Chapter 82: Ein Sof
A total of four days since the rift had been opened and then covered by my array. Searching for a world-class array, understanding it by heart only to then set it up and work as perfectly as it did with no clear weaknesses was done in not even an hour. Of course, the fact that I overlooked the gap I had created by letting my domain power the array was my fault.
I should have just used the array and not tempered with it to 'improve' it, then I would at least have some peace now. Unfortunately, I was too eager to be safe and too greedy for more time that I overengineered a perfectly good array. Luckily for me, it took this dumbass tree four days to convince and bring these world-ending enemies to this side.
If it had been a few hours after I set up the array then I would have been screwed, but with such a long time and my resources at my disposal, there was no way I wouldn't prepare. Considering what threat awaited me on the other side of my array and the safety net of a few months, I had been so lazy and gratified with my situation that I hadn't worked as hard as I could have.
Fortunately, with the tree as a visual reminder, the threat was more present and imminent than just an abstract idea in mind coupled with the fact that I couldn't dual-cultivate with Albedo the entire day, there was just too much time to pass.
I just had to ask my book to give me something that could assure my victory in case something powerful entered my domain. To be honest, I hadn't even thought it was likely that Yggdrasil could find a way this early to send warriors powerful enough to end me. No, I was more concerned about the void creatures that were lingering just outside.
The occasional void dweller had already introduced themselves to me and I knew it was just a matter of time until something tougher or stranger came along. The idea of power nullification had been in the forefront of my mind since the array didn't affect them and divinity wouldn't either, I would have been majorly screwed. Without a second plan, I would be sweating, so I decided the least I could do was look into my book for an hour each day and learn something that could help me in any bad scenario that I could think of.
To be honest, there were almost too many options. It had nearly caused me to freeze up due to decision paralysis but I persevered with my minimum goal. An hour for choosing, learning, and mastering it.
That was all it took.
After the first day, I was quite confident in what I learned to face a scenario without my domain, but I decided to stick with my goal as it wasn't really much to ask of me. An hour a day to survive and enjoy life.
Of course, since it was easy for me to do, I beat myself up for it as I could have learned more. The entire time I thought I needed to do more, learn more, and try some other things as well. There were just too many avenues I could go with.
Of course, I had pondered on how to use my gifts and resources differently, but the realization that my individual might be at the forefront started to consume me bit by bit. As I read more, I expanded my horizon, gaining an understanding of what existed in the world.
So, I persisted and learned for an hour a day, and hilariously enough, maybe I shouldn't have as it challenged the way I saw things and gave me options I would only take with my back against the wall, but I knew it would give me a necessary edge to pull me out of the jaws of defeat.
In the end, I had learned six spells that would be my ticket to victory. Although I was confident, Yggdrasil was evidently able to see through the flaws of something like an immortal array at a glance. Perhaps these wouldn't be different, but all I could do was see where my actions would lead me.
The first spell had a simple concept. Since the void was something that existed throughout all of existence, there was also something that banished everything that was not of it. The spell would manifest everything there is and banish anything else.
The Archangels moved, brandishing their weapons or magic as they aimed them at me. I couldn't help but chuckle as I saw the attacks closing in. It was already too late. I raised my hand and snapped my fingers.
[Big Bang]
'Let There Be Light' I mentally called out and it was like we were transported into the sun itself. A dazzling golden light that even I couldn't see through enveloped us. The spell used the array's nodes to activate. The nodes and with it the Celestial Uranium were being burned up as the barrier solidified, trapping us all in here.
"Nothing will disturb us now." A simple spell to keep an absolute barrier to whatever was outside. Nothing could come in and nothing could get out. Perfect to keep out the pesky void dwellers and also anything else. Of course, it was incredibly costly. Something that would keep out a World Tree for months would only be sustained for a mere hour, but a few minutes was all I needed.
As the edge solidified the inside of the barrier was visible again and the attacks impacted the side where I was standing just a moment ago. "What is this?" Odin wondered in shock as he looked at the golden wall unscathed by his attack.
His eye wide open as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing alas he wasn't a creator god who willed worlds to existence, so this was beyond him. Even to me, there was a mystery and certain profoundness that I couldn't quite grasp yet.
