At Dreadborne

Outside the planet, Linkir floated in space as she rubbed her fingers together, and a golden luster appeared between them.

"Hmm…" Linkir muttered as she looked up.

All around her, she could feel a faint golden energy lingering and it wasn't only here, but throughout the entire multi-universe.

"Heh, so the collapse has begun…" Linkir muttered, her face full of excitement.

"It's almost time…" Linkir's lips stretched from one side to the other as she chuckled.

This golden energy was the signal that the collapse of this multi-universe had begun. It had only one function: to take over the common reasoning of creatures and fill them with monstrous killing intent.

In simpler terms, it would drive all creatures mad, making them kill each other—and with each kill, they would grow stronger and stronger.

Of course, she wasn't an ordinary Quasi Rank 4 being. She wasn't affected by it, only filled with excitement.

---

At the Wild Shade Organization,

the leader looked at Darwin, who was struggling to control himself.

But not only Darwin—all his members were struggling as their bodies trembled.

Even as they all knelt before him, he could feel a rising murderous aura.

The leader frowned as he looked at the sky.

It was turning golden, and he smiled.

"It's time…" the leader of the Wild Shade Organization said as he clapped his hands.

Pah…

A soft, resounding clap reverberated and echoed and from Darwin to the weakest member, all turned into blood.

Waving his arm, the blood flowed like a river as he turned around and entered his abode, the river of blood following him.

He went deeper and deeper until he finally reached the deepest part, where a small chasm with no end in sight could be seen.

This was the place his masters dwelled.

"Master, it is time for you to awaken…" the leader of the Wild Shade Organization said as the river of blood, thousands of kilometers long, flowed into the deep chasm.

---

Elsewhere

Deep in the headquarters of Dreadborne, Alayot sighed as he looked at the empty space around him.

The marbles were all gone, hundreds of them. Each could potentially house quadrillions of quadrillions of planets and even more life, yet all had been destroyed as he experimented again and again.

There was one rule that seemed essential to existence—that of flesh and blood.

No matter the race, they all seemed to have one or at least a trait of it. Yet he was trying to create a new path in existence—not considering the strange creatures without physical bodies and the like, though even those races seemed to have loopholes.

That is, unless you possessed flesh and blood, you would be stuck.

Some races were born at Rank 3 but might never surpass that level. Alas, only a few of those special races would ever reach Rank 4 or possess unlimited potential.

Alayot opened his palm as he looked at a tiny mechanical race member.

It had an infinite lifespan, yet if he proceeded, it would be born at the peak of Rank 1 but would never surpass Rank 2.

He clenched his hand, and the prototype was destroyed.

The game with Trul had helped him a lot in understanding humanity, their path to power and the use of emotions. But even that left him lacking. In fact, it created more questions than it answered.

Regardless, it opened his eyes more—but this wasn't something he could complete now.

If he wanted to create the ultimate mechanical race—one that could function like humans and other limitless potential races, with the ability to constantly evolve, with chances of chosen ones being born, and with their own history being created then he still had a long way to go.

First, though, if he wanted to get any closer to solving this, he needed to reach Rank 4.

Alayot stood up and instantly appeared outside the planet, where Linkir was looking out with a smile.

"Has it begun?" Alayot asked.

Linkir nodded.

"Hmm…"

Alayot looked up.

Beyond the darkness of space and the celestial bodies, there were cracks, long, ravine-like fractures spreading across the multi-universe.

Dark tendrils tore through reality as the golden luster poured out in massive quantities, filling space as it spread from planet to planet.

Officially, the countdown to the destruction of this multi-universe had begun.

Alayot sighed once more.

The saying was true: once one embarks on the path of evolution, the path of cultivation, the path of becoming stronger—no matter the power system, one is defying the heavens.

For without breaking limits, how can one evolve?

And so, this multi-universe that housed these beings, that gave birth to them, that provided them with resources—as long as they remained within its rules—would now become the burial ground of the next great destruction.

Another ruin in history, one that would tell the tale of how a single Rank 4 being ascended from it.

"The Forefathers thought they were the chess players. The Ancestors were the powerful pieces, and those below were nothing but pawns. They seem to have forgotten about variables—variables they cannot control. Pieces outside the chessboard…" Linkir said as she lightly touched her face with excitement.

Was this how Void felt? Being the one controlling everything…

It was addictive, especially controlling an entire multi-universe.

"Correct," Alayot chimed in.

Across them, two terrifying forces in the darkness could be seen.

One was Dreadborne, and the other was the Wild Shade Organization.

---

"Mark…" Void called out as he sat cross-legged, his brows furrowed, his mind filled with thoughts.

"I am here, Master," Mark replied as he bowed slightly.

"How is the outside world? Tell me what has happened so far," Void asked.

Mark began recounting everything that had happened

Including the death of the Mercenary leader, the destruction of various key figures one after another, and finally… the appearance of the golden luster.

"Hm, interesting…" Void muttered after Mark finished.

But more than that, Void was proud,proud of his slaves, proud of Dreadborne. The fact that they could take on a multi-universe by themselves…

Void was sure that even without him here, Dreadborne would destroy this multi-universe on its own.

But more interesting was the fact that all of them were at Quasi Rank 4.

They had grown over these thousands of years while he was busy fighting in the angel vs demon war.

His slaves were ripe to be brought into that massive war, but more so, Void kept feeling a tug in his chest.

Something really interesting was going to happen…

And more than that—

He had caught the angels' attention.

So wherever he went, the angels would be after him…

Like right about now…

Void smirked as space rippled, and a golden light filled the room as Mark groaned in pain.

First came two flawless feet, and next were massive wings of divine light…

A being covered in divine brilliance appeared.

"Demon… your end is here."

A short declaration echoed as space healed, and an angel fully manifested.

Its divine light spread everywhere as Mark gritted his teeth, his skin peeling under the pressure.

Only Void sat calmly as he looked at the angel

A Quasi Rank 4 angel.

Void paused. With his powers misbehaving and the earlier division of his body and soul, he couldn't risk anything.

So he smiled.

"Mark, take care of this pest, will you?" Void asked.

Instantly, the angel drew its long divine sword

But a clawed hand, covered in terrifying scales, grabbed the edge of the blade.

Mark pushed forward as he and the angel broke through five layers of space, instantly entering the fifth layer.