641 Coming Up Short

[POV: Supreme Heart]

The Supreme Heart hid himself at the farthest edges of the Greater Universe, far enough from its countless stars and civilizations that the eyes of the other Supreme Beings would have difficulty finding him.

With his realm and abilities, he could have gone even farther. He could have abandoned the Greater Universe entirely and ventured into the unknowable reaches where even light ceased to exist. There, he would have been nearly one hundred percent certain that the other Supreme Beings could never find him.

But that unknowable region of the universe was not empty.

It belonged to the Supreme Void.

Even while sealed, the Supreme Void's influence continued to seep into reality. One of its most obvious manifestations was the spontaneous creation of Void Beasts, creatures born from the emptiness that existed beyond the reach of light.

Standing at the threshold between the Greater Universe and that endless Dark Universe, Heart could faintly sense them drifting through the darkness.

There were countless Void Beasts lurking out there. They were the strongest beings within this darkness, and while none of them could threaten him individually, enough of them gathering together could become troublesome.

Heart closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. He needed to calm his heart. He needed to stabilize the two Supremacy Traits now residing within him.

Behind him, the Greater Universe glittered with countless stars. From this distance, every living being within it seemed like nothing more than a flickering point of light.

"I've been impatient in stealing his Supremacy Trait," Heart muttered.

A second voice answered from within him. "Impatient? Hardly. He left us with no choice."

Another version of himself spoke immediately after. "The alternative would have been preferable."

Heart remained silent. He knew exactly what the alternative had been.

Da Wei would bear their child.

That child would become a vessel capable of containing both the Origin and the Source. They would curse the child with eternal sleep and exile it into the deepest reaches of the Dark Universe, where it would dream endlessly and create new worlds within those dreams.

It would fulfill the old promise of the Shéns to create. However, this time it would be to create without allowing the purity of that promise to become tainted. It had been a beautiful plan. It had also been a foolish one.

"We overestimated ourselves," Heart sighed.

The strain of carrying two Supremacy Traits was already becoming apparent. His body remained stable, but his existence felt increasingly divided, as though two opposing currents were fighting over the same soul.

His own heart had begun to rebel against him.

"You overestimated yourself."

"Again."

"You always do this."

"You knew what would happen when you allowed that child into our heart."

Heart's expression tightened.

"You knew he would change you."

"You knew you were supposed to use him."

"You knew he was never supposed to become your son."

The voices grew harsher.

"And yet you let him in."

"You gave him a place in our heart."

"You called him family."

"You let that child ruin everything."

Heart's eyes lowered.

"Enough."

"You are the one who should be saying that to yourself."

"You were supposed to steal his fate."

"Instead, you gave him your heart."

"Look at what you have become."

Heart clenched his fists.

Before he had stolen the Supremacy Trait and the "fate" of the original Supreme Heart, he had been a different person. Or perhaps he had been many different people. He had carried countless names throughout the ages. The first had been the Yellow Emperor, the Shén who created the first civilization.

For a time, he had been nothing more than a man who loved his wife. She had been a mortal woman, fragile and short-lived compared to him. He had cherished her so deeply that he could not accept the thought of watching her grow old and die.

So he created the beginnings of qi cultivation. It had not been born from ambition or for conquest. It had been created because he wanted his wife to live a long life. He simply wanted her to remain beside him. However, it did not last forever.

When she died, grief consumed the Yellow Emperor. He descended into the first iteration of the Underworld, searching for his departed wife. The original Yama, ruler and creator of the Underworld, took pity on him and allowed him to see her. But when they finally stood before each other, she did not remember him. Certainly, not his face, name, and the life they had shared.

The original Yama could not explain what had happened.

His wife had been reborn through the Origin. And through that rebirth, she had become a Shén. At that time, the Shéns themselves did not understand how their kind came into existence. Their births were spontaneous. They simply appeared through the workings of the Origin.

Heart's existence began to waver. The memories were affecting him. The Supremacy Trait known as Heart was making him feel things involuntarily. His mastery over it began to falter as emotions he had long since buried surged to the surface.

Worse, the newly acquired Supremacy Trait of Bearer was influencing his heart in return.

Two Supremacy Traits. Two wills. Two concepts pulling at the same existence.

Then another version of himself laughed.

"When the chance appeared before you to love her again, you took it."

Heart's breathing stopped.

"Back then, you told yourself it was for the mission."

"You told yourself it was for humanity's future."

"You told yourself that everything you did had a purpose."

The voice became softer.

"But the truth?"

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"You enjoyed it."

Heart's eyes trembled.

"You loved her again."

"And you loved being a father."

"You didn't have to do any of it."

