x
The endless white expanse trembled as King Arion, shrouded in the dark imperial aura of his Essence Manifest: Imperial Aether Tyrant, stood ready for battle. Beside him, Novelius raised his Invisible Shield, the barrier shimmering faintly as it prepared to absorb the overwhelming force they were about to face.
Kaipo stood motionless, his black kimono flowing gently in the ethereal breeze. No flashy transformations, no dramatic power displays—just the raw, terrifying presence of someone who had become Essence Manifest itself.
"How about we end this... shall we?" Arion had declared, but even as the words left his lips, Kaipo was already moving.
The first strike came without warning—a simple punch that cut through the air with devastating speed. Arion's shadowy tendrils lashed out instinctively, dozens of dark appendages seeking to entangle Kaipo's arm, but they shattered like glass against his raw power.
Novelius reacted instantly, his Invisible Shield expanding between them. The barrier absorbed the brunt of Kaipo's strike, but the impact sent visible ripples across its surface, stress fractures spreading like spider webs.
"Impossible," Novelius muttered, feeling the strain. "Even with the shield..."
Arion didn't waste the opening. "Spectral Legion Command!" he roared, and the white expanse suddenly darkened as hundreds of spectral entities materialized around them. Each one was a manifestation of his imperial will, their forms writhing with dark energy as they converged on Kaipo from every angle.
Kaipo's response was devastating in its simplicity. He spun once, his arms extended, and the sheer force of his movement created a cyclone of power that obliterated the entire spectral army in a single motion. Not absorbed, not deflected—erased.
"Your creatures can't match raw power," Kaipo said calmly, already closing the distance to Arion.
But Arion was ready. "Temporal Dictate!" The very air around Kaipo began to slow, time itself bending to Arion's will. For a split second, Kaipo's advance halted as reality warped around him.
Novelius seized the moment, raising his hands as brilliant energy gathered between his palms. "Tenjō no Kagayaki!" Beams of celestial energy lanced through the distorted time field, their heavenly radiance cutting through the darkness of Arion's aura.
The attacks struck true—but when the light faded, Kaipo stood unharmed. The temporal distortion had already dissolved around him, as if his very existence rejected the attempt to manipulate time.
"Temporal manipulation requires absolute power over your target," Kaipo explained, his voice carrying an edge of disappointment. "You're not there yet."
He appeared beside Novelius in an instant, his fist already in motion. Novelius's Invisible Shield flared to life, but this time the barrier cracked audibly under the impact. Novelius was sent skidding backward, his feet carving trenches in the indestructible white surface.
Arion retaliated with fury, his imperial aura flaring as he unleashed "Universal Erasure Wave!" The attack was his most devastating—a wave of destructive energy designed to unmake reality itself. The wave roared across the battlefield, tearing through the fabric of existence.
Kaipo caught it.
With his bare hands, he grasped the wave of universal destruction and absorbed it entirely. The cosmic energy swirled around him for a moment before dispersing harmlessly.
"Insufficient power," Kaipo stated matter-of-factly. "It needs to exceed my baseline to affect me."
The psychological impact was immediate. Both Arion and Novelius felt the weight of Primordial Authority pressing down on them—not the paralysis they'd experienced before, but the crushing realization of just how outmatched they were.
"Dimensional Annihilation!" Arion desperately opened rifts in space, trying to trap Kaipo between realities. But Kaipo simply stepped through the dimensional tears as if they were doorways, emerging behind Arion with devastating speed.
Novelius threw himself between them, activating "Seishin no Shōten!" His form blazed with celestial light as he merged with the power of the heavens themselves. The white expanse above them transformed into a swirling galaxy, cosmic energy pouring down like rain.
"Finally," Kaipo said with what might have been approval. "Real power."
Meteors began falling from the artificial sky, each one burning with stellar fire. Starfire rained down in concentrated beams, and cosmic rays carved through the air with impossible precision. Novelius had transformed the battlefield into a cosmic storm.
Kaipo moved through it all like a force of nature. Meteors shattered against his form, starfire bent around him, and cosmic rays simply ceased to exist when they touched him. He walked calmly through the celestial bombardment, each step bringing him closer to Novelius.
"Your ascension is impressive," Kaipo acknowledged as he grabbed Novelius by the throat. "But transcendence isn't about accessing power—it's about becoming it."
He hurled Novelius across the battlefield with such force that the impact created a crater despite the indestructible nature of the white expanse.
Arion fought desperately, unleashing technique after technique. Cosmic Dominion Surge to bend reality to his will—Kaipo's existence rejected the dominion. Spectral Legion Command to summon armies—they were obliterated faster than they could manifest. Temporal Dictate to control time—time itself seemed to flow around Kaipo rather than through him.
The futility was becoming clear. Every attack, no matter how cosmic in scope, was either absorbed, deflected, or simply ignored by Kaipo's overwhelming presence.
Then, from across the battlefield, a familiar voice rang out: "Yami no Chūnyū!"
Black lightning arced through the air, striking Kaipo from behind. For the second time, he stepped forward from the impact, though no visible damage appeared this time.
Damasin materialized from the shadows, his aura crackling with dark energy. "Miss us?"
Almost simultaneously, Novachro appeared in a blur of faster-than-light movement, his blade Kōken already in motion toward Kaipo's blind spot.
Kaipo's head turned slightly, acknowledging the new arrivals. "Now it gets interesting."
In one fluid motion, he caught Novachro's blade with his bare hand while backhanding Damasin hard enough to send him flying. The casual ease of the defense against two simultaneous attacks was terrifying.
"Four against one," Kaipo said, his voice carrying across the battlefield as all four opponents regrouped. "The odds you've been waiting for."
Arion wiped blood from his mouth, his Imperial Aether Tyrant form flickering but holding steady. Novelius struggled to his feet, his celestial transformation still blazing. Novachro examined his blade, noting the stress fractures where Kaipo had gripped it. Damasin spat out blood, his dark aura flaring with renewed determination.
"Coordinate your attacks," Arion commanded, his voice carrying the authority of someone who had conquered universes. "We overwhelm him together or we fall separately."
Kaipo spread his arms wide, as if inviting the assault. "Show me what four universal threats can accomplish together. Show me if you've learned anything from your failures."
The white expanse around them pulsed with energy as four of the most powerful beings in existence prepared to unleash everything they had against the one who had transcended power itself.
The real battle was about to begin.
ns216.73.216.25da2
