Chapter 1: | The Mandate of Heavenly Will
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In a place beyond definition, where time, era, and epoch blurred into one, a being of immense, breathtaking beauty stood on the very edge of the reality's fabric.
Countless eyes, like jagged tears in the cosmic tapestry, ripped through the reality and fixed their gaze upon the young man.
An immense, crushing pressure descended, the space itself groaning under the weight.
Reality fissured, then groaned aloud, shattering into an infinite expanse of glittering shards as the young man calmly gazed back at the multitude of eyes.
These were not mere eyes.
These floating, hovering orbs, tearing through the very essence of reality, were all the universes that existed within the vast dimension.
And towering above them all, a massive, primordial eyeball with two hollows of pure light and molten gold pulsed with an ancient, terrifying power.
It was none other than the infamous Mother of All, who had now come to orchestrate his demise, her grand 'orchestra' about to begin.
I watched the Supreme Mother, my expression a mask of detached boredom, the rhythmic tapping echoed.
Tap-tap-tap.
As I tapped my finger against the armrest of my cedarwood throne echoing in the profound silence.
"Mother."
I greeted, my voice resonating with an undercurrent of something deeply unsettling.
"it's such a pleasure that you yourself have come to greet your child."
The very constraints of reality violently convulsed, gagging on immense disgust, because of my words.
The colossal eyeball hovering above me pulsed, the pure light within its hollows dimming in a clear sign of displeasure.
"Don't call me mother, child!"
Her voice ripped through the void, a sound that seemed to shred space itself.
The reality holding this pocket of existence disintegrated into billions of pieces, her fury evident in every raw destruction happening around.
"For I have not given birth to you, an abomination that even I fear!"
I met her gaze, unflinching.
She gazed back, devoid of fear, supremely confident that her orchestra would succeed.
"Why deny me, Mother, when I was born from your very creations?"
I countered, a subtle smirk playing on my lips.
"It was all thanks to their records that I came into existence, and ultimately, thanks to you giving them life."
An oppressive force exploded outwards, obliterating everything in its path.
Her gaze dilated from pure disgust, and she shrieked, a sound that vibrated through my very bones.
"Don't ever call me your mother! For I, the Supreme Mother, didn't allow you and your sister to exist!"
Her denial was absolute, tearing a hole in reality.
Billions of light-years away, the entire swathes of existence disintegrated into nothingness, a chilling testament to her unchecked rage.
Her anger was a palpable force, and she gazed at me with an icy disdain, as if I were nothing more than a bothersome insect.
"Forgive me for my rudeness."
She hissed.
"But it's time for your existence to come to an end."
The countless universal eyeballs hovering on the edge of reality exchanged silent glances before closing their collective eyes.
Then, a chorus of voices, ancient and vast, echoed directly into my mind.
"Let the villain's final orchestra play!"
The myriad eyeballs that hovered on the fabric of reality began to fuse, coalescing into a singular, gargantuan orb.
An oppressive pressure, heavier than a collapsing star, bore down on me.
Gravity intensified by numbers that defied comprehension.
The cedarwood throne I sat on groaned, splintered, and then broke apart, its once regal form reduced to dust.
I stood gazing at the shattered remnants of my throne.
A fleeting pang of pity, perhaps even a whisper of regret, touched me.
Such a treasure was destroyed so casually.
Billions of light-years away, a brilliant light flashed, followed by a ripple through the cosmic array of universes.
An exquisitely beautiful woman phased through the folds of reality, reappearing meters away from me moments later.
Her lips were an alluring crimson, and her golden irises glowed with an incandescent light as she pointed the tip of her blade at me.
Her hair, a waterfall of fine golden thread, cascaded down to her hips, while her aegis, woven from divine metal, clung to her every curve like molten metal.
"I, the Highest God of All, have come to judge you for the sins you've committed."
She declared, her voice resonating with a clear, unwavering authority.
Gazing straight into her eyes, I allowed myself a small smile.
"Why have you come here, oh Clarice? Is it because I stole your purity, or was it because I massacred your children?"
Clarice, that was the name of the highest God, for she sat at the very top of all the Gods, for she was Primordiality itself.
Her face remained unmarred by displeasure, her gaze unwavering, completely devoid of anger.
"I've long since forgiven you of your sins, so speak no more."
She stated, her voice serene.
"For my purpose this time is nothing more than contractual."
