Aether was clad in Abyssal divine armor, a golden divine sword gripped in his hand.
Behind him, the Abyssal Divine Wheel signified that he had fully unleashed his power.
By drawing upon the power of the Abyssal Universe, his strength had surged straight from low single-universe-class to single-universe-class. With the aid of the Pseudo Star Map Creation: Bottomless Abyss, even among the single-universe class, he was by no means weak.
He had long been observing each of the Aeons from the shadows.
These Aeons' true strength lay not in the scale of their being, but in the quality of their power.
Their mass was merely at low single-universe and standard single-universe.
Their power was rooted in their Paths and Principles. Yet they themselves were not true sovereigns of those Principles. Principles were anchors; what they truly mastered were their Paths.
The Path was an abstract concept. It was not a Rule, nor a Principle, but something between—a personal philosophical interpretation.
But the Path absolutely stood higher than the mere concept of cosmic Rules. It was a kind of personal addition to reality itself.
This power formed a sort of philosophical framework, bearing the ability to erase reality and revise universal concepts.
It was philosophy, yet not philosophy itself—more like its derivative.
Aether, having touched the secrets of the multiverse, naturally knew a few things about this.
Truth, without question, was the absolute existence of the superdimension.
The so-called superdimension referred to infinite dimensions. A great universe was but eleven-dimensional. At twelve dimensions lay the multiverse, and beyond twelve dimensions—the unknown realm of the superdimension.
The Dimensional Gap possessed traits of the superdimension, capable of endlessly advancing dimensions.
Within Teyvat's Dimensional Gap, the Endless Planes were all slowly evolving. Some vast planes had already developed into small universes.
Below Truth was naturally Principle: high-dimensional laws, philosophical theories, and other abstractions in themselves.
What existence, then, were the Paths—derived from Principles? Aether did not fully understand.
But the potential of the Path was undoubtedly immense. Paths were not bound by any universe, and like Principles, could affect all universes.
Above the universe, yet below Principles, the concept was highly abstract.
In fact, Noah had already deciphered this long ago.
Paths were derivatives of Principles. If Truth was the trunk, and Principles the branches, then Paths were the leaves.
This tree-structure of Truth was the foundation from which Noah evolved the three major ranks of Lords of Law/Principle.
When a Lord of Law/Principle in Teyvat ascended to the multiverse, they would become Multiversal-class, able to directly influence the entire multiverse.
A Lord of Principle/Law would then be super single-universe, able to create and destroy innumerable great universes.
And those who forged Paths from Principles would ascend as Lords of Philosophy—strong single-universe, capable of creating and destroying a limited number of great universes.
Paths were the evolution of philosophy itself, hence they were named Philosophy.
Lord of Truth, Lord of Law/Principle, Lord of Philosophy.
The cosmic authorities they wielded were known as the Court of Truth, the Court of Principles, and the Court of Philosophy.
This was the fourth stage of Divine Seats that Noah had defined.
Having now reached the level of a Super-Primeval God, Noah sensed that the Teyvat Universe was nearing super single-universe, and thus he could feel its resonance.
Within this superdimension domain, the highest-tier worlds were no more than Standard Multiverse-class. High Multiverse, Infinite Multiverse, and beyond—such as stacked-box structures—did not exist.
Perhaps it was only because he, as a Super-Primeval God, had yet to reach the stage to touch such realms, and thus could not perceive them.
But he could sense this much: within this superdimension realm, the number of multiverse-class worlds was in the single digits.
Yet worlds like the great Tree and Sea, weak multiverses, were countless.
To devour all universes of this superdimension realm would only yield a High Multiverse.
This superdimension domain was what he recognized as the "Second Dimension."
To become Infinite Multiverse required breaking through the Wall of the Superdimension—the transcendence of this super-multiverse itself.
Each super-multiverse was an entirely different cognition of the multiverse.
To devour infinite super-multiverses—that was Infinite Multiverse.
This was already the beginning of the "stacked box" concept. One multiverse contained countless great universes—that was the first box. A superdimension domain held innumerable multiverses and weak multiverses—that was the second box. Any infinite superdimension domain held countless superdimension realms—that was the third box.
And this stacking would continue endlessly, without limit.
At this thought, even Noah felt a headache, and chose not to think further.
For now, it was irrelevant to him.
