Lightning flashed.
Mike vanished from the thirtieth floor.
But instead of returning to the Core City of Truth, he found himself in a strange, ethereal space.
Before he could fully grasp his surroundings, a notification popped up before his eyes:
[Feeling… sleepy…]
Mike didn’t hesitate. He grabbed his eye drops and squeezed a couple of drops into each eye.
[Current battery level: 15%. Please recharge immediately!]
Without a moment’s thought, he used up his remaining dose.
Fate’s Reversal was already on cooldown. If his [Eye of Truth] malfunctioned now, he’d be in a world of trouble.
Something was definitely wrong, and he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.
[Current battery level: 30%. Entering low-power mode…]
Two doses had stabilized the [Eye of Truth] for now, but it was still operating at reduced capacity.
Whatever secrets the thirtieth floor held, this strange space was powerful enough to suppress his SSS-rank talent!
Mike’s heart sank. He had no idea what he was up against.
But one thing was certain: his life wasn’t in danger.
He was humanity’s potential Supreme Being.
Surely Apollo wouldn’t just… leave him to die?
As if on cue, an ethereal voice echoed through the void, “Potential Supreme Being… burdened by the inevitable fate of death… you’ve finally arrived…”
Mike frowned. “Show yourself! Stop hiding in the shadows!”
“Heh… it’s not that I’m hiding. I’m not even in this world. How could I possibly show myself to you?”
A door shimmered into existence before Mike.
“Step through this door, and enter a world of true power. Leave behind this tiresome fate of yours.”
Mike raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment before asking, “So… how much are you going to pay me?”
The powerful being behind the void was taken aback.
Money?
Weren’t they talking about fate? Who brought up money?
“Money is just a worldly possession. It’s useless outside this world.” The unknown being patiently explained, “When you come to the Heavenly Realm, you won’t need money.” Heavenly Realm?
Mike made a mental note of the name, planning to ask Apollo about it later.
Ignoring the voice’s attempts at persuasion, Mike continued at his own pace. “Who are you? Where is this Heavenly Realm? And what’s the deal with the Tower of Truth?”
“I am me. The Heavenly Realm lies beyond that door. And the Tower of Truth… we created it.” The creators of the Tower of Truth?
From the moment this mysterious entity appeared and started trying to recruit him, Mike had decided he wasn’t going anywhere near that door.
Mike continued to ask, “Why did you create the Tower of Truth? And why are Supreme Beings destined to die?”
As he spoke, Mike took half a step back, distancing himself from the gate of light.
The unknown being grew impatient. “You’ll know everything when you come to the Heavenly Realm.”
Mike declared resolutely, “I’m not going until you tell me!”
Of course, even if the being told him, Mike wouldn’t go.
The being behind the gate of light wasn’t stupid either. “Come here first, and then I’ll tell
you.”
The two sides began to go back and forth, stuck in an endless loop.
“So much for getting straight to the point.”
As Mike was talking to the unknown being, a familiar voice rang out coldly.
A man dressed in white walked up to Mike.
The man raised his head and said coldly, “It’s been a long time. You’re still the same scaredy- cat. Do you dare come out and see if my sword is still sharp?”
Ah, Ares. Always so impatient, so eager for a fight.
The moment Ares appeared, the entire space seemed to distort slightly.
A blurry figure silently appeared to Mike’s right, and a gentle voice slowly spoke,
“I asked you last time, but you didn’t answer.” He asked in the gentlest of tones, “So, do you have nightmares?”
Morpheus.
Ares on the left, Morpheus on the right.
Mike had never felt so safe in his life!
Although these were only the phantoms of two Supreme Beings left in this place, still!
Three strong men together, there was nothing to be afraid of anymore!
Mike was confident that he, Ares, and Morpheus could take on a Supreme Demon God
together!
They were the Abyss Slaying Trio!
Mike couldn’t help but sigh. It would be even better if Apollo was here too.
Ares’s phantom glanced back and shouted impatiently, “Snoozefest, are you ready or what?”
Mike never expected Ares to call Apollo “Snoozefest”…
White clouds descended, and a middle-aged man slowly walked over.
All three Supreme Beings were phantoms, but Apollo’s phantom seemed particularly real.
As Apollo came to Mike’s side, his gaze passed over Mike and landed on the empty space
ahead.
Apollo shook his head. “This place is even more boring than the mortal realm.”
