Lowly Ascent

Three figures stood still in a cultivation chamber. One was the last remnant of the Architect's faction, her self-made husband, the Ivory King rulering over a Land of Marble.

Another was the resurrected Timelord, who created a paradox using the power of time and defied the natural laws in the process, this was only possible due to the state of the incomplete Dao and the loopholes found in it.

Finally, there was the Imperial Demon, a Gatherer who invaded this territory to take its core, Cain.

All three stood in different corners of the room, wary of one another. It was like rock, paper, scissors. The Puppet beats Time, Time beats Mist, and Mist beats the Puppet.

'Damn it, are we just going to stand here all day, the longer I stay here the closer I come to dying in that catastrophe!' Chambers was anxious. 

Regrettably, that time was coming.

Outside the tower, the Living Immortal looked beyond the barrier and into the Seven Provinces. In its center, he saw a blue screen manifesting, clouds gathered and an apocalypse would soon descend upon the world.

He bit his nails, "They haven't found him yet! Do I have to risk entering?! But surely the countermeasures for me are still in place, I could only bypass them before using a spell meant for teleporting to the core! If I didn't preemptively put the core in that brat she would've eventually ruined everything! But now..."

The Sect Leader was nervous, the deadline was coming yet he hadn't made any major moves.

...

The stalemate continued, during this time, Cain used every method to verify if his opponents were doing anything. He was cautious when not lost in himself, and this led him to noticing something.

'Wait...why is the core's signature so weak when I'm this close, and why is it not outputting enough power to....' It dawned on him, 'It's not the real core! But...it must be related somehow, I need to check!'

The core in the Ivory King was only a false core, siphoning off energy from the real one. It was made in preparation for the Architect's death, it also allowed for her puppet to have enough strength to survive until this point.

'This thing is a half ruler, same as the Timelord, only that man counters me....what do I do?' Cain was stuck, he couldn't make any sudden movements without being stopped, he couldn't do anything.

Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap

From outside the chamber, sets of footsteps became louder and louder.

'Damn it. They're here...'

Chambers fared no better. 'More people....should I just leave now?'

Entering the chamber, a large group stopped in the doorway, led by the Eight Grand Elders of the Immortal Sect.

Leading them, Lady Moon paused before taking another step. "What's going on here?" She spotted Cain, "Imperial Demon! I found you!"

'This is becoming annoying.' Sweat poured down Cain's neck. The pressure on him was too great. He couldn't get the core without eliminating the puppet, which at that point nothing would be able to stop Chambers. Meanwhile, Cain now had a group of elite cultivators coming after him with the intent to kill him.

'I'm in a situation where I'm powerless....me? I never thought the day would come.'

Put in a passive position, Cain accepted his fate and waited. His only way out of this was to find an opportunity in the ensuing chaos.

...

[Energy Transfer Complete. Commencing Elimination of Error and Anomaly]

The sky gathered, clouds bleeding black.

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!

Black lightning formed and struck, tearing the sky asunder. The apocalypse was commencing.

"No...Noooo!"

The Living Immortal's eyes widened as tears of rage seeped from his eyes. The sheer power of the System was above his estimations. He understood, he understood this was inevitable. 

"It was not to be like this! Damn it! Damn it all! I won't let you win again! You will not destroy my dream!"

Rising to the sky, the Immortal ascended with wind and water alike.

"Even now, I am still an Immortal of Nature, the natural laws must obey me! Wind, come! Water, flow! Earth, rise!"

Three different energies surrounded him, twirling around him.

Lighting crackled and black seared down at the Immortal. Nature rose in his defense as earth and wind created a shield around him. Mountains crumbled to supplement the shield. After three mountains were used up, the black lightning lost all its power and stopped.

"My turn!"

Water and wind combined into a giant hammer, below the hammer the Immortal was gathering the earth, strips of grass and forests were uprooted, and mortals screamed and wailed about the end of days.

"ARRGH!"

He attacked the sky itself, a lone person charging against the heavens.

[Error Error! Target Found! Survivor Profile Created! Nature Immortal Found, Commencing Counterattack!]

