Chapter 183: Astrion’s break through

The grand machinery of the cosmos groaned under the sudden, immense strain as the six remaining guardians outside the universal barrier poured their very life essence into the universe’s core engine. Burning through reserves of divine origin energy that had taken epochs to accumulate, they ignited the spatial thrusters embedded within the cosmic anchor points.

A muffled shockwave reverberated across the endless expanse of the chaos sea.

The origin universe, a massive glowing sphere nestled amidst swirling waves of purple destruction, shuddered violently before surging forward. Its movement speed multiplied exponentially, tearing through the violent chaos currents at over one hundred times its previous velocity. The sheer force of its displacement kicked up colossal tsunamis of liquid chaos energy, parting the bleak void in a desperate, frantic bid for survival.

Far behind the fleeing universe, the towering behemoth sensed the sudden change in rhythm. The Void Serpent, stretching across the gloom like a jagged mountain range of obsidian scales and burning pale yellow eyes, glided to a momentary pause. Its reptilian eyes, each larger than a sun, narrowed into thin slits of cold amusement as it registered the desperate acceleration of its prey.

"Huh? Those puny insects are moving faster? They think they can outrun me? How amusing," the ancient titan thought silently, its voice echoing only within its own terrifying consciousness.

The void walker did not roar or display anger. Instead, the endless rows of razor-sharp scales covering its titanic body began to glow with a faint, sickly golden hue. The void around its massive tail collapsed inward, generating a repulsive gravitational force that propelled the colossal horror forward.

Another violent shockwave shook the void as the Void Serpent surged into action. Its speed exploded several fold, matching the frantic, burning pace of the escaping universe. While its speed remained just a fraction lower than the absolute maximum speed the guardians were forcing out of their universe, the creature trailed behind them like an inescapable shadow, steadily closing the distance through sheer, untiring endurance.

Meanwhile, deep within the isolated spatial domain on the smooth stone peak, Victor remained completely undisturbed by the spatial turbulence outside. He sat cross-legged upon the cold stone, his breathing deep and perfectly rhythmic. The time runes floating around him flickered with a reduced, weaker light, but his focus did not waver for a single microsecond. His soul sea continued to roar like a boundless tempest, refining the purest cosmic laws into dense, concentrated streams of chaos essence.

Across the soul bond, the pure energy flooded into the isolated spatial dimension where Astrion was seated.

Two days passed in the absolute void outside the universe, but inside the modified temporal field, three full years slipped away.

On the final day of the third year, the quiet atmosphere within Astrion’s isolated spatial domain shattered. The thousands of golden computation arrays hovering around the massive dragon flared with unprecedented brilliant light. Astrion, whose body had absorbed mountains of purple chaos essence, slowly opened his massive eyes. A terrifying aura pulsed from his core, threatening to tear the fabric of the isolated space apart.

"Master, I am ready to break through to the cosmic realm. Which law should I awaken next?" Astrion sent a crisp, mental voice message directly to Victor’s mind, his tone filled with absolute reverence and restraint.

Victor did not open his eyes, nor did he break the rhythmic flow of his chaos essence refinement. He replied immediately through the soul link.

"Awaken the law of spacetime."

"As you wish, Master."

The moment the words left Astrion’s lips, a terrifying force erupted within his detached spatial dimension. The invisible boundary of the realm barrier shattered with a distinct, crisp cracking sound that resonated through the void.

Astrion’s body expanded violently as cosmic authority poured into his soul. From the left side of his massive neck, dark scales shifted and golden flesh coalesced, rapidly forming a ferocious third draconic head that roared silently into the spatial storm.

Astrion had successfully stepped into the cosmic realm.

Yet, despite this momentous ascension, no phenomenon manifested in the outside universe. No heavenly tribulations struck, and no cosmic bells chimed. Astrion was not a standard cultivator building new foundations from scratch; he was an ancient entity reclaiming his lost, true power. He required no time to consolidate his foundation or get accustomed to his new strength.

