Chapter 49: The Weight of the World
The City of Polaris was in lockdown.
Huge, translucent barriers of blue light had risen around the districts. The streets were empty. The citizens—True Gods and Demigods alike—huddled in their homes, sensing the killing intent radiating from the Central Spire.
We walked down the main avenue.
Rudra Ye (Me).
Seraphina (The Demon Queen).
Ria (The Machine Goddess).
Aeon (The Time Saintess).
And Prince Valerian (The Shield Bearer).
"My knees hurt," Valerian complained, his armor clanking. "The gravity near the Spire... it's doubled. It feels like I'm carrying a horse."
"That is Lord Polaris's aura," Aeon explained, her silver eyes scanning the distorted air. "He is leaking his Divine Domain. He wants to crush us before we even reach the door."
I walked comfortably. My Void Body adapted to the pressure instantly.
"He's trying to intimidate us," I said. "It's like a dog barking at the mailman."
We reached the plaza beneath the Spire.
The Spire was a needle of white crystal, piercing the clouds.
Floating in front of the entrance was a throne made of crushing force. Sitting on it was City Lord Polaris.
He was a giant. Ten feet tall, with skin like granite and a beard made of stardust. He wore robes of midnight blue.
He didn't look at us. He looked at the space around us, as if we were beneath his notice.
"You are the Anomaly," Polaris rumbled. His voice vibrated in our chests. "You killed my Knights. You insulted my Magistrate. And you harbor a Time Witch."
He raised a finger.
"Kneel."
BOOM.
The gravity in the plaza increased by 100x.
The pavement shattered instantly, turning into dust.
Valerian screamed as he was forced to his knees, his divine shield buckling. Seraphina grunted, her wings flaring to hold her upright. Aeon stumbled.
I didn't kneel.
I stood perfectly straight. The ground around my feet cracked, forming a crater, but my spine didn't bend.
"Is that it?" I asked, dusting off my shoulder. "I've had heavier breakfasts."
Polaris narrowed his eyes. "You resist the Law of Gravity? Interesting. You must possess a Gravity Physique."
He stood up from his throne.
"But Physiques are mortal. Laws are Divine. Let me show you the difference between a rock and a mountain."
The Event Horizon.
Polaris floated down.
He didn't use speed. He simply warped the space so that he "fell" toward me instantly.
"Planetary Crush."
He punched.
It wasn't a physical punch. It was a gravity bomb. The space around his fist collapsed.
If that hit me, I wouldn't just be broken; I would be compressed into a meatball the size of a marble.
"Ria, shields!" Valerian shouted.
"No," I ordered. "Stand back."
I stepped forward.
I didn't draw Antakala.
I raised my fist.
'Seal 1: War God.'
'Concept: Counter-Force.'
I punched his fist.
CRACK-THOOM.
The impact created a shockwave that flattened every building in a one-mile radius. The dust cloud mushroomed into the sky.
We stood in the center of the crater. My fist against his giant granite fist.
I was sliding backward, my boots carving trenches in the bedrock. He was stronger. He was a Rank 8 True God. His raw stats were higher than mine.
"You struggle," Polaris laughed, pushing harder. "But you are a Core Formation ant. Your tank is small. Mine is an ocean."
He increased the gravity on my body specifically.
500x Gravity.
My bones groaned. My blood vessels popped.
"Rudra!" Seraphina shouted, preparing to jump in.
"Stay back!" I gritted my teeth. blood leaking from my nose.
I needed this.
My War God Seal had been stuck at "Mastery" for too long. To reach "Sovereign," I needed to understand the true nature of Gravity.
Polaris was the perfect teacher.
"Gravity..." I whispered, straining against the crushing weight. "It isn't just weight. It's... Attraction."
I closed my eyes.
Inside the Ring, Chronos watched the battle. He wasn't interfering. He was calculating the vector of Polaris's law.
"Die!" Polaris roared. "Singularity Strike!"
He condensed a black hole in his other hand and slammed it into my chest.
