Bang.
The marble-sized white sphere shot forward from Ash’s fingertips with a speed so terrifying that it seemed to ignore the very concept of distance itself, and before the gigantic Abomination could even react, the descending claw that had been moments away from crushing Ash was struck head-on by the attack.
What followed lasted less than an instant.
The enormous claw exploded apart as flesh, bones, blood, and even the dense Abyssal Energy coating it were pulverized into particles before being completely vaporized by the overwhelming power contained within the tiny white sphere, leaving behind not even the slightest trace that it had ever existed.
Yet the attack did not slow down in the slightest.
Instead, it continued moving forward in a perfectly straight line as though nothing in the world possessed the ability to obstruct its path, and the mountain-sized body of the Abomination was swallowed by the attack before its countless eyes could even process what had happened.
Its flesh burst apart, its bones shattered into nothingness, and the countless mouths covering its body disappeared one after another as the terrifying fusion of energies contained within the white sphere tore through everything without discrimination, reducing the enormous creature into particles so fine that even those particles were vaporized a moment later.
The Abomination did not even have the opportunity to release another roar before its entire existence disappeared from the world, leaving behind neither a corpse nor fragments of flesh, as though such a creature had never stood there in the first place.
The attack, however, continued onward.
Ancient trees hundreds of meters tall exploded apart the moment they entered its path, while the earth itself split open into a perfectly straight trench stretching endlessly into the distance as rocks, soil, roots, and everything buried beneath the ground were pulverized and vaporized by the residual force released from the attack, leaving behind nothing but an empty scar carved across the land.
Even the dense Abyssal mist permeating the forest was swept away completely, and from where Ash stood, one could see a perfectly straight path extending far beyond the horizon, so clean and absolute that it resembled a line drawn across the world itself.
Only after travelling an unknown distance did the marble-sized sphere finally exhaust its power and quietly disappear into the far distance.
And Ash stood there with a dumbfounded expression as he stared at the perfectly straight scar stretching beyond the horizon, while the silence that had descended upon the Abyssal Forest made the aftermath appear even more unreal.
"That was.....unexpected..."
Ash muttered while still in a daze.
After all, this was the first time he had fused all of his elements into one.
Previously, the most he had been capable of fusing was five or six elements at once, but with [Universal Element Control], his hold over the elements had reached the very peak.
And thus, this result was not even within Ash’s expectations.
He had expected it to be powerful.
Very powerful.
But he had never imagined it would reach such a terrifying level.
His gaze once again drifted toward the distant horizon where the perfectly straight scar cut through the Abyssal Forest, extending so far into the distance that even he could no longer see where it ended.
Ash lowered his hand and let out a slow breath.
Looks like I underestimated [Universal Element Control] and the effects of the Immortal Seal.
No.
Perhaps it was more accurate to say that he had underestimated himself.
After all, ever since forming the Immortal Seal and surviving the Calamity Phoenix Tribulation, his growth had simply been too rapid, to the point where even he had yet to fully grasp the extent of his own power.
"But that attack was very powerful. I need to experiment more, because if I can use that perfected energy to coat my weapons and attacks, my combat power would receive a massive boost."
Ash’s eyes gleamed with excitement as countless possibilities began appearing within his mind one after another.
If such destructive power could be condensed into a simple projectile, then what would happen if he applied it to his sword techniques?
What if he coated his fists with it?
Or infused it into every attack he possessed?
The possibilities were endless.
For a brief moment, Ash wanted nothing more than to immediately enter secluded training and experiment with the countless ideas forming within his mind.
But he forcefully held himself back.
There would be time for that later.
Right now, there were still many things he needed to do.
"Let’s give it a name..... I can’t let this attack remain nameless.... Hmm, yeah, that should be perfect. From now on, this attack shall be called as...."
Ash lowered his gaze toward his fingertips where the marble-sized sphere had been born moments ago, while a faint smile gradually appeared on his face as a suitable name surfaced within his mind.
"White Star."
The name felt strangely fitting.
A tiny white sphere carrying enough power to erase everything in its path, shining for only a brief moment before disappearing into nothingness like a star falling from the heavens.
Ash nodded in satisfaction.
For now, the name would suffice.
But, the disturbance caused by [White Star] had been far too great.
Even now, powerful auras hidden deep within the Abyssal Forest had begun stirring one after another, their gazes seemingly directed toward the region where the attack had occurred.
Ash immediately concealed his aura and left the place hurriedly, because he knew that this act of his must have attracted the attention of the true behemoths of the Abyssal Forest.
Although Ash was powerful, he would rather not face monsters and beings much stronger than himself, at least not unless he completed the task that he was here for.
And like that, a few days passed by in an instant.
During those days, Ash hunted monsters, though this time he deliberately refrained from using White Star.
