The Rainbow Möbius ring, drawing upon the boundaries fixed by HOOH's power, released its brilliance without reservation.
Countless rays of shimmering rain flew outward, descending upon habitable worlds and condensing into human forms.
Not merely flesh-and-blood beings, but intelligent machines too emerged anew.
All those souls lost in the Swarm Disaster were brought back into the cosmos by this seven-colored radiance.
Upon reappearing, each felt immense shock at their own condition.
Someone jolted backward in fright the instant he revived, memories frozen at the moment insects had charged toward him.
Yet, after noticing the peaceful surroundings, he gradually began to understand his current state.
"Did we... get brought back to life by someone?"
Their memories remained suspended the instant before death. The overwhelming swarm, the agony lingering within their bodies—these sensations had etched deeply into their souls.
This intense pain now reminded them vividly of how precious being alive truly was, swiftly clarifying their current reality.
Countless families embraced tightly, realizing after experiencing death firsthand how infinitely precious their bonds were.
Once their excited emotions settled down, everyone soon discovered the reason behind their miraculous return.
"So beautiful..."
The seven-colored rain of light, centered around an infinite Möbius ring, continued spreading miracles across the cosmos.
This sight was something none of them would forget for the rest of their lives.
And upon the surface of Tartaro, countless rays of colorful light likewise cascaded down.
Those points of radiance finally solidified into people who had died across the cosmos, leaving those currently alive utterly dumbfounded.
"Hey—wait! Am I dreaming right now?"
Earlier, when the universe had paused, everyone's thoughts had frozen along with it.
But now, the universe—kicked back into motion by Sora—embraced the flow of time again, reanimating everyone's awareness.
To those on Tartaro, they felt as if they'd merely blanked out momentarily before witnessing countless streams of shining light pouring from the massive glowing ring.
Even more incredible, these streams of light eventually transformed into those who'd died earlier.
Titania saw it all far more clearly. Many of these resurrected figures remained vivid in her memories.
These pests had always irritatingly called out "Commander Titania!" until she'd firmly decided that once everything ended, she'd properly teach them the awe-inspiring might of a deity.
But unexpectedly, these fools had perished prematurely in the earlier swarm attack.
Originally, she'd felt a lingering dissatisfaction—not because she actually cared about these nuisances, naturally.
It was simply that she, a deity, felt robbed of the chance to personally punish those who dared offend divine majesty.
Now, seeing these people resurrected far exceeded her expectations.
Titania's gaze shifted to that seven-colored infinite ring hovering on the distant horizon—the clear cause of all these resurrections.
"Was it you, you idiot?"
While others' minds were frozen by HOOH's power, Titania's awareness clearly sensed the passage of time.
Only an AEON could possibly produce such an effect!
AEONs rarely intervened directly. Yet from another perspective, whenever they did, it always signified something of utmost importance.
Right now, what else could possibly outweigh bringing the dead back to life?
Sora's actions to resurrect these people had definitely attracted a certain AEON's attention—enough that THEY personally stepped in to oppose it.
Titania expanded her Memoria outward but failed to detect Sora anywhere nearby.
...
Elsewhere, Robin and the Iron Cavalry—whose senses had just returned—realized that Sora had vanished.
In their memories, after Sora had defeated Skaracabaz, he'd gathered all the feathers—then everything had shifted to this miraculous scene.
Sora's presence within the universe had disappeared without a trace.
Even deploying every available detector, they failed to locate Sora anywhere near Tartaro.
Only after the light finished raining down, and that Möbius ring spanning dozens of light-years shrank back into an [Eyecon] and shot toward a distant starfield, did they finally identify Sora's location.
But they soon noticed another figure rushing toward that location faster than any of them.
It was Titania!
She closely followed the [Eyecon], swiftly heading straight toward the battle zone.
...
Across countless star systems, Sora and HOOH stared at each other in silence. No matter how tiny he was, Sora clearly felt the AEON's gaze upon him.
Before an AEON, even a speck of dust wouldn't escape THEIR notice—much less the person who'd just kicked THEM backward.
The seven-colored brilliance silhouetted both their figures, illuminating the silent battlefield.
[YOUR GOAL HAS BEEN ACHIEVED. YOU'VE SUCCESSFULLY BROKEN THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH, BRINGING THOSE WHO PERISHED BACK INTO EXISTENCE.]
