"After the Primal Beings realized the ceiling before them was seemingly unbreakable, despair spread, and the universe stagnated," the Void Emperor continued, his voice resonating with a quiet, timeless sorrow that seemed to make even the surrounding fog grow heavier. "Yet stagnation is never absolute. There are always beings who refuse to accept an ending, those who still carry curiosity toward existence itself, and once in a while, the universe produces strange people, peculiar minds, and anomalies like you."
"These beings appeared randomly across different eras, and the things they did began to change the entire path of the universe. One such being proposed a different theory. He said mana is used to wield arcane concepts, divine concepts, rules, and even authority itself. If that is true, why must the answer to transcendence be hidden within authority? Why could it not be hidden within mana instead?"
"That question created a spark among the cultivators of that era," the Void Emperor explained, "Some began to agree with the theory. They argued that perhaps they had been looking in the wrong direction all this time, and that was why even the greatest beings remained trapped at the Astral Stage. If authority refused to open the next door, then perhaps authority had never been the door in the first place. Those who believed in this theory gathered around the person who first proposed it, and together, they created the Primordial Mana Sect."
"They held the extreme belief that mana is supreme. They argued that everything in existence, every concept, essence, and rule governing reality, is ultimately formed from, moved by, or powered through mana. Their relentless research into this belief culminated in the creation of the Boundless Mana Body Art."
Adrian's mind immediately flashed back to his early days exploring the universe. At that time, the Boundless Mana Body Art was something extremely new for Adrian. Even till today, he saw it as an extraordinary body art. To hear that this art was not merely a tool for gathering energy, but the culmination of an ancient philosophical rebellion aimed at piercing the heavens, cast his entire cultivation journey in a new light.
"And that was only one event," the Void Emperor continued, "Following that spark, many other movements appeared. Some beings proposed theories saying consciousness was everything. They argued that mana, concepts, divine rules, and authority were only meaningful because consciousness perceived, shaped, and directed them. They researched the mind, will, intent, and awareness, and through that path, they discovered many things, including the Chime of Consciousness."
"From that era onward, the way we viewed the Astral Stage changed completely," the Void Emperor elaborated, his voice growing richer. "The universe no longer believed authority was everything, because even if someone mastered authority, the path remained blocked. Cultivators pushed into mana, consciousness, and even the physical body. They asked whether the answer lay in a single direction or whether all foundations of existence had to be perfected together."
"And that was how in that era, another stage above the Astral Stage was born, and cultivators named it the Divine Stage," the Emperor revealed, his words carrying the weight of billions of years of universal evolution. "A being was called Divine Stage when they had pushed everything to the extreme: their divine concept, mana, consciousness, and physical body. Someone who achieved that state could easily defeat an ordinary Astral Stage cultivator. That was what the public believed, and to most of the universe, that was enough. A Divine Stage being was treated as a ruler above rulers, a being who had stepped beyond the ordinary path of cultivation."
The Void Emperor paused, and for a fleeting moment, the swirling violet galaxies in his eyes dimmed, replaced by an exhaustion that seemed to span eons. "But those of us who reached this so-called Divine Stage, myself included, felt something different. We still had not transcended, we still did not know the truth of existence, we still could die. To be honest, Adrian, it felt as though we had given ourselves a grand name simply to satisfy the desire to believe we had ascended, while in reality, we had only strengthened the cage around us and decorated it with divinity."
As Adrian heard this, a complex web of differing opinions formed within his mind. From his point of view, the Divine Stage was absolutely worthy of being called its own distinct stage.
He had just witnessed the terrifying power of consciousness with his own existence. A single spoken word infused with his willforce had paralyzed an army of millions and knocked out weakened Peak Rule Stage beings. If that was only a crude, uncontrolled expression of the first stage of consciousness mastery, then the extreme end of that path had to be unimaginably powerful.
