The signs were there.
The more I thought of it, the more I knew this would happen. The significance of my existence pushed both the Tree and the Sea to make their moves despite the fact they did not care about anything else.
Otto took advantage of the loophole in the imaginary realization, thus forcibly creating new branches on the Tree; it did not care.
The Cocoon siphoned energy from the Imaginary Tree; it did not care either.
That was the case with the Sea. They did not give a flying fuck… until now.
If these two gave a fuck now, it could only mean that others (Aeons) might do so as well. It was just unfortunate that Aeon happened to be one of the few I could not deal with now.
Swoosh-!
When I opened my "eyes", what greeted me was the sight of blinding white light. A part of me thought that I arrived in some place unknown.
I was disappointed to see the dark void and the sea of stars. It then dawned on me.
'I am emitting this light?'
{...lt. You are currently moving in one light year per second.}
Her voice resounded in my ears. Everything that happened prior to losing my consciousness popped up in my mind.
'...Terminus.'
I did not have any qualms about mentioning their name.
At the thought of being treated like this when I already won, a rare sense of frustration emerged in my mind.
My plans were rushed, yes, but it was meticulous enough to defeat the Cocoon. The moment Stella was launched, all sorts of authorities were disabled.
All that was left was to duke it out physically, basically one of my fortes.
Just like I expected, I caught it off guard within three seconds. The moment I came into contact with the Cocoon, I attempted to "hack" it. It was an idea that came from the original Prometheus.
It was already half-successful when Terminus came. Their emergence seemed unexpected at first glance, but I should have expected it already.
Firstly, their existence within the game was extremely mysterious. Among all Aeons, it was the only one who did not have any direct appearances on the game. Everything I knew about them were hearsays of other characters.
Secondly, I expected their existence on Izumo. It was hinted more than once that they were somehow involved with IX's shadow.
Divine Power was similar to Honkai Energy. The latter was converted by the Cocoon after siphoning power on the Tree. It was a product of two different powers colliding.
Going in this line, Divine Power should have two different powers involved. Aside from IX, Terminus was the only Aeon hinted in-game.
Yet, I did not see a hint of their shadow when I came.
At that time, I was already sent to a disadvantage. They were in the dark while I was in the light.
'Damn it…'
I forced myself to calm down and analyze everything. Fortunately, Metatron has already finished one.
{Reminder. You are currently traversing at a rate of one hundred light speed per second. The detected surroundings suggest the existence of life planets. Several traces of authorities have been found during this time.}
'Elaborate on the authorities' part.'
{Explanation. Several authorities record the existence of "Destruction", "Harmony", and "Preservation". Due to the inconsistencies found…}
'I am not in my world.' I realized it quickly. 'This is the parallel world the Cocoon planned to send me to..!'
The first thing I saw after my 'transcendence' was the existence of a special 'world' within the Sea. It was the place where Senti, the Herrscher of Sentience, came from. It was a 'parallel world' around fifty thousand years from the present.
It was a place designated to act as my 'prison' as seen from its nature. Its ability to hinder connection to the Imaginary Tree was extremely obvious at a glance. That was how I 'baited' the Cocoon to fight me head-on.
I did not plan to 'come' to this world. But then, Terminus sent me here for a supposed "trial". At the very least, they did not seem hostile to me—to my existence.
{Warning. Remnant authority of "End" is currently on your body. The ability to handle authorities' burden has been reduced by 85%. It is advisable to find a place to recover.}
I did not doubt Metatron's analysis. Her upgrade to an Ultimate Skill was drastic enough, to the point I haven't finished exploring her full capabilities.
'Fighting it was a rush…'
Then again, if I did not accept its 'trap', it would find a way to force my hands. What happened now was a good result. Even if Terminus broke our fight, it remains unknown whether the power I left within the Cocoon could be dealt by it.
Swallowing these thoughts, I focused on finding a way to overcome my predicament. Escaping this parallel world is a must to complete the supposed "test", but it requires me to recover.
I decided on the best "response" soon after.
The high-speed movement caused by Finality's authority did not allow me to exert much power. Nevertheless, it was more than enough to take out the things inside Achievement Hunter's reward storage.
The outline of my right hand grasped a bright orange crystal. It was in the shape of a rhombus, with its tips being on the flat end.
The vague translucent light from my hand seeped straight to it. Its ability to enhance everything was shown at this moment.
Click.
A connection was formed between me and the Space-time Amber. That connection was more than enough to guarantee my full control over it.
{Reminder. There is a drop of authorities within the surroundings. The most dominant Paths are as follows: Hunt, Abundance.}
'These two… They're almost a two-in-one combo. If so…'
I have an idea where I am now.
Considering Hunt's conflicts with Abundance and their connection to civilization, they are an Aeon that wouldn't attack others at first sight. That, and the manageable level of danger they posed. I have a better chance being here than anywhere else.
Still, it is imperative I recover from these injuries.
Grasping the rhombus crystal tightly, I watched it turn into a mix of white and black. Their vagueness gave rise to a translucent gray light.
'Isolating space and time… I'll use Finality's power to deter others…'
After finishing the final plan, I crushed the crystal on my hand. Pale gray crystals appeared from my right hand, swiftly sweeping my entire body whole.
'I will come back… definitely.'
The moment the crystal fully enveloped my body, I made sure to arrange the countermeasures one last time before allowing my mind to fall into darknes