After a long silence, HOOH finally spoke these words.
Sora's previous kick hadn't merely left a footprint upon THEIR forehead—it had also shattered the power THEY used to pause hundreds of light-years of space.
Losing its restraints, the Infinite power freely dragged those deceased beings back into this universe.
Yet, there was also a cost. HOOH keenly sensed Sora's internal power had greatly diminished.
It was as if insufficient synchronization had briefly fractured the resonance between his body and Infinite.
[WHAT CAN YOU POSSIBLY DO NOW?]
Although the energy within Sora continued to steadily recover, confronting HOOH at this moment would still be extremely challenging.
Because now, at this instant, HOOH had become THEIR truest, most complete self.
No longer needing to expend power to pause vast starfields, nor suppress the Infinite's expansion—
Right now, THEY were entirely undivided, absolutely whole.
"There's plenty I can do!" Sora retorted firmly.
[THEN TRY IT—OTHERWISE, EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE WILL BE FOR NAUGHT.]
Sora's goal had succeeded, meaning those resurrected people were once again part of the universe's fundamental order.
Since they'd returned successfully, HOOH wouldn't casually erase them again now.
However, while THEY wouldn't touch the revived, that didn't mean THEY wouldn't deal with Sora himself.
As the saying goes, even a clay statue can hold a spark of anger—let alone an AEON whose EQUILIBRIUM had just been directly challenged.
Precisely because of this, HOOH, whose Path was EQUILIBRIUM, had ample reason to settle the score with Sora personally.
[WITH YOUR CURRENT FEEBLE STRENGTH, EVEN HAVING ACHIEVED YOUR GOAL, YOU NO LONGER HAVE THE POWER TO SUSTAIN IT.]
THEY manipulated cosmic laws. Countless stars across the heavens seemed to link together, forming chains spiraling toward Sora.
He naturally tried to evade, but space surrounding him suddenly turned chaotic and bizarre.
In his perception, the universe became unstable—strange, unpredictable.
Spatial EQUILIBRIUM shattered, allowing him to leap countless light-years instantly.
One moment, he stood before a blazing star; the next, he was trapped deep within a planet's core.
Material EQUILIBRIUM fractured as well; stones appeared from nowhere even within the vacuum, restraining him tightly.
Though unable to rewrite Sora's unique state directly, HOOH could create matter perfectly suited to containing him.
An unprecedented pressure descended upon Sora, every motion restricted by invisible force.
HOOH's power not only reshaped physical reality, but directly impacted the more abstract, fundamental laws of the universe as well.
[YOU HAVE INDEED CAUSED A TEMPORARY RIPPLE IN EQUILIBRIUM—BUT THAT IS ALL.]
HOOH's voice echoed directly into Sora's soul, surpassing words and resonating deep within him.
His vision shifted again—next moment, he stood directly before HOOH.
[THIS IS THE TRUE POWER OF EQUILIBRIUM—LET ME ALLOW YOU TO EXPERIENCE IT FULLY.]
Cosmic dust gathered, rearranging into intricate patterns around him.
And at the center of these nebular formations stood Sora.
In an instant, beams of devastating energy shot through space, merging seamlessly with the nebula to construct an even stronger, impenetrable prison around Sora.
Destruction and protection intertwined perfectly—this was the cage HOOH forged for him.
"Stop joking around already!"
Sora focused his entire spirit, calling forth every ounce of power in his body.
Most of the patterns upon his cloak dimmed slightly—but certain patterns still shone brightly.
These represented powers that had already formed profound bonds with him!
"You think something like this can chain down my limitless future?!"
The red lines pulsing like heartbeats upon his armor surged brilliantly, interweaving with the illuminated symbols upon his cloak.
In that instant, HOOH sensed numerous Paths achieving a strange form of equilibrium within Sora's body.
DESTRUCTION, HUNT, PROPAGATION…
THESE familiar powers were gradually surfacing in Sora.
Yet, among these energies, the one power HOOH most expected was absent.
Within Sora's body, these various powers remained harmonious, balanced, without conflict—yet among them, there wasn't even the slightest hint of ELATION.
Sora's actions could spring from revenge, destruction, or even the simple desire to not be alone…
But the one thing absolutely impossible was that he revived these people merely for amusement, to disrupt cosmic balance for fun.
