190. Tearing Reality
Splat!
Remaining Moon's figure was captured by gravity; his spine bent instantly, and every cell in his body became as heavy as iron blocks.
However, the effect lasted too briefly.
[Sequence Fifty-Six • Remaining Moon]— Activate!
"Ability Deconstruction • Dimensional Leap!"
Remaining Moon's body instantly shifted to another dimension.
Remaining Moon stood firm in the world of the card illustration. Here, there was no wind, no air, no water; matter neither collided nor intertwined. Everything was crudely and simply combined, and the color particles appeared starkly incongruous.
Protected by Omega Energy, his body didn't unravel but moved frame by frame on the paper surface. To Li Aozi, his figure seemed to disperse instantly, countless cards pouring down like a torrential rain.
"I never expected that you too would be a holder of Sequence Omega Energy..."
Remaining Moon was slightly surprised but only slightly.
The other's Omega Energy was evident at a glance: the renowned Sequence Nine: Gravity, ranking in the top ten, excelling in both potential and destructive power far above his own.
However, gravity posed no threat to him.
At least, from Li Aozi's degree of Omega Energy development, that seemed to be the case.
His understanding was exceptionally thorough.
Indeed, in physics, even without introducing superstring theory, it's clear: gravity can cross time and space. However, as Omega Energy, gravity is limited to a fixed region.
Or to put it more plainly, Li Aozi's sovereign-like authority is confined to his own domain.
As a [Ability User] of the Zeta Tier, authority cannot be overstepped, just as a king cannot enforce laws in another kingdom.
"What's wrong, Leoz? Do you think your current self alone can traverse dimensions?"
Remaining Moon spread his hands.
If it weren't for the other's insistence on opposing him, he wouldn't want to fight this junior. The [Domination] line was gradually declining, and nurturing a few geniuses seemed prudent, lest there be no companions when descending into the Star Abyss.
However, Li Aozi's reply was always so crisp and straightforward.
Gravity • Spacetime Ripple • Deceleration Zone
Li Aozi raised his hand, swiftly expanding gravitational waves. Under his Dominating will, gravity instantaneously expanded and spread in an indescribable manner, causing the previously stable surroundings to slow dramatically under his immense force.
"Time and space are forever servants of gravity."
Li Aozi snapped his fingers lightly, the golden halo in his eyes filling his pupils completely. His voice spread instantly, crossing the barriers of dimensions and issuing a command to the universe:
"Kneel!"
Kneel!!!
His voice swept across the universe, spreading towards the celestial dome. Just as it was about to pass the White Candle Star, a figure appeared suddenly, framing the White Candle Star with thumb and forefinger.
Buzz——
"I can't let you spread this."
From the fissures of the Meteor Belt, a night butterfly battleship adorned with ornate religious decorations slowly emerged. Admiral Bablushka stood on the bridge, bowing slightly as he continued to observe this spectacle:
"An internal war among Omega Energy users? How intriguing."
His aide reminded him, "Sir, we can't delay for too long. The higher-ups of White Candle Star will eventually respond. Letting Remaining Moon spar like this—will it affect our goals?"
"No need to worry. His ship has already switched to teleportation tower mode. Our team can advance and retreat quickly at any time."
Bablushka intertwined his fingers, crossed his legs, and looked confident:
"Remaining Moon has his own agenda too. We can't help too much. This guy will eventually ascend to the Kappa Tier. With his capabilities, becoming a force in the Abyss is no problem."
"Aren't you concerned he'll hoard the knowledge of the Eye of Recognition..."
"Precisely because Remaining Moon wants his own faction, he won't dare to hoard." Bablushka nodded. "He knows full well this operation is like dancing on a knife's edge. If the narrative-level civilizations find out he has leads on the forbidden knowledge of the Eye of Recognition... that's far scarier than being resented by dozens of civilizations."
"Oh? Sir, quite the cunning plan. Looks like you're planning to pin this blame on Remaining Moon."
"Why not use a ready-made scapegoat?"
Bablushka chuckled:
"As a Kappa Tier, I'm no match for that brute Balkomon, but Remaining Moon will definitely give him trouble. Meanwhile, I'm more curious about that newcomer. Such a strange path... It's my first time seeing a Zeta Tier cause a commotion greater than a Kappa Tier. I almost couldn't suppress it."
"It might be a new Domination-type path. Narrative-level civilizations are always developing new paths to expand their power."
"Perhaps." Bablushka's excitement grew. "Let's see just how miraculous this endlessly echoing lad's path is!"
His gaze pierced through the cosmos and atmosphere, instantly landing on the surface.
Whoosh——————
Within the gravitational Omega Energy's domain, time grew increasingly slow and instantly froze under his control.
Air stopped flowing, heat ceased transmitting, particles halted all motion. Even light couldn't escape. Shapes in the air were frozen mid-scatter.
