The Realm of Eden was in turmoil.
No matter where one went, whether it was a city, kingdom, race, organization, or faction, there was only a single topic dominating every discussion throughout the entire Realm.
The Endless Ocean Incident.
What had originally begun as a gathering of Ocean Species had somehow escalated into one of the most unbelievable events witnessed since the creation of the Realm itself, and because countless Ocean Species had streamed everything through the Universal System while millions of spectators watched from every corner of the Realm, there was practically nobody left who had not already seen at least a portion of what had happened.
They had seen the Heavenly Lightning Tribulation descend from the heavens with enough power to annihilate entire regions.
They had seen a human stand beneath the wrath of Heaven itself and somehow survive despite being struck again and again by lightning that should have erased him from existence.
They had seen an existence carrying the title of Absolute Anomaly display strength that completely surpassed what should have been possible for someone of his rank, repeatedly accomplishing things that common sense declared impossible.
They had seen four Celestial Rank beings personally descend upon the battlefield.
They had seen an entire army surround a single individual.
And just when everyone believed the outcome had already been decided and that there was no possible way for the Absolute Anomaly to escape, reality itself had suddenly cracked apart.
The footage had already been replayed millions of times.
Every organization was analyzing it.
Every powerful faction was investigating it.
Every race was discussing it.
Countless scholars, researchers, prophets, seers, and experts had spent hours examining every second of the recording, slowing it down frame by frame while searching for clues hidden within details that ordinary people would never notice.
Yet despite all those efforts, nobody could properly explain what they had witnessed.
The appearance of the Absolute Anomaly alone had already shaken the Realm.
The Heavenly Lightning Tribulation had shaken it even further.
The battle against four Celestial Rank beings had pushed that shock to another level entirely.
But none of those events compared to what happened afterward.
The crack that appeared across the heavens.
The impossible crack that stretched farther than anyone could comprehend and seemed capable of splitting apart the sky itself.
The strange existence hidden within it.
The temporal fluctuations that spread throughout the battlefield and froze countless powerful beings where they stood.
The destruction of every attack that had been moments away from reaching its target.
The collapse of the barrier that had sealed the entire region.
And finally, the disappearance of the Absolute Anomaly.
That final point was what truly disturbed many people.
Because the battle itself was no longer important.
The outcome was no longer important.
Even the conflict between the Ocean Species and the various powers of the Realm had become secondary.
The question everyone wanted answered was painfully simple.
Where did he go?
Nobody knew.
The Absolute Anomaly had simply vanished without a trace.
One moment he had been standing at the center of the battlefield while surrounded by enemies from every direction, and the next moment he had disappeared completely as though he had never been there in the first place.
Naturally, the discussions throughout the Universal System had reached unprecedented levels.
The number of posts being created every second shattered record after record, while new discussions appeared faster than moderators could organize them.
Countless theories emerged every minute as people attempted to explain the events they had witnessed.
Some believed that the mysterious existence hidden behind the crack had personally taken away the Absolute Anomaly.
Others believed that a Higher Existence had intervened and rescued him from certain death.
There were even those who insisted that he had perished during the chaos and that his disappearance was merely a side effect of whatever phenomenon had occurred at the end of the battle.
Yet an equally large number of people rejected that possibility entirely, arguing that someone capable of surviving a Heavenly Lightning Tribulation, battling countless enemies, and escaping four Celestial Rank beings could not possibly die so easily.
However, among the countless theories circulating throughout the Realm, there was one possibility that disturbed people more than any other.
The possibility that the Absolute Anomaly was still alive.
The possibility that he was currently hiding somewhere beyond everyone’s sight while recovering from his injuries.
The possibility that, after surviving everything that had happened at the Endless Ocean, he would once again return stronger than before.
And for many people, that possibility was far more terrifying than anything they had witnessed during the battle itself.
****
[Online Forum Discussion]
"Did anyone understand what that thing was?"
"I was about to ask the same question."
"Forget that thing, how did the Absolute Anomaly survive the Heavenly Lightning Tribulation?"
"That’s what you’re focused on? Four Celestial Rank beings personally moved against him."
"And still lost him."
