NOVPUBThe cold was very intense. Kayden didn’t remember anything other than the cold, which enveloped him every moment, without stopping. The only thing that kept him "hot" was his will, something he couldn’t even formulate rationally.
Time did not exist in this place. In the same way that a trillion years could have passed, it could only have been a few seconds, as there was practically no time stamp.
After who knows how long, Kayden was able to feel the first thing in his body, or rather, in his shape. He was something round and warm, without any other features. He had nothing more than that.
He had no matter. It was at the same time made up of something and, at the same time, of nothing. The truth was that Kayden couldn’t feel his soul, so he had this strange sensation in his body.
It was a never-ending battle between his hot body and the cold environment. For some reason, his will didn’t waver. Regardless of the weather and how cold it was, it kept his body warm.
The more time passed, the more Kayden learned, and the colder the cold became. But it was a ridiculously low advance. At that moment, he was starting to remember the things in his mind: his life and everything that led him there.
With each passage of time, he returned to his old self. His willpower surpassed the existence of his memories, but this was still a slow process. It would take a long time for him to get it.
***************
"Child, you are at a point where you shouldn’t be able to rise," Thoth appeared above Father. The two were on an isolated planet made of pure, formless divine mana.
Father was startled for the first time in a long time but relaxed after recognizing who it was. He had contact with Thoth and knew that he was one of the beings behind everything in this universe.
"I’m not able to utilize souls as energy yet." Thoth raised his eyebrows. This was quite different from what he was seeing on outlying planets.
"I just learned how to destroy them, and consequently, I’m decreasing the mana density in spacetime." This was almost as troublesome as learning to utilize the soul as energy.
It was a small difference, but it put Pai dozens of levels lower. A soul could give more energy than a planet, at least in hypothesis. Every soul that Father destroyed ended up returning to the universe in the form of energy.
"That won’t work." Father raised an eyebrow. It seemed to be working for him.
"There are two primordial laws: the law of return and the law of the soul. You cannot nullify them. All of these souls will return as mana, and after a few trillion years, they will be condensed into souls again."
Thoth seemed to possess infinite knowledge. Pai was fully convinced that discovering Kayden was not random, but rather a plan of the person in front of him. It was difficult to admit that one of the strongest beings in the universe was being manipulated.
"And why are we having this conversation, Lord Thoth? What is your request?" Father was able to recognize that the presence of this entity was both a threat and an invitation.
"Continue with what you’re doing. I’ll teach you how to consume space itself, but in exchange, I want you to put all that mana into a concentrated region. Not only that, I want you to start investing in the universe. high in mana will produce new geniuses. Create a universe conducive to their development."
Everything had a price. In this case, it was an extremely small price for Pai to pay. He would trade much more for the ability to convert space, a terrain virtually unknown to him at deep levels.
"Consider it done, sir Thoth."
*****************
"You are destroying the universe! It’s not just one territory, it’s countless lives and lands that will never come back into existence!" Father had managed to bring together most of the large groups in the universe on a single planet.
The universe was simply too big, and even asking only the strongest gods from each organization to come, it still brought together a few million people, a completely gigantic number.
Most had lost at least some territories or planets to Father’s hunger. Everyone knew what was happening. The war of the gods greatly reduced the numbers of gods, but once it became clear that Father had managed to advance...
Author’s note: I know I promised to pay for the chapters, but once again my life has been turned upside down and I apologize for that.
Everything was over. The side that opposed Pai’s advance returned to their territories and armed themselves to the teeth, elevating several people to the divine level through techniques that should not exist in the universe. If faith moves mountains, fear moves constellations. Everyone feared Father’s possible reprisals, but in the end, he did nothing. Not even his allies received his congratulations; only a few powerful figures were given some information.
" Idai ?" Father looked tiredly at the side where those words were coming from. One of their oaths was that no one would be killed in that place and would be free for the next few centuries. "The universe is a jungle where the strongest prevail, and I am stronger than them."
Pai’s phrase was cruel, but it made clear one of the most basic laws of all living beings: only the strong command; the weak must hope to stay out of sight.
"I’m going to get straight to the point. I’m going to consume most of the universe..." Father couldn’t finish speaking, as several voices were raised against him. Maybe a little show of strength was missing.
"Blasphemy!"
"What about our territories?"
"And my people?"
Father looked at the infinite mass of gods in front of him and just smiled. All the mana he was storing within his body was released, burying 99% of all the gods in that place. Only the old monsters still had full combat capabilities under this pressure.
"I don’t think I was clear enough. I’m communicating what I’m going to do, and if there’s one more bout of disrespect, I’ll break my promise," Father laughed. "I’m strong enough to deal with the consequences."
