star Realm.... is gone?"
Belenos asked in disbelief. First Acamar now the Star Realm, how did Algol get this strong?
"Zhou, what are you doing?"
Adhara asked.
"You can't possibly think you can face him head-on."
He added, God's Patience, fully fading from his grasp.
Unlike Zhou, Adhara was utilising God's Patience through the Supreme Art God's Grace. Ton was different. He was with this Art for a long time, so 'patience' became his thing.
"Of course I can't."
He replied calmly as the barrier dissolved into the Omnis, scattering remnants of Energy across them.
'With Lord First gone, the God's Will chose me. And with that, I was able to summon a pure Yuánlì construct. But I knew best, it wouldn't be enough. However, I held on and remained calm, and eventually, something came to my aid, blessing me with Divine Línglì Fragment.'
With the Omni's charged once again, Belenos summoned Polaris Lance, and Adhara activated Aequilibria & Chronotheon. The three versus one is about to unfold.
To be continued...