Against The True Gods

Caine sat atop the thick, black waters of the void sea, silent and unmoving.

His body had withered, his muscles vanished, and his skin clung tightly to his bones. The intricate outlines of his skeletal frame were exposed, a stark testament to his ordeal.

Dried blood coated his body, intersected by countless scars and wounds, from which radiant silver blood still seeped, each drop a flicker of vitality.

The beating of his heart was slow and faint, a whisper of life echoing the weakness of the blood qi that struggled through his ruptured veins.

SHIIIIH!

Caine's form began to dissolve into ashes.

These ashes, silver in hue, drifted down to the waters below, but they refused to sink, hovering on the surface like stubborn remnants of his will.

From the void above, blessings continued to fall, each flake of light akin to a divine acknowledgment of his struggle.

The silver ashes trembled under their touch, coalescing and condensing into a mound of silver flesh—a heart. Across the surface of this heart, gold, white, and emerald runes flared to life, only to be immediately mirrored by black, dark amethyst, and scarlet runes.

WHOOOOOOSH!

The heart thumped once, and a shockwave rippled through the sea, shattering the stillness. In an instant, mighty black bones erupted, adorned with intricate runes of every conceivable color and shape.

His Bone Structure solidified in an instant, followed closely by his Flesh Structure.

The heart thumped a second time, and thin filaments of blood qi manifested, weaving into flesh that filled out the skeletal frame. Runes mirrored those on his bones, dancing across the surface of his flesh. The muscles tightened and vibrated under the influx of power.

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His veins and organs reformed in a cascade of elemental explosions, lighting the void with bursts of color. The void sea glowed briefly, painted by hues of power and Will.

From pure neutral qi, jade-white skin formed, wrapping tightly around his muscles with the grace of a divine sculptor. His body was no longer the frail husk it had been; it now radiated an unspoken strength.

SHURR!

On the left side of his body, black, crimson, and dark amethyst curse marks spread like veins of corruption, countered by emerald, gold, and white blessed marks on the right side.

His five aspects—Soul, Body, Mind, World, and Qi—completed their transformation. The three natures—neutral, cursed, and blessed—settled in perfect balance.

Rivers of dark hair burst from his scalp, cascading down past his shoulders like a river of dark starlight.

Caine's cultivation soared.

His heart pulsed once more, and his power surged. From the Ascendant Blood Prince Stage, he tore through the boundaries, advancing to the Blood Lord, Blood King, and Blood Emperor Stages in rapid succession.

In his Bond Space, his stars reformed. The summons reawakened, their natures twisting and evolving, infused with neutral, cursed, and blessed attunements. The power of his stars flowed into his heart, and in that moment, everything clicked—the bones, flesh, stars, rings, Dao Heart, bloodline, summons, and aspects. They unified into one grand, harmonious whole.

Caine's blood qi turned into a radiant silver, its brilliance a reflection of his perfected self. His power continued to surge, and from the Blood Emperor Stage, he ascended to the Blood Sovereign Stage.

His body lifted from the void sea, weightless as the blessings flooded him. His empty eye sockets turned toward the World Will Eyes above.

Slowly, qi and flesh fused in the sockets, reforming his eyes. With a deafening BANG!, his deep silver eyes reappeared, just as he transcended the Blood Sovereign Stage and entered the Blood Monarch Stage.

The void above began to close. The World Will Eyes faded, their task complete. The torrent of blessings slowed to a halt as Caine's transformation reached its culmination.

All the fragmented pieces of his mind fused back together.

For a moment, the world was utterly still.

Then—

BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOM!

Like detonations of raw power, his heart thundered within his chest, sending radiant silver blood surging through his rejuvenated form. In that instant, he breached the final substage of the Blood Realm, becoming a Blood Venerable.

Caine had reached the pinnacle of the Blood Realm.

WHOOOOSH!

His aura settled, retreating within him as his body began to drift downward, falling slowly from the black skies of the void sea. His descent was so gentle, he seemed no heavier than a feather.

Suddenly, Elura appeared from the shadows, her form no longer the petite, fairy-like figure she usually embodied. Instead, she was as tall as a human adult, her ethereal beauty undiminished.

She caught Caine in her arms, her gaze softening as she looked at his sleeping face. He had pushed himself beyond mortal limits.

His body, aspects, and—most importantly—his mind had borne unimaginable strain. The backlash from the Void Meditation Mode was severe, even with his incredibly potent time affinity.

And that didn't even account for the exhaustion from his year in the Scion Training Facilities. To say he had pushed himself to the brink was a gross understatement.

'How did he manage this?' she wondered, her thoughts a mixture of awe and concern.

'An Immeasurable-grade Innate Circle, Immeasurable-grade Cursed Aspects, and Immeasurable-grade Blessed Aspects… all in a single person.'

Her eyes narrowed slightly. 'His tribulation into the Spark Realm will be monstrous. And if his summons are also close to becoming Sages again…'

She sighed, glancing up at the now-empty void.

'Will he survive such a tribulation?' The thought lingered for a moment before she dismissed it with a scowl. Doubt was a hindrance she could no longer afford. She was not separate from Caine; they were one in the truest sense.

He had proven time and time again that nothing was beyond his reach.

'It's time I act like the Faery Queen I am and truly help him. I've been holding back.'

Her self-criticism was not entirely fair, though.

The mutations in Caine's bonds had placed her in an embryonic state. Her powers were sealed, being refined and sublimated by his royal Velios bloodline.

She could feel her abilities evolving, twisting into something greater. But until she hatched, all that potential remained locked away.

When that day came…

'Everything will change.'