Beyond the Bloodline-Chapter 205: Euphoria

"You really did a good number on me, didn’t you?!"

Shale’s expression twisted into something indecipherable at the sight of the dead man walking before him. It was Jamie Westley, the very Hybrid whose life he had just ended.

He had confirmed Jamie’s heart had stopped beating, and his brain was destroyed; by the laws of the Universe governing death, that should have been the end of a living being’s life.

’So, what the fuck am I looking at right now?!’

Jamie stood on the edge of the crater, battered and bruised. His left arm was missing, replaced by an arm construct of pure energy—pure void energy.

The whites of his eyes were now a swirl of iridescent colours, and his face bore a maniacal grin as he laughed aloud.

Half of Jamie’s face was covered in cracks, and those same cracks extended throughout the entire right side of his body, visible through his torn clothes.

’This...he’s exuviating!’

"I FUCKING KNEW IT!

IT WAS THE LAST THING I NEEDED!"

Jamie spoke as he staggered forward. Void energy pulsed around him, creating a dark blue aura that consumed the very air around him. The energy was so intense that it seemed to distort the space and light, creating a visual ripple effect.

Shale’s eyes narrowed to slits at this sight. Without hesitation, he activated his Unique Skill and charged at Jamie but before he could even reach half that distance, Jamie tilted his neck at a 90-degree angle and asked.

"Where the fuck do you think you’re going?"

With an unspoken command, the space around Shale froze, immobilizing him in mid-air. His body was trapped, unable to move through the suspended space.

’Tsk...’

Shale clicked his tongue in frustration and attempted to activate the cosmic artifact within him to recreate the barrier that had previously limited Jamie’s powers. However, as soon as he drew upon the ambient cosmic energy, an external force seized control of it.

"What the—?"

Shale looked up at Jamie with an expression of disbelief as he saw the cosmic energy gather around the Hybrid and the realization struck him like a thunderbolt.

"Cosmic Superiority! You’ve become a Sub-Cosmic being!"

"I HAVE YOU FUCKER! I HAVE HAHAHA!!!"

Shale’s mind raced as he tried to comprehend the impossibility before him. Jamie had not only survived but had somehow tapped into an even greater power.

The Hybrid laughed at Shale’s astonishment, before waving his hand casually and flinging his body to the side.

"You might’ve actually killed my body there, but guess what? Turns out my Soul’s fucking immortal too!! KaKAKAKA!!!"

While cackling like a madman, Jamie moved his left void energy arm, extending a finger and piercing it into the hole where Shale had stabbed him through the skull earlier. He twisted his finger into the hole mercilessly, causing blood and brain matter to spurt out of his head, all while Miranda watched in shock, paralyzed by the sudden self-brutality.

"This...the first time I’ve been on the brink of death since I became an immortal! Or rather, the first time I’ve ever been on the brink of death!"

Jamie exclaimed, his voice filled with a mixture of exhilaration and madness.

All Jamie’s life, he had been in numerous dangerous situations where one wrong move could lead to death, but he always had backups to help him.

Having the strongest Werewolf Emperor in the Universe for a father afforded him access to the best artifacts for self-protection.

So, despite how dire his situations before were, he always had something in his subspace that could help him out.

Because of this, Jamie had never been pushed to the verge of death before in his 25 years of life—never before this fateful day.

"That was the last kick I needed, huh? Nullifying my Hybrid powers actually ended up helping me! Bahahahahaha!!!"

Jamie’s laughter resonated through the area, a sound filled with a newfound sense of invincibility and defiance.

Right now, Jamie was high.

The same kind of high a drug addict got when they consumed their precious weed. But he was not high on drugs but on the sheer euphoria of his transformation.

Why else would he be using his arm of void energy to pierce his own brain? Even with Self-power immunity, such an act was far from normal.

But the words he spoke weren’t just random babbles; Shale’s Anti-Hybrid factors had indeed helped him.

Jamie had not exuviated until now because he had not yet attained Sub-Cosmic Superiority. His existence required that status to ascend further.

