Chapter 27 - Flashback the battle for the Vajra

Ava paced back and forth in his room, sweating. His hands wouldn't stay still. His breath wouldn't settle.

Why did it have to be Trivana…

And even worse, he wants to release his father Ravana.

He stopped, pressing a hand to the wall.

I have to stop him from getting the Vajra.

I still remember that day. The day my father fought both of them.

His golden eyes activated before he even thought to summon them. The power dragged his spirit backwards through time. The walls of his room melted like heat-warped paint. The floor softened, stretching into green grass. The ceiling dissolved into a blue sky streaked with sunlight.

And suddenly he was there again.

A vast grassland rolled across the horizon, filled with shimmering rainbow trees and shifting golden winds. Multiple suns painted the world in layers of color.

In the middle of the plains thundered a colossal beast a chimera of divine and monstrous blood. Lion torso. Eagle head. Goat horns curling backward. Black and gold fur rippling with every stride. A snake for a tail, purple-eyed and whispering. And massive wings, wide enough to blot out valleys.

Nāga.

On Nāga's back rode a little boy, six years old, laughing with pure excitement, golden eyes sparkling like twin suns.

The chimera soared low over the Boundless Heaven, and the entire world around them glowed like a living dream. Rainbows arched across the sky in layered bands, so bright they looked solid enough to walk on. Rainbow trees shimmered below, their leaves shifting colors like liquid light. Some trees dripped glowing fruit that floated instead of falling. Herds of crystal beasts ran through the fields, scattering trails of silver dust. Giant butterfly-dragons glided between floating islands. Everything breathed magic.

Ava stood on Nāga's back, his hair whipping in the wind, smiling so wide his cheeks hurt.

"This is so awesome! This place is beautiful!" he shouted. "The grass, the trees… Look, rainbow trees! And three suns! I can't wait for my wings to come in!"

Nāga roared half lion thunder, half eagle scream and tipped his wings upward, lifting higher, letting Ava feel the rise of warm wind beneath his feet.

Ava braced himself… then jumped.

Wind exploded past him. He fell through beams of rainbow light, eyes wide, arms spread.

"Come on, fly! Fly! Come on, wings!" he yelled, trying to will them out.

Nothing happened.

The ground rushed closer.

In a sudden burst of air, Nāga swooped down, massive wings beating, and caught him cleanly on his back. Ava landed belly-first with an undignified flop.

"Damn it," he groaned, rolling over. "It didn't happen."

Nāga rumbled with laughter, the lion's chest vibrating like thunder beneath him.

The snake-headed tail lifted, its voice echoing directly into the boy's mind.

Don't worry, young Lord Avalokita. Your wings will arrive soon. Any day now.

Young Ava grinned. "Mom thinks it's going to happen at any time. I feel it. I'm so excited."

His expression dimmed, and he lowered his head. "So I can stop being a nuisance. I'm always holding them back. They always have to save me."

Nāga's snake head lifted and coiled proudly, the purple eyes glowing with reassurance.

"Lord Avalokita," the serpent said softly, "you are not a burden to your family. Times have simply been serious. Ever since Ravana was released, your parents have been overprotective. That is why they keep you so close."

Ava nodded, shoulders tight. "I know. But that's why we're in this place. Since I've been born, I've watched my mother and father fight evil across multiple worlds. Saving multiple heavens." He looked down at the glowing plains below them. "But my father says this place… this heaven… is different."

"Yes," Nāga's snake head responded. "This heaven is different. It is the Boundless Heaven the heaven of your father's brother, Avalokiteshvara. The one you were named after."

Ava nodded quickly. "I know. I'm named after him. Father tells me every day he expects big things from me."

Nāga's lion head let out a warm, rumbling roar of pride. "And we all know you can achieve them."

Ava laughed and leaned forward, hugging Nāga's mane. "Thanks, Nāga. That's why you're my best friend. You always know what to say."

Nāga soared higher into the sky, his wings cutting through beams of sunlight. Ava patted the lion side's mane and grinned.

"You too, big guy!"

Suddenly a voice called out, echoing across the skies.

"Avalokita! Avalokita! Avalokita!"

Ava winced. "That's my mom. Oh man… playtime's already over."

Nāga banked and turned back toward the call.

On the grassland below, a woman sat on a blanket with a picnic, her presence radiant and dark all at once.

She was breathtaking long black hair, delicate Asian features, purple eyes, and demon horns rising like curved obsidian. A black and purple dress flowed around her like smoke. She was Kiyohime Lady Death a yokai with beauty dangerous enough to silence armies.

Nāga landed with a soft quake. Ava hopped off and ran to her.

"Hey, Mom!"

Kiyohime's sharp eyes narrowed. "What did I tell you about going far?"

"I didn't go that far, Mom."

"What did I say about talking back to me?" she answered tightly. "And you did go far. Remember what happened last time you were kidnapped? We're on the run, Ava. You know the people hunting us. That's why we're here."

Ava's shoulders fell. "I know. I just… was practicing flying with Nāga. I thought maybe my wings would pop out. But they didn't. But they will soon then I can stop being a burden. That's why I got caught… 'cause I couldn't fly. I want to help. I want to be useful, Mom."

Kiyohime softened. Her expression cracked.

"You are helpful," she said gently. "It wasn't your fault you were captured. You're just a kid. Your wings will come in soon. But you need to stay close. Our family is a target. Especially now that Ravana is loose… in that disgusting creation he calls a son."

She stood, collecting the basket.

"Come on. Your father's waiting for us."

As she took her first steps, her balance faltered. She gasped and dropped to one knee.

Ava rushed to her side. "Mom! Are you okay?"

Kiyohime stood quickly, brushing dirt from her dress. "I'm fine. It's just your little sister kicking."

Ava blinked. "She kicked that hard?"

Kiyohime gave a small smile. "She's strong. Just like you."

Both of them climbed onto Nāga's back. The great chimera spread his wings and launched into the air. Wind roared past them as Ava looked out, wide-eyed, watching the Boundless Heaven unfold below.

Cities of light and gold floated among the clouds. Angels, devas, and countless heavenly beings flew and walked across shining bridges. Towers stretched into the sky like spears of pure crystal. Everything radiated peace, awe, and impossible beauty a realm untouched by sorrow.

As Ava and the others approached the central region, a massive castle rose from the center of the sky like a mountain forged from dawn itself. Avalokiteshvara's palace. Its walls shimmered with living inscriptions, each glyph glowing with compassion, wisdom, and infinite power. The palace spanned miles, ringed by lotus-shaped platforms and rivers of liquid starlight flowing through the air.

Then Ava saw it the highest balcony.

A silhouette stood there, outlined by golden radiance.

Ava blinked, his heart leaping.

The figure stepped forward into the light.

A man with warm brown skin.

A small, rounded mini-afro, soft in the breeze.

Golden eyes that shone like twin suns.

Black wings unfurled behind him massive, regal, and studded with multiple golden eyes that opened and closed like living halos.

His outfit was flowing gold and black, royal yet battle-ready, embroidered with symbols of compassion and thunder.

Ava's breath caught.

His voice cracked, loud, joyful, unrestrained.

"Dad!!"

The man smiled a smile that carried worlds of love and pride and the entire palace seemed to glow brighter.

Before anyone could stop him, the boy leapt off Nāga, assuming he was close enough to land.

He wasn't.

He plummeted like a stone.

Adamus shot forward in a streak of gold, catching his son mid-air. "Avalokita!" he scolded, flying back upward with him in his arms. "You need to be more careful. Your wings haven't come in yet, and you still haven't mastered your telekinesis."

Ava flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry, Dad… I just got excited. And I knew you'd save me. You always save people. You can never lose."

Adamus chuckled softly. "I don't know about 'never losing.' I try my best. It just happens to be enough."

They landed gently on the balcony platform as Nāga descended behind them.

Kiyohime walked up to her husband. Adamus leaned in and kissed her softly.

"So," she asked quietly, "how was the meeting? What did your brother say?"

Adamus exhaled. "A lot. We're having a second meeting soon. Things… don't look good. Ravana is already on his way. And he wants the crystal the crystal in my heart. The Crystal of the Omniverse. He knows it's the only way he can get the Vajra… and the only way he can destroy the Omniverse."

A tear slid down Kiyohime's cheek. "I'm so sorry. This is all because of my grandfather. His hunger for destruction and power… it has no bounds."

Ava suddenly cut in. "Dad! Come on you said we were gonna play today!"

Adamus hugged his wife gently before letting her go.

"It's all right, love. I'll deal with him." Then he looked down at his son. "Avalokita, I promise we'll play later, okay? I have another meeting I have to attend. It's very important."

Ava's head dropped. "Okay…"

Kiyohime took his hand. "Come on, let's get you ready for bed."

Later, Ava lay in bed, the blankets pulled up to his chin. His mother closed the door softly behind her.

He waited.

Counted to ten.

Then slowly, silently… he sat up.

Ava activated one of his golden cards. It shimmered in his hand, then he flicked it onto the floor and stepped on it. The runes lit beneath his foot.

His footsteps vanished into silence.

He grinned. "Perfect."

Ava tip-toed to Nāga's resting place.

Nāga lay curled in the moonlit chamber lion head asleep and snoring, eagle head buried under a wing, snake tail coiled and mumbling in its sleep.

Ava nudged the mane gently. "Wake up… wake up. Let's go on an adventure."

Both the lion head and the serpent head kept sleeping.

Ava sighed. "Fine… I guess I'll go exploring without you."

He crept back to his door and cracked it open just a sliver.

Four guards stood posted outside, spears glowing, fully alert.

Ava closed the door again, whispering, "Damn it. I can't get out with them here."

He placed his hands together and focused. Purple and gold energy swirled around his body. His demonic halo appeared above his head black, with the twin curved horns.

Ava whispered, "Omnipresent."

