Multiversal Core Domain
Shell Sector Vertex Region
2.47 vigintillion years since Multiversal creation event
"Looks like they're already coming for us."
"No shit."
"You think you're ready?"
"Born ready."
Omnivus and I sat on an asteroid in the Vertex Region of MCD's Shell Sector, gazing at shooting stars while a few particularly bright rainbow streaks seems to be headed right for us.
"Simply Class 1 Gods? They are underestimating us."
"That's better than being overestimated. At least you'll possess a tactical advantage."
"Hm. You're not wrong." Forming a sword that I used to slay many of my enemies, I casted a glance of certainty at the incoming rays of light.
"Hey, Omnivus."
"Hm?"
"Thank you for staying by my side all this time."
"What are you talking about? You're my creator - someone who turned into something more than just scraps discarded by gods. I'll never leave your side."
"I'm glad, then..."
Leaping off of space itself, I propelled myself in the direction of the incoming deities. I gripped the sword in my hand before it doubled itself, slotting its copy in my other. This was one of my favourite swords - it's name is Zillo Shards.
The crafter had tempered with the dimensionality of this object, allowing to shift through states of dimensions at will. This allows for imperceptible attacks that cannot be perceived depending on the dimensionality of the opponent. Of course, this wouldn't work against gods, who manipulate all 6, but that's when it's other feature came into use.
Whoever made this must be truly a craftsman of all time. By utilizing the specific type of energy from its world of origin, a variation of the original qi, the user is able to split the blade into millions and billions of shards, controlling each one at will with the capability of passing through even the strongest defences.
"Break."
The blades shattered on command and formed into two storms of blade shards, swirling alongside me while I prepared for impact.
"Five seconds remaining!" Omnivus warned as the rainbow streak of light got brighter by each passing second, and I utilized specific hand signs in quick succession to manipulate the qi flow in my body.
[Zillo Shards Configuration Three - Orbis Rota]
The shards zoomed forwards in front of me and formed a large, circular barrier akin to a reversed radar dish, deflecting the beam of light that was set to obliterate me. It probably wouldn't even hurt, but showing off this early may lead to devastating consequences later on.
"Not bad, Transcendent."
A voice sounded behind me as four more Class 1 gods dropped in the space beside myself, surrounding me with 'no escape'. Of course, they were nothing but small fry - even skilled regular Transcendents can kill one if they be careful.
"Now explain your presence here - for you are trespassing on the sacred territory of-"
"You talk too much, minor god."
With a single slash, I severed his body to pieces, leaving his comrades in shock.
[Zillo Shards Configuration One - Gladius]
"Watch out, brothers, this one's dangerous! Master has said that the Transcendents are especially powerful, so you all better not let your guards down!"
Huh. At least there's one smart one. Pity. You will all die by my hand.
That's the nature of war.
[Zillo Shards Configuration Four - Praesegmen]
Splitting my swords into their shard forms, I caused the trillions of shards, infused with multiple energy types, to rain down on upon the gods who just gathered up their energy charge their attacks.
"Split up!" At the smart one's command, they dispersed far away immediately, utilizing a special space distortion technique that made their movement look akin to teleportation.
Spatium Hopping, huh? I can do that too, you know?
Omnivus modified my dimensionality in an instant, allowing me to step on space itself as if it was a trampoline, sending me hurtling towards the gods who just moved far away from my current location.
"Why are you all running? Aren't you here to fight me?! Face me, you cowardly scumbags!"
[Zillo Shards Configuration Five - Hoverboard]
Stepping atop the hoverboard created by the shards of my sword, I allowed the propellers to do their work as they took me forward akin to a comet. Within seconds, the gods that ran away to strategize were right in front of us again.
"Config One - Gladius." The shards reformed into my swords as I arrived, and I slashed down hard against the god who was smart enough to have a plan.
Unfortunately, that's not going to help him survive this whole ordeal.
With a single rotation, I trisected the god into pieces, before his energy was released and absorbed by Omnivus. The remaining ones looked on in shock as I extended the blade of Zillo Shards, forming a sword that pierces even the heavens.
"Have a safe journey!"