The same applied to mana. Adrian had always wondered about mana because it could even power the white-grey essence of the Source itself. If mana could fuel the origin of all concepts, then its utility was supreme in a way that ordinary cultivators might not appreciate. Was mana truly ordinary, or had cultivators simply grown too used to it to see its deeper nature?
However, Adrian did not voice those thoughts aloud. He understood that his perspective was still young. To him, the Divine Stage sounded like an unimaginable height. To the Void Emperor, who had stood at that height for countless years and still found no true answer, it was merely another false peak.
The difference was not in the stage itself, but in what each of them desired from it. Adrian still needed strength to protect his people and build his foundation. The Void Emperor sought the ultimate truth of creation, and anything short of that truth felt like stagnation.
The Void Emperor sighed softly. "And this leads us to the current timeline. Even now, we continue researching these topics. We study mana, consciousness, the body, divine concepts, and authority, because we know we are not at the true peak of any of them. We have expanded sideways for billions of years, built Great Sects, refined systems, established universal standards, and created countless methods, but the true upward path remains hidden."
Adrian absorbed the history, synthesizing the timeline of the universe's greatest minds attempting to break the ultimate lock of reality. Yet, an undeniable gap in the logic remained.
Adrian replied, his eyes locked on the Emperor, "I understand the history now, but I still do not understand why you assume I have the key. If the Primal Beings failed, if the Primordial Mana Sect only opened another incomplete road, if the researchers of consciousness only created a stronger stage without true transcendence, and if even you have not crossed the final threshold, why am I the answer?"
"It is actually very simple, Adrian," the Void Emperor replied, a faint, almost sharp smile touching his lips. "While you focused on complex things, you forgot something simple that was already within our grasp."
"What is it?" Adrian asked, his eyes narrowing slightly as he leaned forward.
"Direct command," the Void Emperor said.
Adrian's thoughts stilled for a moment.
"Think about it," the Emperor continued, "At first glance, direct command seems simple. With sufficient authority, a cultivator commands reality to perform an action, and if they can pay the price, reality obeys. Most cultivators ignored this path as a possible route to transcendence because there were already recorded cases where fools issued direct commands such as 'transcend me' or 'make me surpass the universe' and were destroyed instantly by reality."
The Void Emperor shook his head. "Those fools could not pay for what they asked, and they died. Even using direct command to interfere with a Prime Arcane Concept is extremely risky for most beings. How could someone who cannot even command a single foundational pillar safely ask reality to grant transcendence itself?"
"So everyone abandoned and forgot that path, but I have not," the Void Emperor stated, "I have my own theories. I believe the reason those cultivators died from such direct commands was not merely the price demanded by reality, but also because of their insufficient authority and their inability to stand against all the concepts of the universe."
The Void Emperor gestured broadly, as if encompassing the infinite universe itself. "When they issued such a command, reality had to involve all concepts of the universe, including the Prime Arcane Concepts. Do you think those Prime Arcane Concepts would simply bow to them? No. They stand against even me, someone in the Divine Stage. They do not submit to anyone, and when cultivators trespass into their domain without the right to command them, those concepts become executioners."
The Void emperor leaned forward, his swirling violet eyes locking onto Adrian, "But you are different, are you not?"
"I have sensed the arcane concepts bowing to you. Even the prime arcane concepts. You may be weak right now," the Void Emperor continued, "If you issued a direct command like those past idiots and demanded transcendence, you would most likely die as well. But your cause of death would be different. You would not die because reality rejected your right to command. You would die because you could not provide enough fuel."
"But what happens when you grow? When you push your consciousness to the extreme? When your mana reserves expand beyond anything your current self can imagine? When your body, willforce, foundation, and concept all mature to a level where the payment becomes possible? Can you do it then? Do you see why I still say you carry the key?"