His body dissolved into thin golden light.

He vanished from the room and reappeared at the very edge of his omnipresence domain, far beyond the familiar center of his own presence. The sudden displacement made him stagger.

His demonic halo flickered and vanished.

Ava rubbed his temples. "Man… that hurts my head every time. And everything feels… weird."

But he pushed forward, wandering the castle halls. He explored huge chambers of shifting murals, endless staircases, and floating platforms. Whenever a guard passed too close, he whispered "Omnipresent" again slipping through space, reappearing somewhere else.

Until he entered that room.

A titanic chamber of marble and gold. Statues lined the walls like silent gods.

At the center stood a statue of a warrior.

Four arms.

Blue skin.

Black wings with golden eyes embedded across the feathers.

And in his hands the Vajra.

Before him, carved into the same massive sculpture, towered the enemy he was defeating:

A colossal beast of dark blue skin.

Elephant-like jaws with curved tusks.

A crown of horns.

Long black hair and beard flowing like smoke.

A red cape draped across his monstrous frame.

Ravana.

Ava's eyes sparkled. "This is awesome."

He stepped closer, reading the inscription beneath the unified statue the story of the Omniverse's first war:

Vajrapani God of the Thunderbolt.

Savior of the Omniverse.

Slayer of Ravana.

Wielder of the Vajra.

When the Black Lotus, Śūnyatā, gave birth to the first three Original Gods

the God of Time,

the God of Life and Death,

and the God of Creation

all three ruled the newborn Omniverse together.

The God of Creation crafted countless realms and birthed the other gods.

But one day, the God of Stars demanded the right to rule every hyperverse, every story, every novel across existence.

The God of Creation refused.

The God of Stars schemed.

He tricked the God of Time and the God of the Afterlife into absorbing every fragment of evil in the Omniverse into themselves

corrupting and twisting the God of the God of Stars into Ravana.

Ravana conquered countless realms.

The three Originals Gods could not defeat him and fled, abandoning the Omniverse.

Only one savior remained: Prajnaparamita, the Great Mother, a Bodhisattva.

With her nine trillion children, she rebuilt the Omniverse in secret until Ravana discovered her and destroyed her heaven, killing her before her children.

Ava's breath trembled as he moved to the continuation of the same inscription:

Vajrapani and Avalokiteshvara survived the massacre.

Both vowed to live for their mother's dream.

Both walked different paths.

Vajrapani chose the path of a hero the path of vengeance for his mother and for the Omniverse.

Avalokiteshvara chose the path of non-violence no revenge, only the duty to rebuild the Omniverse in secret.

With Lady Death, his wife, by his side, and wielding the boundless power of the Vajra a power that consumed vast portions of his own life to use Vajrapani confronted and defeated Ravana.

Ava stared up at the statue of the four-armed Vajrapani driving the Vajra through Ravana's chest.

The moment that changed everything.

Then he moved to the next statue.

This one showed Vajrapani lying defeated, the Vajra fallen from his grasp

and Ravana standing over him, holding the Vajra in his own hand.

A chill ran through Ava.

He read the inscription:

Vajrapani and Lady Death ruled the Omniverse, creating an era of peace.

But they did not know Ravana would return.

Ravana the truth of all evil across every story, novel/hyperverse

could not be destroyed.

His immortality was truly boundless.

He came back stronger.

He kidnapped Vajrapani's children and his wife, Lady Death,

forcing Vajrapani to unleash the full boundless power of the Vajra.

The boundless power consumed Vajrapani,

forcing him to sacrifice himself to save his family.

The cost of wielding the Vajra for too long… killed him.

Ravana then used the Vajra himself,

until even he could no longer endure its power,

and the weapon vanished

returning to its original resting place.

Ravana ruled the Omniverse.

Ava swallowed hard.

He turned to the third statue.

It showed a warrior with four arms, Avalokiteshvara, holding Vajrapani's lifeless body. Grief was carved into every line of the stone, so real that Ava felt it pulse through him.

The inscription read:

Avalokiteshvara was rebuilding the worlds destroyed by Ravana with his monks

when the message reached him.

His brother was dead.

Avalokiteshvara arrived only in time to cradle the body.

And in his sorrow… he fused with his fallen brother.

But only half.

The other half returned to the cycle of rebirth.

Yet even absorbing this fraction gave Avalokiteshvara four arms and a third eye,

his power multiplying beyond measure.

On that day,

Avalokiteshvara pierced through all existence and non-existence.

Through every story.

Every novel.

Every realm.

He saw everything.

Every suffering.

And he cried for all sentient beings.

From his tears, the Om Mani Padme Hum Crystal was born,

a crystal of boundless compassion.

Avalokiteshvara took that crystal, now carrying both his brother's strength and his mother's wisdom, and returned to his temple with his monks.

Preparing for Ravana.

Ava stepped toward the next statue.

His breath caught.

His golden eyes widened.

Ravana was carved on his knees, screaming,

his entire body being sucked into a glowing crystal held by Avalokiteshvara.

Ava leaned in to read the inscription.

Ravana crossed the Omniverse, destroying all things, searching for the Vajra.

Only one planet remained across existence

Avalokiteshvara's world, guarded by his monks and warriors.

Ravana descended to battle Avalokiteshvara himself.

He struck.

Avalokiteshvara raised the Om Mani Padme Hum Crystal.

The crystal reflected Ravana's power back upon him

multiplied to infinity.

Ravana was sealed inside a red crystal

and cast into the Boundless Hell.

Then the Three Original Gods appeared and proclaimed:

"You are the God of Gods."

THE FINAL STATUE THE REVELATION OF ORIGINS

Then the Three Original Gods appeared.

Their voices shook the roots of creation.

"You are the God of Gods.

On this day you are Avalokiteshvara, the World's Honor One."

From that moment Avalokiteshvara became ruler of the Omniverse.

He rebuilt existence.

Using the Om Mani Padme Hum Crystal he restored everything that had been destroyed.

Infinite layers of infinite hyperverses unfolded again beneath his hands.

He bound the Omniverse to boundlessness itself. Nothing would ever collapse again.

He placed the Crystal inside the Vajra.

Through that act he ensured the Omniverse could never be erased.

Then he performed the same miracle upon Heaven and hell.

He made it boundless and connected both realms to the Vajra.

The Omniverse and the Heaven and hell could not be destroyed unless someone removed the Crystal from the Vajra.

The remaining half of the Crystal he entrusted to his people.

Ava reached the final statue.

It depicted his father and mother; Adamus and Kiyohime.

Both stood in a victorious stance while fallen warriors lay beneath their feet.

Ava leaned closer and read the inscription.

The Rebirth of the Saviors.

After eons of peace evil began plotting again.

Evil searched for a way to escape the prison of Boundless Hell from that ancient battle between Avalokiteshvara and Ravana.

On that day Vajrapani.

His brother absorbed half his body.

The remaining half returned to the cycle of rebirth.

His soul was tied to the Black Lotus because of what he achieved using the Vajra.

Vajrapani was reborn.

Not only reborn as himself but also reborn as the Black Lotus given form.

He was reborn as Adamus Jovajra.

His birth was necessary. A warning that evil was rising. A sign that Ravana would be reborn.

Adamus discovered the Om Mani Padme Hum Crystal and fused with it.

He later found the reincarnation of Lady Death, Kiyohime.

Together they fought evil throughout the Omniverse, saving multiple hyperverses, novels from destruction as Ravana hunted them without rest.

Ravana searched for Adamus so he could steal the Om Mani Padme Hum Crystal and use it to find the Vajra.

Ava frowned.

"Why don't I have a statue? I was there for some of that."

Before he could speak further he heard a door opening.

A breath escaped him and his chest tightened.

He reacted instantly.

His omnipresence activated and he shifted himself into another room, hiding in the shadows.

"That was close. Where am I?"

He looked up.

His father Adamus was standing across from Avalokiteshvara.

The World's Honor One.

The Out God of Out Gods.

Ava held his breath and listened quietly to the voices echoing through the distorted vision.

The world around him shifted, revealing a colossal realm suspended in a sea of shimmering void.

At the center of this space sat Avalokiteshvara in a deep meditation stance atop an enormous floating lotus platform. His form was cosmic, radiant, and impossibly vast. He towered like a titan whose presence eclipsed whole universes. Galaxies drifted like dust motes around his arms. Stars reflected across his skin as if he was made from the fabric of creation itself.

Before him sat Adamus, mirroring the same posture. Compared to Avalokiteshvara, he appeared almost insignificant like a single spark in front of a blazing star yet his aura still trembled with divine power.

Adamus lowered his head, shame tightening his voice.

"I am sorry, brother. I have failed. I tried to stop him, but every time he won. All my troops fell. And now there is only one place left. Everywhere else he has conquered or destroyed. Eighty percent of the Omniverse has been transformed into his minions."

Avalokiteshvara opened his eyes.

His gaze was serene, ancient, and steady.

"You have not failed, my brother. It is not over yet. We can still rebuild the Omniverse. It is not completely destroyed, and it cannot be. I bound it to boundlessness, to the Vajra."

Adamus lifted his head, uncertainty shadowing his expression.

"But how do I know I am ready, brother?"

Avalokiteshvara raised his hand, and a small radiant jewel appeared within his colossal palm. Compared to him it seemed like a grain of sand, yet its glow pierced through countless dimensions.

"Trust me. You are ready," he said gently. "Just make sure you keep the Crystal in your heart, away from Ravana."

He held up the crystal fully the Crystal of Concentration, Samādhi its inner light spiraling like a miniature cosmos.

"And I will protect this crystal. This is the last one he needs for the map to the Vajra. If Ravana takes the crystal from you and combines it with the original to complete it… then removes it from the vajra… the Omniverse, Heaven, and Hell would no longer be boundless. He could destroy it or absorb all of it."