[Multiversal Sword Arts - Accretion Disk]
With a single rotation, I bisected all twelve gods who were about to launch their attacks. With a little more effort, they were reduced to singularities and their energies were subsequently absorbed by Omnivus.
"Well, that was easy..." I wiped away a single drop of sweat, and allowed my shards the return to their first configuration, before sheathing the sword into my dimensional storage.
"I'm not detecting any more deific creatures in the area, so that should be all of them." Omnivus replied after his scan completed.
"Great. I suppose this calls for a temporary resting period. Use Celestial Integration to make me a nice bed or something."
"You're gonna need a lot more than a bed to relax. We need a platform to support the bed, a constant gravitational force exerted-"
"Yeah, yeah, let's skip the technicalities. You and I both know how it works, so there's no need to go into the details." With a wave of my hand, a contraption appeared with all the necessary equipment. Omnivus whirred before outputting a singularity from its core, allowing it to pass through its membranes, before a full-sized bed floated out into space, along with the gravity alternators.
"Won't you be cold?"
"Omnivus, I am an Ascended Trasncendent. If body heat was a problem, I would've died a long time ago."
"But I thought you liked being human. After all, you still sleep everyday. You still eat, brush your teeth, take showers... just like when you first met me over a billion years ago."
"Hmm... they're lingering habits, I suppose. I am humane, after all. And it's never a bad things to stick to these habits."
"Say, Apokalypz... what did you want to do if you didn't have to kill the gods?"
"...What kind of question is that? Of course I would-"
*BOOM*
"Huh?"
About a light-year away, an asteroid exploded into pieces as I watched a mechanical being zoom towards me. I immediately summoned Zillo Shards and prepared for impact.
[Configuration Seven - Throne]
By separating Zillo Shards down to atomic levels, I constructed a seat for me amidst the stars – one that could both attack and defend, controlled by my very whim. With a flick of a switch, this configuration is able to perform any task that an inter-universal spaceship could perform.
A dome of distorted space shielded me just as the mechanical being's claw slammed down onto the barrier, shaking the area around us as I scrutinized the appearance of the new enemy. They looked akin to a robot – metal appendages sprouted from all over its body, except those 5 red, metallic yet organic eyes that stared deep into my soul.
"Wow, you guys just keep coming, again and again, akin to a swarm of insects. Do y'all propagate endlessly or what?"
Annoyed, I formed a fly swatter from the throne, slapping the mecha away. After letting out a series of mechanized garbling grunts, it glared at me once again before it spoke.
"Is this a joke to you, Transcendent? Do you seriously believe you could just waltz in the territory of the gods, kill my disciples, and walk away without facing the consequences?"
"Yeah, sure. Also, you're their mentor? What a sloppy job you have done. Their Spatium Hopping skills are beyond subpar it's almost laughable. No wonder they died so easily. Gehehehe..."
"You'll pay for that!"
With a sudden boost in speed, the mechanic god appeared before me instantly, and sliced me in half along with my throne.
"Didn't plan for that, did you?"
"Actually, I did." Smiling, my body reformed, reattaching itself similar to my throne, before the chair I sat upon grew two metal appendages and blasted the finest laser straight into the god's face, decimating his head to smithereens.
"You're not going to take me down that easily..." A mechanical warbling came through as his head reformed. "You're not the only one who can regenerate."
"Ahh... Smart Metal, I presume? Jihoply Variant, guessing from its internal structure." I said as I examined. "Not bad, since usually only higher classed mechanical gods have access to such materials."
"To recognize the variant on sight... either you are a master of the craft or simply... never mind. Either way, how do you wish die, mortal?"
"I prefer not dying. And to be honest, you can try killing me all you like. It ain't going to work, you know." I smiled before my Zillo Shards shifted forms again, this time mounting onto the platform for my bed which extended by itself.
[Configuration Nine — Multiform Artillery]
A machine gun was deployed as my first weapon, and I immediately added two rocket launchers to the mix. Configuration Nine grants me a box of space to freely manipulate, spawning in various pre-made functioning models of various artillery that I have collected through the eons of my existence.
"Have a taste of Khriyu Lead, mecha man!"
Within a split millisecond, billions of bullets were shot from the barrels of the machine gun, courtesy of Omnivus's delicate manipulation of the time flow, and rained down upon the Class 5 deity.
