Energy slowly started gathering within Perseus’s hands, causing the surrounding ocean water to distort violently while faint spatial ripples spread outward from his body because of the immense pressure leaking from his power.
The moment Kane sensed those fluctuations, the crimson aura surrounding his body instantly became more violent and unstable.
"So this is your answer, huh!!? Fine, come at me...."
The Vampire Prince uttered those words filled with overflowing bloodlust while his crimson eyes glowed sharply, his voice carrying clear hostility mixed with dangerous impatience.
The surrounding ocean began trembling more intensely as terrifying energy waves spread from both Celestial Rank beings, causing underwater currents to spiral chaotically around them.
The atmosphere gradually became heavier and more unstable with every passing moment.
But before either of them could take action...
Ba-dum!!!!
A heartbeat echoed throughout the surroundings.
The moment that heartbeat echoed near them, both Perseus and Kane instinctively froze in place, as though they had accidentally awakened a slumbering beast.
The entire ocean around them pulsed violently at that exact instant, as though the world itself had momentarily contracted inward before expanding once more.
An invisible wave spread outward from Ash’s body beneath them, causing the surrounding ocean water to ripple unnaturally despite there being no visible force pushing it.
Then...
A pressure neither of them had ever experienced before slowly began spreading outward from Ash’s sinking body.
Perseus’s expression instantly changed while Kane’s pupils constricted sharply.
Because this pressure did not feel like the aura of a cultivator, nor did it resemble divine pressure, soul pressure, bloodline pressure, or any form of suppression either of them had experienced before.
No...
It felt ancient beyond comprehension, ancient to the extent that merely sensing it caused strange uneasiness to rise instinctively within both of them.
As though something that should have remained asleep had briefly stirred deep beneath reality itself.
And despite the pressure carrying no hostility toward them...
Both Perseus and Kane still felt their hearts unconsciously tighten.
Ba-dum!!!!
The second heartbeat echoed throughout the ocean.
This time, countless underwater currents throughout the surrounding region suddenly changed direction simultaneously, all of them beginning to flow toward Ash unconsciously as though attracted by an invisible center.
Perseus felt a strange chill spread through his body while his gaze remained locked onto Ash below.
He was currently feeling a sensation similar to standing before something incomprehensibly vast and ancient, something so enormous in scale that his very existence felt insignificant in comparison.
Meanwhile, Kane felt his instincts become increasingly unstable once more.
But this time, not because of Ash’s blood.
His Vampire instincts were screaming warnings at him continuously.
Every heartbeat coming from Ash carried an indescribable oppressiveness hidden within it, as though each pulse represented an ancient authority embedded into existence itself.
And then...
The heavens above the ocean suddenly lit up magnificently.
Even from beneath the sea itself, both Perseus and Kane could clearly see countless enormous translucent rivers appearing throughout the skies above.
The sight was so unreal and breathtaking that both of them momentarily forgot their confrontation entirely.
Those rivers stretched endlessly throughout the heavens like flowing streams of cosmic radiance, illuminating the sky with colors so beautiful and profound that they resembled divine paintings carved across reality itself.
Golden rivers resembling liquid sunlight flowed majestically throughout the skies while carrying an ancient radiance that felt incomparably noble and eternal.
Silver streams drifted calmly like moonlight flowing throughout the stars themselves, beautiful beyond words while radiating mysterious tranquility.
Crimson rivers flickered violently like flowing blood fused together with heavenly lightning, radiating destruction and majesty simultaneously.
Deep blue currents resembled endless cosmic oceans carrying entire galaxies within their depths, their movements calm yet incomprehensibly profound.
Every single river radiated an ancient aura and indescribable beauty, as though they did not belong to the material world at all.
And the most terrifying part was...
All of them were converging toward Ash.
Toward the unconscious body slowly sinking deeper into the ocean while crimson lightning still ravaged him endlessly.
Kane stared upward blankly while the crimson glow inside his eyes visibly trembled.
"What...am I even looking at right now...?"
Even his voice carried clear disbelief because this phenomenon had already exceeded the limits of his understanding.
Meanwhile, Perseus had completely lost his earlier calm demeanor because he recognized one horrifying truth almost instantly.
Those were not ordinary phenomena.
Those rivers represented destiny and fortune themselves.
Or at the very least, manifestations deeply connected to the fundamental flow of destiny and universal fortune hidden throughout existence.
Ba-dum!!!!
Another heartbeat echoed throughout the ocean depths.
Ba-dum!!!!
And with every passing moment...
The rhythm only continued becoming louder, more dominant, more impossible to ignore.
Ba-dam Ba-dam Ba-dam.....BOOM!!!!
Perseus could actually feel his soul trembling very slightly under the weight carried by that rhythm while Kane unconsciously took a slow breath, his expression gradually becoming heavier and more serious.
For the first time in a very long while, both of them felt threatened by an existence weaker than them.
And at that moment, both of them arrived at the exact same conclusion inwardly.
What the hell is he exactly? How can someone be so abnormal...?
The exact same thought surfaced within both Perseus and Kane’s minds while they stared toward Ash’s sinking body surrounded by raging crimson lightning and those endless rivers of destiny illuminating the heavens above like divine pathways crossing through existence itself.