Adamus placed a hand over his chest, where the Om Mani Padme Hum Crystal pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat.

"He will have to tear out my chest to get it."

A faint smile touched Avalokiteshvara's vast lips.

"So… how is the young one?"

"Avalokita is doing fine," Adamus replied.

Avalokiteshvara's eyes softened. "He is a special child. From what I have sensed in his energy and from what you have told me his power is… unsettlingly similar to Ravana's."

Adamus released a slow breath. "I know. He carries the same energy as his grandfather. When he gets angry, it sometimes surfaces. The Chaos Hunger. But he is a good kid. Trust me. He is nothing like Ravana or Trivana."

Avalokiteshvara tilted his head. "And how do you intend to control that Chaos Hunger? Your son is not like Ravana. Ravana was created by the power of the Chaos Beast born from pure malice and corruption. Avalokita, however… your son is the Chaos Beast given form. Just as you, my brother, are the Black Lotus given form."

Adamus hesitated. "Only recently have I received information about this Chaos Beast. You truly believe that is what my son is? Then… what exactly is the Chaos Beast?"

Avalokiteshvara held his hands together as if in prayer. "You are the Black Lotus given form. The Black Lotus is boundless omnipresence. There is no place where it is not. The beginning and the end are written upon it. It is the core of all stories, all existence and non existence."

He raised his hand, and golden light spiraled upward.

"The Chaos Beast is also the Black Lotus… but not its presence, its mechanism. It is the function by which the Black Lotus consumes all phenomenon creation and non-creation alike. It is boundless hunger."

An image took shape above his palm.

A monstrous being materialized black as the Lotus, colossal beyond scale. Countless mouths covered its body, each one lined with teeth that dripped with red energy. Endless golden eyes glowed across its flesh. Two massive Lotus wings spread behind it, each wing adorned with rows of golden eyes.

Its head was a fusion of serpent and dragon. Horns jutted outward as additional eyes blinked open across its skull. Its central mouth yawned impossibly wide, large enough to swallow entire hyperverses whole.

From the mouth in its stomach, golden life strings stretched outward, piercing and seizing reality itself. They threaded through distant corners of the omniverse and beyond, latching onto existence and dragging it inward. Worlds were consumed without resistance.

Hyperverses entire stories made flesh, infinite multiverses layered with higher realms that transcended all forms of dimensionality were reduced to insignificance. Even they were tiny compared to the Chaos Beast.

To it, all phenomena were the same.

All phenomena were food.

The Chaos Beast devoured everything without effort. ⟦inexorable⟧

Avalokiteshvara continued:

"Before Ravana, the Chaos Beast had one purpose: to wipe out the Omniverse when its stories reached the end. To cleanse creation by absorbing all phenomenon. But the day Ravana was born created through the Vajra his body and essence gained the Chaos Hunger and chaos phenomenon. He wiped out hyperverse, destroyed stories. And when he rose, the Chaos Beast disappeared. Ravana took its job. Its nature. Its purpose."

He lowered his hand, the image fading like smoke.

"Chaos. Consumption. Devouring phenomenon. That is the legacy of the Chaos Beast. And somehow… with you as the Black Lotus given form, and your wife sharing Ravana's lineage… the Chaos Beast has been born anew through your son."

Adamus placed a hand over his heart. His eyes burned with resolve.

"I promise you… he will become nothing like his grandfather. I will protect him with my life. I will raise him with the same values my parents raised me."

Avalokiteshvara nodded. "I know he is not like Ravana. He is important. Raise him well, my brother."

Hidden in the shadows of the lotus temple, Ava listened silently. His heart tightened.

Chaos Beast…? Why would they compare me to grandfather? He is horrible. He keeps trying to kidnap me…

Avalokiteshvara suddenly raised his hand.

Light spiraled upward, twisting into a shimmering portal-vision between them.

His expression sharpened.

"It is too late. They are here."

Adamus stood as he looked into the portal.

A storm of monsters, demons surged through the projection.

Beasts with blue skin, four eyes, four arms, and jagged swords.

They screamed in unison:

"All hail Ravava. All hail Trivana."

More gateways ripped open across the Boundless Heaven.

Golden clouds split apart as hordes of demons rushed through with their monstrous legions.

Adamus clenched his fists.

"Brother, stay here. I will be back. I must find Avalokita and my wife. I cannot allow them to hurt them."

He launched into the sky, streaking through the temple halls and vanishing into the chaos.

Ava watched from the shadows.

"Oh no. I need to get back to my room. If Father finds me here I am in trouble."

He activated his omnipresence domain.

Golden ripples formed around him, but flickered and shrank.

His domain was not wide enough.

His control was not strong enough yet.

He vanished.

And reappeared…

On the roof of a distant temple.

Ava slipped, fell, hit the stone floor, and groaned.

"Ah… great."

He pushed himself up and wiped the dust from his arms.

He tried to use omnipresence to get back to his room.

Golden light flickered around him.

He grinned tiredly.

"Ah, why is this so hard to focus? Come on, activate."

His hands shook a little.

"It uses so much physical strength to use…"

Then he looked up.

Demons filled the sky.

Blue skin. Four arms. Swords burning with corrupted light.

They attacked angels and celestial beings below, ripping through the golden streets.

One demon pointed straight at him.

"There. The boy. Get him. Kill them all."

Ava's demonic halo still hovered above his head, horns glowing with black fire.

He swallowed hard.

"I don't have enough energy to use omnipresence. Fine. You want to fight… let's fight."

The demons rushed forward with their swords raised high.

Ava reacted instantly.

Higher dimensional cards materialized around him, circling like glowing runes of golden fire.

He snatched one from the air.

A burst of light flashed.

A golden sword appeared in his hand.

Ava dashed forward.

He swung, deflecting blades, cutting through demon bodies.

He weaved between attacks, dodging, sliding, slicing.

But more and more demons came.

He was surrounded.

Dozens of swords aimed at him.

Ava threw another card down.

A figure made of gears and cosmic time erupted from the card.

The Clock Man.

Its bell rang.

The sound rippled through a small radius around Ava, forming a tight domain of higher dimensional time.

It activated its ability.

Ava felt reality twist as the Clock Man forged higher dimensional time in a place where time normally does not exist.

Any being that did not transcend this higher dimensional time was forced to obey it.

Ava looked around.

The demons froze.

Air stopped moving.

Blades hung inches from his face, trembling in place.

"That was close," Ava whispered.

But then he saw it.

The demons' fingers twitched.

Their eyes shifted.

They began to break through the higher time.

"Oh no. It isn't lasting long."

The sky darkened.

A massive demon appeared in silence, riding a monstrous horse with six burning eyes.

Its hooves crushed the rooftop tiles as it landed.

The horse stepped forward and stomped on the Clock Man.

The time-being shattered like glass.

Time collapsed.

The demons were freed.

The rider laughed.

"Well now. Look what we have here. A little angel. Interesting halo you got, boy, but who cares. Our master said kill them all. We will kill you last."

The demons charged again.

Ava panicked.

His energy was low. His head throbbed.

He summoned more cards, ripping them open in desperation.

Five knights burst forth.

Each one wore gold and black armor, their swords glowing with holy fire.

The knights moved into formation.

They bowed their heads and said, "What can we do for you, Lord Avalokita."

Ava pointed forward.

"Charge."

The knights obeyed instantly.

Their battle cries shook the rooftop as they clashed with the demons in a violent storm of steel, magic, and celestial light.

Blades met blades.

Demons roared.

Knights held the line.

The rooftop exploded into chaos.

Ava stood at the edge of the fight, pressed into the corner, his sword drawn and shaking.

His knights were cutting down demons, stabbing them, blasting them with holy light.

The demon rider on the horse cut through them with almost no effort.

His horse rammed into them.

His blade sliced them in half.

More knights fell.

More armor shattered.

The demon horseman stepped closer to Ava, laughing.

"I heard angels taste delicious before they have their wings."

Ava took a step back as sweat rolled down his forehead.

His sword trembled in his hand.

He whispered, "Leave me alone."

Higher dimensional cards appeared around him, glowing as they activated.

A card burst open. Thunder Wolves charged forward.

Another card erupted. Dragons made of elements surged into the air.

A third card opened. Cannons materialized and fired their blasts.

With one hand, the demon rider destroyed all of them.

Cards snapped apart in the air.

Constructs blew into dust.

Ava was hit by the shockwave and fell backward.

The demon rider walked closer.

He hopped off his horse, raising his sword toward Ava.

"Any last words?"

Ava smiled.

"Nāga."

The demon paused.

"What?"

He turned around.

A massive serpent towered behind him.

With one gulp, it swallowed him whole.

Ava rushed forward and hugged the snake side of the beast.

"Thank you so much."

Then he looked to the other side of the creature.

The beast's other head spat out the demon horse and crushed it underfoot before hissing.

The snake head lowered itself to Ava.

"Lord Avalokita. Come on. Get on our back. We must go."

Ava climbed onto them.

The beast spread its wings.

They began flying.

Ava looked down from above.

He saw the devastation.

Ravana and his sons' creations were destroying everything.

Buildings burned.

Angels and other celestial beings fought, ran, and hid.

Explosions shook the golden streets below.

Nāga spoke to him telepathically as they flew.

Nāga: Did you get kidnapped? Why were you not in your room?

Ava: No, I decided to go on an adventure.

Nāga: How did you escape your room? Your room is guarded.

Ava: I used omnipresence.

Nāga: Would your father tell you to use that? It is dangerous. It is only supposed to be used for emergencies. You could accidentally fall into the past or into the future.

Ava: I'm sorry.

Nāga: We need to hurry and get back to your mother and father.

As they flew, Ravana's demons rose into the air behind them.

Wings flapping.

Four arms each.

Multiple weapons glowing.

Energy blasts shot from their spears and swords.