CRUNCH.
My ribs shattered. I was blasted backward, crashing through the ruins of the plaza. I hit the base of the Spire, embedding myself in the crystal wall.
Polaris floated over. "Disappointing."
I hung there, pinned by the wall. I coughed up golden blood.
"Attraction..." I muttered.
I looked at Polaris.
"You pull things toward you. That is your power. You make yourself the center of the universe."
I peeled myself off the wall. My Supreme Yang Body healed my ribs in seconds.
"But what happens..." I smiled, blood staining my teeth. "...if I pull back?"
I raised my hand.
The Ouroboros Ring flared black.
But this time, I didn't use it to store items.
I used it to channel the Void.
'Technique: Heaven-Devouring Sutra.'
'Fusion Art: Gravitational Gluttony.'
I didn't push him away.
I turned my body into a Black Hole.
"Come here," I whispered.
WHOOSH.
Suddenly, Polaris was jerked forward.
"What?" He stumbled. "Why am I moving?"
He tried to fly back. But he couldn't. The gravity coming from me was stronger than the gravity of the planet.
"You... you are pulling ME? I am the Lord of Gravity!"
"You are just a moon," I said, walking toward him. "I am the Sun."
I increased the suction.
Debris, stones, air—everything flew toward me and vanished into my Void Aura.
Polaris dug his heels in. He used his full divine power to anchor himself.
"I WILL NOT MOVE!"
"Then I'll come to you."
Time Skip.
I vanished.
I appeared directly in front of him, inside his gravitational field.
I placed my hand on his chest.
"Gravity Seal: 10,000x Inversion."
I reversed his own gravity field.
Instead of pushing out, his body suddenly collapsed inward.
"ARGHHH!" Polaris screamed.
His granite skin cracked. His bones imploded. He was being crushed by his own mass.
"How does it feel?" I asked cold. "To carry the weight of your own ego?"
"You... monster..." Polaris wheezed. "The Arbiters... will..."
"The Arbiters aren't here," I interrupted. "I am."
I drew Antakala.
"And I'm hungry."
Slash.
I cut his head off.
But I didn't let the head fall.
I caught it.
I activated the Devouring Sutra.
The corpse of the True God turned into a stream of golden energy. It flowed into my mouth. I swallowed the essence of a Rank 8 Deity.
GULP.
My body burned.
My muscles tore and rebuilt themselves instantly.
The First Seal in my soul shattered.
[System Alert]
[Seal 1: War God -> Evolved.]
[New Designation: The Titan Sovereign.]
[Ability Unlocked: Event Horizon (Absolute Defense).]
I stood in the silent plaza.
The gravity returned to normal.
Valerian stood up, dusting off his knees. "Is... is he dead?"
"He's dinner," I said, burping slightly.
I picked up the City Lord's Seal that had dropped from Polaris's robe.
It was a crystal key.
I looked at the massive Spire.
"This is the elevator," I said. "To the Crown of the World."
I turned to Aeon.
"The High Arbiter is up there?"
"Yes," Aeon nodded, looking at me with awe. "The Celestial Palace. But... the elevator only takes authorized personnel. The AI will scan your soul."
"Ria," I tossed the key to her. "Can you spoof a soul signature?"
Ria caught the key. Her golden eyes flashed.
"I possess the database of the 6th Era. I can emulate any frequency. However, the elevator takes 10 minutes to ascend. We will be vulnerable."
"Vulnerable to what?" Seraphina laughed. "He just ate a God."
"Vulnerable to Him," Aeon pointed at the sky.
Above the clouds, a massive shadow was moving.
It wasn't a ship. It wasn't a beast.
It was a Hand.
A giant, white hand, reaching down from the High World's ceiling.
The Hand of the Arbiter.
"They know," I said. "They stopped sending minions. The Boss is reaching down to squash the bug."
I cracked my neck.
"Let's get to that elevator. I want to see the look on his face when the bug bites back."
End of Chapter 49.