NOVEL NEXT Chapter 190: Breaking Order
[Why are you here?]
Matope reprimanded Aurora before Zyrus had a chance to utter a word. It was considered an act of utmost disrespect when an administrator barged into another's area without prior notice.
"Hey Zyrus! So, you ready for a fight?"
"Sure."
"Great. I'll help this brat so he doesn't get bullied by you. You should know why I'm doing this."
Zyrus looked back and forth between the imp king and Auroa, and he couldn't help but find the situation absurd. A little fairy was calling the grandpa like Imp a brat, and the weird thing was, it wasn't wrong for her to do so.
[Give me an answer]
Matope interrupted once again. There was a tremendous amount of mana added to its every word.
"The order is breaking. You should've felt it as well."
[And? Instead of stopping it, you are hastening the process]
Zyrus and the Imp king were reduced to bystanders as Aurora and Matope confronted one another. Just their voice was enough to suppress the mana that was raging below on the battlefield.
Zyrus knew that Matope wasn't against him for personal reasons. He was doing his job as an administrator, and there was nothing wrong with that. What he wanted to know was why this was happening. As far as he recalled, he hadn't done anything that warranted the words 'breaking the order'.
"Don't make me laugh. This was bound to happen from the moment 'he' became involved with Zyrus."
[But still…]
"Do not forget who I am, Matope. The order will collapse due to Zyrus, and there is nothing that could stop it, not even he himself."
Both of the administrator's gazes landed on Zyrus, or rather, the cube.
"Are you saying that I'm breaking the order of the sanctuary? Isn't it a bit too far-fetched?" Zyrus was baffled as he pointed his finger at the sky.
Order was what made the system exist. He may have done some things to tweak things in his favor but even so, it would be delusional to think that he was anywhere close to breaking the system. Even if he recovered his powers from before his regression, he didn't dare say that he could break the sanctuary. It was no different than an ant trying to topple a mountain.
[Haa…whatever. Remember what I told you when you 'killed' the field bosses?]
"Yes, that there would be consequences for that. I guess you'll have to find 'replacements' for the next round, but there will be no next round. Not unless I'm dead."
Zyrus didn't have to spell out the next sentence. 'If I'm dead, why would I care about the consequences?'
"That is based on the assumption that the field bosses were there just for the purpose of acting as obstacles for players," Aurora floated besides Zyrus and pointed at the threads of order that were present everywhere.
"You were correct in thinking that nothing serious would occur just by tweaking a few threads. What you failed to consider was the fact that you had left behind gaps whenever you moved those threads. The order of the sanctuary cannot be broken by your actions, but you have left behind a few tiny holes in its fabric."
*Crrackle*
More and more meteors were forming above the warring players. The commotion in Zyrus's head was much greater than that.
The 'He' mentioned during Aurora and Matope's conversation was definitely the red eyed man who gave him the cube. What was his goal? Zyrus was sure that it wasn't to harm him or anyone close to him, but still, he couldn't just ignore it.
"Are you telling me that this is going to break the order?" Zyrus took out the cube and made it float above his palm. No matter who looked at it, no one would think that this tiny thing could cause the collapse of the system that seemed almost omnipotent.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
"Indeed. Think about all the help you have received from it. Take this as my final advice before the battle starts, Zyrus. All things exist in contradiction. Only after mastering them could one walk on the path to origin."
*Click*
Aurora clicked her fingers, and this time, Zyrus saw the time change its flow. It was a bizarre sensation when you were outside the influence of time. Past, Present, and Future. They were no longer separate in his eyes. This wasn't his power, and it was something he would never attain. This was the world seen in Aurora's eyes.
A world with four dimensions.
*Click*
"You'll have to deal with your own mess when the time comes. This is both a punishment and an opportunity we have given you."
"I understand. And thanks."
[Good. It is unlike me to do this, but I will tell you one more thing since we're at it. The third ring will be far different from anything that has occurred thus far. We aren't the only ones who've felt the changes in order]
"The Eternals…" Zyrus clenched his fists as he recalled the faces of those hateful bastards. Indeed, it was about time to start his revenge.
He had always believed in one thing no matter the scenario- Power was needed before anything else. Be it to deal with the aftermath of his actions or be it to not be swayed by others' plans. The enemies were never a burden to him.
'They are the fuel that will burn the fires of Void.'
From the first day of his regression to this moment, what he had to do was always the same thing.
Get stronger.
[Due to external circumstances, the power you two hold is too much for your armies to bear. As the administrator of this area, I shall grant you a new arena]
Zyrus and the Imp king felt their surroundings undergo a subtle change. The battle below was still visible and they could also see the two administrators who were floating high above. It was the phenomenon of so close yet miles apart.
"What a marvelous power of Spatial manipulation."
Zyrus didn't reply to the imp king and looked at his talent window instead. Aurora's words had given him an idea as to what he should do next.
Special Ability 3: You can create and store the 'Mark of Ouroboros'
Mark of Ouroboros: By erasing space you can create a new sub-dimension. The number and area of the dimensions will increase with your league of existence.
This was the newest ability of his Devour talent. Creating a sub-dimension was a ridiculously powerful ability that shouldn't belong to an A-rank talent. The only reason Zyrus got this was because of his previous accumulation and the merit he gained by creating a new subclass.
Why did he spend so much time in creating a subclass? It was because he wanted to find a path to move forward in his Void body cultivation. Mark of Ouroboros was one such clue that was given by the system. Though he had no idea as to how he could erase space and create a new sub-dimension. This wasn't something one could just do by using the system.
'Fortunately, there are two more clues.'
Vanquish: By using void runes you could erase an equal number of other runes. Works on every living and non-living object. (This skill is unaffected by level penalty)
Sphere of Infinity(Rank 1): You may summon void spheres based on your current level and comprehension. The skills effect will scale with your control over the surrounding runes.
These were the two active skills of his subclass. With Vanquish Zyrus could get started with erasing space and then create his own sub-dimension by using Sphere of Infinity. There was also the Rune vision skill he acquired which enhanced his ability to see and understand the runes of nature. Coupled with his eyes of annihilation, he could see the laws themselves as long as their concentration was high enough.
Now, all that was left was to find a path from his various abilities and take the next step.
'And when I take that step, I'll be back on earth.'
Zyrus looked at the imp king whose momentum was surging with every passing second. The battle had already started while he was looking at his status screen.
The imp king was shrinking like a deflated balloon. He went from a towering figure to a little creature no more than a meter in height.
'Time is being accelerated, or rather, being connected to a point in the future.'
Using the fisherman analogy, Aurora had hooked a fish when it was an infant and when it was at its strongest. An infant fish could never come in contact with its grown-up version without creating paradoxes, but it was different for Aurora. For her who existed in the temporal dimension this was similar to connecting two fishes with the same string.
More than 90% of the imp king's flesh had turned into ashes. These ashes didn't scatter in the air and instead formed a swirling vortex around the beating heart of the Imp.
Zyrus was never the one who stood still while their enemy was undergoing a transformation, but this time, he had no choice but to stand in his position. The most dangerous thing right now wasn't the imp king but the power of time. One wrong move and it'd be over.
'Besides, it's not like he's the only one who could transform.'
After creating his subclass Zyrus could do one more transformation with his avatar skill. And this was, without a doubt, his strongest form.
[ [ Avatar: Void Dragon ] ]