Claire sprinted down the road, clutching the treasure tight against her chest while gasping for air.
It was a pity that her rank was only 1 star. If she had even a little more strength, she would have escaped long ago and hidden somewhere safe with the treasure in hand.
After darting through countless buildings and weaving through narrow alleys, her worst fear materialized.
A dead end.
"Where will you run now?" a mocking voice called out behind her.
Her pursuers were one star cultivators just like her, but unlike Claire, a wandering ascendant with no support, they had powerful factions behind them.
I don't have awakened abilities, or any power backing me. Why did I even bother competing for the treasure?
Regret gnawed at her insides at the prospect of her incoming death. She truly had no trump cards left up her sleeve.
Not even a minute later, she sprawled on the ground, her consciousness slipping away. She had tried to fight, but it was simply a futile attempt against the numerous enemies.
I don't want to die.
Her weakening consciousness inadvertently drifted to a piece of paper she had stumbled upon while cleaning her clan's treasury.
Even though her clan was no more, she remembered those words on the paper. Their family had descended from one of the major priests of a god.
However, she also knew that everyone had at least tried to call upon this god once. But 'He' never answered. Gradually, everyone knew that their god either didn't exist or might have fallen.
Could this time be any different?
With the last flicker of hope within her, she began to recite the words written on the paper.
"The one who walks in circles of time, whose footsteps erase their own shadow."
Her consciousness slipped further into darkness but her will kept her going.
"The one who can deny death and tomorrow. He who rewrites the destiny of the universe."
"Please…save me."
A small golden fragment burst out of her soul and shot into the sky, racing upward at astonishing speed until it left Earth and streaked deeper into the universe.
In a distant and forgotten corner of existence, a colossal entity lay dormant, wrapped entirely in golden chains.
Every few days, or months, or years, or decades, or centuries, or eras, the entity would tremble as if attempting to break free, causing the chains to rattle violently.
One of the weaker links of the chain already looked like it might break any moment.
The tiny golden fragment was heading straight toward the chained entity.
But it could not reach the being without passing through the bindings. Because of that, it slammed directly into the weakest link.
The very moment that chain broke, a tremor passed through the universe.
The vibration went undetected by everyone but the strongest ones of this era.
Their eyes opened in horror as a wave of energy unlike anything they've felt passed over them.
However, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't pinpoint the source.
Back where the colossal entity remained sealed, the broken chain dissolved into glimmering points of light.
And then, at long last, one of the entity's eyes, vast as a star, slowly opened.
They contained nothing but indifference despite being sealed for eons.
As an Outer God who embodied a Major Concept, Holden couldn't die even if he wished to.
As his thoughts stirred, he became aware of his current situation after absorbing the tiny golden fragment.
If energy from outside could reach him now, then his own energy could also escape, and it had already begun to drain from the moment a chain broke.
His body was akin to an inflated open balloon. Even though the balloon was made of rubber, it required a constant supply of air to keep its form.
Just that if there was no instream of air, the rubber would start disintegrating entirely instead of just deflating.
His vast body, which required an unimaginable amount of Faith energy to sustain, had begun to collapse now that there was no source of Faith to keep it intact.
No one remembered him in this era.
Acting swiftly, Holden disintegrated his own body with a single thought before more energy leaked.
Unexpectedly, it brought about an advantage.
Because the chains had briefly lost their target, the remaining portions of his sealed strength and memories were released for a moment.
However, he had to act quickly before the chains found his soul and the majority of his powers and memories were sealed again.
Controlling the energy which his disintegrated body had converted into, he molded it into a massive palace with a few items and connected it to himself.
The structure instantly shrunk in size and entered his soul.
Finally, the chains settled back into their place. His memories were immediately sealed once again, while the powers were gradually being sealed.
But he had already completed everything he needed to accomplish.
A strand of information manifested in his mind.
[Name: Holden.]
[Race: Outer God.]
[Major Concept: Regression.]
[Awakened ability: Evolution.]
[Faith energy: 0]
[You need to — !@#*#$^&]
I guess transferring my memories didn't work. Doesn't matter.
At least I can still track and use faith energy despite 99 percent of my existence being sealed.
His seals were not equal. The final seal carried the greatest weight and imprisoned the majority of his strength, while the first seal that had broken was the weakest and restrained only a small portion.
Tracing the path of the golden fragment with the last vestiges of his dwindling power, he found its source.
This small planet huh? Might as well start from there.
His soul rapidly traversed through space, gradually gaining a human's physique as he finally entered the Earth.
She is the one who woke me up?
Standing beside her wounded form, Holden took an item from the palace bound to his soul and crushed it.
The faith value began rising rapidly, but he didn't pay it any mind.
Focusing his attention on the young woman, he dragged her soul into the palace.
*****
Claire's vision had long since darkened, her breathing faint, and face pale.
After she finished the chant, she waited for a moment, but nothing happened.
I guess it didn't work.
Right after she had that thought, something shifted within her, and her vision brightened.
She found herself seated in one of the chairs circling a massive round table.
However, she wasn't alone.
Across from her sat a towering mass of gray smoke, vaguely shaped like a humanoid figure, resting upon a chair larger than all the others.
Recalling what she had recited moments earlier, her eyes widened and she rushed to her feet.
With a face full of hesitation and fear, she spoke slowly.
"The Endless Beyond?"