Clarice had long ago forgiven this man who had stolen her purity, who had massacred her children.
She was not the type of woman to hold grudges, for her very existence was not designed as such.
Her serene gaze shifted to the massive eyeball hovering above the vast constraints of reality.
"Mother, you requested my presence in exchange for letting me see my children once again, am I correct?"
Sadness was evident in her gaze, for she had failed to protect the child of her eldest… and her purity.
The Mother of All held her gaze for a single, poignant moment before answering.
"Yes. As long as the last dance of that villain is done, I, the Mother of All, will grant it."
Clarice turned back to me.
Before I could even react, she tapped my shoulder, her touch light as a feather, and she whispered something.
I nodded at her words.
A bright, searing light phased through my shoulder, and in the next second, my left hand was severed cleanly.
Clarice reappeared tens of meters away, already seated gracefully upon her own ethereal throne.
The reality fissured again, then ripped apart with a violent tear, as a furry hand, impossibly large, tore through the cosmic void.
The head of a powerful, familiar monkey appeared.
It was none other than the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the Victorious Fighting Buddha, the Honored One.
Wrathful anger contorted his face at the sight of me.
He pulled at his fur, and countless clones shimmered into existence around him.
Then, time itself seemed to pause.
The victorious Fighting Buddhas appeared above me, their formidable Jingu Bang staffs descending with terrifying speed.
But I only chuckled at his futile attempt.
Time, which had paused for him, now stopped all movement entirely for everyone else.
I calmly tapped my palm on each of the frozen clones before muttering, almost to myself.
"Begone, monkey."
Time resumed.
A blinding light flashed, then exploded, and the constraints of reality shattered into countless pieces once more.
The Victorious Fighting Buddha, along with all his clones, was sent hurtling through thousands of universes, his clones disintegrating into dust as they flew.
Cough! Cough!
Blood, thick and hot, gushed from my mouth like buckets, painting the dissolving reality crimson.
The Supreme Mother's voice echoed, a triumphant, chilling decree.
"Let the last dance begin!"
The void itself tore apart, slashed open by a Starlight Void Sword.
Through the shimmering rift, she appeared.
I gazed at her figure.
Her amethyst eyes, deep as the cosmic night, showed no emotion, and her snow-white hair cascaded down to her hips, a stark contrast to her dark attire.
Samantha appeared, draped in a black tunic, her sword already pointed directly at me.
Her voice was devoid of warmth, yet laced with a familiar, weary undertone.
"My lovely husband, I told you a thousand times that it was pointless to chase the Ascendance. Why did you not listen to me?"
I gazed at her with a familiar affection, allowing myself a slight smile at her presence.
"Samantha, with your meager brain filled with nothing but objectives of how to possess me, I could predict it would come to this."
Samantha chuckled, a dry, humorless sound, then broke into a fit of laughter that seemed to echo with genuine amusement.
She wiped a tear from her eye.
"Yes, you know that I wasn't smart enough and knew of my upcoming betrayal. But I had already anticipated that you couldn't bear to hurt me. So I joined them on their pitiful endeavor to kill you, right, Elara?"
Time stopped once more.
From the swirling river of time, an unknown figure emerged, a woman of stunning beauty, the very Guardian of Time.
She gazed at me with eyes as cold as ancient glaciers.
Her touch was chilling as she caressed my face, then whispered in my ear.
"My adorable husband, Ascendance is nothing but a mere concept that none have ever glimpsed. Why are you so fixated on it?"
Elara's blue eyes glowed with an alluring intensity as she gently grabbed my chin, then pointed towards the frozen Samantha.
"Why not leave her alone and come with me? We could enjoy an eternity in a utopia."
Elara's true intentions were simple, she desired the death or disappearance of Samantha, a rival she herself couldn't kill.
Shlick!
Suddenly, Elara shivered, a sharp gasp escaping her lips.
A Starlight Void Sword protruded from her stomach, and blood, a vibrant, impossible crimson, gushed from her mouth.
"How? How could you escape the constraints of time...?" Elara choked out, her voice a fragile whisper.
Samantha chuckled, a chillingly calm could be seen in her movements, as she swept her sword clean.
She leaned in, whispering into Elara's ear with serene composure.
"Void is nothingness, my dear sister of a different mother."
Elara's eyes dilated in understanding, but before she could speak another word, Samantha's blade moved again, slicing her into millions of ethereal pieces.
