Apotheosis: a complete metamorphosis of one's existence.
Spirit and flesh become one; the body is the soul, and the soul is the body. Upon reaching this realm, the amount of energy one possesses is no longer important. Even in a void utterly devoid of energy, a being at the Apotheosis realm would not be affected in the slightest. This is because at such a level, their method of combat is no longer about driving energy to form various techniques to attack an enemy.
Since they are called "divine," this realm corresponds to beings who, like true gods, can change and create rules. They can make water flow upward, fire turn cold, and iron become soft.
These feats are not accomplished by consuming energy, but by them establishing a new rule. Thus, all things in their vicinity comply with their rule and change accordingly.
This is Apotheosis. Shedding all that is mortal, completely transcending the so-called category of "life form," and reaching a state of being that is both concept and existence.
To have achieved Apotheosis means that the concept of death no longer applies to a being of this realm. Unless they are utterly forgotten, unless every last trace they have ever left is erased, then even if the form they manifest is killed, a being of Apotheosis can still walk out from the memories of others, can still emerge from the traces they have left upon the world.
The most fundamental way to completely destroy a being of Apotheosis is to obliterate all traces of their existence, make every person who remembers them disappear, and erase any legacy or teachings they left in the world.
The most direct method is to destroy the world, or worlds, where they once existed. By doing so, their anchors would vanish, and all that would be left is to defeat them in a frontal assault.
But if they had left behind any contingencies that allowed their traces to survive total annihilation—if even a single living being still remembered them—they could re-emerge from time and memory. It would only be a matter of sooner or later.
Xin Yu sat peacefully in a patch of nothingness, gazing at the colossal, fluorescently brilliant tree that stood before him. That was the foundation of this world, the World Tree that supported this universe. This place was the outside of the world known as Honkai, of this multiverse.
Xin Yu now possessed the ability to traverse worlds. Not just traveling within a limited cosmic unit, but truly crossing over into other universes with entirely different laws and principles of physics.
He had reclaimed everything from his past: his identity as a transmigrator, his identity as a system holder, and his identity as an ordinary person from Earth.
But unfortunately, he still couldn't go home.
Without the precise location and coordinates of his home universe, he could not return. If he wanted to, he would have to search for it universe by universe, relying on boundless time, his own luck, and that faint thread of karmic connection.
Rather than do that, it would be better to first ascend to the next realm.
He could feel that realm. Above Apotheosis was true Ascension to Immortality.
That was the end of his path. Upon ascending to that realm, the so-called act of "going home" would be a matter of a single thought. By relying on his memory of that place and his faint connection to it, he could arrive there in an instant, even at a specific point in time within that location.
"To reach my current realm and take the next step to ascend, what I need is not energy."
Xin Yu looked at the Imaginary Tree standing before him. He sat cross-legged and began to perceive the existence of the Tree itself, to perceive everything about it, to perceive the ideals and thoughts it upheld.
"In that battle, he went easy on me at the end."
Before Xin Yu's eyes, that final battle replayed. The sword strike that the Heart-Demon had unleashed by burning his very being was powerful enough to kill him, but in the end, that slash had only destroyed half of his body and soul. Afterward, the remaining energy, not fully spent, had burst from the Sea of Quanta and carved a scar across a vast distance of the remote cosmos.
"Xin Yu, since you won, then go and complete the dream. Complete your own dream."
The last words the Heart-Demon had left him still echoed clearly in his ears.
The Heart-Demon had known, in fact, that even if Xin Yu won, he would still fulfill all their dreams.
It was just that the path the Heart-Demon sought was one of quick success. He would have directly consumed the entire universe as fuel for his advancement, then returned home with the greatest possible speed.
Xin Yu, however, did not have the heart to be so ruthless as to use the living beings of an entire universe as his stepping stone. He would cultivate slowly, experience the nature of the cosmos, and then, when the time was right, grow into the final realm. He would then rely on the karmic connection to return to his past world to care for his father and resolve his regrets.
The most fundamental conflict between them had been in their approach to life. The Heart-Demon pursued the freedom to do whatever he pleased, unrestrained by anything—the so-called path of following one's heart's desire.
Xin Yu, however, believed that such an unrestrained path would ultimately sow the seeds of a terrible, world-ending calamity in the future. Therefore, no matter how powerful he became, he would still recognize his own nature and hold himself to the standards of morality and kindness that an ordinary person would.
"Everything has settled into dust."
Xin Yu stood up. Although he could perceive the existence of the Imaginary Tree, the most fundamental aspect of the universe, trying to reach the next stage of transcendence merely through observation would likely take an amount of time equivalent to the entire lifespan of a star, from its birth to its death.
"Hah! I feel like I have quite the imposing air about me right now."
Xin Yu stroked his chin, thinking about the image he currently projected. If an ordinary person were to see him, they would surely assume he was an enlightened immortal.
The aura he now exuded was no longer the one from his Nascent Soul stage, which would twist and corrupt others into his fanatical believers.
Instead, it was a gentle and serene aura, like a warm spring breeze. While it would cause people to instinctively lower their guard and engage with him, it would not tamper with their minds, turning them into his believers or making them see him as some all-important figure.
"Mm, well then, I'll start by rewriting the stories of the First and Second Honkai Eruptions of the current civilization."
Xin Yu subconsciously glanced toward the bottom right of his vision, where the bright red countdown timer had once been. But now, there was nothing there.
His own lifespan no longer needed to be calculated with time. His very existence was no longer being eroded by the Void.
Therefore, that timer, which symbolized his lifespan and the remaining time of his existence, was no longer necessary.
Xin Yu recalled the various events of the past, a peaceful smile remaining on his face. Then, his entire being vanished without a trace.
When he appeared again, he was back in the familiar house.
Xin Yu walked to the window and pushed it open, gazing out at the bustling traffic below. He looked at the endless stream of people hurrying along the streets, at Nagazora City before the disaster had struck, and said:
"This time, no one will die."