The space suddenly stopped.
Not in the sense that movement ceased, but as if all motion had folded in on itself. The hundreds and thousands of Daniels still around him no longer attacked.
Their bodies cracked, not from impact, but from overlapping, and one by one, they began to dissolve, like shadows falling over each other until they could no longer be distinguished.
Their voices merged into one.
A massive body stood there, resembling Daniel, yet far beyond human scale. Its skin was cracked like weathered stone. Its eyes held neither anger nor emotion, only certainty.
Its presence felt extremely heavy and eternal, as if it were endless and could never be destroyed. As long as eternity had meaning, it would exist.
"This one isn’t fair," Daniel sighed and summoned his sword.
The Heavens’ Honor.
He looked at the massive version of himself. Now that all his versions had merged into this monster, there was only one meaning left, he had completed the first phase of this floor, and now he had to face the second.
But the question was, what exactly was the second phase? What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to deal with this giant version of himself?
He doubted this thing could even be killed. Just the aura of eternity coming from it was enough for Daniel to understand that this version of him was truly eternal and everlasting.
The massive version took a step forward. Space stretched, and distance lost its meaning.
Then came the strike. Not fast, not slow. A strike that felt as if it had already landed before it happened.
Daniel reacted on pure instinct.
[ Demonic Twilight Shield ]
It formed around him. The blow hit the shield, and a wave of eternity spread through it. The shield cracked, the energy was absorbed, but the pressure still sent Daniel flying several meters back.
The ground beneath him split open.
"Eternity can make anything it wants eternal, and strip anything it wants of certainty," the massive version spoke for the first time.
Daniel fell silent and thought about the meaning of those words. He realized that concepts, time, space, fate, and more were eternal—concepts that existed as long as eternity existed, concepts with certainty.
But what would happen if eternity rejected them and denied their certainty? All concepts would lose their definiteness.
[ Your understanding of the Law of Eternity has increased by 7% ]
So this was the peak of Eternity’s power? The negation of concepts and meanings? The world itself was eternal... If someone became powerful enough to deny the eternity of the world, what would happen then?
His interest in the Law of Eternity sharply increased, but this was not the time to think.
Bloody shadows erupted from beneath his feet.
[ Bloody Shadow Dance ]
His body shattered, vanished, and reappeared from three different directions. His fists were coated in the Law of Death.
The punches landed. The massive body cracked, but then regenerated.
Not quickly, but absolutely, as if the giant’s intact state itself was an eternal and endless concept.
The giant raised its hand, and space closed in like a sealed ring.
[ Endless Cycle ]
Daniel suddenly found himself repeating the same actions, attack, retreat, attack, without any progress. Time coiled around itself like a snake.
Pain began—not physical or mental pain, but the pain of futility.
Daniel clenched his teeth. His eyes flashed.
[ Death Roar ]
A silent yet absolute roar tore through space. For a single moment, the calculations of the massive version collapsed. The cycle cracked.
That single moment was enough.
Thunder tore through space. The Law of Thunder condensed into Daniel’s fist and merged with the blade of his sword.
[ Strike of Destruction ]
The Heavens’ Honor came down.
A strike that did not split flesh, but continuity itself. For the first time, the massive version stepped back.
The ground groaned.
But immediately, all the wounds on the giant version vanished, as if they had never happened.
Daniel was breathing heavily. He sealed his wounds with Mana Healing.
He lowered the sword and raised his fists.
The aura of death surged from his body. Thunder ran through his bones. This time, he did not attack.
He stepped forward.
"Eternity isn’t just about staying alive," he said. "It’s about choosing why you keep going."
"Eternity without purpose and meaning isn’t eternity. It’s not just eternity that gives meaning to concepts, concepts also give meaning to eternity."
For the first time, the massive version hesitated.
And Daniel struck.
A punch that fused death and thunder. Space collapsed, and the giant version counterattacked.
[ Endless Witness ]
All the previous versions, all the failures, all the deaths appeared at the same time and rushed toward Daniel.
Daniel shouted.
"Eternity means that even if everything changes, I will remain the same person and stay eternal."
His eyes shone.
[ Eyes of Destruction ]
Beams of destruction covered all the versions, but this time, they did not destroy them. Instead, they absorbed them. Using his Everlasting Physique, he devoured them all.
The massive version cracked, and the cracks shattered.
Everything returned to Daniel.
Exhausted, he fell to the ground, breathing heavily.
[ Your understanding of the Law of Eternity has increased by 9% ]
"Eternity is truly the most complex law I’ve ever tried to understand," he muttered to himself, reviewing everything he knew about the Law of Eternity for a moment.
Eternity seemed even more complex than Death, at least to some extent. Of course, that might be because the Eternity Pagoda was far harsher than the Death Pagoda. The two of them were built on completely different structures.
Still, Eternity had countless aspects, so many that, by using them, one could do almost anything. That included destroying concepts or stripping concepts of their meaning entirely.
One could grant someone eternal life, but could also make the very concepts of life and fate uncertain for someone, effectively killing them, perhaps a fate even worse than death.
Now he understood why the Prophet of Eternity had been so powerful. In fact, he was now fairly certain that the Prophet of Eternity was likely among the top three strongest beings in the entire history of the Celestial Domain.
Just like before, a staircase appeared in front of him.