It was in his 84th life that Skyler snapped and could no longer endure it. His soul had grown stronger with each passing life, but with that power came something terrifying.
His sense of self was gradually fading.
If it continued like this, no matter how much power he owned, his soul would eventually disappear into nothingness.
The pain became so unbearable that he actually roared in anguish before dying.
And the person he directed his anguish toward was Max Hales, who had started remembering some of his past lifetimes.
Why did Skyler always have to survive?
Why couldn’t he just live?
He was tired of surviving!
From now on, he would write this story in a way where he would get what he wanted!
He would change everything.
He would live.
And he did just that.
Even if he only remembered some of his lifetimes, Skyler had the power to do that.
It was in Skyler’s 89th lifetime in the trial that he finally found the Supreme Seat. It had revealed itself on its own and wanted him—who no longer remembered what it had done to him for so long—to claim it.
Max had also arrived there shortly after.
The golden-eyed man was almost on the verge of death. Max didn’t remember the trial, but he still subconsciously begged Skyler to claim the Supreme Seat, which had changed its name within the trial to Skybound Throne after choosing Skyler.
Something deep within Max’s soul screamed at him that if Skyler did so, his suffering and agony would finally end.
But Skyler didn’t.
Because the moment the Supreme Seat showed up, his memories were triggered.
Before Max’s dilated eyes, Skyler stepped forward and kicked the Supreme Seat away.
The air trembled violently as a white and golden shadow with no shape, purely made of the power of all elements, materialized after the Supreme Seat was kicked away.
It looked rather angry.
But Skyler only laughed crazily.
"So, you finally showed yourself!"
The moment the words left his mouth, his body erupted with boundless power as he attacked. Skyler wanted nothing but to tear apart the Supreme Seat’s sentience, erase its existence, and unleash every ounce of power he owned to make it disappear.
Completely.
In their powerful battle, more than ninety percent of the Battle Royal was destroyed.
And this didn’t happen in the trial.
This happened in reality.
The reality Skyler had tried to return to so many times but had failed every time. As a result, everyone in Eldoria and many other realms and planets who were in the lower levels of the Battle Royal was suddenly kicked out and could no longer enter it.
Skyler fought with everything he had.
And they were evenly matched. That alone was proof of how powerful he had grown.
The Supreme Seat’s overwhelming power, which had once been untouchable, was now something he could stand against.
By now, power was etched into his very instincts. He could control every element in existence. If he lost that power along with his memories, he could simply take it back.
Ultimately, Skyler even overpowered it.
He was sure that before he died, he could completely destroy the Supreme Seat.
That alone sent a thrill through him.
But he froze when the Supreme Seat’s sentience suddenly threw something at him, gesturing toward the Wheel of Time that had silently appeared behind Skyler.
The instant Skyler raised his hand to slap away the crimson crystal thrown at him, it dissolved into tiny particles, filling his mind with knowledge that did not belong to him.
Max watched everything.
He thought he would die in their battle.
But before he took his last breath, he watched as Skyler stopped fighting the sentience of the Supreme Seat. And it quickly escaped the scene. On the other hand, instead of chasing after it, Skyler rushed toward the Wheel of Time with a frantic expression. His hands shaking.
The world around them shattered.
And Max couldn’t understand why.
Why had Skyler made that choice?
A tear trailed from Max’s eye, tracing down his face before disappearing into his hair.
The Skybound Throne.
Skyler had reached it.
Yet, he chose the Wheel of Time?
That was Max’s final thought before his consciousness completely faded away.
He just wanted it all to end.
He missed his home.
He was never the protagonist.
Skyler had made him one.
Everything had become so twisted. He no longer even remembered his own reality.
Max died, so he failed to hear the laughter that escaped from Skyler’s lips amidst the breaking world around him—laughter filled with joy—as he waited for time to rewind.
"She’s real! She is... Hahaha!"
Skyler could no longer say that there was no one in his heart. The mere fact that she existed was enough to make his cold heart, which had long since stopped beating, race once again...! His indifferent, emotionless, empty blue eyes now flashed with pure joy.
"The core of the Battle Royale... To think she was the core of the Battle Royale..."
The knowledge Skyler received from the crystal continued to flash in his mind.
In the past he had never been a part of.
The time when the real Divine War was unfolding in reality.
The core of the Battle Royal, after gaining its own consciousness, had only chosen to be born into the physical world because the Main System, its only friend in the endless darkness, had predicted that the ongoing Divine War would be won by the Dark Side.
She had believed the Main System’s words when it said that being born from the Spirit Queen was the best starting point to help the righteous side turn the tide of the war.
What she didn’t know was that the Main System had long since been corrupted by the Higher Beings. After she arrived in the physical world, instead of being cherished, the Head of Angels—who had made a deal with the Main System and already knew of her arrival—sacrificed her to get her power.
And to think he was her father.
Although in the end, he only gained a fraction of her immense power, it was enough to help his side win the War.