At present, regarding the fourth stage of Divine Seats, aside from the Seat of the Lord of Philosophy, which he would grant downward, the Seats of the Lord of Principle/Law and the Lord of Truth would have to be bestowed only upon those he personally chose.
These two Divine Seats could directly affect the future of the entire multiverse, and absolutely could not be handed out as casually as the third-stage Seats had been.
Across two great universes, Noah watched as Aether prepared to single-handedly challenge all Aeons, and he could not help but raise his thumb in approval.
Good fellow—I only said, "Don't worry, you can take on many at once," but I didn't tell you to immediately provoke all of them at once!
Though I will certainly intervene, that must only be when the universe has been nearly cleansed—when Himeko, Firefly, and Sparkle ignite their Paths' resonance and ascend to aeonhood.
...
In the depths of Star Rail Universe—
Provoked by Aether's challenge, the Aeons who had been seeking the invader now locked onto him.
Aeons were the very foundation of the universe. To be targeted by more than half of them was no different from being targeted by the great universe itself.
Each of them, at minimum, possessed low single-universe mass, wielding transcendent might capable of erasing reality—and now they began to manifest.
Vmmm—
A sanctified form like an oil painting came forth—an abstract humanoid figure cradling two black holes, one red and one blue, rotating together.
At the instant it appeared, the balance of the universe was forcibly corrected. Even the will of the Abyss was disturbed, compelled to form an absolute balance between the Abyss and the Star Rail Universe.
Melodic harmonies of the cosmos resounded across the universe, as strange celestial bodies were birthed from the void. A three-faced goddess draped in cosmic auroras—her form like the universe itself—appeared, bearing expressions of compassion, falsehood, and blessing.
DONG—
A sound like space itself being struck rang out, and the entire cosmic void grew viscous.
A sanctified form of amber hue appeared—its head, chest, and arms all burning with stellar fire, wielding a colossal hammer of stone.
The moment this being appeared, it raised its hammer and struck toward its chosen target.
There were no words exchanged. To him, it seemed no different than his usual act of raising the hammer to forge the Subspace Crystalline Barrier.
Crack—Crack—Crack—Crack—
Before Qlipoth's massive hammer, forging the Great Subspace Crystalline Wall's gravitational baseplate, the space ahead collapsed under the force of the Principle of Preservation and the Path of Preservation. Like compressed foam, it folded and compacted infinitely.
Space, endlessly folded and condensed, underwent a qualitative transformation, ascending into a Schrödinger's state of cosmic crystal wall—half-illusory, half-substantial.
This strike looked deceptively simple, but in truth, it could easily shatter the sanctified form of even a single-universe class powerhouse.
None of the Aeons present could withstand even a single blow.
In fact, when the Aeon of Propagation, Tayzzyronth, was struck in the past, he had already fallen into near-death with the very first hammer. The following two strikes only shattered his sanctified form further.
Qlipoth, the Aeon of Preservation, was among the oldest of Aeons.
"This kind of attack is indeed a fatal strike for ordinary Almighty Gods. But I myself am the Abyssal Universe."
In Aether's eyes—so small as dust before the surrounding Aeons—there flickered a trace of disdain. At that moment, the Pseudo Star Map Creation burst forth.
The power of the entire Abyssal Universe surged into his body. His divine form swelled like an inflating balloon. In mere milliseconds, his size exceeded that of stars, matching Qlipoth's own scale.
Facing Qlipoth's seemingly simple hammer strike, the golden divine sword in his hand rose to meet it.
With the Pseudo Star Map Creation's power infused, this sword now bore the weight of an entire universe.
And how could a single universe's mass possibly be borne by the Star Rail Universe's space?
At the instant golden sword met preservation hammer, the space Qlipoth had hammered into Subspace Crystalline Barrier emitted the crisp sound of shattering.
A brilliance like the explosion of a cosmic singularity burst forth from the point of contact, illuminating the cosmos brighter than the light of galaxies themselves.
Crack—
Nor did it end there—the preservation hammer was instantly shattered, unable to block the golden divine sword's advance.
The sword struck Qlipoth's amber, rock-like arm.
If one asked what was the hardest substance in the Star Rail Universe, it was undoubtedly Qlipoth's sanctified form.