But because of his Hybrid Powers bearing so many similarities with Cosmic Superiority, they had tried to force him to skip the Sub-Cosmic stage!

This was impossible, as Jamie did not meet the requirements for this. Not because of any Universal laws of balance, but simply because the amount of energy required to transform into a Cosmic Being was even more energy than the Sun in the sky.

A literal Star!

Jamie didn’t have that kind of energy at this point, so it was bound to fail, making him stuck in an eternal loop of trials and failures until he found another solution.

But with Shale’s Anti-Hybrid factors temporarily making his Hybrid nature take the back seat, Jamie’s existence could proceed to the Sub-Cosmic level without issue!

"This...this...would be the first time, and the last time..."

The cracks on Jamie’s body spread to cover his entire face, and his voice shifted mid-sentence. Changing from a normal one to one imbued with the power to bend Universal laws to his will.

|...that I’d ever be on the verge of death...|

His canines elongated into fangs, his hair grew out, fur covered his arms and his fingernails turned into claws. Taking a predatory stance, he glared at Shale with eyes that now shimmered with cosmic power.

|Come at me you fucking slayer...I’d send you to join the rest of your fellow experiments in the afterlife. |

Shale forced his wounded body to his feet, his vision blurring due to the blood loss, but he switched off his pain nullification, letting the agony of his wounds shock his consciousness back to alertness.

Glaring right at Jamie, he released all his remaining energy and infused it into his sword.

|Five Steps of Extinction! |

Shale charged at the newly minted Deity, his sword glowing with the deadly power of his Extinction Authority. The first strike came with a blinding flash, aimed at Jamie’s chest.

The blade sliced through, but Jamie barely flinched, a twisted grin spreading across his face.

|One!|

Hearing Jamie counting, Shale gritted his teeth and delivered the second strike, this time targeting Jamie’s side. The blade cut deep, but Jamie’s laughter echoed through the air, unfazed by the damage.

|Two!!|

With a roar of determination, Shale brought his sword down for the third strike, aiming for Jamie’s shoulder. The blade bit into flesh, yet Jamie’s only response was to punch Shale with his left arm, sending the man stumbling back.

|Three!!!|

Blood dripped from Shale’s wounds as he lunged forward for the fourth strike, slashing at Jamie’s leg. The blade connected, but Jamie simply kicked Shale in the chest, knocking the wind out of him.

|Four!!!!|

Shale’s vision blurred further as he gathered all his remaining strength for the final strike. With a cry of desperation, he aimed for Jamie’s head. The blade struck true, piercing through the Hybrid’s skull and emerging from the other side, but Jamie’s laughter only grew louder, more maniacal.

|Five!!!!!|

Jamie, still with a sword sticking through his skull, laughed as he reached out with his right arm, gripping Shale’s neck with ridiculous strength.

|Guess what, BITCH?! It DOESN’T FUCKING WORK! HAKAHAKAHA! |

Jamie squeezed Shale’s neck, the pressure causing the Anti-Hybrid soldier to gasp for air. His smile widened as he saw the shock and fear in Shale’s eyes, the realisation that his most powerful skill had failed, even when backed up by his Anti-Hybrid factors.

Suddenly, his laughter seized and he flung Shale’s body like a ragdoll, tossing him onto the floor with a casual flick of his wrist. Shale’s body hit the ground hard, skidding and tumbling before coming to a painful stop.

Ignoring this, Jamie sighed and clicked his tongue as he pulled out the sword in his head.

"I’m bored now..."

His demeanour shifted from manic joy to disinterest in a mere instant. His gaze on Shale was detached, devoid of anger or satisfaction. The thrill of his transformation had faded, leaving behind an unsettling emptiness.

Silently, Jamie raised his left void arm and the energy that constituted it condensed into an orb in front of his body, rapidly shrinking and breaking down spacetime until it formed a singularity-like phenomenon.

In that instant, Jamie’s severed arm, lying over a kilometre away, shot through the air and reattached itself to his body. It was infused with his newfound power, blood vessels bursting and regenerating as it reconstructed to fit Jamie’s empowered form.

