"That's where you're wrong, Alexander."
"..."
Alexander was left slightly speechless, not sure what the god was talking about. Even his main body in Universe Prime was left speechless.
These gods were here to invade his home without even asking, and he was the one in the wrong? Something was wrong with the narrative.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Alex growled in a low tone.
"All universes in this reality were birth using Universe Prime as the blueprint." Rethkar continued confidently, his divinity flaring around him wildly. "That means everything that exists is under the jurisdiction of Universe Prime. And as gods of said universe, we have dominion over all universes."
"I see…" Alex couldn't believe what he was hearing. Anyone would have gone insane hearing such nonsense. And while he was mad, it wasn't enough to push him over the edge.
'These misguided fools believe they are above everything.' Alex mused silently, taking a good look at the hundreds of gods gathered here. 'Are they really under the Supreme One?'
This also made him wonder if the Supreme One could see what was happening, wherever he was. Back in Universe Prime, Alexander's main body was still waiting for the response of Chronovar before he did what he said he would.
"Like you just heard from my herald, stay put like the little boy you are and let them do what they came to do." Chronovar replied confidently.
"Lord Chronovar, what you and the others are doi—" Drakmor tried to intervene but was quickly shut down.
"Silence!" The Spacetime god roared in outrage. "Know your place. You're just a servant of the Supreme One."
'But we're all his servants.' The dragon thought silently. Still, he shut up and decided to see how things played out.
Despite his collected and calm personality, he was still very curious about Alexander and how powerful he could really be for a lower universe veilwalker.
"Let me guess…" Alex said, catching everyone's attention. "Your heralds, Rethkar and Thrayn, are there to learn what you couldn't before, right? Maybe gain a bit of leverage on me?" A sharp glint flashed across his eyes at that point.
It was but a simple feat to see through the guise of those morons who called themselves gods, especially when he was standing right in the heart of Universe Prime, where he could sift through the records to see what divinity those gods represented.
"Ooh…" Chronovar was impressed that Alex could see that much. However, his heavy voice grew deeper and colder a second later. "Then that makes this easier… Tell your clone to step aside before we use force."
"Why couldn't you just ask me like a normal person?" Alex shot back with raised brows. "If you wanted to know something about me, you could have just asked. Why go through this long-winded way of acquiring information?"
"..."
Chronovar and the other gods around were left speechless. They were so used to getting their way in everything that seeing a 'small-time' veilwalker dominate the minor gods made them want to put Alexander in his place.
And since they couldn't see through him and weren't used to just asking and receiving, it completely skipped their celestial brains. But then, there was also no guarantee that Alex would be completely honest with them.
The best way was to go straight to the source of the information they wanted. Records didn't lie, and even if there was a chance that the records were manipulated, there was still a lot they could get on Alex and put him in his place.
"Interesting…" Chronovar mumbled thoughtfully. "Very well, Alexander. Tell us everything about yourself."
"I will… right after you call off your heralds," Alex replied decisively. "I don't like strangers invading my home."
"Hahaha…"
Chronovar laughed out loud, finding Alexander's words funny. For the gods to admit that what they did was unnecessary? They'd rather keep the play on. There was no way they'd lose face like that.
"They will stay." Chronovar abruptly stopped and said. "There's no guarantee what you'll be saying will be the truth."
The gods had already made up their minds. Their heralds were going to get inside that universe whether Alex liked it or not — at the very least, to confirm his words.
At this point, Alex was reaching his limits. How hard was leaving his universe alone? Moreover, giving in to their ridiculous demands would make them believe they could toss him around.
He needed to stand his ground and put the gods in their place.
"Why must you be this stubborn?" Alex mumbled to himself. No one could hear him if he didn't want them to, so no one did. But they did see his lips move and could deduce what he said.
"What is it going to be, Alexander?" Chronovar pushed for a response. "Regardless of what you choose, the outcome will be the same. You should step aside and allow the heralds to do what they're there to do."
"No…" Alex replied in a cold tone, his expression turning serious. "This nonsense ends now… Tell your heralds to leave by the time I count down to one."
"Heh~ I'd like to see what that clone of yours is really capable of…" Chronovar sneered. None of them took his words seriously.
At the same time, they wanted to see what he was really capable of. This was a good opportunity to see for themselves.
"Hah…" A long sigh escaped his lips as Alex closed his eyes for a moment. "Do you seriously believe I can't touch any of you here?"
"..."
This was what they also wondered. Naturally, they were confident in their superiority. And while Chronovar was chosen to stand for them because of his concept, he was not the strongest among the main gods.
"Three…"
Alex began the count as silence settled over the space. Everyone secretly observing was ready to see how Alex was going to deal with the gods before his universe.
Furthermore, the combat gods among the main gods prepared themselves for a fight. For those who were just observing, they decided to minimise the intensity of their senses to avoid getting caught in whatever was about to happen.
"Two…"
The second countdown came from his body facing the minor gods before his universe. They were all aware of the conversation that was happening in Universe Prime and weren't surprised to hear the countdown.
They watched as Alex raised his right hand from behind him, prompting the minor gods to get into combat stances. However, Alex simply held his fingers in a snapping gesture.
"Hehe… This is going to be good." Some of the gods couldn't help but grin excitedly, many retrieving their divine weapons.
'I have a bad premonition about this…' Andrew, who witnessed what was happening via Drakmor's help, couldn't help but gulp. 'That body of his may be no weaker than his main body.'
Drakmor remained silent, but he agreed with his apprentice. There was a nagging feeling growing in the pit of his Being. Alex was about to do something that would shatter their reality.
"One…"
The final countdown came, but Alexander's clone didn't immediately act as they all thought. There was no snap of his fingers.
"Looks like he's just all talk." Rethkar sneered, chiding himself for feeling a slight panic from that snapping gesture.
Staring at the minor gods before him with a deadpan expression, Alex shook his head with a sigh. "I warned your masters, but it seems none of them care for your lives…" At the end of those words, Alexander snapped his fingers.
"!"