Neo floated silently above the orbit of Earth, arms crossed, Obitus stabbed on the Sky Barrier.
The solar winds brushed past him, carrying dust and fragments of debris, but he paid them no mind.
His gaze was fixed on the Void Entities, and at the far beyond, into the black ocean of space where he knew ‘they’ would come from.
Beside him, Yaleth hovered lightly. He glanced at Neo, and spoke,
“…You shouldn’t use anything reckless.”
Neo tilted his head. “…?”
“I’m saying,” Yaleth said, “don’t try to use your River of Time to regress. It won’t work anymore.
“You’ve officially participated in an interplanetary battle, and your combat strength has crossed beyond Stage-3. The crutch that Time has been giving you until now has been taken away. You should be able to feel that too.”
Neo frowned.
He already had a bad relation with Time Elementals, so they haven’t bothered to tell him they were taking away his regression ability.
In fact, Neo felt no different from before.
He believed he could regress like normally.
But there had to be a reason why Yaleth warned him. He decided to heed to the Outer God’s warning and not use abilities that allowed him to move through time.
Space trembled.
A split second later, the universe responded.
A fracture tore open just beyond Jupiter, wide and deep, spilling colors that didn’t belong to mortal sight. Through it, they came.
Velgrath, the Weaver of Void-Silk, descended first.
His many arms spun silent webs of dark threads that pulled starlight into strange shapes around him.
His eyeless gaze settled onto Neo.
Myzrul followed, wings carrying scattered constellations across his massive body.
His horns framed a burning crown of suns, and in his presence, the orbits of nearby asteroids shifted without a sound.
Then came Vaedrex, the Maw of Silence. A colossal shadow rippling with rings of teeth, he dragged with him a suffocating darkness that swallowed even the solar light.
Lastly, Lurial, the Clockwork Bloom, unfolded her mechanical petals in a slow rhythm. Time warped around her with each motion, making the stars nearby flicker and stutter.
The Outer Gods’ presence made reality itself seem fragile.
Neo remained still. So did Yaleth.
The gods watched him. Their gazes were trying to gauge him.
For a long breath, neither side moved.
They understood the threat immediately.
Neo’s aura was sharp, heavy, and filled with scent of Death.
It wasn’t raw power alone that gave the Outer Gods a grim feeling.
It was his gaze, his absolute confidence in facing four Outer Gods alone that gave them a pause.
Velgrath’s arms paused mid-weave. Myzrul’s wings shifted subtly, cautious. Vaedrex’s abyss churned a little faster. Lurial’s petals clicked into a new formation.
They were old, older than many stars, and they knew the weight of ‘Divinities’ when they saw it.
Divinities were the energies Gods created at Stage-4.
Only Outer Gods could do so from Stage-1, and it was what made them fearsome.
This human was clearly only Stage-2 but the strength he radiated said he was far stronger, and the Divinities radiating off him made it clear he was an Outer God himself.
And yet, they remained composed.
They could sense his strengths—yes—but also the limits.
He was alone, and far younger than them. Any technique he learned from a backward planet like Earth could not be compared to theirs who had lived for millions of years and seen the Cosmos.
But they were not reckless either.
Unless they were sure of their victory, they would not foolishly engage in war.
Quiet calculations unfolded between them.
How many divinities had this human had? What was their rarity? Has he had access to Universal Codex System?
Had he achieved Spirit Fusion Transformation with his true soul spirit already?
People who could break the Gene Limit of their planet weren’t rare. Fusing with a Sacred Treasure was enough to do that.
But that also meant, this human had conquered another world – or his own world – and taken the Sacred Treasure for himself, then used it to break his gene limit to reach a rank that was higher than his world.
And that alone made the Outer Gods wary.
Still, confidence radiated from them like a second sun.
Velgrath shifted first, his body rippling through folds of void.
“You called us,” he said, voice deep and threaded with many echoes. “You demanded to meet us. We are here. Tell us—”
Myzrul’s wings blazed brighter. “—are you prepared to go to war against us, O Young God?”
The solar system itself seemed to shrink under the question.
Neo stared at them. His hand rested lightly on the hilt of Obitus.
“War?” Neo said in a cold tone. “Haven’t we been at war already?”
He stepped forward, and though he moved only a few feet, space creaked under his presence.
“My planet has suffered for centuries,” Neo said. “Because of you.”
The Outer Gods exchanged glances—or their equivalent of it.
“Suffering is the language of existence. Your pain is not unique. Countless worlds have screamed, and yours was but one among infinite.” Lurial said while her gears spun lazily.
Neo’s eyes stayed cold. “And that justifies it?”
“It is not about justification,” Myzrul said, wings brushing light into patterns that meant nothing and everything. “It is about inevitability.”
“Enough of this farce.” Velgrath folded one arm back into the void and said, “You are strong, O Young God. But you are still one man.
“There is no chance of your victory. Give us the True Spirit Weapons we desire, and we will let you walk away.”
“Alone?” Neo asked.
Neo’s aura rose sharply.
His shadows stretched as he used Intent to complete his Incantations.
From beneath Neo, the space darkened, and a tidal wave of shadows rose without sound.
Three thousand shapes of shadow monsters slithered into existence. Their eyes glowed faintly, and their bodies shifted between as if they had no physical form.
Even the weakest among them radiated Stage-2 strength. Fifteen of them stood taller, stronger, their auras marking them as Stage-3.
And finally, the Firmaments came out of the Cosmos.
The faces of Outer Gods rapidly shifted as they sensed the powerful ‘Divinities’.
“Come, Outer Gods.”
Neo drew Obitus with a clean soundless motion, and pointed the blade at the gods.
He had no intention of escaping while leaving his world behind.
And while it was Arthur’s fate to fight these eldritch beings, this tragedy had continued for long enough.
Today, Neo would break the shackles binding his world.
“It is time you pay the price of what you’ve done.”