Adrian nodded slowly, his mind ablaze with the revelation. He understood everything now. The Void Emperor did not know the Source, but his deduction had still circled dangerously close to the truth. The only barrier standing between Adrian and rewriting his own existence to achieve true transcendence was not conceptual resistance. It was the sheer volume of fuel required.
If Adrian expanded his Mana Sea from one hundred million units to billions, trillions, or something even more absurd through the true potential of the Boundless Mana Body Art, if his [Crown of the Source] continued gathering willforce from countless trusted followers, if his consciousness advanced through the stages beyond the Chime of Consciousness, and if the Origin Sect one day grew into a civilization strong enough to stand beside him, then the possibility was no longer imaginary. It was a path. A terrifying, impossible, unique path that no one else in the universe could walk.
Even thinking about it made Adrian feel that the chance of succeeding was not small. It was distant, almost incomprehensibly difficult, and filled with unknown dangers, but it existed.
The Void Emperor watched the epiphany wash over Adrian's face, and his own expression softened into something remarkably genuine. "I do not have ill intentions toward you, Adrian. When I said I wanted you in my sect, I said it sincerely. You are the only key, the only possible answer to everything we have been searching for. Do you truly think I would harm you or try to break you? I want you to grow, even stronger than me, so you can finally show me what true transcendence is."
The confession carried absolute sincerity. The Void Emperor was not driven by petty jealousy or malice. He was driven by a weariness, an eternal longing to see the final curtain of the universe pulled back, even if someone else had to be the one to do it.
Adrian smiled slightly, the tension bleeding out of his shoulders as he saw through the grand philosophical discourse and the sincerity behind it. He looked at the ancient being across from him and asked, "I see you are still trying to hire me into your sect, only disguising it under the excuse of sharing history."
The Void Emperor paused for a fraction of a second, then threw his head back and laughed loudly. The booming sound chased the damp fog away from the edges of the table.
"So be it," the Void Emperor said, "You know enough now to understand my intentions clearly. If you join my sect, I am prepared to give you everything. You can learn the mysteries of mana and consciousness, all the research we have accumulated, every path we discovered, every mistake we survived, and every secret that might help you grow. With our support, you can become powerful in a few million years rather than wasting eras stumbling through the dark."
The Emperor's gaze turned serious again, addressing the core of Adrian's hesitation directly. "I know you are worried about your people if they join my sect. Yes, even I cannot guarantee the safety of millions of beings from every internal conflict. Some could die, some could suffer. But that is the path of life, Adrian. No structure can protect everyone forever."
"Actually, if you build your own foundation, you will face even greater struggles. You will lose more people than you would by joining me. You will carry wars, betrayals, invasions, assassinations, political pressure, and the hatred of powers that will not want you to rise. Think about it carefully."
The offer was the ultimate temptation. Protection under one of the universe's greatest strongholds, boundless resources to fuel his possible transcendence, and the accumulated knowledge of Divine Stage beings handed to him freely. The Void Emperor was offering to pave the road toward godhood in gold, and unlike others who might have hidden chains within the promise, the sincerity behind his offer felt real.
But Adrian had already made his choice. He thought of his parents, Hestia, Aerin, Celestials, of the Origin Empire, of the Crimson Vital disciples who had just bled to secure their freedom in Andromeda. The danger to them existed everywhere, and within a great sect, it could be to a point where even Adrian couldn't do anything. Even the void emperor admitted he couldn't do anything, so what could he do?
Adrian met the collapsing galaxies in the Emperor's eyes without flinching. "Thank you for your words and for the history you shared," he replied, his voice calm and unyielding. "But my decision is already final. I am not going to change it."
He stood up, white-grey essence pulsing faintly beneath his skin, a promise of the limitless future he intended to forge.
"And you do not need to worry about my people," Adrian continued firmly. "I will take care of them."
He looked directly at the ancient existence and offered a faint, unshakable smile. "You have waited for so long, so just wait a little more. You will soon witness a new Great Sect rise in this universe far faster than you imagined."