Chapter 433: _Host

Somewhere In The Vast Multiverse

Adonais had just barely managed to safely rip open another spatial hole in an effort to search for the miracle child without getting ejected from Creation.

He floated not too far from an uninhabitable planet, his form alone casting a massive shadow that sent half of it into perpetual night.

That’s when he felt it.

His numerous wings froze.

Such... energy.

Looking over his shoulder, he tried pinpointing where he sensed that burst of energy from. It seemed pointless with every passing moment of concentration, but he wasn’t about to give up.

’Impossible.’ For the first time in billions of years, the Archon wasn’t just swelling with unease and suspicion.

But also fear.

What he’d just felt was very similar to the Silent One’s source energy. The energy that had created the First Spark... and more.

Naturally, he would’ve been led to believe the Silent One had returned to creation. But no.

As similar as this power was, it was more familiar to him and his kind.

’Asherah.’ He reached out to the only other Archon within the multiverse. ’Did you sense it too?’

★★★★★

Back On Earth, Aurelia

’Yes.’

Now that she had a new human skin to walk around in, Asherah got back to indulging in a few guilty pleasures.

She sat with Augustus’ body in a bar, sipping a glass of dirty martini. Something ironic she’s noticed is that human males didn’t seem interested in harassing her in this form.

Well... usually anyway.

’That energy should no longer exist.’ Her grip tightened around her glass. ’I thought they fled after the Silent One’s prolonged absence?’

’Not fled,’ Adonais corrected. ’I felt it all those aeons ago. They died off.’

’So what then is this?’

Of course, Adonais couldn’t provide an answer to that.

For several seconds, neither Archon spoke.

They simply contemplated the implication of what they’d sensed.

Asherah slowly swirled the martini in her glass, amber eyes watching the liquid spin. Human music echoed faintly throughout the bar, completely drowned out by thoughts far older than the stars surrounding Creation.

’The First Born...’ She murmured. ’They disappeared shortly after the Silent One abandoned Creation. We searched for them until, one by one, their presences faded.’

’Even we could not discover where they met their end.’ Adonais replied.

’And yet something carrying their essence has awakened.’

Silence settled between them again.

Adonais was the first to conclude.

’The hybrid anomaly.’

Asherah didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, she finished the remainder of her drink before placing the empty glass upon the counter with deliberate care.

’It would explain far too much,’ she admitted. ’That man has exceeded every projection we made. He inherited power that should never have existed and survived encounters that should have erased him. If anyone could uncover something left behind by the First Borns... it would be him.’

’And if he has...’

’He will become even more troublesome.’ A faint smile tugged at her lips, though there wasn’t an ounce of amusement within it. ’We’ve spent a week chasing the child while allowing events to dictate our movements.’

She slowly rose from her seat.

’I’ve grown tired of reacting.’

Adonais remained silent.

He already knew that tone.

’We should stop searching for the child,’ Asherah continued. ’Instead... we make the child search for us.’

The corners of Adonais’ mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.

’You intend to force his hand.’

’I intend to force everyone’s hand.’ Her gaze drifted toward the night sky beyond the bar’s windows. ’Dungeon breaks have become commonplace. Humanity still believes they’ve merely grown more frequent.’

A ripple of ancient amusement entered her voice.

’They have no idea how much worse they can become.’

The air around Augustus’ body distorted ever so slightly as her aura seeped through the vessel.

’Let the barriers weaken. Let more worlds bleed into Earth. Let enough lives hang in the balance that every Esper and Guide is forced onto the battlefield.’

She smiled.

’And if the boy still refuses to appear... then we’ll simply continue until he does.’

★★★★★

Unknown Hellish Location

Outside the tomb, every Titan on the planet stiffened. They looked toward the direction of the tomb, simultaneously sensing an energy they haven’t felt in billions of years.

It disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. Yet it was enough to make every single one of them stop what they were doing and lower themselves in a bow.

Back inside the tomb, however, Ambrose didn’t get compelled to bow.

He got compelled to get the hell out of there.

’Aura?!’ The system was suddenly silent. ’God damnit. Space manipulation isn’t working for some reason, and I need the Black Key and Mask.’

Still nothing.

The SS-Rank’s throat locked.

The ’dead’ giant turned one of his four faces to him, those sharp eyes making it clear that he was being scrutinised.

Ambrose’s spatial awareness showed him space-time had been blocked completely within not just the tomb but the world. No one could teleport or open portals in or out.

Other escape methods like wings felt useless before a being with such a frightening presence.

He’s never been this shaken since he became an SS-Rank. Not before the Pantheon. Not before the Xaloran Entity. Not even before the Queen spider or any other titan he’s faced this past week.

Ambrose had always believed there was a limit to power.

Even the Pantheon, terrifying as they were, still felt like beings he could one day stand beside.

This, however, shattered that illusion.

The entity seated upon the throne didn’t merely possess overwhelming aether. It felt... foundational. Like the world itself had unconsciously accepted its existence as something that simply was, the same way the skies existed above, and the earth remained beneath his feet.

His fingers tightened around Grave Keeper until his knuckles turned white.

The giant’s gaze lingered on him for several agonising seconds before slowly drifting elsewhere. Ambrose instinctively glanced over his shoulder, only to find empty air stretching behind him.

The First Born wasn’t looking at him at all.

It was staring at something beside him... something only it could perceive.

The static consuming Aura’s screens suddenly intensified.

Windows blinked in and out of existence around Ambrose before violently shattering into distorted symbols that no longer resembled any language he had ever seen. Fragments of her voice crackled through the interference, each syllable breaking apart as though reality itself refused to let her speak.

[W-W... why...]

[...this... feeling...]

[I... know...]

The First Born’s expression softened by the smallest margin. It wasn’t joy, nor surprise. If anything, it resembled the quiet relief of someone who had waited an impossibly long time for a promise to finally be fulfilled.

"So," one of his four mouths murmured, his ancient voice reverberating through every corner of the tomb. "You finally found another."

Ambrose blinked, his fear momentarily giving way to confusion.

"A-Another... what?"

The First Born never once looked at him.

All four pairs of eyes remained fixed upon the invisible presence beside the young Guide.

"Host."