At this moment, all four of humanity’s Supreme Beings were assembled!
Facing the phantoms of three level 1000 Supreme Beings, the opposing being showed no sign
of weakness.
“Thor, the choice is yours!”
“They… are strong, but they are not as strong as you. They cannot force you. You can choose
for yourself!”
The being hiding behind the scenes had not given up on persuading Thor to leave.
“Leave the Tower of Truth, leave this world. You don’t have to bear the fate of certain death as a Supreme Being, you don’t have to face the Supreme Demon God…”
“I can guarantee that when you come to the Heavenly Realm, you will have complete freedom, greater strength, and everything you could ever want. Most importantly… you will
live!”
“Thor, think long and hard about this!”
With that, the being snorted and said disdainfully, “Do you feel inferior to them because they are stronger than you? Do you envy them?”
“That’s because your level is still low. In our eyes, all three of them are doomed. No matter how strong they are, it’s just a fleeting dream. One day, they will wake up!”
The being’s words clearly angered the three Supreme Beings.
Ares drew his sword.
Morpheus stood still, lost in thought.
As for Apollo?
Apollo felt that the being was just stating the truth and there was nothing wrong with that.
However, Mike felt it was very offensive.
“It’s a shame I’m in a bit of a hurry this time.”
Mike said sincerely,
“I have a friend named Ace. He has a rather colorful vocabulary. I’ll introduce you guys
sometime.”
When it came to trash-talking, Ace was the man for the job.
Mike could only manage a few “fucks” here and there, which was nothing compared to Ace’s
vast vocabulary of insults.
In this regard, Mike really couldn’t hold a candle to Ace.
Give Ace a keyboard, and he could roast the entire world!
And after he was done, he’d give them a good one-two punch for good measure.
“Let’s talk about something I’m better at.”
Mike took out a calculator and carefully calculated,
“My consulting fees are quite high, 15,000 Lord merits per second. You’ve already wasted 6 minutes and 20 seconds of my time, so you owe me 4.8 million Lord merits. I’ll give you a discount, 48 million Lord merits. How do you plan to pay?”
As he spoke, Mike took out a POS terminal.
He was definitely billing them for this!
The mysterious being in the void: …
Well, this conversation was going nowhere. “Thor, you will regret your decision today!”
“See you on the sixtieth floor. I hope you’ll come to your senses by then…”
“The ninetieth floor is your last chance. Remember, no Supreme Being has ever left this world
alive, but you are the only hope…”
The space began to shrink.
“Don’t forget the money you owe me!”
Before Mike could finish his sentence, he was forcibly expelled from the space and returned to
the Core City of Truth.
…
On the streets of the Core City of Truth, Mike looked around in surprise at the crowd that had
gathered.
Familiar faces stared back at him, their expressions a mixture of relief, worry, and curiosity.
Professor Gregory stood there with a gentle smile, his eyes twinkling with warmth.
Maxen had a pained expression, as if someone had just stolen his wallet.
Ace yawned, looking utterly indifferent. Nameless stood beside Professor Gregory, curiously observing the crowd. He had no idea why
so many people were gathered here.
Foreskin stood to the side, holding up a sign that read “Afterskin.” Apparently, Afterskin
knew he was bad luck and decided to sit this one out.
In the corner, a group of shadows huddled together. Shadow One was applying makeup, Shadow Three was picking his teeth, and Shadow Two was
lecturing the other Guardian Shadows on how to behave. The other shadows listened with bewildered expressions, except for Witty Wombat, who diligently took notes and nodded from time to time. She found Shadow Two’s words incredibly insightful.
Almost everyone who knew Thor, everyone who had crossed paths with him, was here.
And even those who weren’t physically present, their presence was felt.
Morpheus, Ares, Apollo, Shadow Nine, Calderon, Cedric…
Everyone was waiting.
Waiting for Thor to make his decision.
Waiting for him to come back.
“Quite a welcoming committee,” Mike chuckled, the exhaustion and worry that had clouded
his features vanishing in an instant.
It was as if the presence of these people could dispel any darkness, could support him no
matter what lay ahead.
With a relaxed smile, Mike announced,
“Who’s up for burgers?” Before anyone could answer, Maxen jumped forward and yelled towards Wolf’s Den,
“Thor’s treating everyone to dinner!” “Tonight’s bill at Wolf’s Den is on Thor!”