"I'm truly impressed, sure my son had not taken the time to master anything but leading my empire, but for him to be beaten by the two of you is something… not that I think about it, my father could do the same," Quar said softly, his voice carrying genuine respect mixed with nostalgia as he remembered his own father's achievements from long ago.
"What are you doing?" Seth asked, feeling Chu Yin pressing herself against him even tighter than before.
"I'm pretty sure the quality of any weapon he can throw at us, even if it's blow Ur tier, my ice would be useless. So, we are going to die." She said without a care in her voice, accepting their fate calmly and without fear.
This made Quar smile at her honest and accurate assessment of the situation, only to pause in surprise and shock when Seth let out a heavy sigh while putting on his Nexus Gear set that he had avoided wearing until now for personal reasons…
Instantly, the moment the gear materialized on his body and covered him, Quar moved to kill them both with lethal speed before the transformation could complete and give Seth more power… but he was too late to stop it from happening. Seth only needed a single thought to equip the gear from his inventory, and that thought had already passed through his mind and been executed.
Secondly, once he equipped the gear and his body began to evolve and transform under its influence, he returned to his peak condition and full power without any of the exhaustion he had accumulated.
In this state, he found his Nexus abilities were far stronger than before, enhanced significantly by both the back he evolved, and the gear which buffed his talent. Of course, he was still not strong enough for him to see through Quar… but this was exactly the push he needed for his Nexus Barrier to finally reach level 4 and unlock new powers he hadn't accessed before.
Quar moved with lethal intent and killing speed, but Seth, who still maintained a combat power of 999 Nonillion, was faster in this enhanced state than he had been before. He now used the even more powerful Nexus Blue that had been strengthened and amplified by his evolution, and pulled himself forward through space at impossible speeds, avoiding Quar's attack that was aimed to end his life. Quar found himself striking at nothing but after-images that Seth left behind in his wake as he moved.
'Level 1 is the power to bring the concept of infinity into reality and create impossible distances. Level 2 is the power to control vectors and redirect all forces. Level 3 is the power to stop time at the cost of stopping his own heart and risking death… and now this, level 4, he is here but isn't at the same time?' Quar was genuinely stunned by Seth's ability and what it represented.
[Nexus Barrier (4/5)]: At level 4, the user gains the ability Untouchable. For everything that tries to touch them, would just phase through them. Think of Kamui from Naruto, but this doesn't react only to harm and attacks. Be it support spells, attack spells, or even defensive spells, they shall not touch the user, allowing the user to phase through it all.]
'He is scary fast, I don't think anyone in the universe could rival his speed… but how is that possible? Shouldn't a person's ability only grow more powerful as they tier up through the levels? Why is he so fast while at tier 1?' Quar thought to himself, trying to understand the anomaly before him and figure out how someone so low-tier could possess such overwhelming abilities.
Quar had seen Ur's tier talents that focus on speed. Moving as fast as teleportion wasn't what true speed was; it was reaching point A from point B in negative time. Meaning, you reach the location before you get there. That's true speed… how was Sinbad fulfilling off something those with speed based Ur tier talent could pull off while only at tier one? Just how overpowered was his talent?
He watched Seth carefully, who suddenly hit an invisible barrier that surrounded the entire area, which completely ignored his Nexus Barrier's phasing ability and stopped him cold in his tracks.
Even as Seth desperately fused all 4 levels of the Nexus Barrier together in an attempt to break through the obstacle, combining Unreachable, Unstoppable, Unchangeable, and Untouchable into one ultimate defense and offense that should bypass anything, it was completely pointless as he couldn't get past the barrier no matter what he tried or how he combined his powers.
This is why Quar could be so relaxed and confident in his victory; no matter what Seth or Chu Yin threw at that barrier, no matter how powerful their attacks were or what abilities they used or combined, it was pointless and futile because their tier was simply too low to affect or damage something created by him.
"Level them up while he is studying you. I think he wants to use you to craft something." Chu Yin said softly, her voice barely audible but urgent as she recognized what Quar was doing. Seth wasted no time at all, understanding immediately the opportunity she was pointing out to him.