"Did you really think I wouldn't have reinforcement?!" I called out with a smirk that seemed to pierce right through them with the implications.
In the next moment, a demonic entity with a flaming body and horns that formed a crown emerged from the ground. "Odin!" It hollered causing the very air to tremble. It slashed at the chief god with a flaming greatsword that almost tried to outshine the edge of this arena. "It's time for you to die!"
"Surtr! H-how?" Odin was astonished but defended himself regardless. I glanced over to the archangels and they too found themselves besieged by great foes. Fierce demons and creatures of the night coalesced this area into a nightmarish battlefield.
Of course, nothing of this was real. Well, it depended on who you would ask. After all, illusion magic was the art of fooling reality into believing something you wanted it to believe. Since reality was controlled by everyone present, everyone here also decided what was real or not. If they were convinced it was real then victory was mine.
Fortunately, [Reality Weaver] might even be able to fool me.
I let them deal with the illusions as I knew it would only give me a few precious seconds before realizing what was going on.
My hand pierced through or rather merged with the edge to appear outside of it. I called upon the mass of souls I had ordered to come here with [Mass Soul Maniuplation]. Chaos magic didn't need the sacrifice of souls, but it sure got a pretty power boost because of it, so I had beckoned the mass of souls that was lingering somewhere near potent Wild Magic to fuel my next spells. After all, the entire encyclopedia of imaginable spells and rituals would be useless without the resources and the necessary power to function.
With the souls flowing into my grasp, I immediately channeled it for the next spell. Something that would hurt even the most hardiest of void dwellers. A simple killing spell that directly targeted the core of an existence.
I pointed my finger at the Archangel Sandalphon [Soulblast], three hundred and twenty-seven thousand souls vanished in a single moment. It passed through the demonic illusion, striking the Archangel Sandalphon at the same time. The scream was devastating and heart-wrenching. Any mortal hearing it would lament the loss of an angel's life. The angel exploded into a mix of light and earth.
However, I was far from done. The light couldn't escape this place either. It wasn't just the essence of the angel or energy. It was its understanding and experience as well. Powering the Chaos Magic with another couple of tens of thousands of souls, I reaped its existence.
[Soul Siphon] A spell that stripped a soul of its knowledge and under normal circumstances it wouldn't be that useful. I had only thought about using the knowledge of the void dwellers to route out an escape plan if everything else failed, but as the saying goes.
Knowledge was power.
And how true it was for me. I was a genius beyond compare, so it didn't take long for me to understand the secrets that Archangel Sandalphon had learned throughout the centuries.
I gathered it all and dissected it in seconds before integrating it into my own understanding. Every Emanation could allow a level 100 angel to reach level 120. Previously, I had only reached a total of 5 levels in the Emanation of Malkuth and now I gained everything Archangel Sandalphon knew, which was to say I instantly gained the missing 15 levels. Indeed, in an instant, I reached level 145.
The world around me seemed to have changed tremendously. The movements of the present Archangels slowed down to a quarter of their initial speed and I couldn't contain the smile breaking out on my face. My tree grew exponentially and I instantly felt the rise in energy that my armor supplied. I couldn't help but close my eyes and revel in the sudden increase I felt. If min-maxing and perfect counters were ignored a 10-level difference between beings represented an unbridgeable gap. 15 levels were insurmountable by any being.
Remote mind control, Reality Weaver, Soulblast, Soul Siphon, Big Bang, and there was one other, but I didn't think I would need it at this stage. Not if I can just finish the rest on my own.
I vanished through my understanding of the perfected Emanation of Malkuth, Kingdom, rising from the ground behind Archangel Gabriel. I brandished my sword and it bisected the angel in half in a single slash.
The difference of 25 levels was just too much. There was no resistance at that point.
The illusion struck the bisected half, snuffing the angel's lingering self out. My hand moved, grasping at the escaping essence. Countless souls were drained, while I used [Soul Siphon] again. My mind was churning with countless ideas, concepts, thoughts, and emotions as my understanding of the Emanation of Life reached its peak. My strength rose exponentially, reaching level 160 in an instant.