Upon reaching the Zeta Tier, Li Aozi's mastery of gravitational Omega Energy advanced further. Though he couldn't intricately reshape physical reality like telekinetic Omega Energy, he achieved an even more terrifying effect.
Regional Time Stasis!
"The essence of gravity is the distortion of spacetime."
Remaining Moon understood Omega Energy and gravity well, but as for [Sequence Nine: Gravity] Omega Energy, in this era, no one understood it better than Li Aozi.
Just as Remaining Moon spread his arms and waited for the gravitational field to dissipate in the two-dimensional world, Li Aozi had already utilized the effects of time stop to swiftly scan and sift through the thousands of cards scattered from the sky, pinpointing his target.
Clap.
Li Aozi didn't launch a crude attack directly but instead meticulously set the nodes for gravitational wave fluctuations.
Omega Energy cannot directly traverse dimensional spaces, but the echoes caused by resonance are entirely transmitted in the form of gravitational waves.
"That's it!"
Li Aozi's gaze sharpened. He brought his hands together, and the bases of his palms clapped rapidly.
Wave after wave of gravitational pulses swept across like tides. Even as time and space were frozen around them, gravity could still pierce through, carrying immense energy akin to successive infrasonic bombs, sweeping toward Remaining Moon's dimension.
As the surrounding color particles collapsed and disintegrated, slamming toward him at high speed, Remaining Moon immediately sensed something was wrong.
"How is this possible? With his level of Omega Energy development, there's no way he could figure out this technique."
Thinking this, but his instincts acted faster, he instantly switched dimensions, leaping to the surface of another card. However, the fate awaiting him was the same—gravitational waves continued sweeping toward him.
Dimensional Leap!
He landed on the surface of a gas molecule, but he quickly regretted it—due to the external spacetime stasis, the motionless molecule had no temperature.
This was absolute zero in its truest sense.
The bone-chilling cold instantly sapped the heat from his entire body. His movements were almost entirely stiffened by the time freeze's effects.
Fortunately, his colonized body was designed for cosmic warfare. Against such low temperatures, he could endure for a few seconds.
Remaining Moon spread his hand.
"Dimensional Warp!"
This time, he didn't leap to a material existence but directly crossed into another dimensional plane.
In the Abyss, there were countless such simple and incomplete sub-planes.
With his affinity, he was instantly drawn to an elemental sub-plane. His feet landed on a stormy gas mass as he scanned his surroundings—lightning coiled, plasma flowed like water, and various wild elemental spirit natives curiously raised their heads, even approaching him willingly.
Luckily, he ended up in an atmospheric elemental sub-plane and not a fiery or dark one.
"That guy—he's got some skill."
Remaining Moon swiftly replaced the colonized components on his body. Thankfully, in the Abyss, heat transfer takes time. Only his left arm briefly came into contact with absolute zero, insufficient to destroy him.
In reality, absolute zero wouldn't destroy anyone. Leoz could only momentarily pause spacetime, not completely annihilate particles. Whether it was vacuum fluctuations of electromagnetic fields or the surges of psionic energy, the existence of matter would persist. That brief stasis was too quick to damage any molecular structures.
Even the damage to his arm was merely due to the effects of resealing, as he manipulated Omega Energy to restart his organs.
Should he feel fortunate? Or unfortunate?
If that guy's level of Omega Energy development were deeper, and he had researched more temporal techniques, then [Remaining Moon] would undoubtedly stand no chance.
Relationships of restraint and support exist between Omega Energies. Leoz's [Gravity] impacts spacetime on a macro level, while [Remaining Moon] focuses solely on dimensional and spatial manipulation.
Regardless, the opponent's potential surpasses his own. For a master of gravity, fully mastering time is only a matter of time.
But.
No matter how strong Leoz's gravity is, he still can't fully capture him. Absolute time stasis is impossible; he cannot alter his own experienced spacetime. This reflects his lack of Omega Energy development.
Remaining Moon's colonized brain spun rapidly. He was smarter, stronger, and more favored by the Star Abyss than Leoz. Even if his Omega Energy was restrained, it wouldn't hinder his advantages.
Soon, he analyzed Leoz's weaknesses based on the battle records.
His resonance force was terrifying, but it didn't actively pursue its target.
"Leoz, you might be a rising star, the light of tomorrow."
Remaining Moon raised his hand and lightly swiped in front of him, collecting the storm spirits that had been approaching him.
"But for now, you're still just a junior!"
Let me, as your senior, teach you a lesson about seniority!
Remaining Moon's hands released Omega Energy, tearing open a rift:
"Ability Interpretation • Infinite Dimensional Slash!"
Then, like an unending avalanche, waves of slashes crossed dimensions and madly rained down on Leoz!
I am the storm that is approaching!
Provoking black clouds in isolation