"My, it seems that my dumb sister has died. Oops, sorry, sorry, my hand slipped, dear."
Her voice echoed, half-jokingly, half-genuinely amused.
She turned to me, her expression serious, as she asked for the last time.
"Let me ask you for the last time, Alister Von Fai... would you give up?"
I gazed straight into her eyes and slowly, deliberately, shook my head.
Before I could even react, Samantha's sword had already cut me into numerous pieces.
She watched, then shook her head slowly.
"Such a pity that you would be erased along with Elara. So please forgive this incompetent wife of yours."
Samantha smiled, a gentle, sorrowful expression, as she raised her sword and then, with a deep breath, stabbed herself through her own core.
Her gaze met mine, a soft, loving light in her eyes.
"If you're going to choose this path, then... allow us, sister, to accompany you through the end."
Elara and Samantha's bodies both exploded at the same time, their essences mingling into a brilliant burst of light.
I watched them, a genuine smile gracing my lips.
"I've already read your intents, so why pretend to betray me when it hurts you the most, my lovely wives?"
It was a question only they could answer, their essences now scattered.
Time resumed its relentless march, and I turned my gaze back to the Supreme Mother.
I couldn't stand or move.
Only my head remained, the rest of my form vaporized, and I couldn't regenerate my body because of the suppression of the Supreme Mother.
"Are you happy right now, Mother?"
My voice grew weary as my words echoed in the vast emptiness.
"To see me being betrayed by my wives?"
The Supreme Mother gazed at me with a chilling coldness as she spoke.
"Yes. I am satisfied with their roles. So now, let us see your last dance."
But then, a wrathful voice boomed, shaking the very foundations of the shattered reality.
The Victorious Fighting Buddha reappeared, seated upon a cloud, his visage a thundercloud of fury.
"The one who devoured my daughter! Tell me, do you regret it?"
I gazed at him, a familiar smile touching my lips, and chuckled at his ridiculous question.
"Ahhh, you mean Christine, right? That lovely plump monkey? Well, yes, I didn't regret devouring her, because you have already danced to my tune the second you showed your wrath!."
The Victorious Fighting Buddha frowned, his brow furrowed in confusion, then roared.
"What do you mean!"
I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could, a man made of pure blinding whiteness materialized.
"Anomaly, born not from the desire of the Supreme Mother, we, the Supreme Heavenly Dao, have come to judge you."
The Supreme Heavenly Dao, taking the form of a man, pointed a finger at me, his gesture radiated with an unquestionable authority.
"For the sins of destroying the order of the multiverse, we've come to judge you, to erase your existence, to erase your authority."
I gazed at the Supreme Heavenly Dao with amusement, as a flicker of something defiant gleamed in my eyes.
"Stop the grand speech. For I have already sealed my authorities in places that none knows except for me, as I have already anticipated this orchestra."
The Supreme Mother, the Supreme Heavenly Dao, the Highest God of All, the Victorious Fighting Buddha, and all the unseen onlookers were shocked into stunned silence by my declaration.
The Supreme Heavenly Dao cackled, a sound that seemed to reverberate through the very fabric of existence, as they pointed at me again.
"I see. So you wanted a suffering worse than death? Then allow us to grant you a death that none would want."
The Supreme Heavenly Dao clasped their arms, and above me, a massive sphere of pure, incandescent energy began to gather, swirling with raw power.
"We, the Supreme Heavenly Dao, shall grant you the fate you wanted, suffering through the passage of endless reincarnation until we found your authorities."
The sphere slowly descended towards my head.
It was all too familiar to me, I had known it at my very birth.
"I see. So you're going to seal all of my authority with the power of the four Cosmic Laws."
The Supreme Heavenly Dao nodded.
But the Supreme Mother's voice cut through the silence, laced with a palpable unease.
"Supreme Heavenly Dao! This was not the deal we made! You said you'd erase his existence! So why! Why are you doing this foolishness!"
The Mother of All roared, her cosmic fury shaking the remaining fragments of reality.
The Supreme Heavenly Dao simply flicked its hand, and the Supreme Mother simply disappeared.
"We are the Supreme Heavenly Dao, the law of the multiverse!"
Their voices thundered, devoid of emotion.
"So don't question our decisions!"
My vision blurred as the incandescent light of the four cosmic laws blinded me.
The four Cosmic Laws, Karma, Fate, Fortune, and Destiny, converged, sealing my last authority.
That was the very beginning of my grand plan.