My tree grew further as if there was no end to its potential, it solidified as well turning into something that could hardly be distinguished from a real tree if one looked at it. My movements stopped as I assimilated to the sudden increase of power. Of course, on paper, both instances were just an increase of 15 levels, but the increase in power wasn't as simple as addition. The further one progressed the harder it was to advance, but the reward was so much sweeter as well.
The world seemed to turn into a crawl. The Archangels, after witnessing my first kill, had turned to me in shock as they broke out of their illusions, realizing what I had done. However, the difference in power hadn't given them the leeway to react to my second kill and thus were only able to watch me dispatch another one of their own.
Odin's reaction time was a tad bit faster. After seeing the first kill, he thrust his spear toward the Astralroot Scepter and I instantly understood his attention. The staff's background was bound to the animosity between Yggdrasil and me and with Odin's interference, I could feel fate changing, twisting, trying to invert itself. Yggdrasil was trying to use the mutual connection to the staff's background to directly influence my domain.
"Really clever!" I couldn't help but exclaim as my sword appeared. It swished through the air, cutting the intangible thread of fate. The consequences were disastrous, causing the scepter to emit a wave of pure energy that rippled throughout the barrier. Even the barrier that possessed components of the [Big Bang] a start of a universe, started to tremble as if it would collapse any second.
The angels and the Norse god were pushed against the barrier without being able to resist. The scepter was created by celestial beings which were able to shape the very foundations of existence and despite the fact I could hear its cries. It was damaged and shut itself off the world, becoming but a useless stick. The array held strong, but it certainly weakened because of it.
This made me realize how Odin had locked down my barrier with the angels, it was the missing key in the puzzle. Quite insidious to use the Astralroot Scepter, something I had shaped to conform to my needs, against me. I glanced at them as the wave of energy started to settle. However, the ones trapped in here with me didn't seem to calm down because of it. No, for them the nightmare had just started.
"Destroy the nodes!" Odin hollered to the angels as he thrust his spear toward the nearest one. Previously, they hadn't done so to prevent me from lashing out, but that was obviously not a concern for them anymore.
"It seemed like Yggdrasil hadn't told you everything about me."
…
Odin ignored the words and just urged his magic to destroy as many nodes at the same time. He glanced at the Archangel Michael only to find him slashed into tiny bits in but a blink. His eye could see how this monster stripped them of their power and made them his own. Something that was supposed to be impossible.
One couldn't just acquire such a power by merely knowing about it. Even though he knew that this freakish Archangel had set foot in the powers of these Archangels, it shouldn't allow him to understand them in a few seconds.
At first, he thought the enemy was being overconfident by brazenly trying to steal the laurels of Archangel Sandalphon and Archangel Gabriel right in front of them, but he was quickly proven wrong. He thought these seconds were something he could exploit after the illusions stopped bothering him.
He had sent a beam of divine might right at his neck. To his surprise, he just stood there with his eyes closed as if nothing happened. The angel hadn't even realized that he had ambushed him as he was immersed in stealing the strength of his fellow Archangels. Now it was too late to regret using the time to destroy the nodes instead.
His power surged and he thrust out again, destroying a batch of nodes. Then he heard it again.
Poof.
Another Archangel fell just like that, Odin could hear the nodes crack and explode under the Archangel's desperate attacks.
Poof.
Another one. Two mighty Archangels, World Enemies, fell like that. In quick succession without the ability to resist. The only pause they got was their enemy growing even stronger.
The only way for them to survive was to break the barrier as soon as possible! And let Yggdrasil deal with this monster! A wave of his spear destroyed ten nodes at the same time.
"No! My beauty can't die h-"
Poof.
Faster! Faster! He stomped a nearby node while he built up another wide-ranged attack.
"I won't be judged by a frea-!"
Poof.
Odin's energy desperately churned. He lashed out, destroying another ten nodes. The magic of this ward trembled chaotically as if it would lose control at any moment. However, that was it. It didn't collapse. He needed to destroy more! One more!
His mind already initiated his next attack. He thrust his spear forward though nothing happened. He glanced at where his spear was supposed to be but found it to be missing. Further down he couldn't see his arm. Just as he was about to come to a horrifying conclusion, in the corner of his eyes he saw the nodes being restored as if time reversed.
