Against The True Gods

His True Will evolved into a Holy True Will just as his Demonic True Will took shape.

His aspects shook, his body shook, and everything else in between followed suit.

It all clicked into one beautiful machine.

His crown and halos faded from above his head and settled atop his Demonic and Holy True Will stars.

The rune etched onto his chest by the Great Mother shone, and the potency of his Wills diminished, sealed by illusory emerald vines.

At a glance, anyone could see it was a protective measure she had put in place, knowing this moment would come and that Caine's body wouldn't be powerful enough to handle the eruption of his True Wills.

But even while sealed, the power and sense of oneness Caine felt was beyond words.

WHOOOSH!

Caine's own True Will had been stuck at the Quasi-Quintessential step for a long time, for reasons he couldn't understand. But now, the barrier holding him back shattered into pieces.

He reached the perfect peak of the Quintessential Reckoning stage in a single bound. His power grew, solidified, and surged once more, prompting the Great Mother's rune to act again.

BANG!

The trial for the Quintessence Reckoning stage was usually a question revolving around the solidity of one's Dao Heart, but this time, there was no need for a trial from the World Will Eyes.

His entire existence seemed to hum and sing with delight, his control over his body extending into the depths of all his aspects.

His qi, his soul, his body, his mind—the world—he felt it all with utmost clarity, and it all fell under his dominion.

WHOOOSH!

A thin mantle of dark silver-gold aura wrapped around him, harmonized by a red-purple mantle that danced along in perfect rhythm.

Caine sat in silent meditation for hours after his transformation ended, his aura settling into a state of calm grandeur. His two Dao Hearts thumped rhythmically—a sound that soothed his mind and nurtured his spirit.

[You have conquered the Heart. You have conquered the Broken Visages of Life.]

Blessings fell from the skies, flooding into Caine, but he remained indifferent, his eyes closed and his body as still and unmovable as a mountain.

More hours passed, and the blessings gradually died down, leaving him alone amidst the fields of blood roses.

Slowly, Caine opened his eyes, their sharpness concealed behind countless layers of unreadable emotions.

As soon as his gaze met the sky, a new set of runes materialized before him, plunging him into yet another trial with a fiendish cadence.

[Conquer the fractures of life and death.]

Even with his heightened power, Caine couldn't react in time.

His mind instantly shattered into countless fragments, each one plunged into an illusory world created by Fate itself.

The task was simple yet impossibly cruel, almost identical to the Endless Samsara mode of the Polishing Heaven Dao Pagoda.

The shards of his mind would each experience lives of all types, unable to remember who he truly was. He would live and die, endlessly.

His goal? To awaken his memories before death. If even a single shard of his mind failed to do so, he would perish, and the trial would be lost.

It was a trial designed to kill, even for someone with a True Will as powerful as Caine's.

But Caine had one advantage—an edge that flipped the trial entirely in his favor.

The seed and foundation that had allowed his Dao Heart to bloom was the link between his mind and his heart: the blurring of the lines between emotion and logic.

It was this step that had led him here and granted him a chance.

Though his mind had been taken off guard, pulling him into the trial unprepared, his heart and instincts remained active—and so did the core of his True Will.

WHOOOSH!

The shards of Caine's mind were drawn into the countless roses surrounding him, each representing a set of illusory worlds to conquer.
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His Dao Heart and True Will stood watch, silently observing each life. They learned, absorbed, and deepened the countless comprehensions that Caine had accumulated over his lifetime.

While he could have forcibly awakened each shard through his active Dao Heart and True Will, that would have been wasteful.

Not only would each world serve as a capsule of time, allowing him to make significant advancements, but it would also be the perfect opportunity to deepen his understanding of Fate, Karma, Destiny, and Totality.

By observing the lives of countless entities from a detached vantage point and subtly stirring events in one direction or another, was this not the ideal training ground for a Chosen of Fate?

Was it not a gift tailored for someone like Caine, who would face entities countless millions of years older and more experienced than he?

This trial, terrifying to others, was an unprecedented boon to him. And he would take full advantage of it.

PAH!

His body sat frozen, his empty eyes slowly closing as his aura deepened and gained a vast richness and ancientness with every passing moment.

His long, dark hair swayed gently in the wind, and his serene expression was free of worry or fear.

His chest heaved slowly, his breaths calm and rhythmic as his blood coursed with unmatched force through his veins.

He was a picture of unshakable serenity.

***

In the middle of a dark, infinite void, an entity sat cross-legged in the emptiness of space.

This being's body was made entirely of golden qi and runes, its hair a mane of flowing, burning dark flames. Simple gray robes embroidered with ancient lotuses draped loosely over its frame.

Dark lightning—eerily similar to Autumn's—crackled and swirled around the entity, dancing like a serpent in the air.

The figure slowly opened its eyes, revealing deep, dark golden depths.

"The youngest has faded, but his Life Jade remains intact," a feminine voice echoed.

"Is that so?" the golden entity responded, its voice deep and apathetic, resonating through the void.

"Who?"

"A Spiritual. A prince."

The entity froze. In the depths of its cold golden eyes, a flicker of rage ignited.

If its son had fallen to anything else, it wouldn't have mattered. But this? This was personal.

"Revive him ahead of time," the entity ordered, its voice heavy with quiet menace.

"Send him to me."

The voice hesitated but obeyed. "As you command."

The golden figure stood, its presence suffocating, as arcs of dark lightning intensified and illuminated the void around it.

"I will train him myself."