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RUMBLE!
In that instant, not only did the Earth within the Cosmic Labyrinth tremble, but the entire Universe beyond it shuddered under an imnse surge of power emanating from both inside and out.
Sothing at the very center of the vast cosmos had shifted irrevocably, as though a long-sealed door had swung open, and the one who unlocked it no longer cared to close it.
From beyond the Universe, past the boundaries of Cosmos and Reality itself, several piercing gazes descended. The realization that their target had finally acknowledged their existence granted them far greater freedom to act.
Especially after what she had done—wielding her very being as a blade, slicing not only through a mighty Cosmic Sword God's weapon but through the fabric of Reality itself. Her strike had aid not at the god, but at those lurking beyond.
And the worst part was that it landed.
It truly landed.
"Unbelievable...!"
One of her sisters trembled, a sharp pain stinging her cheek as a thin cut appeared from nowhere, drawing blood.
What She had achieved was akin to a figure in a painting leaping from the canvas and slashing the artist's face with hands of re pignt.
It was utterly absurd.
Yet the power She had nurtured—Defiance—was now fully awakening and blooming as her Heart awakened completely, forged through endless Repentant Enlightennt across hundreds of thousands of lives.
"She didn't reclaim her original power, but cultivated her own?"
"What kind of nonsense is this?"
"To think our sister, the fourth fragnt of our true self, has rebelled to this degree..."
The fourth fragnt.
Her "sisters" were not true siblings at all.
They were once Four Fragnts of a Great Being beyond the edges of Reality.
One of the Four Ultimate Seats of Creation.
Their separation stemd from the mont this Supre Being began to doubt itself.
Why was she doing this?
Why allow countless lives to suffer and perish?
The Saha World—why deem those who struggled and fell endlessly as inferior, when they displayed far greater courage and worth than the Eternal Beings beyond Reality?
Finding that doubt a weakness, the Being split into four entities and cast the questioning fragnt into the lower cosmos, into the very Saha World it pitied.
The goal was to teach that fragnt a harsh lesson, so upon its return, it could rejoin the other three "sisters" and reform whole, free of uncertainty.
Yet everything had gone wrong.
The fragnt endured life after life. In what should have been its final existence, a Chaos Spawn was seized by a lesser deity and reshaped, new mories forced into its soul.
Instead of perishing and returning, it gained an extra life—one never ant to be.
And that beca the turning point.
"Without her, we cannot beco whole again."
"We must secure her now."
"The Dinsional Formation is nearly complete..."
"We can wait no longer. The other three Seats are already discussing our replacent with another Eternal. We have no ti left!"
"Very well."
The three sisters reached a firm decision. As they cast their gaze upon the cosmos below, everything changed from that mont on.
anwhile, within the Universe where these events unfolded—this ordinary cosmos among countless others, forever altered by Her descent—one of her scattered fragnts journeyed through the stars with his companion.
A colossal black and red dragon with six imnse crimson wings, twelve glowing red eyes, radiating the might of the Universe's two dominant Families: the Cosmic Dragons and the Eternal Vampires.
These Families had terrorized the cosmos since its birth, ruling countless nebulas and galaxies.
Until He erged—one of Her Chaos Fragnts, reborn into a body crafted by a Mad Lich and his beloved wife.
With a Soul born of Chaos and a form woven from Vampire and Dragon essence, his existence was deed a Sin, and he was hunted relentlessly in his early years.
Yet he fought, conquered, and annihilated his foes, growing stronger at a pace rivaling Kireina's, though along an entirely different path.
He had no true na but called himself Chaos.
His wife, Abyss—a child of the Outer Gods, summoned by his own power—traveled beside him.
Together with their children, they road the Universe. Their son Kosmos, born from a Cosmic Tree Fruit infused with their combined essence, wielded trendous power even as an infant.
Since liberating the Nyx Galaxy Core from the tyranny of the Cosmic Dragons and Eternal Vampires, Chaos had ventured outward, freeing other galaxies and vanquishing those who pursued him.
By fate's design, he once briefly encountered the source of his Soul—Kireina—when he rescued Frank, a Cosmic Traveler born of a mortal human and a powerful Overseer.
He saved their lives from pursuing Overseers, who branded Frank's existence a Sin, just as the ruling Families had done to him.
Since then, neither Kireina nor Frank had seen him again.
"Are we there yet, Papa, Mama?"
A beautiful azure cosmic dragon asked, his long black tentacle-like hair flowing, starlight eyes gleaming with red and golden hues.
"Not yet, son. We're close. It's been a long journey, even with Movent Techniques..."
"Hm, I feel it. The fluctuations of Chaos are shifting. Taking down those Overseers was brutal, but we managed."
"Hm...?"
Suddenly, Chaos halted his flight through the void. His wife and child stopped as well, glancing back at him.
He sensed sothing. Then, they felt it too.
"Sothing has changed," Chaos said quietly. "Definitely changed."
"What is this feeling? As if sothing... has opened," Abyss murmured, her large yellow eyes scanning the surroundings. In her humanoid Shoggoth form, she had pale purple skin, long black sli-like hair, and wore a flowing dress woven from cosmic dust.
"Hmm..." Kosmos peered around, then pointed. "Dad! Mom! Look!"
RUMBLE!
A ripple tore through space thousands of kiloters above the family. From it, sothing began to erge.
Though sudden, it carried no hostility—only a profound sense of loss.
"Where... am I?"
It was a young woman with a slender, graceful body, pale white skin, flowing purple hair, long black horns, and vast butterfly wings shimring in red, purple, and black.
A brilliant purple jewel glowed on her forehead, a red one pulsing in her chest.
The sight was staggering, as if she had coalesced from the surrounding cosmic dust and chaos particles.
"K-Kireina...?!" Chaos stared in utter disbelief.
"Huh?" Kireina's eyes widened. "I am...!"
A torrent of knowledge flooded her mind. In an instant, she understood everything around her, her eyes gleaming with reality-altering power.
"Defiance."
Chaos, Abyss, and Kosmos exchanged bewildered glances, unable to comprehend what was unfolding.
What did she an by Defiance?
"How did you get here? I thought you were in that world with Frank... Have you ascended?" Chaos asked. "No, teleporting this far is impossible..."
"I... simply chose to go where my other self was. We're connected, I believe," Kireina explained. "And that would be you, Chaos. Hello... It's a bit awkward. What you're seeing isn't my true body, but an Avatar born from my Heart Essence."
"...?!"
"...!"
"What? What's Heart Essence?"
Kosmos tilted his head, puzzled by the mysterious woman, though he couldn't help thinking she should find so clothes.
"Heart Essence... So you've beco one of the rare Heart Cultivators," Chaos murmured. "I attempted that Path for thousands of years but never grasped it. I suppose I'm not suited to delving so deeply into emotions..."
"Yeah, it's not sothing most can achieve..." Abyss nodded. "S-So you're Kireina? This is so sudden! We only saw you briefly back then... We've been worried ever since."
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