Speed Force.
A massive body floated horizontally, suspended in the infinitely colorful, light-distorting Speed Force.
The body was vast and sturdy, with muscles solid like the roots of ancient trees. White bones pierced out from his body, forming spikes at the joints—sharp, cold, and terrifying. The patches of white bone radiated an icy majesty. Bone armor, domineering and imposing, burst out from muscle and bone, overflowing with a sense of overwhelming power.
Bardi's face was harder than any diamond, his rock-like cheeks and jaw lined with protruding white bone, exuding ferocity and unmatched might.
He was the God of Evolution.
Boom…
On a forest-covered continent, devoid of humans or any other creatures—just stone and emerald forest—Bardi's colossal form crashed down. The entire continent shook from the impact. The ground caved in where he landed, sending rolling shockwaves outward in circular ripples.
The lush green forest was torn apart, debris scattering in all directions.
A cloud of dust and smoke surged into the air, cloaking the scene.
At the center of the dust-filled zone was a deep crater, created by the force of his fall.
From within the shroud of smoke and dust, a tall, imposing, and tyrannical figure stepped forward—the tyrannical form of the God of Evolution. Sunlight slanted across this towering frame. His body radiated a gravitational pull like a black hole, distorting everything around him.
Bardi stepped out of the dust.
He raised his head, the sunlight casting reflections off his face full of arrogance, defiance against the heavens, a readiness to destroy all. The bony protrusions on his jaw radiated a feeling of boundless fury.
"Speed Force! Is this where I'm supposed to retire?"
Bardi's eyes were as deep as black holes. He grinned, his mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth capable of tearing through planets.
He could not feel any energy from the sunlight.
With Bardi's current God of Evolution body, any energy or light could be used for his own power—not just sunlight.
But this sunlight emitted no real solar energy and could not be absorbed by Bardi. It was proof that the sun here was fake, a construct of the Speed Force, purely for visual effect.
Bardi bent his knees slightly, and the ground erupted beneath him, forming a massive crater. Half the continent collapsed. The forests were obliterated. The dust was buried deep beneath the crater.
His immense body shot upward into the windless sky. The blue sky above was just that—blue sky, without substance or meaning.
Silently, Bardi measured the distance in his heart. Upon exceeding 17,000 kilometers, he seemed to pass into a wormhole. He would then be instantly returned to a height of 10,000 meters. No matter how many times or in which direction he flew, it always returned him to the starting point of 10,000 meters.
A cyclical trap of space and time.
An invisible prison.
Once more, Bardi returned to the surface of the continent. The natural scars in the land healed themselves. Time reshaped the ground back to its original state.
Bardi walked again. But even after covering over a million kilometers, it was still the same vast, borderless continent—no edges, no end.
A prison.
A Speed Force Prison.
An eternal prison.
No matter what he tried, there was no escape.
Bardi rubbed his bony jaw with one hand, completely unfazed.
Well, if I can't leave for now, so be it.
Bardi raised his right hand and held it in front of his eyes for inspection.
The large hand, composed of white bone and bloody exterior wrapped in powerful muscle, looked like the hand of a feral bone demon. Every joint radiated brutal strength.
Bardi could feel the Spirit of Being residing in his right hand. It had been forced there.
This Spirit of Being, tied to Earth, was nearly destroyed. Bardi had left it sealed as a last resort.
Tear—
Bardi ripped off his right hand. But the moment he did, granulation, bone growth, and keratin proliferation surged from the stump, regenerating a massive demonic hand, sharp and terrifying at the joints.
He looked at the freshly regenerated hand, opened and closed it several times, clenched the air a few times, and found no discomfort. It was still his hand.
He nodded in satisfaction, then tossed the torn hand onto the ground in front of him.
The severed hand writhed and turned into a mass of flesh, mixed with the Spirit of Being, beginning to form a living entity from Bardi's own flesh and blood.
Moments later.
A girl stood before Bardi.
She had white hair that fell to her waist, a slightly baby-faced appearance, and bright blue eyes.
The most unusual thing was her tail, which ended in a mass of horn harder than diamond and moved gently.
Two thick, white, forked horns grew from her temples, pushing through her white hair.
"Uh…"
Bardi stared in slight astonishment. By all appearances, this girl was based on the Spirit of Being, created from his own flesh and blood.
Strictly speaking, Bardi's subconscious had influenced her appearance.
Still, he never expected she'd look so completely like him.
Helpless, Bardi gave the child a name.
"From today on, your name will be Kanna."
Bardi poked Kanna's chubby little cheek with a large, sharp finger, making her face tilt to one side.
He noticed that Kanna had inherited his extraordinary physical strength. Bardi nodded with approval. Her durability was high enough to survive Earth's explosion or being slammed with a planet. Not bad.
"No, I am the Spirit of Being of Earth. Even though I was born from your flesh and blood, and you're like my father, I am still the Spirit of Being. That cannot be denied."
"You may call me The One."
Kanna's expression turned serious, her clear aqua eyes filled with conviction.
She named herself, understood her identity as the Spirit of Being, and possessed full self-awareness. Though newly born, she was far from an ordinary child.
Bardi stopped poking her cheek.
Suddenly, the atmosphere grew oppressive.
Bardi's towering presence cast a pressure like the entire sky pressing down. It was terrifying.
Kanna's defiance irritated him. He frowned.
A child, rebelling against her father the moment she's born? Not a good sign.
"Hey! What are you trying to do?!"
Kanna panicked, pushing Bardi's massive demonic hand with her tiny one.
Bardi grabbed her tail. She couldn't resist and was caught immediately.
"No!"
With a high-pitched cry, Bardi slammed her to the ground by the tail. Loud boom boom impacts sent dust and shockwaves rippling across the ground.
"I'm Kanna! I'm Kanna! I won't call myself The One anymore!"
"Very good."
(To be continued.)