Beyond the Bloodline-Chapter 269: Through Dimensions, With Fists
Ships hastily pulled back from their positions, engines roaring as they scrambled to obey the sudden and desperate command for retreat.
The once-coordinated assault fractured into scattered movements, soldiers and officers alike abandoning their objectives in confusion.
At the galaxy’s centre, the giant projection of Vaelon I watched this with cold eyes, the space around him bending even more as he drew even more of his power into his projection.
He raised his hand, and cosmic energy poured in from a different dimension, widening the rift that had summoned him.
The projection, initially imposing, began to expand, growing impossibly larger with each passing moment.
What had once been merely colossal now swelled to incomprehensible proportions, dwarfing the largest planets in the Perileos Galaxy.
Soon, he filled more than half the galaxy itself, an overwhelming presence that seemed to consume light, suffocating nearby stars under his oppressive shadow. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Across the retreating fleets, an instinctive, primal fear gripped every soul who laid eyes on him. For the first time, the urgency of the general’s retreat order made sense.
Vaelon I ignored the scrambling ships. His piercing gaze locked onto the flagship, zeroing in on Miranda’s location. His expression twisted with unbridled hatred as he bellowed, his voice shattering through the dimensions, reaching every corner of the galaxy.
|YOU DAMNED ESTEANS!
ALWAYS STRETCHING YOUR PAWS INTO EVERY CORNER OF THE UNIVERSE! PRANCING AROUND AS IF YOU OWN EVERYTHING! |
His voice carried the weight of deep-seated hatred, the kind that had festered for eons.
With that declaration, he marched forward, his colossal hand extending toward the flagship, intent on obliterating Miranda and all that surrounded her.
On the flagship’s bridge, Miranda’s eyes scanned the scene, the faintest bit of concern showing in her eyes as she looked at the chaotically retreating soldiers.
Then, her pupils shifted to the corner of her eyes and she muttered under her breath, her voice barely over a whisper.
"You talk too much."
With that, she threw a single punch.
A massive surge of cosmic energy exploded from her fist, and the Giant’s arm—an appendage large enough to blot out all light in half the galaxy—disintegrated instantly. The remnants disintegrated into shimmering particles of light, scattering before vanishing entirely.
Vaelon I froze, his ginormous body recoiling from the unexpected counterattack. He narrowed his eyes, the anger in them intensifying as he growled.
|You... YOU...! |
Disbelief and anger mixed as his projection rippled and distorted. The space around him twisted violently as the dimension struggled to accommodate his presence.
Onboard the retreating ships, those watching from afar saw their vision glitch and warp, as if reality itself couldn’t process what was happening.
Vaelon I’s projection began to collapse inward. It folded into itself, condensing until all the gathered energy solidified around the rift.
From the widening rift, his true body descended, crossing the barriers of higher dimensions.
Now fully manifest, the Giant’s aura surged, an oppressive force that blanketed the Perileos Galaxy and beyond. Stars dimmed, and the surrounding void seemed to collapse inward, as if the universe itself recoiled from his descent.
Miranda’s expression darkened as she gazed upon the Giant’s true form.
There was no mistaking it now.
This man was like her—a being who had reached the peak of the Sub-Cosmic Existence Realms.
Her frown deepened as the realization dawned, her lips parting as her cold voice echoed.
|And why, exactly, is a Quasi-Supreme in this forgotten corner of the universe? |
An Existence who had gained profound insight into Universal Laws, assimilated those laws into his soul, refined his soul across the nine stages of the Firmament, and reforged his existence with cosmic energy, ultimately crafting an Aspect—a personalized representation of his mastery over those assimilated laws.
Vaelon I’s gaze burned with indignation as he bellowed out a rage-filled response.
|That is not for you to know, Estean! You will understand nothing but my wrath! |
He extended his hand, the massive palm aglow with multi-coloured cosmic energy that fuelled the manifestation of his higher-dimensional authority.
