Lyra led Arthur, Sylvia, and Morwenna deeper into the subterranean levels of the Blackwood vault.

The atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive. The air was thick with the smell of ozone and ancient desperate magic.

"The Patriarch’s sanctuary is heavily warded," Lyra whispered.

Her body dissolved into a state of semi translucence.

She moved without making a sound. Her rogue skills were perfectly honed for bypassing high tier Apex security.

"If we trip a single wire, the spatial locks will crush us."

Arthur walked casually behind her. He did not bother trying to tiptoe.

He simply let his system do the heavy lifting.

As Lyra navigated the complex web of invisible lasers and pressure plates, the system chimed endlessly in his mind.

[Ding!]

[Bound Target ’Lyra’ is actively utilizing ’Shadow Weave Stealth’.]

[10,000x ROI Multiplier Activated!]

[Host has gained: Absolute Conceptual Stealth.]

Arthur’s physical form did not change. However, his presence in reality simply ceased to register.

He was not just invisible. He was conceptually erased from the environment.

The automated defenses swept over him without triggering. They were unable to comprehend a being that had forcefully edited his own existence out of their parameters.

"Loot the rest of the outer wings," Arthur ordered Sylvia and Morwenna via a localized telepathic link.

"Empty every chest. Strip the gold from the walls. I will handle the CEO."

The two Queens nodded. They split off into the adjacent corridors with lethal synchronized efficiency.

Arthur and Lyra arrived before a massive solid door made of dark swirling metal.

It lacked a handle or a keyhole.

"It responds to his bloodline," Lyra whispered and stepped back. "I can try to slice the mechanism but it will take time."

Arthur did not wait.

He coated his hand in the highly compressed pseudo ascended mana he had forged.

He simply pushed his hand into the metal door. The absolute density of his energy bullied the enchanted metal and forced the atoms to separate.

He walked through the solid door like it was a waterfall!

He stepped into the Primordial Chamber.

It was a vast circular room lined with ancient tomes and shattered artifacts.

In the center, Patriarch Blackwood was kneeling within a complex glowing array.

The cosmic entity who had projected a face the size of a continent just an hour ago was now a pathetic withered old man.

He was coughing up black blood. His left arm ended in a cauterized stump where Arthur had severed it through the spatial tear.

Hovering directly in front of the old man was a small flickering flame.

It was not hot nor was it bright. It was a swirling paradox of colors that defied logic just by existing.

The Primordial Flame! A foundational spark of the multiverse.

The Patriarch was desperately trying to absorb its energy to heal his shattered soul.

"It is not working," the Patriarch wheezed.

Blood dripped from his chin as he desperately chanted ancient sutras. "Why won’t it bond? I am a God!"

"Because you are obsolete," a cold baritone voice echoed through the chamber.

The Patriarch screamed and spun around.

Arthur Sterling dropped his Absolute Conceptual Stealth. His towering form materialized out of thin air just ten feet away.

He leaned lazily on the Ebonheart Sword and looked down at the ancient ruler with absolute unvarnished contempt.

"You," the Patriarch gasped.

His eyes were wide with raw unfiltered terror. He scrambled backward like a frightened crab.

"How did you get past the arrays? How did you survive the void?!"

"I took an elevator," Arthur smirked as he took a slow step forward. "I am here to finalize the liquidation of your house."

"Wait! Wait!" the Patriarch shrieked.

He held up his remaining hand in a pathetic gesture of surrender.

The grandiose projection from earlier was entirely gone. It was replaced by a desperate clinging coward.

"I have wealth! I have entire mortal worlds under my command! I can give you women, artifacts, power! Spare me and you can rule as my equal!"

Arthur laughed. It was a deep genuine sound of pure mockery.

"Your equal?" Arthur shook his head. "I do not share stock old man. And I already took your world."

"I took your academy. I took your vault. You have absolutely nothing left to offer me."

Realizing his begging was useless, a look of cornered absolute madness overtook the Patriarch’s face.

"Then die with me!"

The Patriarch lunged forward and grabbed the unstable Primordial Flame with his bare hand.

His flesh instantly began to bubble and burn as the reality defying fire rejected him.

With a final agonizing scream, he hurled the blazing world ending spark directly at Arthur’s chest.

"Burn in the Wrath Fire!"

The flame traveled at the speed of thought. It carried enough conceptual destruction to erase a continent from existence.

It was an attack that ignored physical defense. It was designed to burn the very concept of the target’s soul.

Arthur did not dodge. He did not raise his sword.

He calmly raised his right hand and caught the Primordial Flame barehanded.

"Sizzle!"

The violent multicolored fire flared wildly. It attempted to devour Arthur’s hand, his arm, and his entire existence.

But it slammed headfirst into the Dimensional Breaker Physique.

Arthur’s body was a forged anomaly that rejected the fundamental laws of the universe.

"Is this it?" Arthur asked.

His voice was entirely calm as the primordial fire raged harmlessly against his palm. "This is your ultimate weapon?"

The Patriarch fell to his knees.

His mind was completely breaking as he watched a mortal hold a foundational spark of creation like it was a cheap lighter.

"Monster... you are a monster..."

"System," Arthur commanded. His eyes glowed with a terrifying predatory light.

"Assimilate."

[Ding!]

[Target Identified: Primordial Flame]

[10,000x ROI Multiplier Activated!]

[Assimilating Conceptual Element...]

Arthur crushed his fist and drove the Primordial Flame directly into his own chest.

The reaction was instantaneous and apocalyptic!

The flame did not burn him. It merged with him.

A blinding deafening shockwave of pure unadulterated cosmic heat erupted from his core and turned the ambient air of the chamber into plasma.

His dark coat whipped wildly around him. It was utterly immune to the heat.

His eyes burned with a literal blazing inferno.

Arthur rolled his neck and his aura violently expanded. It pushed past the Divine Foundation and tore directly into the realm of the Divine Lords.

He was a walking breathing extinction event!

Arthur stepped forward and grabbed the weeping Patriarch by the throat. He lifted him off the floor with one hand.

The old man kicked and thrashed. His skin blistered just from being near Arthur’s newly assimilated aura.

"You are fired," Arthur whispered and squeezed.