Alex stood alone in the void for many seconds, his gaze lingering on the spot where the veil tear appeared.
'They won't leave this universe alone…' Alex wasn't an idiot. 'They will be interested in discovering how I did what I did, and going as far as forcing my hand won't be above them.'
The elven woman was right.
Alexander killing himself wasn't the key to what made his ascension so different and unique.
When Alexander got enlightened about the truths of the universe, it was his willingness to let go of everything that made it possible. While it sounded simple and doable, it wasn't the case.
With willing acceptance came the part of letting go of every identity he held. Everything Alex knew about himself, his family, his friends--everything. He had to let go of every identity.
That was the difficult part.
Alexander was a male, a son, a brother, a friend, a lover, a teacher, a boy with a dream and so much more. Letting go of all that was not something just anyone could do.
Doing so could potentially mean losing what made you who you are. With no identity, there was no existence.
But Alex did it.
For him, it was an easy choice--a temporary loss for a greater discovery of self. Ascending to godhood had allowed him to become everything he once was and more.
That was the key…
'I'm crazy, aren't I?' Alex shook his head with a wry smile. 'But now I can be anything I want to be.' He was no longer a human but an entity.
Still, he chose to keep the identifiers he once carried. A male, a son, a brother, a friend… Only this time, he was a universe in addition.
Putting those thoughts aside, Alex reopened his senses to cover the entire universe once more, taking a mental account of all there was.
'Even as I am now, I can't believe the universe is this big.' The glow in his eyes reflected the backdrop of the universe. 'Is this really a lower-level universe?'
While he knew the universes were put in strata, it wasn't based on the size of the universe. Maybe within the bounds of the universes themselves, yes. But in the Origin space, all universes appeared the same.
It was akin to a storage device. Small on the outside, but extremely spacious on the inside, and depending on the grade of the device, some were capable of holding much more than others, despite appearing the same.
'Then there is the fact that humanity occupies only a fraction of this gigantic space.' He raised his right hand, conjuring a miniaturized galaxy. 'Like a single grain of sand on a beach, so too is the entirety of the intergalactic empire.'
Alex miniaturized the galaxy in his hand, scaling it down until it was nothing but an almost unnoticeable speck of dust.
This speck multiplied many times until the original speck was buried and lost within the countless more that popped up.
He closed his fist, dissipating the glimmering specks of light into energy. Focusing on the universe again, he locked on to numerous high-tiered void creatures.
These creatures were absolute monstrosities, destroying and devouring galaxies upon galaxies in the far reaches of the universe.
The levels of instability and chaos in those regions were vastly greater than what was around humanity's vicinity.
As void creatures beyond the S-Tier, Alex estimated their strength levels at the Semi-Immortal and Immortal stages. They were more than any human could handle as even the current strongest among humans--Hunter Zol--was still at the Venerable Stage.
'The one I fought that time was at the Immortal level while I was at the Semi-Immortal. It was only after grasping the majority of laws that I was able to defeat it.'The fight was a hard-fought one.
'I should make everyone inherently capable of telling these levels. It should make things easier for the hunters.'
A subtle pulse emanated from his body, instantly enveloping every living creature in the empire. For a moment, the people sensed something about them shift, but couldn't quite identify it.
'Now what to do with these creatures…?' Alex considered his options. 'Clearing them out and resetting everything should be a simple task for me. And if I lock the universe from the outside world, there will be no more creatures coming in.'
A point to note at this stage was that there were enough void creatures to last this universe for many aeons. But the high-tiered ones were a finite resource.
"First off," Alex released another pulse, instantly reaching all corners of the universe. Then all manner of spatial storms and shifts involving void energy were removed, only leaving a few isolated quintillions in different fixed locations in the universe.
The next pulse sealed all the veil tears that plagued his universe, repairing the veil of reality. In one ascension, Alexander solved the universe's problems, putting the universe back on track.
With no more veil tears ripping apart the fabric of reality, the universe was finally free and safe, at least on the inside.
"As for those void creatures…" His gaze shifted to the many S-Class hunters who served as his vassals.
Some were on hunting missions, guiding their subordinates on ways to properly deal with void creatures, others were in isolated realms trying to grasp what Zol had embarked on.
"Everyone, gather here." Alex called his vassals through their renewed connection, and soon many flickering lights appeared in the void.
Cassandra was the first to make her appearance, having kept a close eye on Alexander the moment he appeared. The catwoman had tried to come earlier but couldn't shift to Alex's position.
She understood Alex was keeping her out until she was called upon. The others may have not noticed until they began appearing, but Cassandra could feel this sense of awe and reverence for Alex even from where she was.
'So this is the power of a god…' The catwoman swallowed hard at the realization. She couldn't help but take in Alex's new robes. 'Even the robes have more power than I can cough out.'
"..."
Everyone else was taken aback as an overwhelming urge to kneel before Alex took hold of them. At that moment, only one phrase echoed in their minds.
'A true god.' This time they were sure.
It was no longer merely a title bestowed upon him by the public because of his powers and abilities; rather, he had truly become one himself.
Elina couldn't help but flash a charming smile at the majestic figure of Alex standing in the void. His robes fluttered in the void as if there was a gentle breeze around, and the subtle glow around his figure made his presence impossible to ignore.
'A true god, indeed.'