The tattered remnants of his clothes didn't even get a chance to turn to ash under the power of his transformation—they simply evaporated.
His bare upper body revealed muscle definition as perfect as an ancient Greek sculpture.
And on his chest, a "sun mark" identical to the one on Orochi's chest slowly emerged!
His body, beyond his control, began to rise into the air.
The space around him started producing the same layered spatial ripples as Orochi's—unable to withstand the terrifying power radiating from him!
In this moment, everyone who witnessed this scene—whether they were fighters in combat or trembling divine tribe members—had the same absurd thought flash through their minds:
This... is this... a second Orochi?!
No!
The aura emanating from him was even more profound than Orochi's, and far more bizarre.
The metamorphosis was complete.
Cloud—no, perhaps he should now be called... the "God of Chaos"—slowly opened his platinum-colored eyes.
High in the sky, Orochi, who had been charging his ultimate attack, was completely stupefied.
He looked at this "counterfeit" across from him—one whose appearance, temperament, and power fluctuations were nearly identical to his own—and for the first time, his divine heart experienced a philosophical crisis of "Who am I? Where am I? Who am I fighting?"
What was this supposed to be?
Had the final battle turned into... "The Real vs. Fake Monkey King"?
Or could it be...
That he, Orochi, the embodiment of Earth's will, had today been...
—Nesting-dolled?
Above Tokyo, two "suns" faced each other from across the sky.
One was an ink-black "Dark Sun" radiating endless finality and destruction, condensed by the original Orochi.
The other was a brilliant platinum "Bright Sun" containing the power of chaos and rebirth, condensed by the "premium whale-edition" Cloud.
The scene was bizarre beyond measure.
Like a cosmic-level Russian nesting doll, or the hell-difficulty version of "Spot the Difference."
Everyone stopped breathing, their minds going blank. They felt their worldviews had been ground into the dirt countless times today.
"What the hell... I must've drunk counterfeit booze..." Chin Gentsai rubbed his bleary eyes, and for the first time, began to wonder if the wine in his gourd had expired.
"One sun... two suns... Mamahaha, do you see it? There are two suns in the sky..." Nakoruru hugged her falcon, murmuring to herself, feeling like she'd stumbled into some mythological tale.
"Cool! So cool!" Yun Ying was the only "normal" one, excitedly pumping her little fists. "Cloud actually had this transformation trump card hidden away! Isn't this way cooler than any ultimate?! I'm definitely learning this when I get back!"
As for Orochi himself, his current state of mind could no longer be described as merely "dumbfounded."
He, the embodiment of Earth's will, had been around since Pangu split heaven and earth—er, since ancient times. He'd roamed the Earth for hundreds of millions of years. What storms hadn't he weathered?
The extinction of the dinosaurs? He'd witnessed it.
The Ice Age? He'd hibernated through it.
The birth of humanity? He'd observed it.
But he swore, he had never seen anything this ridiculous!
Someone had actually transformed into his likeness right in front of him, and was about to use his signature technique to have a beam clash with him?!
This was nothing short of... a naked provocation and insult to him, the "genuine article"!
"—What... exactly... are you?!"
Orochi's emotionless voice, for the first time, carried a tremor that could only be called "tilted."
"Me?"
"Premium Edition Orochi" Cloud slowly raised his hand, cradling that platinum "sun" in his palm. His face wore a divine, indifferent smile identical to Orochi's.
"I am you."
"A you... who understands Sunshine better than you do."
The moment those words fell, he moved!
"—Sunshine: Purification Mode!"
He hurled that "sun" containing the power of chaos and rebirth straight ahead with tremendous force!
"ROAAAAAR—!!!"
Orochi let out an unwilling roar, sending his own "Dark Sun"—condensed with all his destructive power—to meet it head-on!
Two suns, each capable of "formatting" the Earth, collided under the gaze of all!
There was no earth-shattering explosion.
No world-ending shockwave.
Only... light.
Endless light.
And... annihilation.
Orochi's "Sunshine," in essence, was "Nothingness"—returning all things to the void, pure "deletion."
Cloud's "Sunshine," in essence, was "Chaos"—embracing all things, selective "purification" and "reset."
When "Delete" met "Reset"...
The result was obvious.
The pitch-black "Dark Sun," upon contact with the platinum "Bright Sun," began to be neutralized, purified, and... overwritten at a visible speed—like ice meeting a blazing sun!
"No... Impossible!!!"
Orochi let out an incredulous roar.
His unique power of "Nothingness"—representing Earth's ultimate will—had been... countered?!
And countered by his own technique, no less?!
This defied all logic!
The platinum light swept forward unstoppably, annihilating all darkness, then swallowed Orochi's entire body without losing momentum!
But that light didn't harm a single blade of grass on Earth.
When Cloud released this technique, he had already set the "purification targets"—limited to "Orochi" and "Divine Tribe" only!
This was where the "Premium Edition" surpassed the "Original"—it came with a built-in "Friendly Fire Recognition System"!
The light faded.
The sky returned to clarity.
The apocalyptic pressure weighing on everyone's heads vanished like smoke.
Earth was saved.
...
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