Two days had passed since Alexander and Cassandra had a Q&A session.
The catwoman had had her entire view of reality blown by what Alexander revealed, leaving her in a perpetual dazed state.
Cassandra could barely focus on anything during that time, spending most of it in one of the rooms.
The implications of Alexander's explanation of what a system truly meant made her realise Alexander had the potential to become an actual universe instead of an implied one.
It was not just about power anymore; it was about being a self-reliant existence. Her core could not stop thumping whenever it hit her; she was that shaken.
Meanwhile, Ross and Julia had remained in deep contemplative states for those two days, and Alexander made no attempts to wake them up until he was ready.
The Immortals were inching closer to the demigod level, and the faster they got there, the better it was for them.
But that was not the only reason Alex did not wake them up. Even he needed time to organise everything he had learned from the corrupted Enforcers.
A few of his questions had been answered, and hopefully, the rest would be provided once he talked with Drakmor and his colleagues.
From the knowledge he would gather, he hoped it would be enough for him to complete his ascension. It wasn't going to be easy, but Alexander was prepared to do whatever it took.
However, the two days that passed were not without any external issues. With Alexander's domain spread out, the entire base was within his perception.
There was nothing he missed.
However, therein lies the problem. The Enforcers and their subordinates moved like they were constantly under observation, communicating verbally to pass as normal.
Everyone stayed clear of the area he and his companions were assigned. They were cautious in how they moved, what they said and what they did.
It would have passed for normal if one wasn't paying attention, but Alexander noticed it all. Of course, it wasn't something that bothered him, not even a little.
The chiefs and their subordinates were cautious, and rightly so. Alex had no reason to find fault with them. Moreover, this was not his universe, so he cared very little about what went on.
"Hey, sweetheart…"
Alexander crouched before the cross-legged Julia, who was seated on a mat in their room. He extended a hand forward, warmly stroking her white-silvery hair.
The swirling mass of white essence around her body had been retrieved, time returning to the normal flow.
"It's time to wake up."
The Knight princess broke into a small smile as her eyes fluttered open, falling on a smiling Alexander. Waking up to seeing her beloved brought so much joy to her.
Although a simple gesture, she loved every second of it.
"How long have we been meditating?" Julia asked, looking around the spacious room. She didn't bother asking the obvious, only interested in knowing how long had passed.
"Two days in…" Alexander hesitated for a moment, something Julia didn't miss but chose to ignore. "...real time and 343 years in accelerated time."
"You've increased the speed…" Julia noted.
"Yep. The stronger you guys become, the easier it is for your existence to cope with the accelerated time." Alexander explained, extending both hands to help Julia up.
The Knight princess reached out like a baby, allowing herself to be lifted. However, instead of standing on her feet, she wrapped her legs around Alexander, clinging to him like a koala.
With her arms wrapped around Alexander's neck, the Knight princess closed her eyes as she breathed in his scent, the act placing a satisfied smile on her face. "Hehe, my hubby..."
Alexander smilingly held onto Julia, one hand on her back and the other hand stroking her hair. Julia's clingingness to him was one of the many things he liked about her.
Others might find it overwhelming, borderline crazy, but he wouldn't change it for anything in this reality.
Yes, her possessiveness was off the charts, but he never had a problem because he never looked at any other woman.
"How did your fight with those corrupted Enforcers go?" Julia asked.
"Inspiring, actually."
"Hmm?" Julia leaned back, staring right into Alexander's eyes. "What do you mean by 'inspiring'?"
"It's exactly what it means, hon. I learned a lot from them." Alex went on to share what transpired during the fight via shared memory, slowing the events down enough for her to grasp what took place.
A frown appeared on her face after a couple of seconds, her gaze growing distant for a moment before focusing on Alexander.
"Why does everything feel so overwhelming, like I had just learned something that I shouldn't?" Her head felt heavy and groggy, as if it was filled with a viciously strong viscous fluid.