Heart remembered the mortal life, his wife, holding his son, the warmth of their home, the laughter, and the ordinary days. For those precious years, he had not been the Supreme Heart or the Yellow Emperor. He had not been a Supreme Being. He had simply been a husband, a father, and a man who loved his family.

Tears began flowing from his eyes. He had been aware of the Lost Prophecy. He had known that the end of everything was inevitable. And he had been determined to stop it. His plan had been simple in principle.

He would summon a Supreme Being by incarnating it through his bloodline. Then, once that being had been born, he would steal its fate and existence. He had spent countless epochs searching through the future, refining the plan until he found the perfect candidate.

Someone capable of bearing the child. Someone whose circumstances would allow the child to be born into an environment where it could never retaliate against him. That person had been Xin Yune. She was an incarnated fragment of Meng Po's soul. A soul that had once belonged to his wife.

He had known exactly what he was doing. He had known the purpose behind the child. And yet, when the moment finally came, he had chosen to live. He had entered that mortal shell. He had erased his own memories. He had become ignorant of his past.

He had lived as though none of it had ever existed.

And he had enjoyed every second.

"You didn't need to do that."

"You could have taken the Supremacy Trait the moment the child was born."

"You could have left."

"You didn't need to become mortal."

"You didn't need to forget."

"You didn't need to love them."

"Wake up."

Heart's tears fell freely.

"Wake up!"

His own heart screamed at him.

"WAKE UP!"

The voices multiplied.

Versions of himself created through his consciousness projection technique appeared within his mind, each one staring at him with anger, disappointment, or grief.

"You were supposed to save everything."

"You were supposed to be the one who remained."

"You were supposed to sacrifice everything."

"Not fall in love."

"Not become a father."

"Not become weak."

"You let that child into our heart."

"And then you let him destroy our plans."

"Wake up!"

"Wake up!"

"WAKE UP!"

Heart's hand pressed against his chest. His heart was pounding. No. Not his heart. Something else was beating within him. It was the Supremacy Trait of Heart and the Supremacy Trait of Bearer. The two concepts struggled against one another.

His consciousness began to sink and the darkness swallowed him.

Heart forced himself awake.

When his eyes opened, something enormous had wrapped itself around him. Darkness. No. Not darkness. A body. A colossal mass of Void Beasts had gathered around him, their forms merging together into something far larger and more grotesque than any individual creature could ever become.

The dark side of the universe had grown eyes made of hundreds, then thousands. They opened across the endless mass, staring directly at him. Then a mouth appeared. It stretched across the darkness, forming a hideous smile lined with jagged teeth.

Heart froze.

A voice grated against his soul. "You played me like a damn fiddle." The enormous creature shifted around him. "You goddamn fraud."

Heart's eyes widened, since he recognized that voice. He had known it for countless ages. The darkness smiled. It was the Supreme Void.

This should have been impossible.

The Supreme Void was divided between mind and body. Its body was expressed through the Void Beasts. Since they were nothing more than the flesh of the Void, they were incapable of expressing thoughts, emotions, or intent. Its mind, meanwhile, was supposed to be trapped within the False Earth, unable to express itself outside the Hollowed World. Yet here it was.

Heart struggled against the enormous grasp surrounding him, primordial forces crushing his body from every direction, the darkness tightening around him. "How is this possible? Void! Stop this! We had a deal!"

The Void laughed. "A deal?" Its voice shook the Dark Universe. "A deal that you conned me into!"

The enormous mass of Void Beasts twisted around Heart, their countless eyes burning with something disturbingly close to emotion. The Void's laughter grew louder and scathing. "And this is the best you could achieve? This is disappointing even for you, Yellow Emperor!"

Heart coughed blood.

The Void continued, utterly delighted with its own mockery. "You used the Source to steal someone's Supremacy Trait? And what? Bang some fragment soul of a dead lady?" Its laughter became almost hysterical. "Ha ha ha ha! This is the height of comedy! You should do stand-up!"

Heart's face darkened. He struggled against the primordial force crushing him. "What was the deal again?"

The Void went silent, then its grip tightened. "And now you're taunting me?" Its voice became murderous. "Do you really think I can't end you?"

Heart's eyes narrowed. He finally understood. The Supreme Void wasn't physically holding him. At least, not entirely. The Void was reaching through the piece of Heart that he had left behind on the False Earth. The Void was using that fragment as an anchor, like a hand extending from the Hollowed World. The realization made Heart's expression darken.

The Void snarled, its voice echoing through the darkness. "I fulfilled my end of the bargain, but you just had to come up short! A deal is a deal, and I demand that you make it right!"

Heart understood what it meant by their deal. It had never been about the Ascension Games. Those games were merely the tip of the iceberg. They were a means for the Void to nourish itself and recover. It would win some games, lose others, then repeat the cycle.