Without wasting a single breath, Astrion closed all three pairs of eyes. His three heads lowered in unison as he reopened his core, pulling in the endless river of purple chaos essence supplied by Victor to push straight toward the next impossible height: the cosmic god realm.

If Astrion could reach the cosmic god realm while backed by Victor’s functionally infinite mana reserves, there remained a fighting chance that they could contend with a void walker like the Void Serpent. It was a gamble of extraordinary proportions, but it was the only path toward survival.

Victor closed his eyes tighter, pouring every ounce of his mental power into refining even greater volumes of supreme fuel.

While master and servant cultivated at a breakneck speed inside the field, the two guardians who had departed to seek aid from the sacred Aether realm tumbled back through the universal barrier. Their divine garments were torn, their faces were ghastly pale, and blood trickled from the corners of their lips. They plummeted into the void near the six guardians who were desperately burning their origin energy to keep the universe moving.

"They said we are some rats, daring to ask help from supreme beings. We should just die," one of the returned guardians said in a grim, hollow tone, clutching his wounded chest.

"Ptui! Those arrogant bastards. If someday we can become powerful like them, we will teach them a heavy lesson," another guardian spat, his hands trembling with suppressed rage and humiliation.

Erdogan turned his dulled, glowing eyes toward them, his voice rasping with extreme exhaustion. "What is the situation?"

"Very grim. We are in deep shit. The surviving chance is almost zero," the guardian replied shaking his head bitterly. "The powerhouses in the Aether realm refused to even grant us an audience. They sealed the entrance behind us."

"What is the messiah doing?" asked the second returned guardian, looking back toward the distant temporal field anchored inside the universe.

"Don’t know. But he seems very confident to fight with that thing in a month," Erdogan muttered, his energy fluctuating wildly as he maintained his hold on the cosmic engines.

"Should we focus our energy on the time field more? Maybe give him some more time," one of the wounded guardians suggested, looking at his companions with a desperate glint in his eyes.

Erdogan let out a long, ragged sigh. "Okay. We don’t have any other choice anyway."

With a silent nod, the eight guardians re-aligned their positions around the outer barrier. While continuing to propel the universe forward, they diverted a fraction of their remaining, depleted origin energy back into the temporal field array, stabilizing the flickering time runes just enough to grant the young messiah every possible second.

Twenty days passed in the harsh, desolate expanse of the outside void.

Inside the accelerated space of the stone peak, nearly thirty years had flown by under the stabilized temporal pressure. The sheer amount of chaos essence Victor had refined over this period could have filled entire star systems, pouring relentlessly into Astrion’s core.

Suddenly, the space around the stone peak warped violently. Deep within the isolated spatial realm, Astrion’s colossal frame surged with an aura so profound that the spatial walls around him began to hairline crack like thin glass under a sledgehammer.

"Master, I am about to break through to the cosmic god realm. Which law should I awaken?" Astrion’s deep, reverberating voice echoed in Victor’s mind, carrying the solemn weight of an entity standing on the precipice of ultimate divine authority.

Victor opened his eyes, two beams of dark purple light piercing through the twilight air of the mountain peak.

"Law of death," Victor ordered coldly.

Inside the spatial realm, Astrion’s aura erupted in full force. The ambient light died instantly, replaced by a suffocating, absolute void of pure necrosis. From the right side of his neck, black and emerald scales burst forth as a fourth draconic head materialized, its eyes glowing with the dark, chilling light of ultimate mortality.

The pressure was so horrendous that the surrounding space crumbled into fine dust, forcing Astrion to instantly suppress his vast aura to prevent his private domain from completely collapsing upon itself. He had successfully crossed the threshold into the cosmic god realm.

However, before Victor could even acknowledge Astrion’s massive achievement, a faint, trembling crystal in his spatial ring shattered into dust.

Erdogan’s voice, devoid of all hope and trembling with absolute despair, echoed directly inside Victor’s head.

"Messiah, the Void Serpent has reached us. It’s all over."

The helpness in his tone was the embodiment of his absolute despair.

"Don’t worry. Let’s met the giant worm.", Victor stood up with a cold glint in his eyes.