1495 To Rank 8!

A bright white sphere floated in the air. The aura of the world was forcibly pulled into it, like it's a vortex swallowing the sea.

A strong body, standing at the edges of perfection, came into existence, literally out of thin air.

[It's a smart idea to ensure your survival by safeguarding your soul and using the near death moment to push your breakthrough.]

'I can't help it, even my dumb ideas seem to be too smart.'

[…You should panic more when you just esacped death. Behave like a normal person.]

Varian didn't respond to the earnest request of Logos and looked at the stunned audience with a big smile.

"Without your help, I would have taken a few days."

Saying so, he raised his arm and pointed to the sky. A chain wrapped around his body, invisible to everyone but him, began to shake.

"Wait!" The Demon King cried out.

"Stop him!" The Princess ordered.

Dozens and dozens of attacks, powered by the strongest of the entire world, were fired at Varian all at once.

Click!

The bottleneck between rank 7 and rank 8 vanished. The powers of Order and Chaos surged, hitting heights never seen power.

Kacha! Kraaa!

The glittering crystal chain stretched and cracked.

A heavenly power, far beyond what anyone could notice descended from the sky, intending to enforce the chain.

But even that heavenly power wasn't instantaneous.

Using that short window of opportunity, Varian moved his hand that's pointing towards the sky and reached for the earth.

"No! Noooo!"

A giant palm appeared in the sky.

From the far east continent where the dragons resided to the far west where the elves lived. To the mysterious mermaid race in the deep ocean that no one knew about. And the mythical spirit race which roamed the sky, living in cloud castles, being worshipped as demi-gods by the mortals.

Not one, not two, every single sentient race, from its weakest to the strongest, all felt a sudden pull from somewhere and looked up.

And they saw it.

A giant hand, encompassing the entire sky coming down onto the world.

The brilliant star that filled the world with light during the day and the beautiful moons that made the night romantic vanished.

The hand enveloped the entire planet in its clutches.

Varian looked at the descending divine silver light that almost reached him and said.

"May you find peace one day."

Boom!

The glaring red core of the planet exploded and the entire world was blasted into pieces.

Beings, ancient and recent, as strong as the Demon King and even stronger than him.

Nature, from old rivers to new lakes, big mountains to small rocks.

Everything and everyone.

All ceased to exist from that moment.

The silver light that just a millimeter away from Varian's neck halted.

And then, a notification window popped up.

[Achievements Unlocked:

- Unprecended Ending

- Unique Ending]

The shackles placed on Varian's paths vanished and he took in rapid breaths, finally feeling normal once again.

Even though a rank 2 was certainly not weak, until now, he felt like a chronic patient who could be blown away with the wind.

The difference in strength between the ranks was no joke.

And now that he reached rank 8 in Order and Chaos paths, the contrast was even more stark.

[Contestant Varian, you can leave now.

If you do not, you will be transported back in 5 minutes.

Typically, this period is given for the participants to say their goodbyes to the allies and dear ones.

But you…what have you done?]

Ignoring the paradise's management system which still seemed to have not recovered from the shocking ending he pulled off, Varian expanded his senses and focused on the debris of the world.

A great power descended from nowhere and the world began to piece itself bit by bit.

In just three minutes, a perfectly fine planet was built.

Then, life was created.

From the smallest of ants to the largest of dragons.

Cell by cell. Species by species. Soul by soul.

The Demon King. The Princess. The Dragons. The Elves.

Everyone started to come back to life.

Their destroyed bodies were back to how they always were. Their souls, which were on the verge of dissipating after their death were once again perfectly integrated with their bodies.

It was a spectacle to watch.

Their bodies weren't new. They were the same bodies that died.

The cold blood turned warm. The dead flesh and bones were now alive.

It was a masterclass on the application of Life, Soul and Death.

A masterclass that Varian had been eagerly waiting for.

When it finally happened in front of his eyes, the man devoured every lesson he could, enriching his knowledge by learning from the very best.

As the timer neared its end, the world started showing signs of being restarted. If his guess was not wrong, then after five minutes, everyone would 'wake up' and go on doing their own thing.

It's quite scary to think of but none of these people would realize that they're living inside a creation. That their creator was just a guy who wanted to see different endings for the 'stories'.

Varian did pity these people. But there wasn't much he could do about it. Going against a divine ranker wasn't something he could do now.

'Ignorance is bliss. I used to think that quote is used for children who didn't know the hardships of an adult life. But now…'

[4:50]

[4:55]

Three powers in his body broke through the bottlenecks, reaching rank 8.

[4:58]

An invisible force envelopped him, ready to pull him off.

'Hm?'

Noticing that it was the power of space and time, Varian started a tug of war with it.

[5:02]

The force was initially gentle but as he started showing more and more resistance, it turned violent.

[5:10]