At the same time, he continued his experiments with Synthesis again and again, hoping that the changes brought by the Evolution of the Skill would produce different results.
Unfortunately, reality proved otherwise.
To his disappointment, the problems of Synthesis had yet to be resolved.
Thus, after letting out his frustrations born from his inability against the Celestials upon the monsters of the Abyssal Forest, Ash finally returned back to the shop in the City of Light.
****
CITY OF LIGHT
Back inside his shop, Ash appeared directly inside his room, and after spending several days in the Abyssal Forest surrounded by monsters and dense Abyssal Energy, the familiar atmosphere of the shop felt strangely peaceful in comparison.
His perception expanded outward as he searched for Eric, and he quickly found him in the living area of their home. The shop was closed, and Eric was sitting there along with....
He brought a guest inside...??
Ash’s expression became slightly strange because, due to the spatial expansion inside the shop that made it vastly larger than its exterior appearance suggested, he had specifically instructed Eric not to bring outsiders inside, lest people begin suspecting that the owner of the shop was some mysterious existence with mastery over Space.
After all, abilities related to Space were far too rare and eye-catching.
"Looks like the saying that men get blinded in love is quite true."
The guest in question was none other than Saskia.
On the couch, Eric and Saskia were huddled together with their shoulders nearly touching as both of their eyes remained glued to the floating screen before them, so focused on what they were watching that they seemed completely unaware of the world around them.
It was a screen of the Universal System showing the latest news, most of it revolving around the mess Ash had left behind, about how the investigations were progressing, about the powers displayed by the Absolute Anomaly, and countless theories trying to explain the events that had unfolded at the Endless Ocean.
But he was not interested in any of that information, because Ash knew better than anyone that information provided by others could be very misleading, especially when it passed through countless mouths before reaching the masses.
By the way, when did they become this close..?
Ash could not help but blink.
He had only been gone for a few days, yet somehow the relationship between those two appeared to have advanced far faster than he had expected.
Still, he quickly shook his head because he knew there was no point stressing over such things, and besides, there was a much simpler solution to the matter.
He just had to ask.
Simple as that.
Ash first went to shower to wash away the blood, dust, and sweat that had accumulated on his body during his stay in the Abyssal Forest, because after spending several days hunting monsters and experimenting with Synthesis, even he could no longer tolerate his current state.
After changing into a fresh set of clothes, he finally walked out of his room.
The moment the door opened, both Eric and Saskia instinctively turned their heads toward him, their attention immediately shifting away from the floating screen of the Universal System.
As Ash stepped out, his hair was still slightly damp, with tiny droplets of water clinging to a few loose strands, while a faint pleasant fragrance lingered around him despite him not using any kind of perfume.
His appearance itself had not changed much.
Yet the feeling he gave others had changed tremendously.
The way he walked, the calmness hidden within his eyes, the natural confidence in his posture, and even the subtle movements of his body gave off an indescribable sense of nobility, making him look less like an ordinary person and more like a prince born within some ancient empire.
No.
Perhaps prince was no longer the correct word.
A king.
Because unknowingly, Ash’s bearing had gradually begun to resemble that of a ruler with every passing day, whether it was due to his Bloodline, the recently assimilated Will of the Ancient Calamity Phoenix, or the tiny fragment of the Will of Heavens that had now been assimilated into his very existence.
Whatever the reason was, even Ash himself had yet to notice the gradual change.
Seeing him, Eric immediately jumped off the couch and appeared in front of him almost instantly.
"When did you arrive? And where is my sister? Why can’t I contact her???"
The words came out in one breath.
Ash looked at Eric with dead eyes.
At that moment, he wanted to do nothing more than beat the hell out of this brat.
He had just returned home after several exhausting days, and instead of asking whether he was fine, the brat’s first concern was his sister.
Truly.
Children grew up too quickly these days.
Ash glanced toward Saskia before a regretful smile slowly appeared on his face.
"Shouldn’t it be our sister, my little brother? Why are you creating confusion for our guest?"
His voice was filled with disappointment.
"If you don’t want to accept me as your brother, then I can only grieve in silence. I can already feel how those parents must feel when the child they raised from infancy suddenly starts behaving like a stranger."
Ash placed a hand over his chest.
"Oh my heart, I can’t bear this pain."
His expression was so sorrowful that one might genuinely believe he had suffered some great injustice.
Then he again looked toward Saskia and spoke with the expression of a man abandoned by his own family.
"You are friends with Eric, right? Then can you please ask him not to abandon me? What will I even do without him?"
Saskia blinked.
Eric stared.
And for a brief moment, silence descended upon the room.
"You... You... YOU....."
Eric pointed at Ash with trembling fingers, his face turning red from sheer disbelief as though he had just witnessed the greatest act of shamelessness in human history.
****