Every seven hours, the World Matrix manifested for ten minutes in the Void Beyond the Fourth Realm, stretching its golden radiance across the Heart of Sin.
For Neo-Angel Crowley, it was deeply disturbing. He did not understand what was happening, and the more the manifestations repeated, the more agitation slid into his voice and movent.
Even his prophet, normally so efficient and so confident, could not provide answers. Every attempt at divination failed. Every prediction collapsed. The radiation of the World Matrix was too intense; it drowned perception and bent probability. It rendered foresight useless. It blinded even beings accustod to reading fate.
By contrast, for the warriors of the Life Path stationed outside the Heart of Sin, the manifestation was nothing short of marvelous. It drew wonder and reverence. The phenonon did not terrify them- it ignited awe. Whenever those ten minutes arrived, murmurs ran through the armies. Even the hardened ArchDeities looked upward with light in their eyes. Many believed a new weapon was being ford in silence, so hidden trump card was awakening.
They were not entirely wrong. Sothing was rising. But what rose was not rely a weapon.
Cain sat in ditation while the threads of the World Matrix flowed into his muscles. Suddenly, his eyes glowed with layered illumination. His body trembled with power; tendons and muscles vibrated beneath his skin. For a brief instant, every fiber across his form seed marked by luminous engravings-as though the rules of the universe were being carved directly into his flesh.
"I have completed the first level."
The Scarlet King's voice was calm, but his expression carried a thrill that even he could not restrain. His strength had not increased in
absolute destructive terms, but sothing far more subtle had changed.
His physical vessel had altered. His blood resisted corruption. His tissues rejected invasive influence. His body had beco harder to damage-not through shields, but through biological and
taphysical resilience granted by the cosmic rules now engraved in his muscles.
A breath later, Cain released tension. The Chaos Wings dissolved. The World Matrix faded. Silence returned.
Monts later, Skull Lord appeared. He said nothing at first-he simply nodded. His eyes did not hide admiration. Even for him, the spectacle of Cain channeling the World Matrix was shocking.
Recognition, however, was not the reason Skull Lord ca.
"You have improved at exactly the right ti. We will launch an incursion into the Faraku Continent, which is currently controlled by the Freedom Path. We move in six hours."
Cain nodded. A sharp glint passed through his gaze. He exhaled slowly, letting his body settle. A breakthrough ant strain, and strain demanded recovery. That was specially important before a big fight
The six hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Cain, ylin, the Enlightened One, Skull Lord, and several other ArchDeities who remained stationed in the Heart of Sin moved through the stronghold's teleportation formation. A single fluctuation in spaceti placed them deep within a landmass, where other powerhouses were already assembled.
When the entire army took formation, the forces of the Life Path advanced. There was no need for concealnt. They did not pretend they were shadows. History had taught them that secrecy offered little gain against an enemy with prophetic insight. The prophet of the Freedom Path would have already sensed them, perhaps hours ago. And just as expected, when they approached the border of the Faraku
Continent, they found the enemy massed in readiness. Warriors of the Freedom Path stood aligned, bodies and souls enhanced by the Eternal Kingdoms they had forged in the landmass.
The gazes of the Life Path sharpened. Cain and Skull Lord rose into the highest sky. Their eyes were cold as they focused on Crowley and the Prototype.
The Neo-Angel's eyes responded in kind. They were soaked in hatred -raw, personal hatred-and most of it focused on the Scarlet King.
Cain did not acknowledge it. Hatred was irrelevant. Emotion did not affect his reasoning. Instead, he focused on the Prototype. A cold flash passed through his pupils.
"If I destroy that construct, an opening will form. I could kill many ArchDeities before they manage to retreat."
He had no illusion regarding Crowley. The Neo-Angel was extrely powerful. The only thod Cain possessed that could end Crowley's life was Ragnarok, and he would not risk damage to his soul before moving into the Fifth Realm.
Besides, there was another prey he sought-one not standing at the front-and he was already searching for it.
No more words were exchanged. Both armies lunged. The sky erupted. Explosions rippled outward, shockwaves scattering
particulate matter across the sky.
Cain launched himself at the Prototype. Through the Imperium Blade:
Eternal Conquest Form, he cut deeper with every pass. He wounded the Prototype repeatedly while ensuring no significant wound reached his body. Efficiency governed his movents; he wasted
nothing.
Even so, he could not cripple it. The construct absorbed punishnt beyond expectation. By the ti Cain was close to defeating the Prototype, Crowley called for retreat, and the battle ceased.
Victory belonged to the Life Path-but it had not co cheaply. The
power-up from the Eternal Kingdoms granted a lot of power to the warriors of the Freedom Path.
Injuries riddled the ranks of the Life Path. Bodies were torn. Souls were strained. It would be so ti before such a coordinated
advance could be attempted again.
Yet victory was still worth celebrating. Progress was progress. Cain offered Skull Lord a faint smile. But his thoughts were already
elsewhere.
"Supercomputer assistant, how did the assignnt proceed?"
The cold, synthetic voice of his innate ability echoed through his
mind.
[Two soul auras were detected that were not part of the warriors on the battlefield. Levels: Early Alpha-Oga Overgod and
Pseudo-Alpha-Oga Overgod.]
Cain's smile widened. Most of the true powerhouses of the Fourth
Realm had joined the confrontation-yet two had not. Two had observed from a distance, using power to monitor rather than
intervene.
One was undoubtedly the Three Moons. The other was almost certainly the prophet of the Freedom Path.
Cain had agreed to march with the army. That did not an he would stop searching for alternate paths of advancent. If his pursuit yielded nothing, so be it. But if it succeeded, the gains could be decisive during his limited ti in this realm.
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