That couldn't be! His divinity prevented time-manipulating magic from influencing him or his past actions! Even Yggdrasil couldn't do it as long as he was alive!
That was his last thought as his vision was suddenly split in two and drifted away before the eternal darkness claimed his vision.
…
The knowledge of an old Norse god was intensive and vast, especially that of the chief god, but I devoured it all the same. It even gave me a foot into the last three Emanations. Emanation of Knowledge, Binah. Emanation of Inspiration, Chokhmah. And Emanation of the Crown, Keter. There was a sense of sanctity. My tree was also looking like a full-grown tree just with a missing piece in the middle.
The tree's trunk and roots were solidified and real in every sense of the word, while the top was transparent at best with an empty part separating the two parts. The chains that represented the limitations of my existence were also cracked because of it. However, it was clear I needed to step through the correct order to fully shatter them and even progress to begin with.
Of course, I could do it by meditating on it and cultivating to first strengthen my battle prowess to the absolute peak of what I could achieve, essentially min-maxing my stats though without minimizing. With cultivation, I got multiple extra stat points in everything. HP, MP, PHY.ATK, PHY.DEF, AGILITY, MAG.ATK, MAG.DEF, RESIST, SPECIAL. Everything increased with each round of cultivation with special attention to my 'weaknesses'.
In due time, I would be the perfect warrior with no faults. Without my spells, it had made me equal to Odin, who was 8 levels above me. In fact, I might have been able to take him on right from the start if I wasn't worried about them destroying the array before I could cull them. There was also part of me that foresaw the current problem.
I couldn't let my tree be this disjointed. The longer it was left like this the more damage it would make to my 'foundation'. However, I couldn't just enter one of Yggdrasil's worlds. It would be a one-way trip. Fortunately, I didn't need to.
With a wave of my hand, the light and solid golden barrier of the [Big Bang] dimmed and I realized that there were two figures at the edge of the battlefield. "Sexy angewomon- angewomen?" The two had striking similarities to Digimon's Angewomon, though I instantly realized that these two were Divine Chant and Leinas Rockbruise.
In the end, the two had turned into angels despite not having been turned by me through a spell. Although I kind of dislike the idea of having enslaved the two for the rest of eternity, they had made their decision by coming here.
Besides, if I was being technical, this wasn't too different from all the NPCs of Nazarick. They too were bound forever to what was programmed into them – regardless of what some small hints suggested otherwise – and even I had changed the royal personnel to be loyal to me forever.
Regardless of my situation being different, one coming out of a sense of desperation and to better my chances in the New World, while these two were purely enslaved out of my lust…
"You two," I called out and internally flinched with the way my voice boomed unnecessarily as I forgot to control the power of my voice – Thu'um had nothing on me! "Protect this place. No one shall trespass into my domain."
I pointed my index finger at them and snapped my fingers, causing a huge amount of energy to surge into the two. My actions beings too fast for them to react, they could only stay silent as their bodies adapted to the additional power I gave them. Their strength grew until they were comparable to a normal level 100 and with my domain, they should be able to hold the line against most threats since I had to deal with Yggdrasil's sneak attack.
Although the access through the Astralroot Scepter let the tree see the situation inside my domain, I was also able to reverse the signal and find out some of its intentions.
I teleported to Carne Village, arriving close to where Enri was kneeling. She would have been surprised to see me, but since I had stopped time outside of my domain, she didn't react at all. I ignored her and looked at the invisible rift with the Archangel's head sticking out of it, grasping toward her kneeling form.
Since the other Archangels couldn't enter my domain, they wanted to exterminate my 'abominations' before they could truly grow into angelhood. Enri, Neia, Calca and Kelart, and the members of the Blue Roses group for some reason. Wasn't sure why the latter group was targeted. Perhaps it was because the dumb tree knew of my interest in them and equated it to me valuing them?
Either way, I would just get it over this. The Archangel wouldn't even know what hit them. Usually, their items and racial levels would prevent being affected by a simple time spell, but like a Skeletal Dragon had immunity against 6th-tier spells, their resistance to time magic was only concerned about world-class spells. My power had exceeded that by several magnitudes.