"They didn’t lose him. He was already trapped."
"Then where is he now?"
"..."
"Exactly."
"I still think the crack was the most terrifying part."
"My recording became distorted the moment it appeared."
"Mine too."
"I couldn’t even see what was inside."
"I saw a person."
"No, you didn’t."
"I did."
"Then what did he look like?"
"..."
"See?"
"The Universal System couldn’t identify it either."
"Wait, seriously?"
"That shouldn’t be possible."
"At this point, nothing about the Absolute Anomaly should be possible."
"Do you think that thing was related to him?"
"I don’t know."
"I don’t think anyone knows."
Everyone was confused because the Universal System had not released any quest related to the being who had emerged from the crack.
This alone puzzled countless people.
After all, the appearance of that mysterious existence had clearly affected the battlefield and had become one of the most shocking parts of the entire incident, yet the Universal System remained completely silent regarding it.
Meanwhile, the Realm Quest related to the Absolute Anomaly was still active without any progress being made.
Everything remained exactly as it was before.
Even so, there were three existences who were deeply interested in the appearance of Henry.
The moment the crack appeared, they immediately knew that Henry had arrived from outside this caged place.
Yet despite knowing that, they still did not made any moves.
Instead, they remained silent and continued watching from wherever they were.
As for what they were thinking, nobody knew.
Who else could they be but the Three Eternal Supremes, whose greatest goal had always been to leave this caged place?
****
Meanwhile, away from all these disturbances, Ash was seated in a lotus position inside a small cave while quietly observing the changes that the Immortal Seal had brought upon his Soul Space.
Since there were no immediate dangers threatening him and nobody chasing after him at the moment, he finally had the opportunity to carefully examine everything that had changed during the formation of the Immortal Seal instead of simply skimming through the notifications as he usually did.
Inside his Soul Space, the size of the Soul Tree had increased a lot.
Now, it was as large as a planet.
Its sturdy branches were as thick as entire mountain ranges, extending endlessly throughout the Soul Space, while its roots stretched deep into the Dark Sea below, making Ash wonder just how much larger it would become in the future if it continued growing at the same pace.
That enormous size should have brought intense darkness throughout the Soul Space due to the massive shadow cast by the Soul Tree, especially considering how much larger it had become compared to before.
Yet nothing like that happened.
The Soul Sea, or rather the Dark Sea, had also changed.
Its darkness remained the same as before, deep, silent, and seemingly endless, but now at every juncture one could see the Black-White Lotuses that had appeared during the formation of the Immortal Seal, and those same lotuses were scattered throughout his Soul Space as though they had always existed there from the very beginning.
What’s more, one of their petals was shining brightly and continuously pushing away the shadows cast by the Soul Tree, allowing a gentle radiance to spread throughout the surrounding area and preventing the Soul Space from becoming engulfed in darkness.
Even the Soul Tree’s own brilliance had magnified several folds compared to before, causing its colossal form to stand out even more prominently against the endless darkness of the Dark Sea.
However, the biggest change Ash noticed was the fusion of the Soul Vault and Soul Library into a singular space called the [Akashic Archive].
Of course, that change had only occurred because of the synthesis of his Skills.
Speaking of Skills, he now possessed the blueprints of billions of Skills.
However, most of them were overlapping Skills with little practical use.
Many shared similar functions, many were merely variations of one another, and countless others could not be used by him because of insufficient energy requirements or because the conditions necessary for their activation had not yet been fulfilled.
So Eva had not actually created all those Skills.
Instead, she had merely preserved their blueprints.
The only original Skills she retained were the ones she had first synthesized.
They were powerful, and more importantly, they were more than enough for Ash’s current needs.
Having more Skills was not always a good thing.
Just like a person could not endlessly overeat without suffering consequences, possessing too many Skills could also become harmful because it created unnecessary complexity while offering little practical benefit in return.
After all, there was no point in possessing countless abilities that could never actually be used.
Thus, regulation was necessary.
After carefully going through all the changes inside his Soul Space and confirming that everything was functioning exactly as intended, Ash finally shifted his attention elsewhere and decided it was time to go through the descriptions of all the Skills.
****