174.0] – [Nostalgia]

Silently cultivating for long years, Alexander stabilized himself at the first stage's peak. Yet, he still could not take that final step forward, no matter how much he cultivated.

'Well, I suppose this is where I have to go look for opportunities myself. But with the sage's memories as well as Lu Shu's, it isn't so problematic. I also finished my preparations for it. Having a good internal world sure is convenient.'

Saddened that no new prey found his hideout, Alexander departed. He flew, not in direction of the Sealed Gate, not in direction of the Core Territory's center, nor even somewhere near.

He was flying at high speed, aiming for the Core Territory's entrance gates.

'All I want is the Heavens to not bother me when I do it. Technically, they shouldn't, because it is a necessity on my path toward greatness, but since they hate me a bit…'

Pursing his lips, Alexander flew across mountains and plains, snowfields and erupt volcanoes.

Some places were here before, some were not.

He also noticed a few things that only he and some others would know about.

'Isn't that a piece of rock from the battlefield?' Sensing traces of profound energies surrounding the piece of mundane stone, Alexander believed it to be a remnant from his fight with Lu Olghun.

After all, even a casual fight between them would have done the same. The shockwaves of their blows caused even the Core Territory's center point to melt and erupt continuously. Some of them sent mountains millions of times bigger than themselves flying high up, while they sometimes caused the earth to crack open like a frail shell.

Therefore, it was no surprise to find a vestige so far away. Just the fact that there was still life prospering near it showed how lucky they were. If the Core Territory had been a third smaller, who knows how many experts would have survived his battle.

After looking around some more, he arrived near a giant wall.

'Same old~, same old~' Entering a corridor, he then attained two closed doors. Pushing them open, he was greeted with a familiar void of space. Sparse planets were frozen in place by a mysterious force, some distant stars shining upon him with a faint twinkle.

'Feels somewhat good. Brings me memories.' It should not have been so long since he left the Inner Territory, but in reality, it had been said long time.

From the Empyrean Realm to the Eleutherian Realm. Quite the journey, even almost dying again. His past would both be proud and angry.

Sometimes, he was just playing with his life too much. But a necessity it was for his path. Not everything could go the way he wanted, and it was better this way.

Some struggle was good, was it not? But no matter, the times of hardships were over for now.

Whistling to the tune of Dao chants he heard from afar, his Void Sense erupted, covering world after world. It even caught onto a forgotten sight.

'I almost forgot about them. Still don't know whether Estia Malanur could have controlled them or not…'

'These Primordial Human skeletons look smaller though.' Having not realized it, Alexander had grown since his most recent breakthrough. Not only in body, but in mind as well.

Stronger powers required a higher arrogance.

As such was the way of the world.

Greeted by two guards near the entrance, he saw them shiver in their boots.

"Why the long face? Thought I was your lover?"

"…"

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

'No need to sweat so much…'

Blowing some air, he did not intend to waste his time around. He had a goal, and it might be heavily priced.

'I won't lose an arm or a leg, right? The Heavens still bear a grudge from my fight with Olghun.' At the time, he had punched the still forming clouds, dispersing their might.

'Well, Olghun… never mind. I don't think I can put the blame on a dead man.'

Flying toward the east of Limbo, Alexander's aura slowly yet steadily rose.

As he was exploring the Inner Territory, a titan of silver began to form behind him. It grew exponentially, and so did his aura.

He was exposing his existential power, causing fear to etch onto the hearts of all beings so close and so far from him.

May they be worlds apart, or as close as to lick his boots, they would all kneel. A putrid stench of despair robbing the minds of countless. They could all see it before facing the ground. It was as if this titan of silver was carved into their eyes. No matter how far or where they looked, they would see it.

Anyone who would could not hinder the urge to flee and collapse.

It was the influence of not only his Dao, but also his existence. One worthy of having passed the Dream Dominion Realm, where sages were born, where dreams were split open.

Above a realm where one's existence was undefeatable by lower beings even inside their own minds. The true mark of a god.