In the back of my mind, something tingled as if the explanation didn't fully explain the entire picture, but I couldn't delay this any longer.
I raised my hand [Delayed Chaos Magic: Soulblast] [Delayed Chaos Magic: Soul Siphon]. Just a moment ago the first spell had cost me three hundred thousand souls. Now, I didn't need to consume a single one as I could just power my spells through the strength of my own.
The resulting attack would be weaker this way, but I wasn't the man I was before. With a Level of 235, a difference of over a hundred levels, I could one-shot any Archangel with most spells in my repertoire. The gap had grown so wide that it felt like bullying. The difference was higher than that between a level 100 giant and a newborn baby.
My mind didn't linger on it any longer and started to teleport toward each location to cast my spells. The Archangels had already entered this world. Whether only a part of their body had entered or they were already on the move to attack, it all amounted to the same degree. After making sure that my attacks would land, I returned to my domain.
Once inside again I didn't see anything off. No one used my domain to enter the world from the In-Between. No one even knocked on the barrier. I gazed up toward Yggdrasil, who was still moving despite time being stopped, which was expected as I had only enough influence to stop this world's time and not all of existence for everyone. It kind of felt like it was staring back, knowing full well what would happen.
I turned my back toward Yggdrasil and closed my eyes. Another second passed and the insights of the last four of the 11 Emanations flooded into my mind. It took me a moment to dissect it all and integrate it into my system. It felt like all of reality was laid open. Everything I ever knew and would know was there for me to grasp.
Endless future possibilities that lay beyond this world, beyond anything even I could predict. The Yggdrasil was but a small sapling in this everlasting and never-ending sea of opportunity. There were so many things greater than I despite the might I held in my grasp. I could rip worlds asunder with ease and yet I was but a spark in this existence.
I could create a full crown of realities, of worlds carrying unique dispositions, different laws, and species they could foster. I could see it, my tree growing into the infinite of possibilities while taking root in my existence. Infinite possibilities in which I took part, creating infinite experiences by myself, contributing to what was existence.
My tree of realities grew splendidly. Its foundation surpassed that of a simple World Tree. I was possibility itself. I was Nathan the human, the man I was from whom I originated. It felt like it happened yesterday, that fateful day I had died. My life flashed in front of my eyes, the tears of my loved ones and my soul lingering until they had lowered me into the dirt.
Then there was the convergence of worlds which had been initiated by Yggdrasil in a desperate attempt to escape its death at the end of the game. A mirror existence in the form of a game, anchoring/shackling it to another reality.
It had found its scapegoat for all its sins and desires, incorporating them into a third party, me. Inadvertently, it granted me access to its origin – the code that formed its reality. I was never meant to live this long. I was meant to be sacrificed by taking the full brunt of the game's end to fool the other reality, allowing it to cut off its connection and become an independent reality again.
Unfortunately, it too was just a figure on an invisible chessboard. A piece to be knocked off the board. However, it was too blind and desperate to accept it. Despite its unfathomable wisdom, it too was just a living being wanting to live on, to be free.
I too had my place in this world. Even as I stood there in an immortal array defending against my 'mortal' enemy with powers beyond measure. The Eternal named Ein Sof or at least that was what was my fate, what was in store for me as I encompassed everything from nothing to the infinitive. I glanced up and watched as the 11th conceptual chain representing each Emanation shattered.
I stood at the top. The absolute limit of what an Archangel could accomplish, yet I could feel it. This wasn't the end for me. There was more for me in store. After all, I had reached the peak of existence yet there was a single chain still left attached to me.
How could I be the strongest if I was still a puppet? I could see the thread that guided me, but I wasn't sure how to cut it yet. Was there something missing in the events of what had inevitably led to this outcome? A thousand thoughts and ideas ran through my mind, but hardly one satisfactory lay in reality, so I banished them and decided not to think about it less I grew insane.
My eyes opened staring at the dim sky as the sun had risen negligible. In the end, this fight had barely taken 5 minutes. I smiled happily as I rubbed the ring on my finger. It felt soothing as if my trouble would be resolved soon.
I turned toward Yggdrasil as it shook its crown, pleading for its life. Unfortunately, I had just finished sharpening my axe and was itching to give it a task.