Against The True Gods

Thick scarlet vines tore out of the earth and snaked through the air, aiming for Caine.

The latter, still in a daze, didn't pay much attention to this.

'Runes… Laws..? What's the link?'

From Caine's understanding, built in his past life, runes were proxies of communication that allowed one to, in a sense, make an exchange with the world. By providing refined energy to the world, one had the right to use the world to invoke a spell.

The way Caine understood it, it was all just a language used to communicate and trade with the world.

But what he was seeing now was changing everything he knew.

"Show me more."

Caine vanished, dodging the countless vines that tore the space where he once stood apart. He reappeared behind Elder Golden Bark, his gaze blazing as he immediately analyzed him.

'This is strange. Even this new strange form he has isn't a sort of transmutation from flesh to the elemental. It's as if this is his true form while at the same time not being it.'

Elder Golden Bark frantically turned around, his beady eyes narrowing as his legs extended into long vines that propelled him away from Caine.

His right hand moved to face the grand tree standing in the middle of the courtyard. With a slight tug, he pulled rivers of thick and ancient emerald qi from it—Nature Qi.

The older a type of qi was, the stronger it became, and considering this mighty tree had existed since the dawn of the Timeless Alliance—millions of years ago—the qi Elder Golden Bark drew wasn't anything to laugh at.

The ancient natural qi flowed into his body as his bark-like frame tightened, and the fleshy aspects of this new form vanished, compressed under the pressure of his now fully bark-like exterior. The arcs of crimson lightning dancing around him deepened to a rich emerald as the beating of his heart became loud and steady.

Steam hissed from the Elder's mouth as he hunched over and assumed an ancient and primal pose. Claws of intertwining vines sprouted from his hands and feet, and atop his head, a set of resplendent white horns grew.

With a single step, he was upon Caine, his fist cutting through the air, trailed by countless vines that followed every movement. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

Caine didn't panic. With a slight push of his palm, he deviated the punch, redirecting the momentum as he spun, allowing Elder Golden Bark's face to crash into his spinning elbow.

A loud CRACK! echoed through the courtyard, but the fissures on the Elder's face healed immediately, vines wrapping around him to stabilize his form.

Emerald runes flared across the Elder's body, fusing into his bark-like skin, and at that moment, the world itself seemed to become part of his Will.

Caine observed it all with widened eyes.

He could sense all the different qis in the courtyard flowing through the earth and into Elder Golden Bark's legs, then surging toward his heart, fueling him with terrifying power.

He could feel the atmospheric qi around them tightening, akin to invisible chains meant to slow him down. He could even feel a presence similar to the World Will Eye pressing down on him, attempting to suppress the flow of qi within his own body.

'It's as if the world itself is trying to help him.'

"I see. I see."

Caine nodded as he dodged a lance of crimson lightning. He then spun and backflipped, evading a series of vines brimming with chaotic emerald qi.

Landing lightly on his feet, he exhaled slowly, his mind calming. 'I understand now. Well, not entirely, but I've learned all I needed from this Elder. Now…'

"…you can die. You've done your job."

Caine's True Will surged, towering over Elder Golden Bark, and all the runes flashing across the Elder's body shattered into a fine mist of qi.

Elder Golden Bark coughed violently, blood spilling from his lips as his body was forcefully reverted to its original state.

Caine's arm bulged as he punched the air in front of him.

A deafening BOOOM! resounded, and in an instant, Elder Golden Bark was gone—vaporized. A meaningless death, devoid of suspense or struggle.

"Good."

Caine yawned and stretched, his demeanor calm and nonchalant. With a flicker of his True Will, all the destroyed vegetation regrew, restoring the courtyard to its previous, immaculate state. He turned and walked toward the Pond of Serenity, the emerald waters glimmering softly under the dappled light of the tree's white leaves.

Caine stepped lightly onto the surface of the pond, his feet gliding across the water as he reached its center. Lowering himself into a seated position, he closed his eyes and let the pond's effects wash over him.

Immediately, he felt his mind flow with divine clarity, his thoughts aligning seamlessly, and his heart settling into a docile calm, like a heavenly dove.

It was as though his already profound connection with the world was pushed one step further.

While such effects might seem subtle, any cultivator would understand the terrifying significance of this. Almost no one could enter states of enlightenment as easily as Caine did. In fact, moments of enlightenment were almost as rare as individuals with his level of talent.

'I see. My comprehension of Will is complete. I've understood Qi, Intent, Essence, Quintessence, and Dao. Together, they encase and interlink to form the foundation of my True Will, which itself stands upon the foundation of all my other stars.'

'I can sense that beyond the Dao Heart stage, there is something more, but it's too far from me because of my current cultivation realm.'

He paused, his thoughts narrowing in on a revelation.

'Something I almost missed though, is runes. Or perhaps it's not that I've missed it, but that I've noticed it too early.'

'My comprehension of runes was too surface level. Runes are indeed a language, but not just that. Runes are the language of all things.'

'Runes are the origin of all Laws. From the Heaven's commands, runes are born, and from runes, Laws are manifested. And from Laws, all things bloom.'

The countless runes across Caine's body began to glow faintly.

'It's not complex at all. To control them, all I need to do is…'

The runes trembled, responding to the infusion of his True Will.

BOOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM!

A terrifying wave of power erupted from him as the runes settled into place.

'…infuse my True Will into them.'

The power coursing through him felt limitless, each pulse of his runes resonating with the very fabric of existence.

Caine's journey, short yet long in its intensity, had been a sequence of trials and triumphs, each building upon the last.

He began with his bones, stealing shards of universal force to forge them.

He then followed with his flesh, crafting it with the essence of those same forces.

He touched upon Intent and rapidly advanced through the stages of the True Defiant Forgery Path.

He forged stars from all 3,800 primordial paths, comprehended the Beasts Progenitors, and mastered the Heavenly Elements.

His path underwent countless changes, tribulations, and tests, leading him to form his Dao Heart and evolve his aspects.

Everything about his journey had been heretical, defying the natural order, and the fact that he still stood here was a testament to his indomitable Will. Perhaps it was the result of one of his wishes—or perhaps it wasn't.

But none of that mattered now.

Because only now, as Caine grasped the absolute truth of runes, did it all come together.

Only now, with his understanding crystallized, would the results of all his heretical actions bloom.

BOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!

Caine's heart trembled as the very fabric of reality tore apart.