The hammer bashed the sky, the clouds condensing and shaking. As they cracked, blue light bled through, revealing the nexus of the System's power.

"Hahaha! As long as I destroy the screen I can save us!"

[Unleashing Attack Pattern Number 0034!]

In an instant, all of the Spirit Lands were covered, covered in dark clouds and drowned in black lighting. Doomsday had solidified and the Living Immortal was unable to protect everything.

Rivers evaporated, and mountains were pulverized. The system didn't focus on the Immortal but the world around him, it knew what he was trying to do and it went after this weakness. Even the damaged realm of white wasn't spared, lighting bashing against its barrier and entering through the cracks, sending everything into chaos inside!

"No! I'll destroy you here and now!"

The black clouds protecting the core of the formation broke. The Immortal charged inside chasing after the blue light, but all he found was a figure hovering. The figure was made of the same blue energy as the system screens.

"Ah, so this place has some merit, no wonder the system paid so well for this mission. With this, I can finally upgrade my territory's core again!"

To save resources, the System typically borrowed strength from its rulers in situations such as the present, sending a mission to a ruler to be summoned as a guardian.

"Hey old man, I, Ruler of the Sky challenge you! I'll bathe in your blood and use your bones to make a new pair of wings!" Two demonic wings sprouted from his back and the wind under the Immortals command wavered.

The Ruler laughed, "I'm the ruler of the sky, you dare use my powers against me!"

'This...a diversion!' The Immortal was shaken, he fell for a trap.

"Damn it all, I didn't want to do this but I don't care anymore! Screw my lifespan, damn it all! Secret Technique, Thousand Wilting Flowers! Seasons Rebirth, break!"

Immediately, the Immortal became older, his wrinkles becoming prominent and his completion worse.

"With this, I have almost all the power I once had! Hahaha! Come invader!"

The Sky Ruler frowned and moved his wings, but he realized the wind around him was constricting him. 

"What?!"

From below, a wellspring of life and countless different energies sprang up, the entire world was at the Immortal's command.

"Nature is mine to command, everything is nature and so I control everything! Do you dare declare yourself ruler of the sky?! I am the Ruler, I am the Master! Me!"

The two forces clashed, the System's side the losing one.

"Damn it! System, I redeem the override tokens! Use them immediately!"

Boom!

The Sky Ruler's strength exploded as he dove towards the Immortal, his wings covering everything in sight!

Override tokens were one of the consumable objects some Rulers liked to use, it allowed them to override the normal amount of energy they could take from their core and even boosted their abilities 10-fold. The only issue was they would be weakened afterward.

The two sides commenced a grand battle, a blue figure with wings cast a shadow over the land while a lone Immortal consumed the land itself to destroy his enemy.

...

"Demon you will die!"

"Surrender!"

"Pray I don't get my hands on you!"

Back in the chamber, everything remained at a standstill. Because of the presence of the Ivory King and the Time Lord, no one made a move.

'Just how much longer do I have to-'

Rumbling thunder screeched through the sky. The ground shook before a massive force hit the command tower and sent everyone flying through the room.

Some hit walls, others each other, but Cain kept his balance through the ordeal.

'My chance!'

He dove to the Ivory Puppet, bashing it once again while in motion.

The lightning strikes continued but everyone found their balance, staring blankly at Cain's actions.

He was like a beast, ripping apart a poor puppet. Ivory pieces were littered everywhere, Cain's blood staining some parts.

Before Cain, was an armorless man, his skin as white as snow, his appearance that of a dreamy knight. Yet all over his face were deep cracks. Inside his chest, his beating heart was grasped by Cain.

"Goodbye, puppet."

Cain ruthlessly ripped the crystalline heart out. He started to study it while the puppet let out his final breath.

"Mei, your husband has failed..." The light in the puppet's eyes dimmed and he died.

"Oh? It had a soul?" Cain looked at the puppet more deeply, his eyes seeing past the ivory and into the deepest parts which revealed a half-baked soul that hadn't fully awakened.

"Interesting!" Cain licked his lips and opened his mouth, consuming the soul and bringing it into his mindscape.

Looking back at the rest, Cain smiled and waved.

"Toodeloo!"

Just like that, he disappeared.