Nāga dodged left and right, spinning as Ava held tightly to him, screaming while trying not to fall.

Suddenly one of the blasts hit Nāga.

The impact sent them crashing toward the ground.

Dust exploded upward.

When it settled, Ava was on his knees with tears in his eyes.

Ava: Get up, Nāga. Please get up.

Nāga's snake side barely moved.

Nāga: Lord Avalokita… I cannot…

Ava: I'm not leaving you. They are not going to kill you. I will make sure of that.

He pulled out a higher dimensional card.

Golden light formed.

He absorbed Nāga into it.

Ava said softly, "You can heal safely here," and the card dissolved into a shimmer of higher dimensional light.

As the last spark faded, he turned around slowly.

Stretching across the horizon was a vast army of demons, filling the sky like a living storm. The ground behind them writhed with bodies, wings, and weapons. The air vibrated from their roars.

A towering demon stepped forward, raising all four arms as he shouted, his voice echoing through the broken streets.

"Stop. Hold your fire. Bring him alive. Ravana will want him alive. That is the son of Adamus."

Ava's knees trembled.

The weight of the army pressed against him like an ocean.

He lifted his sword, though his arms shook so badly the blade nearly slipped from his grasp.

His breath quickened. His heart pounded. But he forced his voice out.

"Bring it!"

The demons tensed, ready to surge.

But something flashed in front of them.

A blur.

A shadow.

A streak of black moving too quickly for the eye to follow.

In the next instant, a monstrous set of jaws tore through the ranks. A vast serpent head burst from the haze, swallowing dozens upon dozens of demons in a single bite. The sky shook with the sound.

Ava blinked hard, trying to focus as the glare of light hit his face.

A massive serpent of pure void spiraled before him.

A creature so immense its body coiled across mountains and rooftops like a living abyss. Its mouth opened again, wider than logic allowed, dragging another wave of demons into its endless dark.

Ava gasped.

"Kūhaku Uwabami. Void Serpent. My mom must have summoned it."

He looked upward, following the enormous curve of the serpent's body. Its tail slammed into the ground with enough force to knock down entire ridges of mountains and send stone flying like dust. The demon hordes scattered beneath it, crushed under the weight of its incomprehensible size.

At the very top of the serpent's head stood his mother, Kiyohime.

Purple energy surged around her in spiraling currents, her aura bright enough to tint the air itself. Her massive sword glowed with a sacred light as she scanned the battlefield below.

Kiyohime extended one hand toward her son.

A pulse of violet magic rushed forward, curling around Ava like a cocoon. Before he could blink, the spell lifted him off the ground and carried him upward, depositing him beside her on the serpent's crown.

She did not waste time.

"What did I tell you about leaving your room at night without telling us?" Her voice was sharp, trembling with both anger and fear.

Ava winced and looked down.

"I just wanted to go on an adventure, Mom. My bad."

Kiyohime sighed, the tension in her shoulders easing. She cupped his face with one hand, leaned in, and kissed his forehead.

"I'm just glad you're safe."

Ava swallowed. "Where's Dad?" His voice cracked with panic.

"I don't know exactly," she admitted. "But we need to get you far away from here."

"But I want to help."

"You already have helped us more times than most adults ever could," Kiyohime said gently. "But this battle is too serious for you, son."

The serpent shifted beneath them, massive scales grinding against ruined stone as it slithered forward. The destruction around them stretched endlessly. Boundless Heaven was burning. Heavenly towers collapsed one by one. Angels and celestial beings battled desperately in the streets while demons swarmed every corner. Explosions rippled across the skies. The air was thick with smoke, magic, and screams.

Then something blazed across the battlefield.

A streak of gold.

A flash of divine light.

A presence that cut through demon armies like a blade through paper.

Ava's eyes widened. "Look! It's Dad!"

Kiyohime exhaled in relief. "Good. He can clear a path for us and hopefully we are lucky, my grandfather is nowhere near this region."

But when she looked down again, her expression hardened.

Demons were already scaling the serpent climbing its scales with claws and spears, their blades carving into its hide as they pulled themselves upward. Others soared behind them, riding monstrous beasts and flying with their own powers. Spears of corrupted light shot toward them like falling stars.

Kiyohime immediately raised her hand, her aura flaring.

"Mutation Realm (Tokigoten) — Shield of Time."

A sphere of swirling purple energy expanded outward, forming a protective dome around Ava.

Every time an incoming blast struck the barrier, the moment of impact was rewound to zero, erasing the attack entirely.

"You stay here," she said firmly, tightening her grip on her sword.

"I'll be back."

With a single step, she turned to face the oncoming horde, her blade already rising to meet them.

Kiyohime leapt from the serpent's head, landing with flawless balance along its massive back. A cluster of demons waited for her there, claws raised, blades glowing. She charged without hesitation. Energy blasts shot toward her in a storm of corrupted light, but she aimed her sword forward, sweeping them aside with effortless precision before slicing cleanly through the demons themselves.

Up close she was merciless. Every swing of her massive blade sent shockwaves of wind across the serpent's scales, hurling demons off its body and into the burning ruins below. More demons dropped down from above, firing bolts of energy in rapid succession.

Kiyohime inhaled deeply. Her eyes sharpened.

She activated her Toroidal Energy Field.

A violet ring of magic burst outward, expanding into a domain of higher dimensional time. Within that space, she held absolute control. Time and movement bent beneath her authority. The demons froze in mid-air, their bodies rigid, their weapons suspended, their wings halted mid-flap.

Kiyohime raised her sword toward the immobilized horde clinging to the serpent.

Her voice thundered:

"Mutation Realm (Hen'ikai – Tōmetsu Shō) — Absolute Zero."

Purple energy surged from her hands, wrapping around the frozen demons. Their bodies shook violently as their existence reversed.

They aged backward.

Smaller.

Younger.

Then newborn.

Then nothing.

They vanished into zero.

Kiyohime exhaled, lowering her sword only to feel the serpent's body suddenly convulse beneath her. She whipped her head upward.

A massive demon captain stood atop the serpent's neck, his four fists pounding into the creature with monstrous strength. The serpent roared as its body twisted, losing altitude.

Ava fell with it, shielded only by the purple barrier his mother had placed around him. The ground rushed up. Before the demon captain's claws could reach the falling child, Kiyohime blurred across the sky with Meta-Conceptual Speed and caught him. The demon's hand closed around empty air.

Both mother and son landed safely on the shattered ground below.

Kiyohime stepped forward, sword drawn, Ava behind her inside the protective bubble. The demon captain descended slowly, laughing as he approached.

"To turn both of you in to Lord Ravana will earn me a prize beyond imagination," he growled. "His granddaughter… and grandson."

More demon captains appeared, floating down from the smoke-filled skies, each one grinning with hungry malice.

"Let us join the fun," one sneered. "You cannot claim all the glory alone."

Ava's voice trembled. "Mom… I don't think you can handle all of them by yourself."

Kiyohime kept her eyes forward.

"Do not worry about me, son. Stay right next to me."

One of the captains raised all four of his hands. "Let's weaken her first. I don't want to get close."

The others followed, aiming their palms outward as volatile energy built up in their hands. A dense wall of destructive power surged toward Kiyohime.

She glanced down at Ava and offered a gentle smile.

"Everything is going to be ok. Just don't move, honey."

Ava shut his eyes tight. The ground trembled. The shockwave hit.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw the impossible.

The blasts had collided with something unseen, breaking against the air itself. Kiyohime stood unharmed, still holding his hand in one of hers and her sword in the other. A transparent barrier shimmered around her.

The demon captains stared, bewildered.

"What is this? What is stopping our attacks?"

Kiyohime lifted her chin slightly. "A holy power of mine. As long as I remain still, the holy winds protect us."

The captains growled in frustration.

"Then let us see how long you can keep standing. Increase power!"

A barrage of amplified energy blasts erupted forward, each detonation strong enough to destroy countless multiverses. Heaven shook. Mountains crumbled. Entire sections of the battlefield were obliterated into ash.

When at last the explosions faded, the landscape around them had become a wasteland of dust and twisted debris. The demon captains scanned the devastation.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then something rose through the smoke.

Kiyohime.

She burst upward, breaking out of the ash. The holy winds faded from her body as her massive sword began to grow, expanding with black and purple energy swirling along the blade.

She raised the enormous weapon high above her head. Magic surged around her.

Her voice cut through the heavens.

"Mutation Realm…

(Konjōjin) — Soul Cleaner!"

She swung downward, her blade slicing through all of the demon captains at once. Their bodies showed no physical marks, but their souls tore free, ripped apart at the level of higher existence. As Kiyohime landed, the souls were pulled helplessly into her sword, absorbed into its glowing core.

One by one, the demon captains' bodies collapsed lifelessly where they stood.

Ava rushed out of the protective shield she made, eyes wide with excitement.

"Mom, that was awesome!"

Kiyohime bent down to eye level and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Are you OK?"

Ava nodded quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine. But I don't think Kūhaku Uwabami, the Void Serpent... he doesn't look so good."

The massive snake lay bruised on the ground, smoke still rising from the explosions that hit him.

Kiyohime lifted her hand and activated her magic. A giant ring of light appeared around the serpent and closed in. The snake vanished instantly.

"He will be OK," she said. "He will heal back in my inner universe."

She grabbed Ava's hand tightly.

"We have to hurry and get to your father."

They turned to run, but a booming voice echoed through the battlefield. Slow clapping followed.

They stopped.

They saw him.

Trivana stood there with a smile.

"Quite impressive. I can see how you have my blood. You have no mercy when you fight."

Kiyohime raised her sword slightly.

"We might be blood, but I am not a monster like you. You and your father... the evil you have done. And now you bring your evil here."

She looked down at Ava and whispered, "Stay beside me."

A new shield formed around him.

