99,990 mark.
Almond and Lily were just 10 kilometers away from the peak.
A strange vortex that spun chaotically, carrying strands with micro-patterns had formed around them, ringing with different kinds of tones as their power had converted into song.
Lily’s song was like the end of the world, its music was terrifying, giving one a sense of doom. It was as if the end was near and there was no delaying. It was lively and had an existence of hope in it, but not just hope…it was a shattering hope, about to get snuffed out.
Almond’s song was despondent, despairing, and lifeless. It wasn’t scary. It wasn’t dooming. It was…null. It felt like the longer one heard it, they would lose their ability to feel things. But that was just on the surface level. It was the subtlety of this song that made it scary because, behind all the tune of nullness, one could hear a tone beating—relentless, unyielding, and all alone—as if it fought against all the void that surrounded it. The contrast in the song made it utterly scary upon realization.
And as they continued floating higher and realized their profound Intents, their songs gradually shifted, became more textured, distinct, and powerful.
One brings bloom to death’s domain,
The other shatters the numbness chain.
Together on the edge they tread,
Where ruined lives and stars have bled.
Their songs converge, and two tones collide,
A fracture runs through the Great Divide.
The mountain listens. The sky grows still.
The cosmos bends to their sovereign wills.
100,000 kilometer mark.
As they floated above the surface of the peak, the great chasm with chaotic frequencies pulsing out was just one kilometer above. Once entered, forever gone, as the Grimworld would devour their souls.
Almond and Lily opened their eyes.
Their consciousness surged, and their Intents awakened.
Arcane bowed against their will, as their Intents became reality.
Lily—Blooming Ruination.
Almond—Nullbreak Entropy.
Almond and Lily looked up, their eyes ignited with unrelenting blaze.
The sheer power of their new Intent was now enough to resist the frequencies shaped by this mountain, which were just powers whirling within the great divide above.
The sheer power of their Intent was not something even Almond and Lily imagined.
To make a comparison in terms of potential, their first Intents were like two small grenades, while their second Intents were like two nukes.
The information and power that was now running through their minds with these two Intents was intense!
In mere seconds, their Arcane Constitutions increased by over 1000 due to automated arcane circuits that manifested with automatic natural possibilities, without them even actively exploring the Intents with their other assets.
As they were in one of the locations at the very peak of the second layer, a sense of supremacy welled in them due to the surge of power…as well as the confidence.
They were not just supreme. They were the most supreme.
They were the unblockable and unstoppable force that no one should dare to face because it would only result in one thing.
“I…” Lily opened her mouth and turned her head to Almond, stretching her palm.
Almond smiled and conjoined his palm with hers and nodded, “This feeling…it’s fleeting, but we will make it ours forever.”
“We are feeling this while being aware that there are people vastly more powerful than us,” Lily wryly smiled, but the fire in her eyes didn’t wane in the slightest. “And then after this Grimworld, there’s the whole ass Grimverse from where this tree came from.”
“Yep, we have a lot to travel,” Almond chuckled. “And we will until we see the end. The true end.”
The true end. It wasn’t when one died or got killed. The end they wanted was where there was nothing else left for them to rise to.
“Let’s just break through here. This mountain peak doesn’t have the power to trouble us anymore,” Lily said with a grin.
“Yep, let’s do it.”
They had already reached Immortal-rank.
To break through to Immortal-King, all they needed to do was to open their 3rd Geno Gate, the last one possible to open within the second layer.
Opening the first Geno Gate would unlock the Bloodline framework into people.
Opening the second Geno Gate would guarantee awakening one’s Soul Trait, and by chance with some other factors, one would also awaken an Innate Talent.
Among the Regalons, so far only Almond, Lily, and Admiral Rudra had opened their second Geno Gate as it was one of the requirements for breaking through to Immortal-rank.
All three of them had acquired an additional Innate Talent alongside the guaranteed Soul Trait. More Regalons were about to break through to Immortal-rank, so it remained to be seen if they would also get dual awakenings after opening their second Geno Gate.
But right now, Almond and Lily began opening their third Geno Gate. The condition for the third Geno Gate’s manifestation was reaching the peak of Immortal-rank.
Since it had appeared, all they needed to do was to break it open. The power required to break it open was significant. If an Immortal-rank powerhouse didn’t have enough combat power, they would fail to break it open.
In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for people to fail once or more and would require more time to build up their arsenal of power.
But for Almond and Lily, it was a piece of cake.
As soon as they broke their third Geno Gate open, a huge amount of pure Prana burst into existence around them and infused into them.
Opening the third Geno Gate would result in a very simple yet impactful addition to a powerhouse.
Heart Throne.
Heart Throne had a simple function. It was to store Lifeforce Essence.
The existence of Heart Throne was the reason this rank came to be called Immortal King instead of Immortal.
Reaching Immortal-rank would remove the limit to the lifespan due to the creation of Prana Core.
But Heart Throne could create and store Lifeforce Essence, which could be used to either turn into an emergency supply of Bloodline Essence or literally regenerate from even the deadliest wounds…given that they were alive to use it.
The only caveat was that everyone’s Heart Throne had fixed limits of Lifeforce Essence. It mattered not if one was more talented or had higher combat power. Everyone’s Heart Throne had the same limits.
1 day to reach full saturation of Lifeforce Essence.
Still, this made Immortal Kings very powerful with them being able to recover as well as extend the period of their peak combat by getting more Bloodline Essence if they ran out mid-fight.
As Almond and Lily successfully saw their Heart Throne manifest in their body, they opened their eyes.
It was time to return and make their entry into the game board of the second layer—not as pawns, not as players.
But as rule breakers.
…
Almond used a Fabrication Key, opening the door leading directly into their bedroom in the Bloodshard Castle on Earth.
The vacation was over. It was time to start training and also use the rewards they got from the last Grimworld Quests.
But before that, they had to make sure everyone would be fine with their absence.
After all, even though they were on vacation, they were not exactly absent, as Almond and Lily could return and help planet Earth or the Regalons in case some trouble arose.