Chapter 356: Deception

Her entire body turned pure white, radiating the overwhelming energy of a star as blinding stellar radiance covered her from head to toe. An aura of destruction spread around her, causing the surrounding space to distort under its pressure, while the energy emanating from her body continued to intensify.

The change in her appearance was accompanied by a transformation in the way her power manifested, making her presence considerably more oppressive than before.

Behind her, three small spherical concentrations of stellar energy revolved continuously, each containing an immense amount of concentrated power. Their surfaces glowed with intense white light, and the energy radiating from them made the surrounding space tremble.

Her presence had completely transformed, no longer resembling that of an ordinary Eternal, but an embodiment of stellar destruction capable of unleashing catastrophic force upon anything that approached her.

Atlas observed her transformed appearance and narrowed his eyes for the first time since the battle began. He could feel that her entire demeanor had changed alongside her physical transformation, as the arrogance that had previously surrounded her life force seemed to have disappeared.

However, even after sensing the difference in her presence, Atlas did not show any fear, although he had become slightly more cautious about the opponent standing before him.

Meanwhile, Kael swallowed hard behind Atlas as he stared at the transformed woman. ’What the fuck? Are we meeting final bosses before the story even begins?’ He could only wonder about their current situation, as he understood what a Star Union Form represented according to his knowledge.

It meant that a being had unified with a star itself, gaining access to its properties, including its destructive nature and enormous reserves of energy.

"We Eternals are different from any species in the entirety of the galaxy. Every faction, including the so-called Conclave, fears us, do you know why?" Her suddenly calm voice echoed throughout the surrounding outer space, making Atlas and Kael narrow their eyes at her unexpected explanation.

Nevertheless, neither of them interrupted her, choosing to listen to what she intended to reveal about her race, "It is because we Eternals can wield the power of any celestial bodies and structures we are born with."

Kael’s eyes widened as he finally understood what she was trying to explain, ’Born with? What the fuck kind of overpowered race is this?!’ He screamed inwardly while staring at her, unable to comprehend how an entire species could possess such an ability naturally.

At the same time, the woman extended her right hand toward them and opened her pure white palm, causing one of the three rotating spheres behind her to move forward as though it were being duplicated. The sphere settled above her palm while the remaining two continued revolving behind her.

"Doom Magic - Stellar Destruction." In an instant, the concentrated sphere shot forward at an astonishing speed, capable of crossing light-years within minutes.

Before Atlas could even move or properly perceive the incoming attack, the spherical object appeared directly in front of him and abruptly stopped. Its sudden arrival rendered his spatial defenses meaningless, as the attack had already reached him before he could react to its movement.

The moment the sphere stopped in front of Atlas, the Eternal woman clenched her fist in the same manner he had done earlier. "You were a strong Human to make me go all out like this. Nevertheless, your life ends here." As soon as she finished speaking, the concentrated mass of stellar energy began releasing an immense pulling force toward itself.

Atlas’s entire body twisted under its influence, his form bending as though he were an object rather than a living being, before his entire body was sucked into the small sphere and began swirling within it.

There was no explosion, sound or shockwave at all.

Kael stared at the scene with widened eyes, unable to react to the speed at which the attack had reached Atlas. Before he could do anything, the same pulling force extended toward him, dragging his body into the sphere as well.

After swallowing both of them, the woman clenched her fist even more tightly, compressing the sphere until it became smaller and smaller before disappearing completely. Having apparently finished the battle, her white stellar form turned toward the enormous spacecraft, and she bowed on one knee in the empty space.

"Lord Harbinger, I have completed the task," she reported, her voice reaching the spacecraft despite the enormous distance between them. The man inside appeared to have heard her clearly, as his response came without delay.

"I would have liked to congratulate you, Pescila. However, both of them are still alive." Pescila’s eyes widened instantly upon hearing her lord’s statement, and she immediately turned toward the location where Atlas and Kael had been standing.

"But, My Lord, they are certainly dead from what I can see." She searched the surrounding area, yet neither Atlas nor Kael appeared anywhere within her field of vision. Harbinger’s voice soon reached her again, carrying a hint of correction.

"Just because you ’can’ see something doesn’t mean everyone can see the same, does it? Peer your Eyes of Stars deep into the abyss, Pescila. You will know the truth." Upon hearing his words, Pescila immediately activated her Eyes of Stars, and the moment she did, her expression changed completely.

She discovered five different spatial folds surrounding the entire region where they had been fighting, perfectly replicating the stars, planets, and every other celestial formation visible in the surrounding outer space. The space she had observed throughout the battle had been carefully reproduced, concealing what was actually happening within the real region.

"WHAT?! WHEN?!" Pescila shouted as her eyes finally detected the presence of Atlas and Kael at their original positions. Atlas smiled slightly as he recalled what he had done, having deployed all five spatial folds the moment the woman emerged from the spacecraft.

By altering the logic of senses and presence, he had concealed existence of the spatial folds themselves, while ensuring that the entire battle unfolded within the replicated space rather than the real region.

Realization finally dawned on Pescila as she understood the extent of the deception. All the destruction she had caused had occurred within an illusory space, where the real planets and stars had never been present in the first place.

Atlas looked toward her with his usual indifferent expression, having already anticipated that his opponent would eventually discover the truth.

"I told you, didn’t I? A mere soldier won’t be enough."