But neither of them expected that question to receive an answer almost immediately afterward.
Because the very next moment, a translucent screen suddenly materialized before every single being connected to the Universal System.
No matter whether someone was standing above the Endless Ocean, hiding within distant kingdoms, observing through projections from secret organizations, or residing far away across other regions of Eden altogether, the notification appeared before all of them simultaneously without exception.
And the moment people saw the familiar golden words belonging to a Realm Quest notification, countless hearts throughout Eden tightened instinctively because everyone recognized it instantly. After all, not much time had passed since the earlier announcement.
< UNIVERSAL SYSTEM NOTIFICATION >
< REALM QUEST - [The Absolute Anomaly] HAS BEEN UPDATED >
The moment those words appeared, Perseus’s pupils contracted sharply while Kane’s blood-red eyes widened with shock because both of them remembered this Realm Quest extremely clearly.
After all, merely a single day had passed since the Universal System personally issued the Realm Quest known as The Absolute Anomaly , a quest so absurd and shocking that it instantly became the center of discussion throughout countless races, kingdoms, hidden factions, ancient clans, supreme organizations, and even among powerful existences that rarely involved themselves in worldly matters.
At that time, many believed an ancient forbidden existence had awakened somewhere within Eden.
Others believed that perhaps a being capable of escaping fate itself had appeared.
But now...
After witnessing those enormous Rivers of Destiny and Universal Fortune converging toward Ash...
After witnessing the terrifying phenomena that surrounded him earlier...
After feeling that incomprehensibly ancient pressure leaking from his body with every heartbeat...
Nobody present could continue believing this was merely coincidence anymore.
Then the screen expanded further.
< STATUS UPDATE COMPLETE >
< The unidentified existence responsible for the recent Heavenly Tribulation phenomenon within the Endless Ocean has been identified as the confirmed target of the Realm Quest: [The Absolute Anomaly] >
< Target Confirmation Probability Has Exceeded System Threshold >
< Target Status: CONFIRMED >
The moment those words appeared, the surrounding ocean became utterly silent.
Perseus felt a chill spread throughout his body while Kane’s expression slowly became darker and heavier.
< ADDITIONAL INFORMATION HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE REALM QUEST >
< Updated Description: The target has displayed direct resonance and interaction with the Rivers of Universal Fortune and Destiny while simultaneously exhibiting signs of existing outside the detectable calculations of causality, karmic flow, fate alignment, and natural law prediction recognized by the Universal System.
The anomaly possesses unknown variables capable of influencing destiny convergence, altering fortune pathways, disrupting causal continuity, and escaping conventional restrictions imposed upon all living beings by the framework of existence itself.
Threat reassessment has concluded that continued growth of the target may result in irreversible influence over the balance of Eden if left unchecked.
Extreme caution is advised when approaching, observing, interacting, concealing, or attempting to capture the target.
Further observation has been deemed mandatory. >
...
< Additional Auxiliary Objectives Added >
-Observe and document all abnormal phenomena related to the target.
-Monitor fluctuations connected to destiny, fortune, causality, and universal law around the target.
-Prevent external concealment or unauthorized protection of the target.
-Report all sightings and encounters directly to the Universal System.
< .... >
< .... >
< Threat Reassessment Complete >
< Updated Threat Potential: Catastrophic >
< PRIORITY DIRECTIVE UPDATED >
< The target is to be captured alive if possible. Unauthorized elimination of the target is strictly discouraged unless no alternative remains. >
< Note: The value of the target alive vastly exceeds the value of the target dead. Rewards will be adjusted accordingly based on contribution and target condition upon delivery. >
The Universal System had confirmed it.
The person showing all kinds of never-before-seen phenomena...
The person currently sinking beneath the Endless Ocean while wrapped in crimson lightning and surrounded by manifestations of destiny itself...was the Absolute Anomaly.
The moment the final line appeared before the world, shock exploded throughout Eden like a storm sweeping across countless minds simultaneously because everyone understood the terrifying meaning hidden behind those words.
The Universal System almost never used the classification Catastrophic.
What’s more, the Universal System had never issued a Realm Quest before, so the classification ’Catastrophic’ was unfamiliar, but the word itself was ominous enough for people to draw their own conclusions.
Meanwhile, beneath the Endless Ocean, Perseus slowly looked toward Ash once again while countless thoughts collided chaotically inside his mind.
An existence whose potential is... Catastrophic?
Wasn’t I supposed to invite him to join the Transcendent Circle? What is all this happening....?
Even Perseus, who belonged to one of the most powerful organizations within existence, could not remain calm anymore because this situation had already exceeded ordinary logic entirely.
Meanwhile, Kane’s breathing gradually became heavier and rougher while the crimson glow within his eyes deepened further.
Because unlike countless others who would feel fear, caution, or disbelief after seeing the System’s warning...
The first thing that surfaced within Kane’s mind was greed.
Pure greed.
After all, Ash’s blood alone had already driven his instincts nearly insane before any of this happened.
So now, after the Universal System itself acknowledged Ash as the Absolute Anomaly, Kane could not stop himself from wondering exactly what kind of transformation would occur if he consumed the blood of such an existence.
Even imagining that possibility caused his Vampiric Heart to beat faster.
Ba-dum!!!!
***