SON OF THE HERO KING

Chapter 621: King level

In the beginning, there was nothing— a void of infinite darkness, silent, still, perpetual. Time itself lay dormant, uniformed, and the cosmos awaited for its first spark of creation.

Right here was the beginning of the universe. If you were to compare it to a river, it would be considered as the source— the beginning of everything.

The outside of the universe was not a space where a living creature could survive. No, not even a materialistic object could exist in that space. The laws of physics didn't exist there, and to be precise, it couldn’t exactly be identified as a space or a location.

It just was.

A point where an unlimited amount of universes and unlimited possibilities were being compressed into pure energy. But at the same time, time was frozen to a standstill. Although it had infinite possibilities, there was no spark for any of those possibilities to be realized. Although it was the beginning, nothing was starting.

Was it Fate or simply a series of coincidences? In this source where nothing started, one mote of consciousness gained self-awareness.

Up until now, it had never had a clear recognition of itself. Up until now, it had been the only existence in the infinite darkness, so there had been no need for differentiating between it and the rest.

But slowly, this one unique consciousness started to understand the most important concept of all.

That of the self.

What am I?

This one thought, small and nearly inconsequential was the spark needed to start the creation of the universe— for a universe could only exist when there was someone to observe it.

Then, in an instant, the veil of nothingness was torn asunder by a force of unimaginable power. From this primal rupture, a radiant explosion of energy erupted, a symphony of creation that filled the void with its majestic crescendo. This was the birth of all things, the Big Bang— a cataclysmic genesis that set the universe in motion.

Blinding waves of incandescent light surged outward, painting the cosmos with their ethereal glow. Colors beyond mortal comprehension swirled and danced in the cosmic expanse as if the heavens themselves were aflame with the joy of existence. The raw energy, seething and untamed, forged the very fabric of reality, weaving together the very fabric of space and time.

He witnessed it all. More than a creator, he was the first observer. The one who started everything, the one who set everything in motion.

So he named himself Adam — The Origin.

———

As the power of the four riders filled him, memories from a distant past manifested in his mind, and the consciousness that had ceased to exist woke up once again.

I am Sol.

From nothingness came something. In a world where no light existed, a naked body slowly began forming, with golden hair, curved horns, a muscular body, and a humanoid appearance.

Two cerulean blue eyes opened and Sol stood up alone, his gaze slightly blank as he tried to remember the sight of the beginning of the universe. Now, he knew the true name and nature of Adam, his oldest self.

“Genesis.”

He muttered and realized that he could now speak, and yet the void he existed in had seemingly not changed in the slightest.

“Thanks.”

Sol spoke, sending his thanks to both Adam and his girls.

He had won his gamble. He survived and woke up from his eternal slumber that would have finally ceased all of his existence.

Slowly, in his Sea of Consciousness, a third letter started forming alongside the D and the E. Even though it was still faint, he could see the contour of the letter. It was an – N.

END

Though the last letter was not fully formed, the horror and power of this name were enough to make all the risks Sol had taken till now worth it. Sol was sure now.

All he had to do was to accept this letter and once he did, he would obtain a power like no other in the entirety of existence. With this power, once he ascended as a demigod, the goddesses would not even dare to face him and the reincarnated gods would fear the sight of him.

But this power came at a price, that of losing his own sense of self the more he used it until he became nothing but a machine of infinite destruction and a void of nothingness.

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Mana overflowed into his body and filled his lungs. Like a snake approaching with a sweet apple, sweet temptations reached his ears once more.

All he had to do was become the embodiment of the End of all Life and all Creation.

The moment he thought this, a layer of himself was shed, and new senses started to sprout inside of his being. It was like an explosion, not unlike the creation of a new universe, and a new set of letters, even more blurry than the previous ones appeared before him, carving out a new name in his Sea of Consciousness.

ORIGIN

This was undoubtedly a gift from Adam. A way for Sol to push back the inevitable emptiness of his soul and existence. Though he could not see the strings of Fate at the moment, Sol felt like he could already see the possible future if he took this road.

