The interior of the temple was even grander inside than it looked from the outside.
Countless massive stone pillars pierced the clouds, and above the dome was a flowing river of stars.
In the very center of the hall, a cluster of light so dazzling it was impossible to look at directly, was suspended.
Within that light, it seemed to contain all the mysteries, all the energy, and all the possibilities of the entire Multiverse.
The heart of the universe!
And beneath that cluster of light stood a man dressed in ancient Egyptian pharaoh's attire. He was greedily bathing in that light, with terrifying energy fluctuations swirling around his body.
Hearing the sound of footsteps, the man slowly turned around. In those eyes, there were no pupils, only two clusters of burning cosmic fire.
Akhenaten!
Once a pharaoh of Earth, now a cosmic tyrant!
He had arrived thousands of years earlier than Frieza in the time concept of this dimension. He had already absorbed a portion of the heart of the universe's power.
At this moment, he believed he had transcended the Gods and become an omniscient and omnipotent being.
"A mortal?"
Akhenaten looked at the incoming Frieza, his voice echoing in the hall like thunder.
It was a divine voice with reverb.
"How did you get in here? Could those useless things outside not even stop a single bug?"
Frieza stopped walking.
He didn't look at Akhenaten. Those greedy eyes were fixed intently on the cluster of light suspended in the air.
"Oh-ho-ho..."
"Is this the heart of the universe?"
"As expected, it looks much more advanced than those Infinity Stones." Frieza stuck out his tongue and licked his lips.
"The purity of this energy... even just a sniff makes me feel refreshed all over."
Being ignored, Akhenaten's face instantly darkened. As a God who had obtained the power of the heart of the universe, he was accustomed to the worship of all things.
This mortal who had popped out of nowhere actually dared to ignore him?
"Presumptuous!" Akhenaten roared.
He raised his hand, and an energy beam sufficient to erase a galaxy condensed at his fingertip.
"Since you have seen something you shouldn't have, I shall grant you destruction."
Boom!
The beam shot out, heading straight for the back of Frieza's head.
This attack contained the power of the laws of the heart of the universe. Even if Infinity came, she wouldn't dare take it head-on.
However—
Snap.
Frieza didn't even turn his head, just casually reaching a hand back, like shooing away a fly.
That world-destroying beam was actually caught steadily by his palm.
Then, in his palm... crushed!
Dissipating into bits of starlight.
"Hmm?"
Akhenaten's pupils shrank violently. "How is that possible?!"
"This is the power of the heart of the universe! How could you possibly catch it?!"
Frieza slowly turned around and looked at the shocked Akhenaten, an extremely contemptuous smile appearing on his face.
"The power of the heart of the universe?"
"Just this?"
Frieza brushed the energy residue off his hands.
"I see you're just a thief who stole a bit of soup. You haven't even tasted the meat, yet you're acting like some big shot here?"
Frieza walked toward Akhenaten. With every step, the aura on his body surged.
That black aura condensed into a hideous demon phantom behind him. It even overwhelmed the divine light on Akhenaten.
"You..."
Akhenaten felt a threat.
This was the first time since obtaining power that he had felt this threat called "Death."
"I am a God! I am omnipotent!"
Akhenaten roared frantically, mobilizing all the heart of the universe's energy within him.
"Kneel before me!!!"
Buzz—
The space of the entire temple distorted at this moment.
A rule-based force sufficient to crush the Universe pressed down heavily on Frieza.
But Frieza's steps didn't even pause for a second. He maintained that elegant rhythm, approaching step by step.
That terrifying rule-based pressure, before his body which had broken through countless limits, was like a gentle breeze on his face.
"Too weak."
"Truly too weak."
Frieza walked up to Akhenaten.
The distance between them was less than a meter.
Frieza lowered his head slightly, looking at this pharaoh king who was still frantically outputting energy.
He smiled. "Since you love this position so much, I will send you to reunite with your mummy ancestors."
Boom!!!
Frieza's right hand suddenly lunged out.
No fancy moves.
Just a simple grab.
Pfft!
Akhenaten's proud energy shield was like paper before this claw.
Instantly shattered!
Frieza firmly gripped Akhenaten's neck and he lifted this self-proclaimed omnipotent God like a chick.
"Ugh... cough..."
Akhenaten struggled desperately, his hands grabbing Frieza's arm, trying to pry it open.
But he discovered in horror that the heart of the universe energy within him was actually suppressed by an even more domineering and darker power.
He couldn't mobilize it at all!
"This... what kind of power is this..."
Akhenaten looked despairingly into Frieza's scarlet eyes.
"This is..."
Frieza leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "The power of the emperor of the universe."
"And also... the power that sends you to hell."
Crack!
Akhenaten's neck was snapped.
Although the heart of the universe gave him an immortal body, before Frieza's aura with the "Destruction" attribute...
Immortality?
That was a joke.
Black aura instantly flooded into Akhenaten's body, completely shredding and devouring every cell and every wisp of his soul.
In just a few seconds, this once-unbeatable pharaoh king turned into a shriveled corpse. Then he turned into ash and dissipated in the air.
"Phew..."
Frieza shook his hand in disgust.
"What a waste."
"Wasting such good resources."
Having dealt with this obstacle, Frieza finally turned his gaze toward that cluster of light suspended in the air.
The heart of the universe.
It hung there quietly, emitting alluring fluctuations, as if waiting for its new master.
"Finally..."
In Frieza's eyes, an unprecedented feverishness erupted.
"It's mine."
He slowly reached out both hands toward that cluster of light.
The moment his fingertips touched the heart of the universe—
Boom!!!
The entire Multiverse shuddered violently at this moment.
Countless rules, information, and energy flooded into Frieza's body like a tsunami.
That feeling was billions of times stronger than all six Infinity Stones combined.
"Oh-ho-ho..."
"Hahahahahaha!"
Frieza bathed in the light, letting out an extremely arrogant laugh.
"Power!"
"This is true invincibility!"