MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 976: Time Splintering

Silence descended upon the entire separate plane as they had all watched Lucian vanish. None of them were fools; aside from Altheria and Veronica, everyone present recognized what Aaaninja had done to Lucian. Many of them had never seen anything like that before, simply erasing someone just like that, so casually, so absolutely, as though existence itself were nothing more than chalk on a board waiting to be wiped away.

Although there were many ways to achieve similar effects, erasing someone from the timeline was an entirely different matter altogether. After all, there was a vast and terrifying difference between being dead and never having existed. Being erased from the timeline achieved precisely that. Lucian Darkheart’s entire existence had been unmade, undone at its roots, stripped from the fabric of causality itself as though the world had rejected the notion that he had ever lived.

It made regeneration and resurrection practically impossible for anyone present. At the thought of this, the observers couldn’t help but squint, their breath catching slightly, their hearts tightening, as if a silent dread had wrapped around their lungs. Had Lucian Darkheart just been permanently put to death... like true death, the kind that not even legends returned from?

After all, could even Klaus resurrect someone who had never existed in the first place? Riven Darkheart and Vespera Darkheart’s eyes immediately darkened; this was their son after all, their blood and legacy. But they stayed silent for a moment. Their son had done a lot of ridiculous things in the past, miracles that defied logic and common sense alike, so they hoped that somehow, just somehow, he could still make himself exist again, that he would claw his way back from nothingness like he always did.

Aaaninja sighed softly for a moment as he had achieved victory. Now that he had used this ability, he couldn’t use it again for the next twenty-four hours. This was the reason why he never wanted to use it against anybody here. Although his Eyes Of Genesis granted him overpowered abilities like the one he had just used on Lucian, some of those abilities still came with hours of cooldowns. If not, a foolish person might recklessly spam it until they themselves died from exhaustion or backlash.

Aaaninja’s rainbow-colored clock-like eyes rose toward the sky as though urging Klaus to declare him the winner already. Aaaninja wasn’t exactly worried about Lucian’s present condition. After all, Klaus was the one that said everyone should fight to their heart’s content. Lucian’s life now depended on him and him alone, and if the administrator of this place allowed it, then whatever happened was simply the price of battle.

Feeling Aaaninja’s gaze, Klaus opened his mouth to announce the winner, but before he could utter a single word, the fabric of reality trembled with immense weight and force. The entire separate plane shook to its core, space rippling violently, time particles screaming like glass scraping against itself, and earthquakes running through the earth below as though something ancient was forcing its way through existence itself.

Everyone couldn’t help but arch an eyebrow in confusion as they didn’t know what was happening. Riven and Vespera couldn’t help but wear wide smiles on their faces. To them, they believed their son, Lucian, was returning, and that faint hope rapidly transformed into certainty.

A vortex that was made from Time, Space, Law, Order, Nihility, and Void trembled into existence, tearing a wound into the fabric of reality itself. From it, a man stepped forward with calm, unhurried steps. He stood six feet in height, his body lean, his muscles perfectly defined, his presence quiet yet overwhelmingly heavy. His eyes were black, deep and endless, matching the hair that sat upon his head like a dark crown.

Lucian’s eyes shifted toward Aaaninja, and a huge smile appeared on his face as he gazed at him. He had to admit it, he hadn’t expected such an ability from the guy, but at the same time, this was Aaaninja. Something like this was definitely within his capabilities, and perhaps he should have anticipated something so outrageous.

’How?’ Aaaninja thought to himself, his eyes narrowing in disbelief. He didn’t know how Lucian had managed to come back from nonexistence, which basically existed outside of existence itself, beyond even the reach of laws and definitions.

Even if Lucian had the ability to bring himself back into existence, he shouldn’t be able to. After all, something nonexistent shouldn’t even be able to use a skill or ability... yet, it seemed Lucian had done exactly that somehow, overturning the logic that governed everything they knew.

But Aaaninja had forgotten something. Lucian had an ability called Reality Anchor, an ability that allowed Lucian to anchor himself onto reality itself, an ability he had used to bind his existence so that whenever Aaaninja and Anthony existed within the same place, he would automatically appear there.

Lucian had used this ability when he met up with Anthony and Aaaninja to battle the Demon King’s clone. The ability didn’t need his conscious control or require mana to act. Lucian only needed mana the first time he activated it and set the conditions for his Reality Anchor to function.

After that, it was done. As long as the conditions were met, Reality Anchor would always activate without fail, bypassing logic, causality, and even erasure.

This was how he had returned.

A smile broke across Anthony’s lips as he stared at Lucian from above. He had already known something like this would happen. After all, his Sense Dome ability granted him ridiculous perception and foresight at this point, enough to observe threads of possibility before they even manifested.

And with that, the match-up resumed. Lucian was back from nonexistence, and it was time to continue, as though reality itself had simply paused momentarily to accommodate his return.

With a wide grin on his face, Lucian’s sword left its sheath as he spoke.

[Nothingness Katana Technique]

His Black Sword Intent flared again as he unleashed his ultimate Sword Technique. Although it had failed against Anthony, Lucian knew everyone wasn’t Anthony, and not everyone could withstand a blade that carried the weight of nothingness itself.

Aaaninja’s Eyes Of Genesis gleamed as he saw the attack close in with ridiculous speed and overwhelming force. He didn’t even need to ask or think; he knew he couldn’t dodge in time. He could already feel the chill of death running down his spine as his mind and soul urged him to do something, anything, before the strike reached him.

Defense would be useless against such a technique.

Luckily, when Lucian had been erased from this timeline, his Null Field ability had collapsed due to his nonexistence, and now Aaaninja could use his mana freely without suppression or interference.

With a thought, he activated another skill, his voice echoing as though he were a deity at this moment, resonating across the plane itself.

Time Splintering

At that moment, an enormous amount of mana erupted from his core, rising toward the sky as the entire space was drenched in blue energy, the atmosphere trembling as though reality itself were about to fracture under the sheer pressure of what he was about to unleash.