Journey to Become the Zenith

The Seed of the Universal Emperor [Part 3]

Inside Victor’s soul, the atmosphere was unusually tense.

The familiar space within his consciousness had become strangely quiet, as though even the countless thoughts that usually drifted through it had been suppressed by the danger outside.

The other incarnations were gathered together.

None of them had any intention of taking the situation lightly.

They all understood what they were facing.

The seed of the Universal Emperor.

Even if it was only a weak portion of that terrifying existence, it was still something that Victor’s current strength could not overcome.

For a while, nobody spoke.

There was no need to.

They already knew the answer.

Victor was too weak.

More importantly, they were also too restricted.

The problem wasn’t simply whether one of them possessed enough strength to fight the seed. The real problem was the body they would have to use.

Unlike the previous occasion, when the original had materialized his own body through the use of an artifact, the past incarnations could not simply manifest their former bodies whenever they wanted.

Their only option was to possess Victor’s current body.

And that presented a serious limitation.

Victor’s body was still far too weak.

The incarnations could possess him, but they couldn’t freely display the power they once possessed.

Their techniques required bodies capable of enduring enormous amounts of energy. Their former bodies had been forged through countless battles, cultivation, and experiences that Victor’s present body simply couldn’t match.

If they forced too much power through him, his body would collapse before they could defeat their opponent.

Everyone remembered what had happened when Azrial Runious had previously possessed Victor.

Even though Azrial was one of the strongest among them, his ability to use his former techniques had been severely restricted by Victor’s body.

That experience had made the problem painfully clear.

They needed someone capable of defeating the seed.

But at the same time, that incarnation had to be able to operate through Victor’s current body.

Those two requirements rarely existed together.

One mistake could destroy Victor.

And if Victor died, none of them would have a vessel to rely on.

The situation outside was already becoming increasingly dangerous.

They could sense the ominous presence spreading through Fean Elmhart.

Every instinct within them warned that whatever was awakening inside that man’s body was something they could not underestimate.

Yet there was still no simple answer.

They needed someone strong enough.

Someone compatible enough.

Someone who could use Victor’s weak body without destroying it.

The silence inside Victor’s soul continued.

For the moment, they could only watch.

Outside, the situation was changing by the second.

Evelyne stood several steps away, her eyes fixed on Fean.

The middle-aged man who had previously possessed only an above-average level of mana no longer felt like the same person.

His breathing had changed.

His posture had changed.

Even the atmosphere around his body seemed different.

The mana that had once been easy to perceive had almost disappeared beneath something far more sinister.

Evelyne didn’t understand what she was witnessing.

Her fingers tightened around the hilt of her sword.

She had never seen anything like this before.

The man standing in front of her was still physically Fean Elmhart.

But something about him felt completely wrong.

She unconsciously took a step backward.

Her sword slid free from its sheath with a metallic sound.

Clang.

Her eyes remained locked on her uncle.

”Master...”

Her voice was quiet.

She didn’t know whether Victor had an answer.

She didn’t even know whether she should attack.

Everything about the situation told her that doing so recklessly would be a mistake.

The change in Fean’s aura continued.

The air around him seemed to distort.

Victor remained still.

His golden eyes were fixed upon Fean.

He could feel it.

That ominous power was becoming stronger.

Yet what excited him wasn’t merely the strength of his opponent.

It was the uncertainty.

For most of his battles, Victor could already sense the outcome.

Even when his opponent was strong, there was usually some way to measure the gap between them.

This time was different.

Fean had previously possessed only an above-average amount of mana.

Now, however, Victor couldn’t even properly understand what kind of power was flowing through him.

There was no familiar signature.

No clear boundary.

No obvious technique.

It felt as though he were standing before something that didn’t follow the rules he understood.

Victor’s lips slowly curved upward.

Aside from the one time he had first faced Alfred, there had been very few moments when he genuinely felt that victory was uncertain.

This was one of them.

And rather than making him afraid, the uncertainty stirred something deep within him.

Excitement.

Finally.

An opponent he couldn’t immediately understand.

Victor’s smile widened slightly.

’Interesting.’

His blood began to race.

He could feel his senses sharpening.

Whatever this thing was, he wanted to see how far it could go.

Fean suddenly lifted his head.

His eyes settled on Victor.

For a moment, Victor felt as though he were looking at two people at once.

Fean was still there.

The same middle-aged man.

The same face.

The same body.

Yet the presence inside him was completely different.

It was as though Fean’s existence had been pushed into the deepest corner of his own body, leaving something else sitting behind his eyes.

Victor’s expression became serious.

The first incarnation had experienced something similar.

Fean Elmhart was present.

Yet at the same time, Fean was no longer truly there.

The possessed man slowly looked at Victor.

His expression was solemn.

His voice, when it finally emerged, carried a strange weight that didn’t belong to the Fean Victor had known moments earlier.

”We meet again my rebellious prodigal son.”

Victor’s eyebrows rose.

For a brief moment, he simply stared.

Then his expression hardened.

”Hmph, I don’t know who the f*ck is possessing you right now, but I’m no son of yours.”

Victor lowered his center of gravity and took a stance.

His black hair shifted slightly behind him as the energy around his body began to gather.

His golden jacket fluttered faintly in the strange pressure filling the cave.