Trivana spread his arms.

"Evil? My father and I are chaos. We carry the energy of chaos. We destroy. We are necessary. Evil is a need, a force that must conquer all."

Kiyohime stepped forward.

"Do not act righteous. You do more than destroy. You torture worlds before you end them. You do it for your own pleasure, for the fun of seeing everything burn."

Trivana laughed softly.

"You're right. I love burning it all down. Entire worlds. Hyperverse, stories destroyed and rebuilt so I can burn them again. To watch the people scream."

He took one step forward.

Kiyohime's sword rose higher, purple energy swirling around her.

"Another step forward and your head comes off your shoulders."

Trivana tilted his head.

"What is wrong, niece? I only want to introduce myself to little Avalokita."

He pointed at him.

"We are family. You can trust me. Your mother is overreacting. Come. Come to me."

Kiyohime screamed, "Shut your mouth!"

Her sword erupted with power as she sliced forward. An enormous energy wave shot toward Trivana.

Trivana didn't move. He smiled.

"Phenomenon field."

Bright energy erupted around him, expanding in all directions.

Magic shattered.

Power collapsed.

The energy wave dissolved before it touched him.

The shield protecting Ava broke apart like dust in the wind.

Kiyohime watched her magic vanish. Her aura of time still glowed slightly, the only thing she had left.

Trivana stepped forward again.

"You know magic and powers do not work on me. And I already know your essence. You are time. You are Lady Death. Your time abilities still exist at your core, but none of them work on me. You must rely on strength and speed alone."

He grinned.

"This is over. Your foolish husband dies today. His kingdom falls. No more Boundless Heaven. We will take the Vajra."

He chuckled.

"If you bow, I might let you live for a week before absorb your entire essence into me."

Kiyohime kept her sword up, her time essence swirling around her faintly, the last ability she still possessed.

She looked down at Ava.

"When I charge at him, you run. Do you hear me? Find a place to hide."

Ava shook his head.

"I'm not leaving you, Mom. Not with him."

"For once," she said softly, "just listen."

Before either of them could speak, Trivana's stomach-mouth split open, its fanged jaws stretching wide.

A hyperverse crystal rose from deep within, pulsing with infinite layered realities.

He crushed it in his grip, turning it into raw Hyperversal energy, and fired it as a colossal blast.

The attack tore through dimensions on its way toward them, Meta-Conceptual Speed.

Kiyohime moved before the sound of the blast could even exist.

With Meta-Conceptual Speed faster than thought, faster than the idea of speed itself she surged forward.

Her sword expanded with power, black and violet light widening along the blade until it became a massive barrier.

She intercepted the Hyperverse blast head-on.

One clean swing.

She split the impossible in half.

The explosion crashed around her, but her body and her sword had already grown just large enough to shield Ava completely.

Not a single spark touched him.

Dust filled the air.

With one swing of her sword, her raw strength shredded the cloud to nothing. She charged at Trivana.

"Run, Avalokita," she screamed.

Trivana summoned a sword as she reached him. Their blades collided with such force that all of Heaven trembled. Sparks erupted. They stared into each other's eyes as their weapons strained.

"I will absorb you," Trivana said. "I will devour you."

"You can try," Kiyohime answered.

She kicked, moving at Meta-Conceptual Speed, her leg crashing forward with Impossible power. Trivana shifted only slightly, smiling. Both of them surged upward, clashing with swords and fists, moving faster than light, faster than thought. Their battle tore through the skies.

Kiyohime suddenly sliced Trivana's head off.

The head grew back instantly. He laughed.

Then he drove his blade through her chest.

"Phenomenon field," he said.

The mouth on his stomach opened wide. Red energy oozed out, swirling with hunger. The mouths inside the void began absorbing her, pulling at her essence. Kiyohime gasped as her body started dissolving into red energy.

Ava watched from below.

He screamed, "Mom!"

He ran toward them, jumping, reaching, crying.

"Let her go!" He screamed it again and again.

His black halo appeared above his head.

The left side of his back burst open with wings.

The right side followed, each wing lined with multiple golden eyes. Gold and purple energy wrapped around him.

Then the colors changed. His aura turned red.

The phenomenon field touched him.

A scar ripped open across his stomach.

Teeth pushed through.

A mouth appeared, the same shape as the Chaos lineage.

Ava's wings flapped wildly as red energy roared around him. His stomach mouth opened wider, Chaos Mouth, screaming with him.

"Let her go. I'll kill you!"

Trivana continued draining Kiyohime's essence. He looked down at Ava.

"Interesting. He has a demon side, He has the mouth of the chaos beast."

He was too focused on Ava to notice Kiyohime concentrating through the pain. With the last of her strength before she was consumed, she punched Trivana in the face, stunning him. She forced what little remained of her time essence to activate.

Time rewound only for her.

Her body restored.

Trivana reacted instantly.

He drove a punch straight down, slamming Kiyohime into the ground, then followed through with a second strike that knocked Ava out of the air. Both bodies hit almost simultaneously, the impact carving massive craters into the battlefield as stone and clouds detonated outward.

Kiyohime was the first to rise.

She hovered above the broken ground, positioning herself protectively near Ava, her presence sharp and alert. Beneath her, Ava lay still.

From his stomach, the Chaos Mouth remained open.

Chaos phenomenon field leaked outward from it, warping the space around him. Despite the violence of the impact, no damage took hold. The force, the debris, the lingering energy of Trivana's strike simply failed to matter.

Ava's eyes were closed.

The Chaos Mouth continued to feed.

Energy from the battlefield was pulled inward in steady silence. Shattered terrain, loose fragments, residual power, even stray phenomena were drawn into him, vanishing as they crossed the threshold. Everything was reduced, compressed, and converted into thick red essence. Chaos phenomenon energy.

The battlefield was being eaten.

And Ava did not need to move.

Ava woke up with a gasp.

"Mom. What's happening? What's happening to me?"

Kiyohime held him tightly.

"Not again. Not again. It's OK, son. Just calm down. If you calm down, it will disappear. Breathe. The demon inside you will go away. The chaos energy in you will settle."

Trivana landed nearby, dust curling around his feet as he studied the two of them with a hungry smile.

"Your son's power is fascinating," he said. "It reminds me of mine… and of my father's. But there's something else inside him. I can taste the chaos in his aura. Rich. Wild. Mouthwatering. I would enjoy devouring both of you."

The enormous mouth on Trivana's stomach dragged its tongue slowly across its fangs, savoring the thought, while he stalked forward with deliberate steps.

Ava clutched his stomach, shaking.

"Mom… why do I feel like this? I feel like I want to devour everything around me. I feel chaotic, out of control. I don't like it. And… why do I have this mouth this demon mouth on my stomach?"

His voice cracked as the mouth on his abdomen twitched, as if reacting to Trivana's presence.

Kiyohime immediately knelt beside him, placing a hand on his cheek, her eyes sharp and protective.

He looked at Trivana.

"Why do I have the same mouth as him? I don't want to be like him."

Kiyohime hugged him tightly.

"It's OK, baby. Me and your father have been working to solve this. You are nothing like your great grandfather. You are a good boy."

She stood up, sword in hand, bruised and shaking.

"Get behind me," she said.

Then she faced Trivana.

"You stay away from my kid."

Trivana smiled.

"No. I am going to absorb him. And you. And this entire Heaven."

But then

A golden light appeared above them.

They all looked up.

There he was.

Adamus descended from the heavens, his black wings unfurling wide, each feather lined with glowing golden eyes has meta awareness. Every flap sent ripples through the air black-and-gold currents spiraling around him like a living storm.

Energy rolled off him in relentless waves.

Black Lotus power bled outward, boundless omnipresence intertwined with nonexistence itself. Eraser Energy followed in its wake, thinning reality, removing meaning where it touched, as though existence were being quietly undone.

Golden light rose against it, holy and divine. Sacred energy coiled around his form, radiant with authority and purpose, carrying the weight of judgment, protection, and creation.

Both forces surged together, black and gold entwined, and reality strained beneath the contradiction of his presence.

His golden halo blazed brightly above his head, casting divine light across the battlefield.

Adamus touched down softly, yet the ground trembled beneath his feet. He turned toward his family, the golden light in his eyes burning with fierce protection.

"Are you two okay?"

Kiyohime wiped the blood from her lip and forced a small smile.

"I'm bruised… but we're fine."

Ava struggled to his feet, still shaking.

"Dad…"

Adamus looked at him.

His gaze softened.

"I see your wings finally came in, son."

But then Adamus's eyes dropped to the chaos mouth forming on Ava's stomach.

For a heartbeat, Adamus froze.

Not again… not this curse… not on my child.

The thought struck him like a blade, heavy and silent.

He pushed the fear down and stepped forward, placing himself between Ava and Trivana.

"You two stay here," Adamus said, voice calm but edged with thunder. "I'll deal with him."

His black wings spread wide, golden eyes open across every feather as divine energy flared around him.

Trivana laughed, stomach-mouth grinning wide. "You talk a big game like you can defeat me. Last time you ran away."

Adamus narrowed his eyes.

"Me prioritizing saving people over fighting you is not me running away."

He raised his hand.

"Omnipresence, stage one."

Dozens of golden Adamus omniclones appeared instantly, surrounding Kiyohime and Ava like a divine shield.

Trivana's eyes widened. "Nice trick."

His stomach-mouth opened and released red phenomenon energy.

The air warped as the energy spread out.

"This power negates all magic and all abilities. It also siphons energy from anything it touches. Say goodbye to your clones."

But Adamus just smiled.

"You think my omniclones are powers or magic. They are not. I am omnipresence. I choose to limit myself to a certain state of omnipresence based on my will."

Golden energy erupted from him. Then the deeper energy, black and endless, the Black Lotus itself began to rise behind him like a starless sun.

