The statues lining the colosseum thundered down one after another, shaking the golden-sand floor.
By the time the tremors settled, twenty-four statues stood tall, their eyes glowing with eerie brightness.
Each had nine dazzling Sockets embedded in their chests, now shining brilliantly as their Gems came to life- no longer dull stones, but vibrant jewels pulsing with power!
As the gems lit up, the gray, universe-like patterns on the statues’ torsos began to shimmer with waves of energy. These were no longer mere statues, but alive and well.
Primordial energy coursed through them. Alexander squinted to be sure, but he wasn’t imagining it. That brilliant white-gold sheen was definitely Primordial energy, as if someone had flipped their Weavings of Existence on by utilizing it.
He turned his gaze toward the light-based golem standing silently to the side and asked, casually, “Just kill as many as I can?”
…!
A simple question. The Light Golem responded with a blank nod like it was approving of the coming massacre.
“As many as you can.”
“Mmm…” Alexander murmured with a nod, watching as the twenty-four statues now fully awakened, their chests glowing brighter as they activated numerous Gem Recipes.
The air crackled with the release of Grand and Lesser Taos.
Some, Alexander recognized. Others? Total mysteries.
One statue roared with agony, releasing glowing strings that shimmered with the Grand Tao of Space-time. They shot forward, already tearing through the air toward Alexander in less than a second.
Another statue conjured a golden sea, waves crashing forward to drown everything in their path. Others launched clusters of miniature galaxies—thousands of them, like a glittering star storm of death and decimation!
But Alexander wasn’t exactly idle. His Supermassive Empyreal Universe unfolded behind him, his power scaling skyward like a sum as with a calm breath, he raised his bow and drew the string.
One motion. One release.
And yet…
HUUM!
In that instant, the air in the Colosseum shuttered. Reality itself seemed to blink.
A sea of illusory, Supermassive Empyreal Galaxies bloomed before him—thousands of them, each one spinning with the weight and will of over a dozen Grand Taos. They rushed to meet the incoming attacks, not just blocking them, but obliterating them, as they also chained to those who released these attacks through a Support Ability Gem!
And then…BOOM!
A terrifying brilliance erupted.
The enemy’s attacks vanished, wiped away by the crushing authority of the galaxies Alexander had summoned. And the statues that had launched them…
CRACK!
They didn’t just lose the fight right away, they lost chunks of themselves. Some had their entire upper bodies blown off. Others disintegrated into dust and glowing fragments, never to rise again.
All twenty-four. One volley. One bow.
Off to the side, Aliana, the Light Golem, watched in muted awe. Her master’s colosseum-born Gladiators…were erased like scribbles on a chalkboard.
…!
So easily too!
WAA!
The walls of the arena trembled again.
Machinery hummed from deep within like cosmic engines revving up.
On the Walls, other statues came to life before they thundered down.
This time, forty-eight statues hurled themselves from the walls, landing with the impact of nuclear warheads. Their Universes looked deeper, denser, and more refined.
Alexander didn’t hesitate. He could also try something new- from an already fully assimilated Gem Recipe inside his Enneagram.
“The Hands of Time,” he whispered.
HUUM!
Dozens of glowing, illusory clocks formed in the air around him, each radiating the Grand Tao of Space-Time.
Inside every clock spun tens of thousands of Supermassive Empyreal Galaxies, each one carrying a terrifying density and power.
They flew forward like divine artillery, anchoring themselves above each of the heads of the forty-eight incoming enemies before their perceptions of the Universal Realm could even react.
Their sockets began glowing, their own Gem Recipes activating as colorful waves of power surged around them, but before those powers could fully erupt…
The hands of the clocks began to turn.
DUM!
A haunting bell tolled across the arena.
And then…everything began to rewind.
The Gladiators’ powers began to retreat, literally flowing back into their bodies. Their Universes rumbled in resistance, but it was useless. The clocks Alexander had called out held sway as they held much more power!
They began to turn to stone.
One by one, the powerful Universal Realm entities were returned back into stone.
And from the statue like stones came…cracks. Then ash!
Forty-eight Universal Realm enemies…reduced to glimmering dust in seconds.
It was a showcase of dominance. Utter, existential dominance!
Alexander didn’t even feel challenged. He shook his head, sighed, and looked up toward the gleaming walls of the Colosseum, voice booming with authority.
“Don’t just double the number each time. Bring more. The more, the merrier. If this is a test of Perseverance, then make me Persevere. Because right now…this is just a bore.”
…!
He spoke as if the Colosseum could hear him.
Which would be crazy, right?
And yet… the walls shook moments later. Vibrated and hummed as if they were angry!
Hundreds of statues lit up all at once, with this number soon spilling above the thousands as they continued to light up.
Alexander smiled at such a scene.
Because the first twenty-four and the next forty-eight that followed hadn’t just died. No, their remains- their Remnant Cores and the weavings of their existence were absorbed into him.
To act as fuel for his Enneagram and Origin!
So naturally…
He wanted more.
He needed more.
To rapidly saturate his Universe, to birth billions of galaxies and eventually form multiple Universes, he needed resources.
The Tea of the Omniversal Oak of Existence could only take him so far as when it was done, that was it!
So…
“Come!”
He roared out towards the now thousands of statues lighting up, to the extent that far above them on the walls, a statue whose chest held multiple Universes…a Universal Filament Realm Entity, opened its eyes.
…!
Universal Filament.
The statue was in the form of a massive Sphinx, its golden fur coming to life right away even before it made its descent- the wings on its back buzzing as its gaze locked onto Alexander.
Its wings flapped.
And an instant later…
WAP!
A massive golden Sphinx appeared inches away behind Alexander, its heavy claw smashing down!