He examined his restored arm briefly before looking at Shale who was trying to run, and holding up his new left arm, he snapped his left index and thumb fingers, sending the orb of condensed void energy streaking toward Shale.

|This...is Nihility. |

Shale tried to run, but his body froze in space, immobilized by Jamie’s power. The beam of void energy collided with him, erupting into a blinding explosion.

The energy disintegrated Shale’s body on contact, tearing through flesh, and bone, before going on to obliterate his soul and every subatomic particle that made up his existence.

The beam continued its destructive path, carving out the ground and tearing a hole through the mountain. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

It destroyed the World Isolation Barrier, its energy unstoppable as it extended for a little bit over a thousand kilometres, carving everything in its path into oblivion.

When the power finally dissipated, it left behind a massive canyon, a scar on the landscape where space itself was torn apart, leaving a void so profound that not even light could pass through.

After the cataclysmic display of power, Jamie stood for a moment, staring at the aftermath of his attack. The emptiness that had filled him moments ago was still there, gnawing at the edges of his consciousness.

With a sudden, almost abrupt movement, Jamie collapsed backwards onto the ground, lying on his back.

He stared up at the sky, a moment of silence hanging heavy in the air. Then, without warning, he burst into laughter. The sound was wild, unrestrained, a cackling laugh that echoed off the shattered landscape around him.

"So, this is the kind of anomaly you wanted to create..."

He muttered in between fits of laughter, his voice tinged with a mix of awe and madness.

"An ’artificial’ one... You’re fucking mad, Angela."

Jamie’s laughter grew louder, more manic, his body shaking with each peal of amusement. He laughed and laughed, the sound carrying through the devastation like a haunting melody.

It was the laugh of someone who had become something beyond comprehension and was struggling to find meaning in it all.

As his laughter slowly subsided, Jamie lay there, staring up at the sky, a strange calm settling over him.

The void energy still pulsed around him, but for now, it seemed almost... serene.

He closed his eyes, a faint smile lingering on his lips, as he contemplated the madness and brilliance of the one who had set him on this path.

◇　◇　◇

Skyhaven Tourist Centre

Gnocyl Prime

December 31st

Year 2018 of the 51st General Calendar

1908th Cosmic Cycle

"Lord Jamie?"

The voice entering his ears roused Jamie from his slumber and he opened his eyes to see three pairs of eyes looking back at him.

"So even Deities sleep, huh?"

"The heck kinda question is that? Of course, they can sleep."

"Mental fatigue is a thing, you know?"

The two young women present chided the young man who questioned the sleep ability of Deity realm existences and Jamie silently tilted his head to the side as confusion flashed through his eyes for a second.

In the next second, his memories loaded up and he recalled the identities of these three youngsters before him.

Having over a billion years’ worth of memories was pretty taxing since one could tend to forget a lot of things.

"Forget sleep for a moment. Check out this cool Canyon!"

The black-haired and red-eyed young man quickly changed the topic and ran forward excitedly as he pointed at the massive canyon from the viewing deck in front of them.

"It’s over a thousand kilometres long and a quarter that wide! That’s wild...even for a Prime World!"

"It’s just a canyon, why are you so excited?"

His younger twin sister questioned with an exasperated sigh, glancing at her best friend standing beside her to see if she understood the young man’s excitement over a canyon.

"You girls just don’t get it! I’m sure Lord Jamie would understand me!"

All eyes turned to Jamie and he sat up on his chair, looking at the massive canyon with hundreds of thousands of tourists scattered all over, before chuckling.

"Seeing this brings back memories of the first time I came to this planet."

Hearing his words, they all raised brows of surprise. Then their surprise turned into curiosity and the third of the trio in front of him, a raven black-haired and amethyst-eyed young woman asked.

"What happened the first time you came here?"

Getting to his feet, Jamie waved his hand and created a spatial gate, pointing at the canyon with his thumb as he answered.

"I created the canyon you’re looking at."

With those words, he disappeared beyond the gate, leaving the three teens with dumbfounded expressions.