Trivana tilted his head. "Interesting. So all this energy is not magic either. Then even your clones are real."

Ava swallowed. "Dad, be careful."

Adamus looked over his shoulder.

"Remember what I told you. A true superhero is infinitely stronger than the supervillain. That is how you save everyone."

He vanished.

Then appeared in front of Trivana instantly, moving at meta-conceptual speed. His fist smashed across Trivana's jaw, sending the demon tumbling through the sky.

Trivana caught himself mid-air, shaking off the blow.

Adamus was already there again.

He was behind Trivana, launching a spinning roundhouse kick.

Trivana slipped beneath the strike, chaos and author energy coiling around his fist as he drove it forward.

Within him existed an infinite accumulation of narratives, entire stories compressed into hyperverses bound to his being. When he struck, those narratives were released at once, each blow unleashing the weight, conflict, and resolution of countless stories collapsing into a single impact.

But Adamus didn't need to think.

His ability activated on its own.

Automatic Counter.

A golden fist materialized out of pure essence not summoned, not willed, but reacting for him and it collided with Trivana's chaos punch, stopping it cold.

The impact tore open the air.

Before Trivana could recover, Adamus spun again, this time landing a brutal heel kick across his jaw.

Trivana flew backward, skidding through the air before catching himself.

"What… was that?"

Adamus lowered his foot, wings spreading, golden eyes burning.

"That was my Automatic Counter. Anyone who tries to strike me first gets countered instantly. And every ten moments… it resets. Ready to activate again."

Trivana growled, chaos energy igniting around him.

"We'll see about that!"

He blurred forward.

They collided with punches so fast the heavens shook, shockwaves tearing across the sky.

Every few heartbeats CRACK the golden counter activated again, sending Trivana flying back against his will, no matter how unpredictable or chaotic his attacks were.

Adamus shifted right, then left, then spun, each kick smashing Trivana across the battlefield like a ragdoll.

His golden eyes flared.

Life Strings erupted from Adamus's gaze, infinite in number. They did not reach for existing timelines. They created them.

Trivana's existence was singular. All possible versions of him across time and space were already unified into one continuous perspective, leaving his timeline closed and immune to manipulation.

Parallel Simulation bypassed that law.

Adamus generated his own infinite timelines of Trivana, forging parallel worlds not drawn from reality, but authored by his will. Each golden strand carried a complete continuum, a living river of past, present, and every possible future brought into being for a single purpose.

Adamus did not pull Trivana apart.

He made infinite reflections of him.

Then he absorbed them, collapsing every simulated history back into himself.

Through omnipresence, he reached into every branching reality simultaneously. His Life Strings wrapped around entire timelines like a divine net, not grasping bodies, but seizing causality itself. Energy, momentum, narrative weight, and historical consequence were torn free and drawn inward, flowing directly into his fists.

Each strand pulsed with the strength of a full hyperversal timeline, not merely infinite in duration, but infinite in structure. Stories, outcomes, failed futures, victorious paths, erased possibilities, and unrealized endings all collapsed into the same point. Golden threads coiled tighter around Adamus's hands, growing denser, heavier, brighter with every timeline he claimed.

He stepped forward.

He punched.

That strike was not a single action. It was the collapse of infinite timelines into one moment. Past, present, and future aligned as the blow landed, every history impacting Trivana simultaneously. It was a punch delivered by infinite expressions of Adamus, unified through omnipresence and imposed at a single point across all planes of existence, physical, nonphysical, metaphysical, and beyond.

Trivana's body warped under the impact. His stomach-mouth tore open as blood spilled outward, his form collapsing beneath the impossible weight. He was flung across the sky and driven into the ground, struck not just by force, but by the accumulated mass of infinite narratives, infinite causations, and infinite realities made manifest in one multiple blows.

Floating, panting, he wiped his jaw, fury shaking in his voice.

Adamus spoke calmly

voice steady, absolute, unshaken.

"I will give you one more chance. Give up now, and your sentence will be less severe."

Trivana laughed.

"I am not scared of you. Me and my father will defeat you and rule all."

He opened both mouths wide.

Inside his stomach glowed countless crystals, each one a hyperverse.

Each one its own novel, each containing infinite multiverses and worlds.

He pulled one from his body.

"Dimension Ascension Author control."

A colossal domain prison burst open, ripping through the skies of Heaven.

A crystalline structure infinitely layered, infinitely deep swallowed Adamus instantly.

Trivana floated outside the forming crystal, holding the glowing hyperverse-core like a trophy.

"You're trapped in one of my hyperverses/novels," he declared. "Infinite multiverses, stacked with higher realms beyond dimensionality.

To escape, you'd have to break through all of them.

infinite hyperverses.

Each layer has infinite armies.

You'll never leave.

Goodbye."

Inside the prison, Adamus opened his eyes.

He stood upon a planetary narrative layer, its surface overflowing with warriors. Billions screamed as they charged, their existence bound to the story they inhabited. Adamus's golden gaze pierced through them and continued onward.

The universe beyond was nothing but soldiers.

The multiverse above it was the same.

This entire narrative layer, an authored hyperverse, existed solely as an army calling his name.

Then Adamus looked higher.

Above him rose infinite stacked hyperverses, each one a complete narrative continuum, entire novels layered atop one another. Every layer was fully populated. Every story was an army. All of them surged downward through the structure of existence itself, converging on him at once.

He whispered,

"Omnipresence. Stage Two."

Black flames erupted from his body as the Black Lotus Emptiness awakened.

Not fire, but absence.

"Black Lotus Emptiness. Spread."

The flames did not burn. They erased.

Warriors vanished without sound as their narratives were removed. Continents dissolved as the stories sustaining them were undone. Infinite multiverses fell silent, their authored histories severed. Hyperverses folded inward, not destroyed, but deleted, as though they had never been written.

With every breath Adamus took, the emptiness expanded.

It became present across the entirety of the hyperverse layer.

Then the next narrative layer.

Then the next.

Omnipresence asserted itself across all stacked novels simultaneously, until every chained dimension and authored reality began collapsing under the weight of his mere existence.

Adamus drew back his fist. Golden energy surged around his arm like a newborn sun, holy and absolute, transcending form.

"Omnipresent Punch."

The strike was imposed across every hyperverse layer at once. Physical, nonphysical, metaphysical, and narrative structures were struck simultaneously. Every warrior, every demon, every prison, every timeline was erased in a single omnipresent act.

The infinite, crystalline lattice of layered hyperverses shattered from the inside out, not as worlds breaking, but as stories ending.

Outside…

Trivana was already turning to fly away when he heard it.

CRACK.

He froze and turned.

The crystal fractured.

Then it exploded.

Shards of infinite hyperverses scattered across the sky like dying stars.

"Impossible" Trivana whispered.

Adamus stood right in front of him.

He didn't walk.

He didn't teleport.

He was simply already there.

Adamus's fist slammed into Trivana's chest.

The monster rocketed across the heavens, tearing through a floating city. Towers disintegrated on impact, debris blooming outward in violent waves as angels scattered in terror.

Trivana dragged himself from the crater below. His body trembled. He coughed, struggling to stand, the certainty that had once defined him finally cracking.

Adamus was already there.

He stood before him without a sound. Wings spread wide. Black and gold feathers caught the light as a radiant halo burned above his head, golden light pouring from it like a silent sun.

From nothing, Adamus drew his weapon.

The Black Lotus Sword emerged from his grasp. Its handle was formed from condensed Black Lotus Emptiness, smooth and absolute, set with a single golden eye that watched without blinking. The blade unfolded next, prismatic and unreal, forged from positive and negative force, narrative structure, and meta-energy layered together into a living edge.

Adamus's golden eyes ignited.

With a single motion, he seized Trivana's Life String.

Trivana's eyes widened.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Adamus's voice was calm.

"I'm going to cut your Life Strings. Your concepts. Your narratives. Everything that gives you power, ability, and immortality."

The blade fell.

The Life String was severed.

Power collapsed out of Trivana's body. His abilities unraveled. His immortality was stripped away as the narrative foundations sustaining him were cleanly removed.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then Trivana laughed.

His body straightened as boundless immortality surged back into place. Erased systems reasserted themselves, not restored by history, but overridden by a higher, self-sustaining principle. Fractured abilities snapped back into existence, those tied directly to his boundless state reactivating on their own terms.

He grinned through the pain.

"What are you gonna do, huh? Kill me?"

He spread his arms.

"You know I can't die. I was made from Vajra energy, just like my father. You can't erase me from reality."

Adamus's expression did not change.

He simply tightened his grip on the sword.

"I know," Adamus said calmly. "That's why I already thought of the solution."

He looked out across Boundless Heaven.

Cities burned.

Angels screamed as they fell from the sky.

Warriors clashed midair, light and shadow tearing through one another.

Golden marble split beneath the strain.

Even the heavens themselves bled, cracks of light leaking through the sky.

"I will send people like you somewhere else," Adamus said. "Since you cannot die. Since you cannot be erased. You will be removed from existence and placed into a new one. A world of shadow. A world of eternal darkness."

His eyes ignited, gold and black burning together.

"Parallel Vision. Shadow Verse."

A beam erupted from his gaze and thundered toward Trivana.

Trivana responded instantly. Phenomenon energy surged around him, coating his body in violent red spirals. He absorbed the beam head-on and laughed.

"You cannot touch me," Trivana said. "My Phenomenon Field absorbs all phenomenon. Every angle is sealed."

The ground shook.

Behind him, space ruptured.

A colossal omniclone of Adamus rose like a titan, its presence crushing the battlefield beneath it. It seized Trivana in one massive hand and closed its grip. Life Strings exploded from its palm, wrapping around Trivana's body, binding him completely, tightening with impossible force.

Rewritten Passage (Power-Scaling Accurate):

The beam from Adamus's eyes never stopped.