In terms of power, Origin was no weaker than the End, even if not geared toward combat as much as its counterpart.

Still, this would be enough for him to stand above all. A path already walked by Adam would help him grow in power far faster since he wouldn’t have to learn things by himself.

As for the power of the End, even if it started encroaching on his mind, he would have lived a long thriving life and could even perhaps leave it to his next reincarnation. Perhaps do like Adam and leave this universe and bring the End in others.

This was a tempting proposal. One filled with less risk but clear rewards.

Two roads now stood in front of him. One toward the End and another toward the Origin. Sol had the distinct impression that he was standing at a crossroads.

Yet a smile formed on his face. There was no need to hesitate, for he had long since prepared for this. Why else would have brought the witches alongside him for this ritual?

He may have not understood what Origin was when he prepared for this, but he had more or less been conscious of the End and now, more than anything, he was sure of his hypothesis.

“This world is full of opposites that complement each other.”

Be it the 14 goddesses who represented sins and virtues or even the two mother goddesses, Order and Chaos. Everything in this universe followed this law.

But,

“It’s incomplete.”

He felt that this way was limited in many ways and that the right way was one toward completeness.

The two greatest hints toward this for him was none other than Dawn and Kali. Dawn possessed two concepts at the moment— Day and Night. Those two concepts were part of cycles and with them in hand, even as a Duke, Dawn was able to hide the secrets of heaven even from the infinitely powerful goddesses themselves.

As for Kali, through fusing the power of Earth, Wind, Water and Fire, she managed to understand the concept of Destruction.

“I want the same. I want everything.”

One could say it was greed for more power or a daring mind to explore the unknown. Sol did not really care.

All he cared for was the feasibility of this plan and so he started scheming. Using the witches as the basis, he started guiding Setsuna and Lilin toward the path that would be the most advantageous for them and also for him.

“The Four Riders represent the End while the Four Directions represent the Origin.” Those eight women had been the anchors for his source of power.

The links necessary to fill his body and mind with myriads of opposite powers. Even then, this might not have been enough. But thanks to Adam’s intervention, the last obstacles lying before his path to completeness were destroyed.

Throughout his short but eventful adventure, Sol had observed many bright individuals, each of them walking a path they made for themselves. Be it, Tiamat’s Defiance, Lucifer’s Rebellion, or even Nefertiti’s Servitude. Each of those paths represented the heart of the individual who walked on them.

“I am not the End.”

Sol crushed the ‘N’ with no hesitation. Though he had accepted the end, his path did not lay on it.

“Neither am I the Origin.”

Then what was Sol’s path? What concept did he seek?

“I am Everything, for I am Nothing. I am a concept… of concepts. Life and Death… Good and Evil… Reality and Illusion... Chaos and Order, all these things I know and affect… but never do they touch me,” His voice resonated violently as he gained more and more confidence on the path he wished to tread.

“My concept is that of Balance. I will become the one who walks between all Boundaries of existence and nothingness.”

This was his path toward omnipotence. His path toward Godhood.

Changes started on Sol’s body, and his blue eyes took a rainbow hue. This was an evolution of his divine weapon. More than simply observing the strings of Fate, it would help him see the fundamental laws of the universe themselves.

He would see everything.

He would hear everything.

He would feel everything.

The N that had been formed in his sea of consciousness was crushed and used as energy, and so did the name Origin.

“I will become The One Above All.”

Finally, after so many adventures, so many schemes, and so many preparations, Sol had reached the second step toward his ultimate goal.

The two roads that once stood in his left and right vanished and were replaced by one gigantic road that seemed wide enough to encompass all creation.

“From now on…”

Two new letters, U and S, appeared and were added to the previous D and E.

“My Avatar name will be— DEUS!”

The void trembled as if rebelling toward the advent of a new order and the birth of a new King.

“My first order is….”

He clapped his hands together and shouted,

“Let! There! Be! Light!”