Such an oppressive might bore down on Limbo, on the poor souls not even close to his level.

But he did not care.

The titan extending its arm toward Limbo's depths, a powerful yet invisible pulling force appeared, fueled by the will of the world itself.

'Got you.'

To those still alive close enough to witness it, a titan of silver lights pulled on something distant. And when it came close, they refused to believe it.

It was a culmination of True Time and True Space.

A bubble of space was firmly grasped between the giant ethereal fingers, and inside was nothing but remnants of a collapsed place. Pitch black bricks littered this space.

But it did not matter. A blue hue came and filled the bubble, turning back time in this specific space, disregarding the rest. An offense to the stability of time.

To the eyes of few, to the vision of Alexander, the space changed greatly. The black shiny bricks flew and reconstructed an edifice. A sliced portion of what must have been a large and giant wall.

The Dark Wall.

And inside of it, blood was seen moving, converging on a corpse. Spiritual fluctuations shielded this dead being. It nourished it.

Opening his eyes, a man of dark hair looked around in confusion. He wondered what had happened. But before he could do anything he was chained by strange lights.

A gentle palm covered his eyes, a soft voice freezing his soul.

"Valtos. Unfortunately, this is not your requiem. It is your damnation." Sparks of Heavenly Dao caused the revived and lost Valtos to spasm. His soul was being destroyed down to its last stand.

"Be grateful. You won't die just yet." Creating a powerful clone with his former silver hair, Alexander hesitated.

'I don't want its strength to mess everything…' Changing a few things, he was left with a clone less powerful than he hoped to sneak in.

'Universe Realm, should do the trick.' Forcing the clone inside Valtos' internal world, he carefully watched with his Void Sense.

'The stability is good. But I need to rewind some parts of his inner world some more.' But as the clone neared a specific place, Alexander frowned.

'I forgot about the laws here…' Extracting his clone, he lowered its strength greatly. After sending it back it finally worked like a charm.

'Saint Emperor Realm… Well, with my existential power, even a sage might not dare lay a finger on it.'

A blue glow resurfacing, it forced time to bend and submit. Above him, dark clouds began to form.

'Too much? No matter, I'm not here for long anyway.'

Punching the sky in the middle of the void, the clouds were forced apart, dissipating slowly.

Inside of Valtos' Multiverse, time was not being felt the same. What were seconds outside ended as billions of years inside.

And nearing a certain area, Alexander's clone finally found its target. It was a Universe right next to the one he cultivated within.

A Universe lacking so many things. Alexander felt a hazy presence watching him. Snapping his fingers, the presence vanished.

'Back then, you scared me beyond measures. But now, you are nothing but a remnant soul from some lowly cultivator. Even if you gave me an opportunity, the sin of frightening my past is impossible to compensate. You can only blame yourself.'

More importantly, he did not want obstructions for his stay here.

His hands clasped behind his back, Alexander overlooked a blue planet.

'This entire Universe is defective. Energies are lacking in every way. That presence… was it some demonic cultivator who tried to refine the entire Universe?'

'Well, it's dead now anyway, and its body has long since vanished.'

Waving his arm, a gust of energies poured into the worlds all around.

'I'm not sure what I should do in the end… I have my ideas… Guess I'll figure it out as I go.'

So close to the him currently stranded in space, birds high up flapping their wings, clouds dancing from the faint winds.

Water freely dominating the drowned mountains and cities from the distant past.

Snowy peaks trying to reach the sky.

Deserts melting the determinations of many.

Plains and meadows, strangling the jungles, light pouring and blocked all around.

Day and night competing, unable to rest from their endless struggle.

Tribes surrounded by technology. Skyscrapers trying to breach the atmosphere, their limitations shaming their aspirations.

From this scenery, a white robed youth could only smile. He was so far yet so close. Once more, facing the sight of old.

Longing and hating. Complex emotions erupting in skirmishes within him. Unsure about his goal or even needs. His lips parted, joyfully greeting the planet itself.

'Earth. Your dear Immortal is back.'