There had never been a clear goal to it, at least not one that could be understood from the outside. It was closer to an endless game of cat and mouse between Heart and the Void, a cycle that fed upon itself.

The deal was something far older.

"Don't put the blame on me," Heart snapped. "I've got problems of my own!"

The two Supremacy Traits within him surged. The voices in his head immediately fell silent. Heart reached out and seized the essence buried within the Void's manifestation. Its heart. The core that made the monstrous figure before him dangerous.

Heart squeezed and divine power erupted from his body.

"Heavenly Punishment."

Golden light descended. The Void's influence scattered as countless golden motes drifted through the darkness. The enormous amalgamation of Void Beasts collapsed. From the scattered particles, the Supreme Void slowly coalesced into a humanoid silhouette roughly Heart's height.

It looked much calmer now. It was also clearly furious.

"So you've decided, huh?" The Void's expression twisted, its smile widening. "The original arrangement was for me to lend you the Source. You would use it to summon a new Supreme Being that I could devour. That was the plan. I would break out of the Hollowed World. I would devour the rest of the Supreme Beings. And then we'd all get to sleep into nothingness."

There was something almost peaceful in the way it said those words.

"Now, I don't really blame you. Da Wei's tough to chew, but I'll get there. Still, I can't believe I got fooled by your silver tongue this long. I actually thought you could see the vision of the ideal ending I was gunning for."

A bitter laugh escaped the Void.

"You are a fucking disappointment."

Heart sighed, expressing his disapproval. "You are unstable. Your mind has regressed to that of a child since you were sealed. If you could actually hear yourself, I doubt you'd think the same way."

The Void shrugged. "That's where you're wrong." It placed a hand over its chest, while its smile disappeared. "I know in my 'heart' that this is the only answer. The end I offer isn't so bad compared to the alternative."

Heart's eyes narrowed. "What is the alternative? What did you see?"

There was a reason the first Supreme Being had broken. A reason it had gone insane. A reason it had ultimately been sealed away. Heart had never forgotten that.

"What is the enemy?" asked Heart.

The Void stared at him for a moment, then it burst into laughter. "Oh, my fucking god." It rubbed its face. "You really have no clue, do you?" Its expression became incredulous. "Did you memory-wipe yourself or something? Man, even Death has more spine than you, body stealer!"

Heart's expression remained cold. He knew there was something waiting at the end. Something terrible. Something that even the first Supreme Being had feared. His own solution had never been entirely different from the Void's.

The difference was that Heart had wanted creation to continue. His primary plan had failed. So he had prepared a secondary one. He would forge himself into a vessel capable of housing both the Origin and the Source. Then he would curse himself with eternal sleep. He would cast himself into the depths of the Dark Universe, far away from the Greater Universe, and leave the rest of creation to its fate.

It was not so different from the Void's answer. The only difference was that Heart would not destroy everything. He would simply abandon it.

The Void suddenly laughed, its eyes widened. "Oh. Oh, oh, I get it! You were thinking of running away!"

Heart's expression tightened. "No."

The answer came immediately.

The Void's laughter vanished. "Then why are you so angry? So defensive? Does the truth hurt? At least I've got the balls to duke it out in the end of times when it comes down to it! You're a fucking pussy! A milk drinker! A fucking coward! Forget about the deal. I really hate being punked or shorted, but I'll give you a pass. Consider it forgiven. After all, the Tower you created more than makes up for it."

Heart nodded. "That was indeed my intention."

The Tower had served two purposes. One was to seal Da Wei. The other was to give the Void a chance to free itself.

Heart's expression became serious. "However, I warn you. Never underestimate Da Wei and Ru Qiu. Ru Qiu broke time. And Da Wei possesses a strength of conviction that I've never seen before."

The Void sighed, looking toward the distant Greater Universe. "If you weren't so smug, I'd honestly just leave you to do your own thing. But there has to be some form of retaliation."

Heart shook his head, allowing the two Supremacy Traits to radiate from his body. "What are you going to do? I have two Supremacy Traits, and you're still sealed away. If my advice hurts your ego that much, then forget about it."

The Void stared at him, then a distinctive smirk slowly appeared on its face. "I snitched."

Heart's expression froze, sensing three overwhelming presences suddenly surrounded him. Three Supreme Beings appeared without warning. They were existences that could not simply be ignored. There was the Supreme Hope, the Supreme Monster, and the Supreme Fate.

The surrounding darkness seemed to grow heavier, but Void was already gone.

A man wearing gray robes stepped forward. He looked tired. Not physically tired, but exhausted in a way that seemed to reach the very depths of his existence. His gaze settled upon Heart. "You've really crossed a line this time." It was the Supreme Fate, and he looked disappointed. "You made your bed, and now, you must lie on it."