After experiencing the effects of the healing apples, Tylor and the others were truly stunned. The ability to produce such things, not to mention the overwhelming aura radiating from the two...
How could they possibly doubt Nia and Katherine now?
Even if Thalionâs plan seemed completely absurd, they chose to trust it.
Why?
Well... right after everyone was rejuvenated, Nia didnât give them a moment to call in their troops or regroup. Instead, using the watch Creara had just handed her, she teleported them all straight into Universe 28.
The transition was instantaneousâreality folding like silk.
They appeared in the void between worlds.
Yet, before them, it looked nothing like the familiar universes these leaders were accustomed to and was vastly different from a few centuries ago when the Asuras themselves held rulership.
The mana here felt ten times purerâclean, dense, alive in a way that made every breath feel like drawing in raw creation.
Comprehension of all powers, from Talent and skills to Laws and Concepts, it flowed into them effortlessly.
Their battle instincts sharpened, ideas that once took endless meditation now slipped effortlessly into their minds, and wounds they hadnât even noticed were healing in real time, as if the very air around them was stitching them back together.
Cosmic roadsâendless, glowing highways spun from pure starlightâstretched in every direction, weaving perfect geometric patterns that linked distant places without a trace of distortion or delay.
Marble and crystal islands drifted lazily along these radiant paths, some cradling gardens of night-blooming flowers that spilled soft, luminous motes into the air, others crowned with crystalline spires that throbbed gently like the heartbeats of worlds yet to exist.
Far beyond, nebulae swirled into living artâdragons of gas and flame drifting in slow arcs, phoenixes spreading wings of solar windâwhile streams of liquid potential bubbled up from hidden depths, forming rings and halos that shimmered with every shade of possibility.
This was Universe 28, the staging ground for the Primavus.
At the center of the crossing cosmic paths stood a massive, towering fountainâone of the countless Resource Fountains Ash could call upon.
It was obvious he hadnât placed it himself.
No, this was Creara, the very heart of his being.
As he evolved, Creara carried out her purposeâto make sure every desire of his was already fulfilled.
----
Nia and Katherineâs forces stood readyâtwo distinct yet united legions of Primavus warriors.
To the left, Niaâs branch stood tall, wreathed in shifting multicolored flames, void-black armor pulsing with a hunger that seemed to drink the air itself.
Their wings, each a different hue and edged in black flames, folded like midnight cloaks around eyes burning with fierce obsessionâunyielding, relentless, ready to consume entire realities for their lady.
To the right, Katherineâs branch exuded an eerie grace: white hair streaked with crimson flowing like liquid blood, armor of living blood-essence rippling with every breath.
Their steady crimson gaze hid an intense, quiet devotion beneath calm exteriorsâloyalty unshakable, prepared to drown worlds in silent crimson ruin.
Both legions snapped to attention as Nia and Katherine approachedâfists to chests in flawless unison, their auras flaring in rose-gold harmony.
The Narakava contingent followed with Sandra, Shia, Tylor, Lirael, and the allied clan leadersâIgnis and Sola Drakon, Umbra and Ebon Reven, Thunderforge and Crystalveil, Temporal Echo and Fateseerâeach still faintly glowing from the healing apples, their wounds vanished and their power soaring beyond former limits.
The moment they arrived, the air changedâcharged, intense, and impossible to ignore.
Tylor halted mid-step, his massive frame tense, void-dotted eyes wide as he took in the scenery.
He drew in a deep breathâthe pure mana rushing into his lungs like molten fire, sharpening every sense and sealing the faint fractures in his rage-core he hadnât even known remained.
"This... this isnât a mere universe," he murmured, his voice heavy with awe. "Itâs a forge capable of crafting Overlords with ease..."
Sandraâs breath caughtâher abyssal gaze sweeping the cosmic roads, the drifting islands, the fountains that promised anything.
"Little Nia... just where did you find this universe?"
Hearing this, Katherine almost burst into laughter. Were they really supposed to claim it was once the Universe of the Asuras... and that the Tyrannus Humans hadnât been the ones to bring it down?
Well...
"Mother, this is the old universe of the Asurasâthe second one, to be precise," Nia said with a casual shrug, leaving Katherine utterly stunned.
For a fleeting moment, every gaze in the room shifted toward her.
But what could they do?
Before them sat billions of Cosmic Overlords, waiting silently for a command. So, they pretended not to hear and kept their attention fixed on the scene ahead.
Sandra, however, didnât respond as one might expect.
"Haha, daughter, are you telling me youâve truly reached the stage of Universal Conquest?"