Yet the golden sword sliced through it like a diamond blade cutting glass. The piercing screech resounded as the cosmic void across millions of light-years fractured outright.
Dense, large-scale rifts in space spread across millions of light-years. Countless galaxies became trapped within broken fragments of space.
This was fragmentation on the conceptual level—it did not affect physical operation. Even when galaxies were split in two by spatial rifts, they continued their normal motion.
It was as though a mirror had been shattered, yet its mass remained unchanged.
One of Qlipoth's arms broke apart, amber shards scattering like fireworks across the expanse of the universe.
"Hm! A sword bearing the weight of a universe… an entire universe!"
Strange reverberations issued from Qlipoth's sanctified form. It was not sound, but a transmission of will.
In only an instant, Qlipoth had suffered loss. Yet the other Aeons did not halt—they continued to unleash their force. Their Principles and Paths boiled, turning the entire universe into their domain.
Dozens of negative effects of the cosmic foundations pressed down upon Aether, the outsider.
Yet his power did not diminish—for his strength came from the Pseudo Star Map Creation and the Abyssal Universe.
Unless the Aeons could affect the faraway Teyvat itself, such domain debuffs were meaningless.
Of course, had this been an ordinary single-universe class being, under dozens of Principle debuffs, their power would surely have fallen to a tenth.
"Hahaha—! I didn't expect you all to arrive so quickly. Wonderful!"
A sanctified form appeared, composed of countless masks and shadows of humanity.
This body was covered with dense cracks, as though ready to split apart at any moment.
This was none other than Aha, the Aeon of Elation—who, after his disastrous defeat in Teyvat, had not fully healed, yet had recovered to single-universe class strength.
"Ah, I've seen you before, Lord Sovereign of the Abyssal Universe. Ohoho~ the master of an entire universe!"
"That time when I was beaten down by more than ten of your friends—you were there watching, weren't you? Along with a dozen others too~"
"At that time, you didn't seem nearly so strong~"
"But of course, the universe you hail from is far too powerful, allowing you to freely shift your aura as you please."
"Now, this must be your true strength, hehe~ far too mighty indeed."
"This peculiar cosmic power of yours… you resemble those others who besieged me before. Were they also sovereigns of entire universes~?"
As Aha spoke, the countless masks upon his sanctified form shifted into expressions of terror.
"Truly terrifying… your very being is an entire universe."
"If I apologize to you now—kneeling, kowtowing—would you forgive me?"
At once, countless masks and shadowy figures dropped to their knees, groveling pitifully like bullied children sobbing before their tormentors.
Waaaah— "Aha was wrong! Please forgive Aha, Aha truly erred! Don't bully this universe anymore! Aha kowtows to you~"
Yet amidst the weeping faces, a few mocking, playful expressions flashed. Clearly, it was all an act.
Ah, how terrifying that universe was.
It had truly reached across to this place, and those Gates remained utterly incomprehensible.
And this Sovereign God of the Abyss… too powerful.
To be a universe itself, to strike with the weight of an entire cosmos in a single blow…
One against several, even against many Ahas at once.
As Aha knelt and wailed in feigned repentance, more Aeons descended—save for Nihility and Destruction, all others revealed themselves.
Together, they surrounded Aether, sealing away all retreat.
[An existence from another universe—utterly distinct from we, the sentient celestial forms. Calculation underway. Battle models constructing.]
[Ah, the suffering of all beings. Existence from another universe, for the sake of sparing all lives their pain, let the despairing affliction be healed. I beg you, withdraw your power.]
[Memory dissolves into boundless death. The memories of cosmic life, of civilizations, are the records of existence. For the sake of memory's completeness, outsider, you must vanish from the memory of the universe.]
[The universe's future has shifted. The end is unknown, its path uncertain. You have become an obstacle to the flow of time's river.]
[The harmony of all life, strong aiding weak, death protecting life—I see now, the Abyss is not a heartless Law, yet it is an obstacle to present harmony.]
[The Abyss's devouring of civilization's potential has already obstructed mystery.]
Without hesitation, Aether activated the Pseudo Star Map Creation: Bottomless Abyss.
He would drag every Aeon into his cosmology, into his domain.
"Then let us begin, Aeons. Witness the power of Teyvat."
"Bottomless Abyss—activate! Grind all things to dust—Pseudo Star Map Creation!"
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