The world truly had changed.
The moment Arthur's words fell, the pale shell of the world began to shatter with a deafening crack. Fragments split apart inch by inch, falling away in jagged pieces, revealing the dazzling starry sky beyond.
"So this is… the beginning of everything?"
As soon as Arthur spoke, the radiant form of his body began to shift.
It seemed to be transforming into the shape of a brain.
In the blink of an eye, Ego, once again nothing more than a brain of pure light, appeared within the cosmos.
And that… was Arthur himself.
It was a strange sensation: standing serenely in the void, like something rootless and adrift. Any faint ripple of information in the universe felt like a razor-sharp gale slicing across his form…
And the very first feeling Arthur had in this new state was-- pain!
"So this is what you were at the start… so fragile." Arthur sighed, only to notice not far away another brain floating in space, barely an inch in size.
"You've got to be kidding me…" Arthur's eyes went wide. "Why are you still here?"
Yet this thought could not turn into words and reach the other's mind. In this state, it seemed all that existed was thought itself. A brain with thought?
Arthur felt the whole situation was bizarre beyond words.
He began to experiment, to see what he was capable of in this form. But to his astonishment, he found he could do nothing. His gaze shifted back to the smaller brain, only to realize its form was glowing.
Bathed in that glow, within moments a faint, fragile membrane began forming over its surface.
"What is this now?" Arthur thought of Ego's future form and had a sudden realization: "Particle Manipulation?"
After pondering, he began his own attempts. It was, without doubt, incredibly difficult. Even Ego had required countless tedious efforts before finally mastering the technique.
The only reason Ego now progressed so quickly is accumulated familiarity.
Arthur, however, was starting from scratch. Crossing that threshold would not be easy.
"To master particle control… the first step must be energy." Arthur mused, "But where is that energy supposed to come from?"
He looked around blankly. For now, it seemed he could only rely on himself.
Then he remembered the skill books stored in his Disassembly Space. They weren't the totality of Ego's power, but they were clearly part of the same system.
"Energy Absorption?"
Arthur considered this. Right now, Ego clearly couldn't draw energy from anywhere else. Which meant the only place left to absorb from… was the cosmos itself.
So he began trying to draw energy from the universe.
It was clumsy and confusing, like a brain holding its breath at the cosmos. He strained until his whole "head" turned red, but produced no light… only redness!
"This… isn't going to be easy."
He turned his gaze back to Ego. By now, Ego had grown significantly larger, its outer layers already obscuring the original brain-like form.
"Feels like letting him grow unchecked like this… isn't a good idea."
He knew it. But for now… he was powerless to stop it.
"Meditation?"
Since sheer imagination wasn't working, Arthur suddenly thought of another method, meditation, something he had once practiced under the tutelage of the Sorcerer Supreme at Kamar-Taj.
He immediately began trying to cast aside all distractions.
Most importantly, he had to forget that his upgrade was currently taking place in the critical state of the Disassembler's evolution.
And he had to forget that Ego was still floating nearby.
Maintaining the purest state of mind, he used this brain of his to sense the surrounding existence… to feel the omnipresent power within the universe itself.
Time sank into silence. His brain seemed like a lifeless object… but then, specks of starlight began spreading from every direction, merging into Arthur's body!
The radiance flowed and intertwined, layer upon layer, forming a strange sphere of light that wrapped around his entire form.
"It works!"
Arthur "looked" outward, and what he perceived was a dazzling sight, colorful streams of different energies scattered across every corner of the cosmos.
And as long as he willed it, these energies could be absorbed into himself.
It felt as if, once that door had been opened, everything became instinct.
That instinct drove him to ceaselessly absorb all around him, transform it into his own energy, and then use that energy to reforge his body anew.
"It's like… some kind of life-simulation game."
Arthur laughed, then frowned.
This upgrade was utterly different from before.
The most important difference was this: this time, everything had to be done by him alone.
Birth. Existence. Perception. Energy absorption. Control. Usage.
From nothing to something, piece by piece.
He remembered the first major upgrade, it had never been this complicated.
Back then, he only had to "inhabit" the host body, following the trajectory of its life until it was eventually consumed by the Disassembler.
But now, by the looks of it… his coming days might stretch on endlessly.
His gaze fell again upon Ego not far away. Ego had already become a spherical mass, its surface coated with what seemed to be a sturdy shell.
Arthur felt a flash of dissatisfaction.
I'm this big, and I haven't managed that yet. Why the hell can you do it so easily?
Just because you pulled it off before, does that make you special?
Haven't you heard the saying? Villains must die!
With a single thought, the strands of energy across the universe turned into violent winds and razor-sharp blades, sweeping over the tiny sphere only three inches in size…
The next moment, its shell shattered away, leaving behind nothing but a pitiful little brain shivering in the cold void of space.
It looked utterly… pathetic.
Arthur immediately burst into laughter, smug and inexplicably pleased with himself.
Even if you still had fragments of your soul intact, you couldn't do anything to me. With just one thought, I could wipe you out completely.
"(So satisfying!)"
Arthur let out a heartfelt exclamation, then suddenly sank into new worries.
"So… what should I do next?"
The last time, his major upgrade had simply followed the remnants of his host's soul all the way forward, ending only when the Disassembler consumed it.
If this sequence held true… did that mean he really had to remain in this godforsaken place, standing here for millions of years?
"Wouldn't that mean my title as an 'old man' would finally be set in stone?" Arthur thought with sudden, inexplicable dread.