The energy distorted space, bending time and warping reality itself around it.
With that single motion, Vaelon unleashed his attack—a surge of overwhelming power that tore through space and obliterated matter in its wake.
Miranda, however, didn’t even flinch.
Without activating any of her Authorities or Powers, she condensed pure cosmic energy into her fists and met the torrent head-on with a single punch.
Their collision seemed to freeze the galaxy in time.
Then, with a deafening crack, Vaelon’s attack shattered like fragile glass. The force of Miranda’s strike rippled through space-time, sending shockwaves that obliterated nearby asteroids and altered the trajectories of distant stars.
Miranda released her magic power, her mere presence warping the space around her and causing ripples in the fabric of reality.
Her hair shimmered, faintly glowing with cosmic energy, as she propelled herself toward Vaelon at a speed that made light seem slow.
But Vaelon could see her movements with perfect clarity. With a sweeping motion of his massive arm, he summoned bolts of black, red, and silver energy, tendrils of reality itself pulling at the edges of his will.
The energy surged towards Miranda, bending time to arrive instantaneously.
In response, Miranda swung her fist, compressing her magic power and releasing it at the point of impact.
Once again, Vaelon’s attack shattered on impact, dissipating into pure energy as Miranda’s punch sent shockwaves rippling outward through space. Nearby stars flickered, and distant galaxies trembled under the sheer force of her strike.
Vaelon’s expression distorted at the sight, but he retained his composure. Raising his other hand, he tore pathways to other dimensional planes and manipulated the ambient cosmic energy to his will.
He tried to twist and collapse the reality around Miranda, but the woman punched the rifts faster than they could begin twisting.
Her fists didn’t just shatter them, they punched through the dimensional wall itself, splintering the rifts into nothingness. Each shattered crack left behind a distortion in space that collapsed mere seconds later.
But by the time these collapses could even happen, Miranda’s fist was already connecting with Vaelon’s chest. Her fist ripped through the very space he occupied, sending him flying, breaking through dimensions with unstoppable force.
Miranda increased her speed, swirling cosmic energy around her arms as she closed the distance and punched again.
Reality shattered, space folded, and Vaelon was blown into yet another dimensional plane.
Again, she acted before Vaelon could even think, sending him tumbling and crashing into another dimension.
Just before Miranda could blitz Vaelon and send him careening into another dimension, he waved his massive arm, sending a wave of cosmic energy surging toward her.
But he didn’t even have time to think that it would hit her. The moment the wave got close, Miranda instantly accelerated, moving out of its range in an instant.
Miranda was tiny when compared to Vaelon, but that tiny body transformed into a streak of glowing power, crashing into his chest with a punch that sent him careening backwards.
His massive body collided with space itself, shattering it as he broke through into a new dimension. The colours of this new realm were surreal, shifting hues of sound and light, where laws operated differently.
Miranda didn’t give him a moment to recover. She appeared before him in the blink of an eye, her glowing hair trailing behind her like a comet. Her fist connected again, sending him crashing through yet another dimension, the fabric of each one bending and breaking in his wake.
|GaaRg! Aspect of Stasis! |
Vaelon’s strange roar was one thing, but the Aspect he activated was another entirely.
Waves of cosmic energy in the form of vines sprouted from his fingers, growing endlessly, their thorns imbued with the power to ’Halt’ the concept of ’Movement’.
The energy vines wrapped around Miranda, but before they could tighten, she flexed her arms and released a burst of energy that reduced them to dust.
In the same instant, she was already in front of Vaelon again, her next punch slamming into his jaw and sending him hurtling through another dimension.
|Dominion Reign! |
Attempting another Aspect, Vaelon manifested a massive golden crown atop his head. Cosmic energy poured from it, but before it could even display its effect, Miranda folded space and closed the distance between them.
She reached out with her left hand, tearing the planet-sized crown off Vaelon’s head. Her right fist shot forward simultaneously, striking with such force that blood poured from his nose, staining a nearby moon red.