"Mother, I told you, Little Nia is ridiculously strong... maybe even stronger than any of us," Shia said, a hint of challenge in her expression.
Seeing her younger sister radiating such power, after even the small display she had witnessed before, she couldnât denyâshe wanted to spar.
Before the thought could take root, Thunderforgeâs thundercloud-like veins crackled as he spoke with awe, his gaze never wavering from the Resource Fountain in the distance.
He watched as women from every corner of the universe approached the fountain, each leaving with an artifact unlike anything he had ever encountered.
"Just... what is that contraption?" he asked, gesturing toward the fountain.
"Oh? Why donât you all try them out and see? Once youâre done, weâll begin," Nia replied with a smirk.
At her words, a cosmic road suddenly unfurled before themâsmooth starlight pavement shimmering into existence, stretching ahead like liquid silver spilling across the void.
In one breath they stood at the edge of the plain; in the next, they were before the towering fountain.
The transition was so seamless it felt like the universe had blinked.
The Resource Fountain stood before them like a living monumentâa flawless cylinder of translucent crystal threaded with streams of liquid starlight, its soft inner glow pulsing as if the heart of creation beat behind the glass.
From its peak, tendrils of raw potential drifted upward in slow, mesmerizing spirals before breaking apart into tiny motes of light that floated gently back to the ground.
Seeing such instant travel again left them awestruckâeyes wide, breaths caught, the effortless nature of it almost unthinkable to those whoâd spent lifetimes twisting space by other means
Then Katherineâs voice broke the silence.
"Just touch the forge and picture whatever you want. Be as detailed as you like or not at allâit doesnât matter, as it will always surpass your expectations."
Thunderforge was the first to step forward.
The Aether Supreme Titan moved with deliberate weight. He extended one massive handâand placed his palm flat against the fountainâs surface.
The crystal responded instantly.
HUMMMM!
A low, resonant hum rippled through the air as the fountainâs glow shifted from soft silver to storm-gray, streaked with electric white.
Tendrils of energy wrapped around his wrist like living lightning, spiraling up his arm in eager, pulsing waves.
Thunderforge closed his eyes.
He didnât speakâjust pictured it in his mind.
A warhammer.
Not just any warhammer, but one fit for the final battle, powerful enough to smash the Tyrannus Core Citadel to pieces.
The fountain burst with blinding light, gathering at the point where thought met reality.
A shape took form above his palmâfirst a faint outline, then building layer by layer, as if unseen blows were forging it from the air itself.
The head appeared first.
It was a massive, double-faced maul made of thundercloud crystal so dense it seemed to swallow light, streaked with veins of pure storm energy crackling in blue and white.
Each face bore spiraling runes of ultimate forceâsymbols that twisted and shifted as if alive, carrying the promise to break not just matter, but balance, destiny, and even the very idea of resistance.
The haft stretched long and sturdy, crafted from star-forged adamant that shimmered with a glow of caged lightning, its length bound in spiraling bands of compressed storm-cloud humming with trapped thunder.
At the grip, a counterweight of smooth void-obsidian grounded the weapon, granting flawless balance even in the fiercest of swings.
BOOOM!
The weapon pulsed onceâa deep thunderclap rolling outward in a flawless sphere, the air shivering as if the universe itself recognized the birth of something beyond Paragon.
Thunderforge opened his eyes.
He hefted the massive Warhammer with ease, its bulk nearly matching his torso, and gave it a single, testing swing.
The movement was unhurried, almost reverent.
Yet the air screamed.
CRACKLEEEE!
A shockwave of condensed thunder burst outwardâvisible and almost touchableâspreading across the plain in concentric bands of blue-white lightning that burned nothing but left everyone feeling the heavy promise of destruction.
The weapon gave off a low, resonant hum, like a storm trapped in crystal, pulsing in perfect rhythm with Thunderforgeâs core.
He stared at it for a long moment, the thundercloud veins pulsing brighter than they had in years.
"This..." he muttered, his voice heavy with awe, "...this isnât just forging.... How could something like this be made so easily?"
He knew, as a blacksmith and forger himself, that even crafting weapons of Divine rank could take an exhausting amount of time and effort.
And thatâs without even mentioning the rare Paragon weaponsâyet this fountain had produced something beyond them in mere moments.
He turned slowly, lifting the hammer high.
The allied leaders stared, eyes wide and breathless.
They didnât waste any more time, each one grabbing not just weapons but full armor sets complete with matching gear.
It was a little wild, but neither Nia nor Katherine caredâthe fountain was endless, after all.
So, they let them go for it, knowing it would feel all the more Originat-esque when they crushed the Tyrannus.