Unable to dodge, the bullets pierced through him as he took the attack head-on. His metal appendages were blasted apart and so was one of his eyes. Frustrated, he reformed into a smaller form, but a much more ominous aura was emitted from him.
"You should hold that cocky attitude back, human..." The mechanical god warbled as the tiny drone sliced through my body, cutting it in half. "My Despair Form will utterly crush you."
"Come on... what are you, an middle-schooler? You know Chuuni lines aren't really cool unless you're watching the battle from outside the box, right?" I laughed as my body reformed, reattaching my ascended cells before I twisted my body around to face him. "Although I could easily let Omnivus demolish you... that would be no fun at all! So just try what you did again, and I assure you – you're not going to have it as easy as last time."
"Try me." With that, he flashed once again before my eyes, but when he reappeared behind me, he noticed various cracks and scratches present on his shell. "Wha-"
[Zillo Shards Configuration Ten - Aura]
By splitting the shards down to the sizes of molecules, they can now create chemical damage alongside physical, causing damage to the structure of the being itself by simply being present and alternating its form to deal damage due to its nature as a super-smart material.
"I told you." Smirking at the ravaged god, I reformed Zillo Shards back into their blade forms, hovering above the space where the mechanical god sat, repairing itself. "Given that you are quite impressive for a Class 5, how about you declare your credentials?"
"My what?"
"Your name, dumbass."
"It's Yuprodswin, Transcendent."
"Nice to meet you. Now, being the generous villain I am, I shall give you one last chance to live, should you impress me."
"You underestimate my power... Transcendent." Yuprodswin declared as he shifted into an extremely condensed drill bullet, before sparks flared to signal his attack's beginning. "This holy bullet can kill even Class 10 Gods."
"Putting your existence on the line, huh? It really makes me wonder who your masters are." Smiling, my Zillo Shards fizzled into pieces, before reforming as an improved Voidseeker Drone, similar to the ones Omnivus controls all over the multiverse.
[Configuration Six - Drone]
"My technology against yours... the ending was long set in time itself, but let's see how well you fare..."
As the bullet let loose and slammed into my drone at blinding speeds, I felt the degree of the shockwave unleashed upon their impact. I must say, for a mere Class 5 god, this guy has really outdone himself.
The one known as Yuprodswin has been reformed into his base state, lying in the vastness of space, defeated. His circuits were severed, his armour cracked, and his sensors dead.
I almost don't want to kill him... maybe I won't. Hm...
"Omnivus. It's time. Store him in a new section. I'm going to take the singularities of any god with potential when we continue our crusade."
"Understood." Omnivus proceeded to then utilize Celestial Differentiation, and the god was reduced to a singularity before being stored into our localized dimensional storage.
After it finished its area scan, Omnivus relayed his report. "Nothing in sight or sensory territory. Detecting slight 5D wavelengths of faetum casting over our spatial region, however. Do you think it will be a problem?"
"Well, given the battle like the first time, I'm assuming that's what's causing the other gods to immediately realize we committed deicide."
"Understood. I will proceed with destructive interference measures."
"Great. Let's continue forwards. Zillo Shards..."
[Configuration Seven - Throne]
"I need a little rest..."
"You're an Ascended Transcendent, you know? Why do you keep acting like a mere Awakened?"
"Because we have to conserve as much energy as possible. Keep in mind, I haven't even touched the Second Layer. The only one I've used in my IP is you, Omnivus."
"But my energy is practically limitless! At worst, I'll just suck some energy from the Boundary of Nihility or absorb some random dead universe clusters."
"That's true. Make sure to send the remaining life in there to the Relocation Chambers of Excindus. That way we don't do any unnecessary harm."
"Should I conduct a fate scan on which ones to watch out for?"
"Eh... once they leave their dead worlds, I'm pretty sure our dear old 6th dimension is gonna perform some unprecedented changes. Leave that to the team over there."
"Understood. One last thing: about what I said before... what would you do, and make it your life goal if you didn't have to go and kill the gods?"
"Hmm... is this a question simply because you think my methods are cruel?"
"Well, no, but..."
