"I see…Even with your complete evolution, you still don't know." Alex couldn't believe his own words. He turned his gaze back to the core, staring at it calmly.
"What the hell are you on about?" The Veilwalker holding on to Alex's neck tightened his grip. "Spill it out already!"
It wasn't that Alex's train of thought was wrong. It was quite the opposite. With every strike he received from the Veilwalker, he felt himself being pushed to the brink.
He was being forced into a state of nothingness.
This got him thinking really long and hard about the state of godhood and becoming a universe. Why was there a universe in the first place? What purpose did it serve?
The answer he arrived at was… nothing.
'Reminds me of the mirror trial I had during my academy days…' Alex chuckled softly. 'There is no grand plan for the universe. There was no ultimate goal the multiverse set out to achieve.'
"Nothing." Alex gave his reply, confusing the Veilwalkers even more. "Becoming a universe, understanding your place in reality is a false belief!"
"!"
The three walkers were slightly taken aback. For a moment, they felt something shake within their being; an indication that whatever Alex was talking about meant something.
"I've been told Veilwalkers have a limitless potential for growth." Alex continued with a bright smile, his hands grabbing onto the walker's hand. "So the question you should be asking yourself is… why use the core to achieve godhood?
"Sure, bonding with the core makes you the master of the universe, granting you absolute authority. But…" His smile widened, leaving the rest of his words hanging.
In the back, the female Veilwalker remained absolutely calm, but within her was a raging fire of panic and alarm. Had it not been for the complete control she had over her body, her heart would have been pounding.
'He understood that secret simply from interacting with us?' The woman questioned inwardly. 'Just who the hell is he…?' She was getting more and more interested in knowing about Alexander.
When she got to the stage where her own core cried out for the universe's core, she did not question it. And after joining the Supreme One, she was allowed to bond with her universe.
That was when she learned of the secrets of reality and the secrets of achieving a state of complete oneness with the universe.
'All we had to do was to accept that we had no grand purpose…' The woman recalled her experience then. 'As an amalgamation of wills, the multiverse was free to do whatever it wanted.
'And it gave itself a purpose. The sands on a planet have no grand purpose, so it is free to become anything. Mould it into a brick, into a statue, into anything. That… that gives the sand purpose.
'It could live its entire life thinking its ultimate reason for existing is to be a brick. But can it fathom that it was once sand with no grand purpose or reason for existing?'
The answer was obvious.
No.
'But if it somehow finds its way back to being a sand, then it becomes one with every other existing sand. From there… it can be anything it desired, without the limitations of its brick nature.'
That… that was the ultimate expression of a being's existence. Return to your roots, accept what you are and have the power to become anything.
That was why the Veilwalkers had such a powerful presence. They could be anything, and at their current level, they were gods… their presence akin to a universe.
"So what…?" Alex's holder hissed, inwardly shocked at the revelation. "Knowing it doesn't make you a god. You will still need the core to complete your evolution."
"Do I?" Alex smiled knowingly, causing the hearts of all three walkers to skip a beat. "We all have a universe in our inner realms, an exact reflection of our home universe. Why is that?"
The realization came late, but it was finally here. Recalling some words he muttered some time ago, he didn't know it would be quite literal.
'I am in the universe and the universe is in me.' Alex recited and then added. 'I am the universe and the universe is me… To become a universe…' He turned his gaze back to the core.
While the walkers pondered his question, the core within Alex began to pulse rhythmically, syncing with the pulse the universe core gave.
'I have to let go…' Alex closed his eyes, surprising the walker.
The smile on his face disappeared, replaced by a degree of calmness that changed his very presence.
"He's about to do something!" The short male shouted, rushing over to his companion. "Do something!"
"Like what?!" The other yelled in reply, not sure what Alex was about to do.
There were no indications or signs that he was about to use his powers; there was not even a trace of energy being emitted from him.
"Kill him!"
"What?!" The woman snapped out of her thoughts, rushing over to the others. "You know we are not allowed to kill a fellow walker, no matter how stubborn they are!"
Back in the empire, Alex's clone suddenly stopped moving. This caught the attention of his students, getting them curious.
Curious; not because he stopped moving, but because the moment he did, his presence completely changed. Suddenly, he flashed a reassuring smile.
"I'll be right back." The clone said and then faded out of existence, leaving the students confused.
Aaron observed this action thoughtfully. 'Has he succeeded?' He wondered. There was no trace of fear in his eyes as he had complete faith in his brother.
After all, Alexander could do anything.
The Veilwalker grabbing Alex's neck wasn't sure what to do. But every moment they wasted, they could feel something changing.
"He is somehow evolving! Kill him now!"
"Wouldn't the Supreme One be interested in how he did it?!" The woman defended, not wanting to see Alex die. He was too valuable. "Besides, do you really think he can surpass the Supreme One?!"
"It's not worth the risk." The short male refused to listen, the panic and alarm he felt intensifying. "Do it!"
While the Veilwalkers argued about what to do, Alex remained in a state of complete calmness, apparently not hearing anything they said.
The woman didn't know what to say anymore, staring at Alex's calm expression. Had her cloak been off, anyone would have noticed the hesitation in her eyes.
'I'm sorry…' She inwardly sighed. 'But there is always a chance…' She understood her companions' side.
The calm air around Alex suddenly disappeared completely, like he didn't exist.
"Kill him!"
"Tsk!" The walker holding Alex gritted his teeth, his right hand taking a dark greyish glow. With one swift movement, he plunged his hand straight into Alex's chest, but Alex showed no reaction.
Nothing at all.
The only issue was that the strike wasn't a physical one. It targeted his inner universe and core, appearing like a gigantic hand that grabbed hold of Alex's core.
It was the surest way to kill a being such as themselves, and not many people in the multiverse could plunge into that inner realm.
"Goodbye." The walker said, crushing the core with ease.
Alexander died a quiet death. There was no groan of pain, no regret on his face; nothing. He was reduced to nothing, his body disintegrating into motes of light.