HOOH's gaze once again pierced across countless nebulae, settling upon the mocking mask still hiding behind distant stars.
[SO THIS MAN ISN'T YOUR PAWN AFTER ALL?]
HOOH suddenly realized something unsettling—had THEY been tricked by this old friend?
As if on cue, mocking laughter echoed clearly into THEIR ears:
[AHA NEVER SAID THIS MAN HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH ME. AHA JUST FOUND IT FUN AND DECIDED TO TAG ALONG.]
The mocking mask, concealed behind distant planets, spoke the truth candidly.
However, whether HOOH would believe this truth in the present situation was another question altogether.
But THEY no longer had time to ponder—
The nebular dust restraining Sora instantly shattered, and the beams of destruction utterly failed to slow his advance.
Behind him appeared countless images:
A colossal beast of destruction shining brilliantly, a figure wielding a flaming blade…
All these powers surged forth, not merely at full strength—but at a thousand percent of their original power!
These forces propelled Sora forward, breaking through his restraints and confronting the fully restored form of HOOH once again.
And thus, for the very first time, HOOH chose to evade.
Previously, during THEIR confrontation, aside from the one kick delivered by Sora, HOOH had never voluntarily moved even a fraction.
Yet now, faced with Sora's astonishing convergence of Paths and Riders, THEY chose to dodge for the first time.
THEIR form flickered, instantly appearing countless light-years away.
From this immense distance, surely your attack can no longer—
Yet, a golden flash traveled through space simultaneously with THEIR teleportation!
HOOH realized in astonishment that Sora had quickly appeared right beside THEIR body again.
This sensation was… the power of the HUNT!
Sora had tracked HOOH across space itself by harnessing the power of the HUNT!
Because of this, HOOH could no longer evade—the only way left was direct confrontation.
[COME, THEN—SHOW ME WHAT YOU CAN TRULY ACHIEVE!]
HOOH tugged upon the fabric of space, instantly conjuring a massive wall of amber crystal for protection.
Far off at the distant edge of space, QLIPOTH paused mid-swing of THEIR hammer.
THEY gazed toward a spot on THEIR crystalline wall, bewildered—the missing fragment there was undeniably conspicuous.
...
Meanwhile, in the present battlefield, the amber crystal barrier crumbled inch by inch beneath Sora's relentless assault.
Finally, a massive meteor-like crater appeared on its surface—but disappointingly, the crystal wall still refused to break fully.
[EQUILIBRIUM.]
Since Sora's attack could only be faced head-on, HOOH had summoned the hardest substance in the universe as THEIR defense.
The outcome was evident: while Sora shattered the defenses HOOH had raised, he still couldn't penetrate QLIPOTH's crystalline wall.
Watching Sora rise again from the crater, showing no sign of giving up, HOOH remarked calmly:
[YOUR ATTACK ALONE IS INSUFFICIENT TO BREACH THIS WALL.]
"Yeah, with just my attack alone—it's definitely not enough," Sora readily agreed, before adding confidently:
"But that's only because in my current form, I can't break through yet."
A streak of seven-colored radiance suddenly shot forth like a meteor from the distant void—colliding directly into Sora's outstretched hand.
And along with it arrived an exceedingly loud, annoyed voice:
"Idiot! You dumbass! Are you seriously trying to get yourself killed again?!"
Titania had arrived, panting heavily.
One glance told her everything she needed to know—before her loomed HOOH, clearly radiating an AEON's presence, along with Sora. Yet she rushed forward without any hesitation.
[NEWBORN PROPAGATION—DO YOU ALSO STAND WITH HIM?]
"Hah? What are you saying—as if we know each other well? Who are you again?" Titania replied with genuine confusion.
Though she recognized that this towering figure was indeed an AEON, Titania genuinely had no idea who THEY were.
Thus, she currently cared more about Sora than about HOOH:
"Listen carefully! If you get yourself killed again, don't even dream of being resurrected another time! Everyone back on Tartaro turned noticeably dumber from the effort of reviving you!"
"Life is far too precious—how could I possibly let myself die again?"
Gripping the still-blazing [Mugen Eyecon] tightly, Sora declared aloud.
"So, for the sake of these hard-won lives, everyone—lend me your strength!"