"I'm done with the whole 'by dictum divine' bullshit. We are Transcendents, you know? About time we took the manipulation of the higher dimensions into our own hands. Also, don't worry about the gods and people we 'kill'. They'll just be... under new management when I allow them to return."
"But this way... aren't you playing god?"
"Really want to shut you up with a 'I am a god' line, but that isn't really suitable or true. However, to answer that, I would say that there are fine ones and absolutely trash ones. The purpose of our purge is to determine which ones are fit to rule, and which ones should just be devoured."
"You really are unique..."
"Stating the obvious is not going to get you an immediate upgrade, Omnivus." I chuckled.
"I know, I know... I have not tried any sort of flattery since you completed my functions."
A moment of silence ensued as we drifted across the endless void of space, getting closer to that next beaming light that indicated the existence of a solar system. No comets soared past us, nor was there any lingering star dust. The Shell Sector still remained relatively deserted compared to the inner regions, where the population of deities were denser than their outer counterparts.
In times of silence such as these, my mind begins to flicker back to those jubilant times I had with the ones I loved. My sister, my cousin and his little troupe, the Ascended Transcendents of Excindus – we're practically family after all those eons. And then there are the families I've made all over the multiverse, all of those universes I've touched, those galaxies I graced, and those planets I visited.
Up to this point in life, where it was almost 1203948576 years since my birth, I've met over 72 septillion people, most of which has my memories with them stored deep within Layer 7 of my Inverted Pyramid, where my original body lies. By being an Ascended Transcendent, I've long separated my astral body from my physical, overcoming limits beyond that of even gods.
My real body has received multiple upgrades over the billion years I've traversed these realms, but I couldn't risk its death. Because no matter what, it's still powerless before the highest order of gods.
However, my Pyramid will overcome that hurdle.
Everyone has their share of weaponry, and many have them that define their existence. Being an Ascended Transcendent, we all have our own versions of the strongest weapons mere mortals could muster and create. For example, the Warden of Gahita utilizes his Mamba Chains to restrain enemies to the point even their souls are subjected to eternal punishment. The Indigo Yttrus Warlock is able to slash through his enemies with ease with that terrifying whip sword of his. Even my sister, Prêtier, who is only a regular Transcendent, possesses the Gilded Talons of Fate, a Divine Relic that has allowed her to rival the power of lower-ranked Ascended Transcendents.
The Inverted Pyramid, however, was more of an accidental creation. After I fixed up Omnivus and collected more assets along my journey, they bonded to each other and eventually formed a system that was able to store their very existences, manifesting a space ruled by their own laws. Now, with near infinite layers present in the Pyramid, even the gods shudder at its mere mention.
As for the other assets, I suppose I will use them soon, given that the gods are annoying and pesky.
After continuing for a while in that unsettling and deafening silent void, a loud wail-like roar sounded from ahead.
"Speak of the devil, eh?"
In front of us, space itself cracked open as a portal, bright as stars yet gloomy akin to the abyss. Within its starry depths emerged three beasts with people atop their back: a horse, an elephant, and a shark.
"Hmm...? Apokalypz, I don't think those are gods..."
"That's even better. Exterminators and Void Kaisers, hmm? Seems like they finally knocked on our doorstep for a rematch."
"Energy reserves have replenished. The sources is 9 dead universes and some residue emitted via temporal radiation from some timelines that were erupting."
"Did you send an order to the Gestalt Force?"
"Of course, Hairu already gave her affirmation. We're good to go. They'll all be evacuated in no time. The emergency backup stored in the universes have not been consumed, so don't worry."
"Great. Then..."
I turned my gaze back to the exterminators, who all donned a sky-blue cape in addition to their futuristic armour. Transcendent-rank Exterminators... that's a rare sight. It's the highest possible rank deployed outside the Multiversal Core Domain for subjugation of rogue timelines. Interesting. Even I've never personally seen those beyond that rank, but I know that there are approximately 4 ranks above them.
"Their power level's lower than yours, so no need to worry." Omnivus reminded me before whirring to initiate his combat mode. "My functions are ready, Apokalypz."
"Great. Then let's begin to decimate those pests."
After all, I'm an Ascended Transcendent.
Tis' nothing but small fry for me.