Trivana continued absorbing the energy, but he screamed as the pressure increased, his form beginning to fracture under a force that was not energy, not phenomenon, and not life-matter.

Adamus spoke calmly.

"You absorb phenomena. Not imposed structure. My clones are not projections or energy constructs. They are ontologically present extensions of me. And my Life Strings are structural bindings, not phenomena."

The pressure escalated.

Invisible, absolute force crushed inward, compressing Trivana's existence itself. Fractures spread across his glowing form, not as wounds, but as breaks in the framework that held him together.

Slowly, painfully, Trivana's erased power began to reassert itself. His strength returned in fragments as his boundless immortality forced parts of his existence back into place. His Phenomenon Field thickened, consuming more of the Parallel Vision beam.

He laughed again, straining as he began prying himself free.

"This is pointless," Trivana said. "Your attack will never reach me."

Adamus narrowed his focus.

The Black Lotus awakened fully.

He drew upon true emptiness, not mere absence, but the unified state of existence and nonexistence simultaneously asserted. The beam changed.

It became a contradiction given form.

Neither energy nor phenomenon.

Neither force nor interaction.

It bypassed the Phenomenon Field entirely, not by overpowering it, but because there was nothing to absorb and nothing to resist.

The beam struck Trivana directly.

Black and gold light surged through his form.

He screamed.

"What is this?" Trivana shouted. "Impossible. My Phenomenon Field absorbs emptiness. Nonexistence. What are you doing to me?"

Adamus's voice remained steady.

"You do not understand true emptiness. Not the false versions you know. This is boundless emptiness. The Black Lotus."

He stepped forward.

"You are being banished from the Omniverse. Since you cannot die and cannot be erased, you will simply be removed. Forever."

Trivana thrashed, panic finally breaking through.

"Banishment won't stop me," he shouted. "I'll come back. I'll teleport back."

"You won't," Adamus replied. "There will be no location. No anchor. No path. No map of to return."

Trivana's body unraveled into spirals of black and gold.

Then it vanished completely.

Silence fell over the battlefield.

Trivana had become the first Demon God ever banished to the Shadow Omniverse.

Adamus rose into the sky.

Boundless Heaven burned beneath him.

His omnipresence spread across every corner, and his Omni-clones appeared everywhere throughout the battlefield, each one an extension of his will.

Across Boundless Heaven:

One omniclone fired Parallel Vision, wiping demons from reality completely, reducing their existence to nothingness where even memory could not follow.

Another activated the Shadow Omniverse variant of Parallel Vision, targeting beings who could not be erased or destroyed through normal means. Adamus's golden eyes flared as he looked through them, not at their present, but at every possible future they could become. He saw which would never change, and which still carried the potential for something more.

Those without redemption were erased, their existence collapsed into absolute nothingness.

But others were not.

Rather than reducing them to emptiness, Adamus severed their presence from the Omniverse itself and banished them into the Shadow Omniverse. It was not destruction, but separation. A second existence instead of oblivion. If their hearts ever changed, if they abandoned their destructive paths, they would be permitted to return. The Omniverse would welcome them back.

The remaining omniclones pressed the assault.

Some fought through direct engagement, striking with imposed force as punches and kicks shattered enemy ranks. Golden blasts tore through hordes without resistance.

Several wielded the Black Lotus Sword, carving through demon legions with impossible speed. Others unleashed golden Life Strings, binding enemies at the structural level before severing those strings entirely, erasing their concepts, narratives, and existence in a single motion.

Adamus was everywhere.

His clones were clearing the battle from every direction.

He was winning.

But then…

He stopped.

Something shifted a disturbance in the fabric of existence itself.

Adamus paused midair, wings flaring.

"No… something is wrong."

And then he vanished.

He appeared in another part of Boundless Heaven instantly.

A broken platform.

A shattered city.

A crystal glowing red and black.

And Ravana standing there… holding six Vajra crystals in one hand.

At Ravana's feet lay another figure.

Adamus's brother.

A blade through his stomach.

Bleeding.

Barely breathing.

Adamus's heart dropped.

"Brother…"

He appeared forward.

In an instant he was kneeling, lifting his brother into his arms.

"No," Adamus said, voice shaking. "No… no… no…"

His scream tore through all of Heaven.

Adamus held his brother in his arms, shaking.

"Are you OK…? Avalokiteshvara… don't tell me…"

But as Adamus spoke, Ravana stepped forward through the shattered ruins of Heaven, all six Vajra crystals glowing violently in his hands.

"Finally," Ravana said. "The complete map of the Vajra… all mine."

He didn't press the crystals together.

He absorbed them.

The moment the energy entered his body, the air cracked.

Ravana's power erupted upward in terrifying waves, infinite layers stacked upon infinite layers, each tier transcending the infinity beneath it. His ascent was no longer numerical but transfinite, climbing through higher orders of infinity rather than expanding within a single bound. Power cascaded through successive power-set escalations, each level redefining and containing the totality below it.

His strength crossed into the Meta-Infinite, operating not within infinity, but upon the ontological strata that generate infinite structures themselves, swelling without limit as the very framework of scale collapsed beneath him.

A portal tore open behind him, howling with cosmic wind.

Beyond it floated a massive Black Lotus, endless, alive, and breathing.

And at its center…

A golden Vajra, a green crystal blazing in its core

with one small piece missing.

While the portal formed, Adamus desperately looked down at his brother.

"Hang on. I can use my life strings. I can bring you back. I can heal you, brother."

But Avalokiteshvara's body was already dissolving into drifting particles of golden cosmic dust. His voice weak, but calm.

"I'm sorry… I failed you. He took the last crystal. Now he can reach the Vajra."

Adamus trembled.

"No. Don't speak. I can save you."

Avalokiteshvara placed a fading hand on Adamus's chest.

"Listen… don't let him take your crystal. If he does, he can sever the boundlessness that protects the Omniverse… Heaven… and Hell. Without that bond, everything can be destroyed."

His voice cracked as more of his body crumbled away.

"Don't try to put your energy into me… it's too late. Nirvana has accepted me. Respect my wish, brother."

Adamus shook his head, tears falling.

"How do you expect me to let you go? How do I know I'm ready to rule Heaven alone? I still need you by my side… You've been with me since the beginning."

Avalokiteshvara gave a small, peaceful smile as the last of him turned to dust.

"You're ready, brother. You will rule with kindness… and compassion."

And then he was gone.

Nothing left in Adamus's hands but air.

Adamus let out a broken breath and closed his eyes as tears streamed down his face.

But before he could stand

A spear ripped straight through his chest.

Blood spilled down his mouth.

He fell to his knees, hands shaking against the ground.

Ravana stood behind him, hand gripping the spear.

"The battle isn't over," Ravana said. "I need that crystal."

Phenomenon energy howled around him as he shoved his arm deeper into Adamus's chest and tore out the green crystal, Om Mani Padme Hum crystal, lodged inside Adamus's heart.

Ravana lifted it high.

"Yes… finally."

He stepped through the portal, walking across Black Lotus petals that should have erased him. But he was immune.

Adamus collapsed, gasping, blood dripping down his face and chest. His life strings flickered, then began stitching his body back together.

Through blurred vision he watched Ravana approach the Vajra.

Ravana reached the floating weapon.

The six crystals in his body glowed. The Vajra glowed back.

He saw the green crystal embedded in the center

but it was cracked, incomplete, a piece missing from its core.

Ravana lifted the fragment he had stolen.

It glowed, resonating with the broken crystal inside the Vajra.

He pressed the missing piece into place.

The crystal sealed, fully restored for the first time since creation.

The Vajra ignited with power.

"Perfect," Ravana said. "Now I can remove the crystal."

He touched the green crystal, Om Mani Padme Hum crystal.

"This crystal binds the Omniverse, Heaven, and Hell. It makes them impossible to destroy by linking them to the Vajra's boundless power. But now…"

He yanked it free from the Vajra.

"…it is no longer connected. Nothing is boundless now."

He clenched his fist around the green crystal.

"And nothing will ever be boundless again but me alone."

He crushed it.

The Omniverse shook.

Heaven trembled.

Hell cracked.

For the first time since creation, they could die.

Ravana laughed, the sound shaking the ruined sky.

"At last. Now… I can take you."

He reached for the Vajra.

The weapon glowed with Boundless power, light bending around it like a living star.

But then

Adamus appeared instantly, standing between Ravana and the Vajra.

Their hands struck its surface at the exact same moment.

The moment they touched it, the omniverse screamed.

A surge of boundless energy blasted outward.

Heaven which exists outside the Omniverse ignited first, reshaping violently under their clashing wills.

Ravana's aura twisted the skies into a monstrous realm of shadow and hunger.

Adamus's energy pushed back, restoring golden clouds, holy cities, and divine order.

Next, the surge ripped into the Omniverse itself.

Whole hyperverses, whole cosmic novels, convulsed between destruction and salvation, reshaped word by word by two boundless authors battling for the pen of existence and non existence.

One heartbeat, existence became Ravana's vision: a dominion of cruel strength.

The next heartbeat, Adamus's will reshaped everything into compassion and justice.

Even Hell, also outside the Omniverse, shook as the wave hit it.

Its mountains, rivers of fire, and soul chains warped

first into Ravana's vision of domination…

then into Adamus's vision of liberation.

All creation was being rewritten every second.

Reality could not decide who its master was.

Ravana snarled, pushing harder.

"Let go!"

Adamus pressed back, unwavering.

"Never."

Heaven and Hell stuttered, switching between pure good and absolute evil.

Hyperverses blinked in and out, rewritten to match the will of one, then instantly overwritten by the other.

Every realm screamed.

Every law broke.

Boundless power clashed with Boundless power the contradiction ripping existence apart.

Finally

The Vajra exploded.

A colossal blast tore through all of Heaven.

Cities vaporized in an instant.

