In the next instant, both of them moved.
Space folded without warning, and they appeared directly in front of me, close enough that I could feel the pressure of their presence push against my skin.
I sensed their strength clearly and understood at once that they too were Upper Transcendents, their presence was on the same level as Upita.
One of them spoke first, his voice calm and oddly curious.
"So it’s true. There really is an Executor. A new one."
The other Eternal tilted his head slightly, his black, glass-like eyes scanning me again.
"Yes," he said slowly. "But I cannot sense Upita."
The first Eternal’s lips curved faintly, not quite a smile.
"Did you kill him?"
I nodded.
"Then he must have underestimated you," he replied.
The second nodded once.
"But we won’t."
They spread their hands at the same time.
"Domain," they said together, their voices overlapping perfectly.
"Three Gates of Survival."
The void detonated.
A massive ripple exploded outward from them. Deathmist surged from their bodies in thick, living waves, churning as sealing runes ignited within it. Space groaned under the pressure as six enormous gates materialized around me, forming in different directions.
Each gate was vast, taller than a fortress, carved from layered laws and dense deathmist. Circular runes rotated along their surfaces, sealing symbols locking into place one after another. The moment the domain stabilized, pressure poured downward from it, slamming into the core layer below. Structures trembled. Fractured platforms cracked further. Even the tower in the distance vibrated under the strain.
I narrowed my eyes.
So they started with their domain.
Upita hadn’t even considered needing one.
As the pressure pressed in on me, I activated Right to Insight and let my Psynapse spread through their domain. The structure became clear instantly. Every gate was a layered seal. Not a barrier meant to crush or destroy, but a construct designed to isolate, restrict, and deny movement, essence flow, and law execution.
Both of their domains were built on sealing laws.
Internally, I smiled.
I needed sealing fragments. A lot of them.
And they had just handed them to me.
I did not hesitate.
"Domain," I said calmly. "Veritas Dominus"
The void answered.
A ripple spread outward from my body, colliding head-on with the six gates. The clash did not explode immediately. Instead, the entire core layer darkened as thick violet clouds rolled in from nowhere, swallowing the void above us. Lightning tore through those clouds in violent arcs, each strike carrying authority rather than raw power.
The thunder that followed was so deep and overwhelming that every army across all three layers froze.
Demons. Phantoms. Abominations.
All of them stopped and looked up.
The clouds churned violently, then collapsed inward, compressing into a single point before descending as a massive, ancient tablet. Cracked and weathered, it looked like something torn from the beginning of existence itself. Ancient pressure poured from it, heavy enough to bend space as it descended.
The moment the tablet began its descent, the six gates trembled.
Runes flickered. Sealing arrays strained. Deathmist surged uncontrollably.
One of the Eternals finally spoke again, his voice sharp with something close to disbelief.
"What is this?"
The tablet did not slow.
I raised my palm toward them both.
I spoke one word.
"Erase."
The tablet answered.
My authority spread in the domain. For a brief moment, everything aligned. Space, time, essence, deathmist, sealing, all of it fell into perfect harmony.
Then a silent, white wave passed through the void.
It struck the six gates first.
They cracked like fragile glass, sealing laws rupturing violently as their domains collapsed inward. Deathmist exploded outward, uncontrolled and unstable. I activated the Abyss Core instantly, and the shattered sealing fragments were devoured the moment they broke free, pulled into my Dawn Core like matter falling into a singularity.
Both Eternals turned toward me.
Their mouths opened to speak.
They never got the chance.
Their bodies detonated mid-motion, collapsing into sprays of black blood that scattered and evaporated into nothing.
Silence reclaimed the void.
The core layer trembled beneath the aftermath. At the same time, my body buzzed sharply, a surge of sensation washing through me, so intense it felt almost like bliss.
I knew what it meant even before the confirmation settled in.
I had crossed the threshold.
Level 400.
Upper Transcendent.
Power flooded through me in a single, overwhelming wave. Every stat surged upward at once, Essence flowing more smoothly through my channels, my Psynapse sharpening, my body and will aligning as if a hidden restraint had finally been released. It felt natural. Inevitable.
I exhaled and looked at the place where the Eternals had stood moments ago.
That was exactly why I never activated my domain lightly. It was too easy to end things when I did, too decisive, too final. I muttered the thought aloud, more to myself than anyone else, and then lifted my hand.
My domain answered immediately.
Every element responded at once—fire, water, air, earth, lightning, and matter itself—aligning without resistance, as if they had been waiting for permission. Essence surged upward, and the void above the core layer began to distort as two shapes started to form within my domain’s reach.
They were enormous.
Two massive swords took shape in the void, suspended high above the core layer, each one longer than a fortress wall and thick enough to feel like moving mountains. Lightning crawled along their edges in violent arcs, while streams of compressed water spiraled around their cores. Fire burned without heat along their spines, and dense matter reinforced their forms, locking every element into a single, unified construct.
The pressure rolling outward from them was immediate and crushing. Space groaned under their weight, and even the core layer below trembled as if it sensed what was about to happen.
I tilted my head slightly and brought my hand down.
The swords descended.
They did not fall like weapons. They came down like meteors, dragging destruction and annihilation behind them as they streaked straight toward the two portals that had vomited the Eternals moments earlier. The void screamed as they crossed the distance in an instant.
The swords struck.
They did not pierce cleanly. The space around the portals warped violently, twisting and buckling as the structures tried to deflect the impact, to bend away, to avoid being erased. The portals flared, runes igniting in frantic patterns as sealing laws pushed back with everything they had.
I scoffed.
The ancient tablet within my domain vibrated in response, its presence amplifying the power flowing through the swords. The elements within them roared as one, their force multiplying in a single overwhelming surge.
Then the resistance broke.
With a deafening crash, both swords punched through the portals at the same time. The impact sent a shockwave ripping across the core layer, fissures tearing outward in jagged lines as the structures beneath fractured further. Deathmist and spatial debris exploded outward in chaotic waves.
A second, heavier bang followed.
Both portals detonated.
The void shuddered as their remains were torn apart completely, their runes collapsing into useless fragments before dissolving into nothing. The pressure faded slowly, leaving behind only drifting debris and the echo of destruction rolling through the battlefield.
The core layer groaned once more and then fell silent.