Lord laughed internally, "I love this feeling! This awesome feeling! First, I need to know its name."
He raised his hand, "My dear people! I have a question to ask all of you!"
Everyone remained quiet as they eagerly waited to hear his question.
He smirked, "What is this feeling called? The one of feeling so supreme and being the one above all?!"
The cosmos sensed him trying to find something related to his past... pride...
Seeing this, it immediately paused time!
Even the crystals weren't able to resist the might of the cosmos.
Lucan also stood frozen; even the legendary golden butterfly stood still...
Not a single entity was able to resist this change—they submitted without even realizing it.
The cosmos smirked mockingly at these beings!
It echoed throughout space, rumbling like thunder, shooting like stars.
Then a small flash spread over the entire solar system and vanished almost instantly, without even leaving behind a trace.
Then time resumed as it was earlier; the cosmos was watching the following events pass by...
Several people spoke, "Cockiness... Individualism... Dignity..."
It went on and on. Lord felt something amiss, "Something that starts with P? And... wait! WHAT WAS I ABOUT TO ASK?!"
His thoughts started to shatter into an uncountable number of fragments as they got washed away!
Permanently...
Making it impossible for Lord to remember anything at all now! The cosmos silently sighed in relief!
But Lord suddenly started laughing crazily, with his hands spread wide like a T!
He started to float above, levitating in the air like it was a piece of cake!
All of the aliens gasped at this sight, "God..."
He screamed, "Cosmos!!!! Hahaha, I heard it right now, and I recalled everything... thanks to this purple guy! Hahaha, I am Lord!"
The cosmos froze time once again and brought Lord into its own dimension, where space, time, and reality were all determined, created, and destroyed...
Lord was back in his own form of nothingness... even though his existence is denied by everyone.
HE DENIES THEIR DENIAL, REJECTING THEIR REJECTION.
The cosmos was confused as it said, "How..."
The voice sounded like a heavenly delusion... it sounded calm, loud, mad, sad, happy, and all possible ways at the same time...
He was floating in a void surrounded by everything and also nothing!
There were stars, planets, comets... and many more.
And there was nothing! Literally a null void.
Its aura was so massive that even goosebumps couldn't define the feeling.
Lord went into a daze!
Lord was astonished, "The cosmos..."
For a split second, even his pride was stunned by the cosmos... the one above all!
On the other hand, the cosmos was staring at him.
"JUST A MERE MORTAL ALIEN WITH PRIDE... LORD..."
It was stunned to see such a creature in existence... just too prideful to reject even itself.
Even fate had to prepare countless possibilities in the past!
Even the cosmos had to intervene... a pride too high that even the pride crystal was killed to prevent a massive power imbalance.
Its cosmic hands held Lord's figure and brought him closer!
He laughed, "Invincible Power... Hahaha! But you will still lose to me, kiddo."
It also laughed, "Undying pride... even pride can't describe you! Hahaha, you're an interesting and amazing mortal!"
Lord's veins popped in excitement, "HAHAHA, EVEN THE COSMOS IS MY FAN! MY PLEASURE, DO YOU WANT MY AUTOGRAPH?"
It shook its invisible head and gripped him in its invisible fingers...
"But... how did you hear me?"
Lord closed his eyes and recalled a familiar face...
A purple-colored crystal appeared in his vision.
"Lord, even if I die, you mustn't stop! Pride mustn't end with me! You must spread it to everyone and everything!
Hahaha, I don't have any regrets about dying now, because Lord, you have satisfied my goal of meeting the greatest true pride... hehe.
Here, this power of mine can help you measure pride! At least take it as a parting gift..."
He returned to the present, "A good old friend, the only person I ever truly respected even above Lucan!
Pride crystal!"
The cosmos went speechless, "Pride crystal..."
It also remembered a vision!
It saw many crystals choosing their attributes way earlier in the past.
Where the pride crystal chose pride despite everyone mocking it as the weakest and most useless trait.
Pride waited... waited for millennia just to find Lord!
The cosmos grinned, "Pride crystal... I swear I will never forget your name and PRIDE forever..."
Lord laughed, "Pride crystal... he was the reason for the entire world to exist this way!"
Back on Lucan's spaceship.
He tied his hands behind his back, "Hmm... did time stop right now? Why do I feel a split-second delay?"
He grinned, "So, there's some external force here, hehe. What do you say, golden butterfly?"
It nodded and said something only Lucan would understand.
"Yes! I felt so too, but if you say so, it's 100% true, Lu!"
He laughed, "Hahaha, a new enemy? A new ally? I have to start my calculations right now!"
He gazed at the space full of stars and pointed his finger above.
"Hey! I don't care who you are or what! I am warning you not to step on the path to my goal...
Because if you do! Hehe, nobody can save you, my friend! It's not advice; it's a threat."
The cosmos saw this scene and showed it to Lord.
It knew about anything happening anywhere in all of space.
Lord snorted, "Remember I said 'except Lucan'? He is that kid! Hahaha, the other person after the pride crystal I truly respect a bit, and he's at the last place on my list!"
The cosmos's gaze landed on Lucan!
It asked, "He's just last? So who's in first? Let me guess, hehe, you?"
Lord snorted, "Me? Nah, I am beyond the word 'beyond' itself! No ranking could fit me, and nobody's in first place through last.
Lucan is the only one even included on my list!"
The cosmos laughed heartily, "So, who's stronger between you two?"
Lord laughed, "Of course it's me, but we are yet to fight for real! It takes me back—he made a promise to fight me right when I was ruling the planet.
But then he got a promise that he will fight me whenever he feels ready enough... and he never felt so, hahaha!"
The cosmos thought, "No, it's different from what he thinks! He is just too smart and wants to avoid the fight.
Strength on one side! Full of pride...
Intelligence on the other side! Full of pragmatism...
Hehe, just like the things humans use!
Ah...
Got it—two sides of a coin! Hehe, so Lucan and Lord! How far are you both going to go? Let me witness this fun live action!"
It tapped Lord's forehead with its fingers, making him forget about the existence of the cosmos.
It restored Lord back to his old form.
As it sat back comfortably, it laughed, "The fun is beginning now... so who is going to win? Lucan or Lord!"
Lord woke up in the eternal abyss of life and death.
The cosmos had chosen this place specifically because he had to encounter his past trauma—what he feels is a disgrace to his pride.
His wife and daughter!
It teleported Lucan back to his home on Earth!
Lucan immediately woke up in his bed, which he had left as a child.
He now has to face his biggest problem currently: encountering his family without going berserk.
He noticed the golden butterfly was missing along with his spaceship.
Both he and Lord realized now that they had no choice but to face it head-on.
The cosmos smirked from the shadows, ready to witness all of this!
It had the ability to do or see anything...
But it intentionally paused them to witness this live-action conflict as entertainment.
Meanwhile, at fate's place...
The fate crystal felt something going wrong as it said, "Crystals... my instincts say there is now a new danger incoming!"
The life crystal grinned, "Hahaha, once death revives, see how even the word 'danger' will be erased from existence, Fate!"