Holy towers collapsed like dust.

Divine clouds burned away.

When the dust finally settled…

A massive Black Lotus stood blooming in the center of Heaven, petals stretching into infinity.

And inside its heart…

The complete golden Vajra rested, glowing like a newborn sun.

Adamus rose from the rubble, barely standing. He turned as Kiyohime and Ava ran toward him.

"Are you two OK?" he asked.

They nodded, shaken.

"Is it over?" Ava asked.

Adamus shook his head.

"No. Not yet."

Ravana rose from the shattered marble, rage twisting his face.

"You dare challenge me? I will be boundless! I will seize every story ever told, every narrative ever dreamed I alone will write creation for all eternity!"

He charged the Vajra.

Ava shouted, "Dad, why don't you just use your omnipresence? Just grab the weapon!"

Adamus answered calmly as omniclones shielded Heaven.

"Because I do not want to use that weapon. "No one deserves Boundless power, my son," Adamus said quietly. "Ravana wants to take away free will to control everyone, every story, every life. I refuse to become anything like that."

He looked at Ava, eyes heavy with truth.

"I do not want to feel what Boundless power is like. Power this great corrupts. Even someone like me could fall… even I could become something monstrous. That is why we must protect freedom, no matter the cost."

Adamus placed a hand on Ava's shoulder.

"I hope you understand that, son."

Ava nodded.

And that weapon cannot kill Ravana or Trivana permanently. Their very essence was created by it.

The Vajra can kill them… but it will also bring them back.

Ravana is the Boundless Evil he will always return. Because of that, he possesses a form of boundless immortality. And he has anchored that power, that essence, into his son Trivana.

Together, they are woven into existence itself."

Then he appeared in front of the weapon and punched Ravana so hard the demon god crashed back down into the cracked floor of Heaven.

"Stay away from it," Adamus warned.

Ravana rose again, roaring, his body swelling into a monstrous giant that towered over the mountains of Heaven.

Adamus shifted in response, using his omnipresent size control to grow just as large, matching Ravana's colossal form.

Ravana swung first, his fist wrapped in blazing red chaos energy.

Adamus's Automatic Counter triggered instantly.

A golden strike appeared the moment Ravana's attack began, colliding with the chaos punch.

The impact shook the entire realm.

The two titans clashed beside the mountains of Heaven, each blow sending tremors across the boundless skies. Their punches shattered clouds, cracked mountains, and made the very foundations of Heaven quake.

Heaven, though beyond all dimensional structures, began to crack from the force.

Adamus thought to himself as they fought across the sky:

"I need to finish this quickly… and bind Heaven, Hell, and the Omniverse to the Vajra again… or they will all be destroyed."

At the edge of Heaven, Adamus and Ravana clashed again, their blows sending shockwaves through the golden clouds.

Below them stretched the impossible sight that only angels had ever witnessed: the former Boundless Ocean, shimmering with infinite depth.

This was no normal sea.

This was the Omniverse itself.

An ocean made of infinite hyperverses, each containing infinite multiverses, each one holding countless worlds and higher realms stacked beyond dimensional understanding.

Ravana punched Adamus hard enough to rupture Heaven's sky. His energy blast detonated like a supernova, hurling Adamus over the edge. Adamus hovered above the former Boundless Ocean, blood dripping from his chin.

Ravana laughed.

"You can't protect the world anymore. I can destroy the entire Omniverse now. I can reshape it with my own hands."

He thrust his palm outward.

A colossal energy beam shot downward, breaking into thousands of smaller beams as it plunged into the Omniverse Ocean.

Entire hyperverses erupted.

Shockwaves rippled through creation.

Planets, realms, and civilizations vanished in an instant.

Adamus stared in horror.

"You monster… You just killed entire worlds. Innocent people. Some of those Hyperverses YOU made. Do you have no loyalty at all?"

Ravana smirked.

"The only thing I am loyal to is myself. Power. Dominance. Chaos."

He struck Adamus again, sending him crashing into the Omniverse Ocean. Adamus shot through the surface, tearing through a cosmic barrier, and fell into a random hyperverse. He landed on a planet with such force that continents split and oceans boiled.

Ravana appeared instantly, using meta-conceptual speed.

"There's no point chasing the Vajra anymore," Ravana growled. "Your omnipresence will always let you reach it first. So I'll kill you instead. I'll drain you dry, absorb every last shard of your power… and then I will become omnipresent. And once I do no one will ever stop me."

Adamus rose, blood in his mouth.

"Bring it then."

They charged each other.

Their fists collided. The planet shattered beneath them.

They rose into space, their blows destroying universe after universe.

Then infinite multiverses.

Then entire higher realms.

The hyperverse itself cracked.

Both giants grew larger, their forms transcending scale. They became bigger than stories, bigger than cosmology, bigger than the frameworks that wrote reality.

Every punch Adamus threw created life, his golden life strings restoring what Ravana destroyed.

Every punch Ravana threw annihilated hyperverses.

Creation and destruction collided with each swing.

Finally, Adamus's energy spiked.

"I've had enough."

Golden life strings wrapped around his fist, spiraling with black lotus flames.

"Omnipresence Punch!"

He punched Ravana everywhere at once.

Inside his atoms.

Across his timelines.

In his past, present, and future.

Ravana's body convulsed, and Adamus delivered a final uppercut that sent Ravana flying upward, tearing through the hyperverse shell and out of the Omniverse Ocean.

Ravana landed back in Heaven, crashing through an entire continent of divine marble.

Adamus appeared, he was already there, energy shaking the skies.

"I'm ending this with one punch."

Adamus drew in the power of the Black Lotus petals.

Not energy. Not force.

But boundless omnipresence itself.

The weight of everything that exists, everything that has ever existed, and everything that will ever exist flowed into him. Not just across space and time, but beyond the beginning and beyond the end, beyond origin, beyond conclusion. Existence, nonexistence, and all that lay outside both were compressed into a single point.

Into his fist.

"Boundless Omnipresence Punch."

He struck Ravana in the face.

There was no impact shockwave. No explosion.

Ravana was simply overwritten.

His skull collapsed instantly. His form shattered, erased down to the last trace. Body, structure, presence, and narrative were crushed beneath the immeasurable weight of boundlessness itself. For a moment, Ravana did not exist at all. Heaven stood silent over a space where he had been completely destroyed.

Then something stirred.

From nothing, Ravana's boundless immortality asserted itself. Flesh began to reform where there had been none. Bone, blood, and being reconstructed themselves piece by piece, pulled back into existence by a will that refused finality.

Ravana collapsed across the ruins of Heaven, unconscious as his body finished rebuilding.

When his eyes finally opened, Adamus stood over him, a red crystal glowing steadily in his hand.

Golden life strings surged forward, wrapping around Ravana.

They pierced into his body, ripping out the Vajra crystals one by one.

Ravana screamed.

"No! No! Stop!"

But Adamus did not stop.

The life strings sealed Ravana inside the red crystal, trapping his essence and power completely.

Adamus appeared before the Vajra and pressed the red crystal into its frame.

"You will never escape. You cannot die, but now you have a boundless prison forever."

He turned to the Omniverse Ocean.

It was cracked, damaged from destruction.

Adamus raised his hands.

Golden life strings and boundless omnipresence surged outward, grabbing concepts, laws, essence, and foundations of the Omniverse, Heaven, and Hell.

A new green crystal, Om Mani Padme Hum crystal, formed from the restored laws of existence.

He placed it onto the Vajra.

"Perfect. Now these realms are boundless again. They are woven together. No one will destroy them again."

He looked at the remaining crystals in his hand.

"I must hide these. No one can ever reach the Vajra again."

He scattered them into dimensions no one could perceive, not even outer gods.

Adamus finally looked down from the broken sky and saw Kiyohime and Ava waiting for him.

He smiled softly.

Exhausted, drained, his omnipresence fading at the edges, he floated down toward them.

"I hope you guys are safe," he breathed.

Ava ran in and hugged him tightly.

"I want to be just like you, Dad… That was awesome."

Adamus closed his eyes, letting the weight of everything finally settle.

He wrapped his arms around his son.

"You will, son," he whispered. "You'll be better than me."

Flashback ends

Ava's room faded back into view.

He stood in front of the mirror, staring at himself.

His shirt was off.

His Black Lotus wings were fully activated, spreading behind him like living shadows edged with gold.

He lowered his gaze.

There it was the chaos mouth on his stomach, now closed, resting like a scar from a monster waiting beneath the skin.

He touched it gently.

His father's words echoed in his mind:

You will be greater than me.

But so did the memory of why he was banished.

Ava exhaled slowly.

"I can feel it… the chaos in me. I'm nothing like them. Not like Trivana. Not like Ravana."

He tightened his hand over the scar.

"When I took over everything… I did it for love. I did it to protect the people I cared about. And I would do it again if I had to."

His wings pulsed with dim black-and-gold light.

"I can't let them get the Vajra crystals. I can't let them reach the Vajra and gain Boundless power. My father barely stopped them last time… and this time he doesn't even know it's happening."

Ava's expression hardened.

"He's such a fool sometimes. If only he used his omnipresence all the time… if he watched everything, every moment, every person… we wouldn't be in this situation."

His wings twitched with irritation.

"But no. He believes in free will. He refuses to spy on anyone. And now look where that's gotten us."

He traced the scar again, the chaos mouth twitching subtly beneath his touch.

"I have to control this chaos. I knew the moment I reactivated my Black Lotus wings, it was only a matter of time before the chaos mouth appeared… and it did that day."

His reflection stared back powerful, frightened, determined.

"How much longer can this human body hold it back? How long until he comes out?"

He spread his wings fully, filling the room with their shadow.

"This war… it matters more than anything. I have to find those crystals first. I have to stop this."

He clenched his fist.

"Before the chaos inside me wakes up."