The ten [Universal Orbs] hovered around Alex, each one spinning in place as he activated the skill.
Their presence alone made the air feel heavier, as if space itself bent around them.
Unlike the twelve [Holy Blades of Celestial Judgment], which carried an overwhelming sacred radiance.
These orbs had something else entirely: raw power.
They pulsed with energy, radiating an aura that made it clear they were not just tools, but forces of destruction waiting to be unleashed.
“You should test them out one by one,” Kaelios suggested, stretching his arms as he prepared himself, “I’ll tank whatever you throw at me.”
Alex smirked.
“You’re asking to get blasted.”
“Of course.”
The God of Destiny chuckled.
“I can’t undo everything, but I’m curious to see what these can do.”
It was a good idea.
Even though Alex had already read their descriptions, that didn’t mean he fully understood how they worked.
Knowing something on paper and experiencing it firsthand were two different things.
He needed to familiarize himself with them before he used them in a real battle.
Taking a deep breath, Alex focused his gaze on the first orb that caught his attention.
As soon as he locked onto it, a system notification popped up.
[You have selected “Orb of Cataclysm.”]
He quickly skimmed the description again.
[When thrown, this orb locks onto a target and detonates, summoning an eruption of crimson spikes from the ground that impales everything in a 30-meter radius.]
‘Good. Same as before.’
Looking closer, Alex noticed that the orb emitted a faint crimson glow, and a symbol of jagged spikes was etched into its surface.
It seemed like each orb had a unique marking that represented its ability.
That made things easier.
“Alright, get ready,” Alex called out.
Kaelios took a deep breath, bracing himself.
“Hit me with your best shot.”
Unlike the [Celestial Judgment] blades, Alex didn’t need to control the orbs nor focus on them.
He didn’t even have to think about them that they still floated around him.
However, there was one restriction.
[You can only select one orb at a time. You may re-select once the current orb has been thrown.]
That meant he couldn’t use all ten at once.
It wasn’t a huge issue, but it was something to keep in mind.
Managing twelve holy blades in battle was already tricky, so controlling twenty-two projectiles at once would be absurd.
With a simple flick of his finger, Alex launched the [Orb of Cataclysm] straight at Kaelios.
[Locking onto target.]
Kaelios squinted as the orb hurtled toward him.
“Am I supposed to dodge, or do you want me to take it?”
“Try dodging. You’ll probably die a few times, though,” Alex grinned.
Kaelios nodded, then dashed to the side at an incredible speed.
The moment he did, the orb twisted midair and followed him like a missile.
“What the—”
Kaelios changed directions, moving in a zigzag pattern across the [Garden of Destiny], but the orb didn’t slow down.
Instead, it got faster.
Alex’s eyes narrowed.
“Wait a second… is it accelerating?”
The longer it chased its target, the faster it became.
Once it locked on someone or something, it refused to stop until it reached its destination.
“Good to know,” Alex muttered, noting that at the back of his head to remember it for later.
Kaelios gritted his teeth as he weaved through the air, trying to shake it off.
But after a few more seconds, the orb finally reached him.
That thing actually got faster than a god after only a few seconds of being thrown.
And then, it started to beep.
“Ah, crap.”
Fwish!
BOOM!
The moment it exploded, a massive eruption of crimson spikes burst from the orb, expanding outward in a 30-meter radius.
The spikes were large, jagged, and brutally sharp.
Kaelios had tried to escape at the last second, but the orb’s speed had caught him off guard.
One of the spikes grazed his side, slicing through his armor and leaving a small wound.
“Ouch,” he muttered, placing a hand on his side.
He was in his domain, so he could heal himself, which he did using his divine energy, but if it was outside, this would have been a harsh wound.
“These things actually hurt,” Kaelios sighed.
Alex whistled.
If the orbs were capable of harming a god, then that meant regular enemies wouldn’t stand a chance.
And this was only one of the ten.
Still, there was one thing he needed to confirm.
“How do I get them back? There’s no mention of a consumption limit…”
As soon as he thought about it, a new system panel appeared before him.
[An orb recharges every twenty minutes after being used. There is no way to reduce this cooldown.]
Alex nodded to himself.
That meant he wasn’t permanently losing the orbs, he just had to wait twenty minutes for each one to return.
“Alright, next one.”
Without wasting time, Alex selected the second orb.
[You have selected “Orb of Thunder.”]
[This orb arcs between enemies like a living thunderbolt, chaining from target to target and stunning those it strikes with divine lightning.]
The orb crackled with blue electricity, and a lightning symbol glowed on its surface.
Small sparks flickered around it, hinting at the power stored within.
“Alright, here goes,” Alex said as he pointed at Kaelios and flicked his finger.
The [Orb of Thunder] shot forward with incredible speed.
But this time, Kaelios ran toward it.
“If I activate it before it picks up speed, I can dodge it easily,” he smirked.
A good plan… but only if this orb worked the same way as the last one.
Unfortunately for him, it didn’t.
Alex grinned, “That’s not gonna work.”
Just as Kaelios was about to leap out of the way, Alex snapped his fingers.
The orb beeped, and suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot out from it.
But it didn’t hit Kaelios.
Instead, it zapped the training dummy standing nearby.
“Huh?”
Kaelios barely had time to react before the lightning jumped from the dummy, straight into his back.
BZZZT!
[You have been stunned.]
Kaelios’ body locked up as arcs of electricity danced across his form.
His expression went from confident to utterly baffled.
Destiny Shift!
[Undoing stun…]
Beep!
[Cannot undo stun.]
“What the…”
If this was in a real battle, Alex would have had the time to hit Kaelios several times over.
But thankfully, the human simply waited.
Ten seconds later, his body loosened up as the effect canceled.
But the fact he couldn’t do it was what made Kaelios nervous.
He exhaled, rubbing his arms as the numbing sensation faded.
Alex folded his arms, smirking.
“The description said it chains between targets, that means once it hits something, it immediately searches for the next closest enemy.”
“You thought you could dodge it like the first orb, but this one doesn’t even need to reach you directly.”
Kaelios whistled.
“Damn. That’s dangerous. How many times can it jump?”
“No clue,” Alex admitted.
“Might be infinite, might be limited. Either way, it’s definitely not something you can avoid by just running away.”
Kaelios shook his head in disbelief.
“These orbs are insane…”
“Right? It seems like this one isn’t for damage, but to stun the target for 10 seconds, I counted,” Alex grinned, “And we’ve only gone through two of them. There’s still eight left.”
Kaelios exhaled, rolling his shoulders, “Alright. Hit me with the next one.”
Alex nodded, then without hesitation, he locked onto the third orb.
[You have selected the “Orb of the Unbreakable.”]