While moving at full speed through the space around them and leaving behind after-images which Quar couldn't follow with his eyes despite his enhanced perception, he pulled out two skill upgrade orbs from his inventory. He ate them both quickly, feeling the energy surge through his body. He leveled up Nexus Barrier to level 5, and Nexus Eyes to level 5 as well.
[Nexus Eyes (5/5)]: At level 5, Nexus Eyes strengthens the user's already impressive eyesight, allowing them to see faster, further, and more… but above all, it turns their brain into the most powerful computer. One capable of doing vast calculations, it would allow the user to master even complex spells and skills in record time. Your brain is the strongest computer, which would only grow more and more powerful as you tier up. You also gain the ability to copy skills you see, the only limitation being that you can't copy bloodline abilities, and talent abilities would need you to train.]
[Nexus Barrier (5/5)]: At level 5, Unreachable, Unstoppable, Unchangeable, and Untouchable all come together and fuse, birthing the complete form of Nexus Barrier. What you saw before was just its fragmented forms; now all fragments are together, and Nexus Barrier shows itself to the world, with the only drawback being that it can only be used for 5 seconds before it kills you.
The true Nexus Barrier: This ability allows the user to be present outside of everything: space, time, non-space, non-time, duality, probability, improbability, possibility, impossibility, nonexistence, nothingness, existence, etc.
For they can't reach you, affect you, or even touch you. Due to being outside of all forms of existence, you cannot be affected by anything, even Paradox Manipulation or Reality Warping, and are immune to absolutely everything.
You can take all things space, time, non-space, non-time, duality, probability, improbability, possibility, impossibility, nonexistence, nothingness, existence, etc, and control them, for all forms of Vectors can be controlled by you without limit, so long as you know and understand their Vector.
Overpowered right? But Nexus Barrier had more abilities, such as the complete Nexus Blue, Red, and Purple.
Seth could feel the immense power flowing through him like a raging river, transforming his very being and essence as the barrier reached their maximum level and unlocked their true potential.
But this wasn't enough. Sinbad quickly looked at his combat power without his eyes buffing him. He would have a combat power of 55 million right now, thanks to his eyes tiering up, him becoming a primordial human, and Nexus Barrier reaching level 5… meaning he had to forget about breaking the world record.
He also understood the terrible cost that came with this power—five seconds before death would claim him. That meant he needed something crucial, something that could keep him alive and functioning when his own body couldn't thank to not being in existence. He needed an anchor to reality, something to tether him to existence when he stepped outside of it.
He needed to reach Tier 2 and get Nexus Heart… but he couldn't reach Tier 2 without breaking the world record. But the world record was 100 million, surely he could double his combat power by eating monster crystals… right?
"I got it." Chu Yin said softly, tapping Seth's heart, causing his face to suddenly twist in pain… that was shocking, seeing how he was immune to pain.
[You have forcefully drawn out a hidden potential. For 5 minutes, you have Nexus heart.]
"Hurry," Chu Yin said weakly, part of her skeleton turning to dust. She had pushed herself too far
"Chu Yin, would you be my heart? I promise not to be so arrogant and cocky going forward. I will listen and try to make the smart move." Seth said softly, his voice carrying genuine sincerity and a vulnerability he rarely showed to anyone.
This made Chu Yin smile lightly at his words and the commitment he was making to change his behavior… although the smile couldn't be seen or appreciated thanks to her being nothing but a skeleton at this point after using so much of her power to protect him.
"You ask the dumbest question with such seriousness. Of course, I will be your heart, I will beat for you even when your heart stops beating." She said softly, her voice filled with warmth and devotion despite her skeletal form and lack of flesh.
Just for the next instant after she spoke those words with such conviction, her body suddenly shook violently from the power flowing through her and responding to her declaration. Her fleshless skeletal form suddenly grew a heart out of nowhere, the organ manifesting from pure energy and ice as if reality itself was responding to her promise.
And from that newly formed heart that beat with steady rhythm, her flesh began to reform rapidly, covering her skeletal form piece by piece as muscle and skin regenerated at an incredible pace, restoring her to her former beauty… no, it went beyond.