"Because your level is still too low…" Alex replied swiftly, having already expected as much and taken the necessary precautions to relieve her of the side effects. "The revelations the Enforcers made were secrets even Veilwalkers had no idea about."
"I see…" Julia nodded thoughtfully, soon putting the revelations away. It was still too much for her to focus on right now. "So what now?" she lowered her gaze.
"I'll be meeting the Chiefs for a discussion on a few matters. Wanna come?" He explained.
"Hmm…" Julia thought for a moment and then replied. "Will what you guys be talking about be similar to what you just shared with me?"
"In a way, yes…" Alex nodded, knowing what Julia was implying. "But with me there, you have nothing to worry about. Of course, you can choose to stay here and cultivate."
"What about Ross?"
"He'll be coming with me, along with Cassandra."
The redhead was the first person Alexander went to, explaining the situation to him before heading to Julia.
Those two had decided to join Alexander, wanting to learn whatever he did instead of discovering it later.
"Then I'll be joining you," Julia answered.
"Excellent."
Alexander beamed and leaned forward, taking Julia's lips with his. The Knight princess passionately returned to gesture, closing the small gap between them as much as possible.
***
The Chief Enforcers had been notified ahead of time by Alexander.
Drakmor, along with those who had accompanied him, were already gathered in the chosen conference hall.
They were the ones to interact with Alexander, because they were the most familiar with him.
But this time, a new addition joined their numbers, bringing them to a total of seven chiefs.
Rycan, the lionkin.
Even if no one wanted him around, they couldn't exactly stop him. Chief Enforcers carried the same rank, only answering to the Supreme One.
The other chiefs were not here, not because they didn't want to, but because Alexander made no sense. He was too much of an anomaly for most of them to feel safe around.
Moreover, many of them were on the search for their corrupted colleagues, overseeing universes that had been touched by the corrupted essence or manning the barrier that separated the universes from the Omnisoul's domain.
'They're here…'
Everyone snapped out of their thoughts as their gaze shifted to the double doors to their right. The doors were soon swung open, revealing Alexander and his companions.
Drakmor swiftly rose to his feet, the others not far behind.
"Lord Alexander." They welcomed moments after he and his friends arrived on the other side of the rectangular table. "Please, have a seat."
Although they did not bow, the prideful and superior air they always carried was gone, replaced with cautious and serious demeanours.
"Thank you."
Alexander nodded and took a seat, Julia and Ross sitting to his right while Cassandra sat to his left. Ross, Julia and Cassandra observed calmly, noticing how tense some of the Enforcers looked.
Ignoring the silently growing tension in the hall, Alexander looked at the dragon sitting directly across from him. "Lord Drakmor, I'm sure you've all had time to digest everything we learned from your corrupted colleagues."
"Indeed, Lord Alexander." The dragon replied. "The revelations were beneficial to all of us. It informed us of many areas we were lacking in…"
Drakmor's response had to do with their appreciation of Alexander's feat in ascending to godhood.
The fact that Alexander went against the Omnisoul to ascend when it should have been impossible made them realise how broken he truly was.
While it didn't explain how powerful this made him or how he did the things he did, it made them realise how impressive what he did was.
"Good…" Alexander nodded, not particularly interested in what they realised. "Because what I want to know has everything to do with what I am missing."
"You wish to acquire the knowledge you're lacking." Drakmor narrowed his eyes.
"Yes. I don't have the luxury of picking up the hints by myself. I might not even be able to grasp those missing hints, ever." Alex said. "I have no intention of fusing with any universe cores…"
"..."
The Enforcers did not immediately reply, keenly aware of why he didn't want to fuse with universe cores. 'It would render his feat meaningless. He's breaking free from the Omnisoul, so taking any more from the Omnisoul would do the exact opposite.'
'But are we really going to share with him what we know?' Nyssa asked, inwardly displeased with Alexander's request. 'He's already broken enough as it is. Anymore and we would be damning ourselves.'
"We're already damned…' Rycan chipped in, inwardly furious at that suggestion. 'Had he not taken care of those void creatures, we would be dead already.'