Chapter 54: Limit Break, A Sword and A Supreme’s Sigh (3)

Neo savored his breakthrough.

Breaking the limit was very different.

It was an absolutely unmatched feeling.

But the thought that took over his mind wasn’t to start testing what it meant to break the limit.

All of that would be in due time.

He looked in a certain direction.

He had tried his best to not go there before he broke the limit.

But now that he had.

There was nothing holding him back.

He walked in that direction.

The Ancient Supreme had told him to break the limit and go there.

Now, was the time to find what she had left behind for him.

The altar was still there.

It remained unchanged.

But the starry liquid that had been floating above it had gone through a change.

Before, it had only been a drop floating on top of the altar.

Now, it was like a river.

It flowed above the altar.

If the altar was the ground, then it was the sky above it.

It spread above, until it covered the extent of the altar.

The altar was the only thing holding it back.

Neo had no doubt that it would have spread to encompass the whole world if not for the altar restraining it.

Looking at it now, it felt like looking at the true starry sky.

Neo could feel it drawing him in, but he easily resisted its pull.

It was not like before, when he hadn’t even known when he had been drawn in.

The stars within it weren’t static.

They shifted around, forming into patterns he couldn’t understand.

Then, there was the strand of hair from the Ancient Supreme.

It had grown to match the stars themselves, and went beyond.

It flowed within the starry sky.

Moving in patterns that complemented that of the stars.

As Neo continued to observe the scene before him.

He noticed that there was a unique interaction between the stars themselves, and the strand of hair from the Ancient Supreme.

Their unique rhythm seemed to tell a tale.

One older than existence itself.

Some of the stars vanished, only to appear in different positions.

Neo could glimpse the pattern underlying their movements as he continued to observe.

GROWL!

Devour seemed to have gotten impatient.

Its long awaited reward was already here, and Neo seemed to be getting cold feet.

Neo walked to the steps that led to the top of the altar.

He placed a leg on the first step.

Nothing happened.

He had been expecting something dramatic, but he had been hoping for too much.

He continued step by step.

Until he reached the reached the very last step.

He stepped on the top of the altar.

And felt himself cross into another world.

The world he had been in disappeared.

He hadn’t stepped onto an altar.

He had stepped into a whole different domain.

His first action was to look up.

It was a starry sky that was no different from the one he had been observing just now.

He looked around.

This place extended beyond his sight.

He waited.

The Ancient Supreme had told him one thing.

Devour would take care of the process.

ROAR!

He felt his body weaken.

Something left his body.

And into the sky it went.

He felt his legs shake, as he almost lost his balance.

His eyes turned upwards.

A large gaping maw had now joined the stars above.

Whether it be the vanishing stars, or the ones shifting in a unique rhythm.

Every single one of them was swallowed into the gaping maw.

It didn’t matter how much they resisted.

Neo, at that moment, felt the true power of Devour.

Only the strand of hair from the Ancient Supreme remained unmoved.

The gaping maw swallowed until no stars were left.

The once bright sky became a dead domain of darkness.

BURP!

A satisfied burp resounded, and shook everywhere.

Something came out of the gaping maw.

It was a colorful mist that slowly descended to the ground below.

Neo thought it was coming for him.

He couldn’t have been more wrong.

His sword that had been in its sheath vibrated.

It unsheathed itself and flew into the sky.

It rushed towards the mist.

The moment it entered, it melted until nothing was left but a small piece.

A small piece that retained the shape of a sword.

Even among the vivid colors of the mist, it remained visible.

Bright and clear.

Neo had a suspicion of what it was.

But all he could do was watch as everything unfolded.

The strand of hair from the Ancient Supreme, which had remained unmoved, entered into the small piece left from the sword.

It was quite the sight.

The strand of hair had been massive, yet the sword piece, tiny as a finger had swallowed it whole.

The mist also entered into it.

Slowly, the small sword shaped piece grew into a sword.

It grew until it became a replica of the sword that had just been destroyed.

It slowly rotated in the sky.

Then, satisfied with its new form.

It dived down and dropped itself back into the sheath.

Neo’s mind had been blown beyond reason.

Then Devour, the last one still in the sky, also returned to its rightful place.

To Neo.

The moment Devour returned into Neo’s body, he felt something within him change.

Shackles he hadn’t even known existed, all of them broke.

His whole being transcended limits he couldn’t even conceive.

On the most fundamental level, his being went through a change.

Now, he felt the true power of Devour.

While he enjoyed the euphoria of his advancement.

He felt something hit his mind.

It was not a physical blow.

The scene before his eyes changed.

He saw a woman.

Spirited and powerful

Her whole bearing screamed one thing.

Raw power.

She was in a confrontation with a group of shadowy beings.

Neo couldn’t grasp a sense of them.

Words were being exchanged between the two sides.

Neo couldn’t hear anything.

But the tension between the two sides was clear as day.

The woman made a move.

A terrifying gaping maw appeared in the void behind her.

It was an eldritch sight that terrified the mind.

But those shadowy beings weren’t bothered.

The two sides clashed.

Neo didn’t see what happened next.

His mind shut down.

He went unconscious.

His body fell.

Someone appeared beside his unconscious form.

It was the Ancient Supreme.

She stared down at his unmoving body.

Her lips pursed.

"Do not worry, old friend. Fate is on our side this time."

A voice resounded in this world within the altar.

It was deep and ancient.

The Ancient Supreme blinked.

Her pursed lips relaxed into a gentle smile.

She bent down, and poked Neo’s unconscious form.

"Of course, I am not worried. Take care of our little friend here. Our fates rest on him."

"He doesn’t look so little to me."

The voice laughed.

"Shoo!"

The Ancient Supreme made a shooing motion.

A portal formed below Neo.

His body fell into it.

"WAIT!"

Someone didn’t seem to want to leave.

But the Ancient Supreme didn’t care.

She sent everyone away.

She remained in the same posture.

Her mind drifted to thoughts that only she knew.

She looked at the now empty world around her.

Whether it be the one within the altar, or the one where the altar was situated.

She remained the only being within both worlds.

She sighed.

It was one full of helplessness.

If Neo had felt helpless in the face of a little loneliness.

She, the Ancient Supreme, had been alone for so long that she had forgotten how long it was.

Chasing a goal only she understood.

Everything around her began to dissipate.

Disappearing into the ether, like a passing dream.

_________________________________

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