A golden sphinx.
Its wings fluttered like the fastest aerial beast imaginable, its massive body not even pretending to be slowed down as it appeared behind Alexander in less than a second.
Its underside dropped, ready to squash the entity who had spoken with such arrogant flair as if this sphinx carried the wrath of the Colosseum itself!
And yet…
BZZT!
Alexander’s body didn’t go down.
His feet sank slightly into the rising golden earth beneath him, but he remained upright and as solid as ever as the third gem recipe revealed itself.
“The Bastion of Glacialis.”
HUUM!
The third gem recipe Alexander had crafted was forged from the Empyreal Gems of Glacialis.
At its core pulsed the Grand Tao of Glacialis, with other Taos weaved in to support it. The result was an automatic glacial barrier encasing him at all times.
But it didn’t just protect.
BOOM!
From the spot where the Sphinx had struck, a wave of ice surged out. Its claw, majestic and terrifying, began to freeze over.
In the next breath, the entire mile behind Alexander lit up with a white brilliance as a glacial age of ice and snow spread behind him.
The Sphinx became entombed in frost as its radiant form bubbled with energy, trying to break free.
But Alexander didn’t give it the chance.
He straightened and stepped out of the human-sized crater the impact had carved into the Colosseum floor. Thousands of statues had already started marching toward him, but his gaze never wavered from the Sphinx. He raised his Bow of Peace and shook it once as the string was pulled back and released simultaneously.
The surroundings responded.
Terrifying Supermassive Empyreal Galaxies bloomed like deadly arrows as this time, even though the number of targets had multiplied by the thousands, it didn’t matter. They smashed in all directions with reckless fury!
Then came even more- around a million miniature Supermassive Empyreal Galaxies that surged toward the frozen Sphinx as its chest lit up with a wondrous glow.
Golden shields burst from its body as they spun like divine hammers, crushing anything they touched.
One shield thundered down toward Alexander, but just inches away…
BOOM!
The Bastion of Glacialis activated again. The Sphinx froze once more, its golden shield halted mid-roar!
It was honestly maddening to witness.
A singular roar.
That roar, and just that one, echoed across the Colosseum. And when the Sphinx glanced around with its will, it realized something insane.
All the Universal Realm statues that had just descended…they were gone. Cracked apart. Returned to stone. Dust and nothingness.
Frozen twice over, the sphinx blinked again- only to see that the space around it now shimmered with dozens of illusory clocks. They hovered, ticking ominously and hanging like executioners’ blades.
BZZT!
The sphinx’s golden shields struggled against the clock bell’s eerie tolling. Even with Primordial Essence flowing through it, giving it resilience beyond most…
That was it.
It was just more resilient.
It only meant it needed a few more hits before the end.
ROAAR!
Its Universal Filaments trembled with power, but those illusions didn’t care. More and more Supermassive Empyreal Galaxies and clocks marked with the Tao of Space-Time bombarded the creature.
Seconds passed.
Its majesty faded.
Its shields shattered.
Even time itself twisted and reversed around it until finally, it was done.
No more roars.
Just silence.
“…”
The waves of quiet rolled out like aftershocks.
Aliana, the light-based golem, stood frozen, her gaze fixed on Alexander. Wordless.
The entire Colosseum followed suit.
As awe bloomed through the air, inside Alexander, a Universe took shape fully. Primordial Essence flowed through him as the Enneagram spun.
At that moment, his Minor Empyreal Clones stopped whatever trivial tasks they’d been handling and focused entirely on grasping the Primordial Cosmic Tao.
He knew he wasn’t nearly as fast with it as he was with the Lesser or Grand Taos.
But he’d outpace everyone else, no question!
He took a breath looked out at the Colosseum as he spread his arms wide and shouted
“Have I persevered?!”
WAA!
His voice thundered out, and then…as if he’d been hiding them the whole time, hundreds of copies of himself materialized.
Mirages.
Each one held a simple bow, each one pointed in a different direction- toward the statues that hadn’t woken yet, still resting along the Colosseum walls like ancient ornaments.
He didn’t wait for their grand entrance.
From his own bow, and the bows of his countless Mirages, millions of illusory Supermassive Empyreal Galaxies bloomed.
Their targets? Everything. Every statue!
“For years in the City of Carthage, I persevered. When my mother was killed, I persevered. This Crucible… it’s not truly a test of perseverance.”
BOOM!
His words and attacks erupted together as the Colosseum was about to drown in light.
And then…
HUUM!
A single second of shaking.
Then absolute stillness.
The Colosseum froze.
His attacks froze.
Alexander himself hung frozen in space.
Only one thing moved, the silently humming Enneagram at his core.
And then brilliant white light bloomed at the Colosseum’s center.
An old man in white robes appeared, stroking his beard like some forgotten celestial. His voice echoed, kind and mischievous.
“I had prepared multiple Crucibles to test the weavings of existence of one worthy of my mantle, but I see now that they would all be a waste of time for you.”
…!
Aliana, the Light Golem, trembled and dropped to her knees like she’d seen a ghost.
And the old man in the sky, his white beard flowing, silver-white hair gleaming, looked at Alexander with approval.
“I am Arthur. The White Ascender of the Infinite Cosmic Tower. And you, my young friend, look like someone worthy to inherit my legacy… in exchange for a small favor.”
…!
Arthur.
The White Ascender!
He had all sorts of scenarios and Crucibles planned, and yet at this moment, he tore it all down as he looked at Alexander.
A legacy was already being decided as there were conditions for it.
And gradually, Alexander felt the power freezing everything disappeared as he looked up to see the so called Great Personage!
