The Underworld
Personal Mansion on House Phenex Lands
Soleil Strider
It's finally here. For the past week, all Ultimate-class beings and above have been experiencing strange feelings. From what I gathered from devils like Riser Phenex, even his brother, Ruval, has been feeling a deep anxiety and dread, calling home to see if anything was wrong.
Now I know why.
[WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT]
[WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT]
[WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT]
[One year has passed since the Great Sundering. Tomorrow, the barrier will be dispersed.]
[The Faceless One gave humanity time to grow and stand on its own.]
[And as usual, you humans surprised even him. Can you imagine that? Surprising a being who can see the futures of different timelines simultaneously? I assure you, it is no small feat.]
[One of Humanity's variant races managed to resurrect the Almighty—a feat the angels failed to achieve for centuries. It took humans one year to accomplish what they could not.]
A well of pride surged through me. Perhaps it's my bloodline's inherent love for humanity, or my personal pride, but once again, humans are demonstrating their superiority to those mongrels who call themselves gods.
[Humanity has adapted to this new worldview by changing its governance and training methods. Guilds have popped up all around the world, helping each other and delivering aid. I once saw a Mid-Class warrior, running on fumes, hold back wave after wave of monsters so his team of Low-Class warriors could escape.]
[I have seen the Violence of Heaven purge all the corruption from the Vatican itself, restoring order to God's house.]
[I have seen the Jujutsu Sorcerers develop into a force that most in the supernatural world would balk at facing.]
[I have seen Eidolon almost lose his life to save a teenage villain, all because he believed she could one day be better.]
[I have seen the valor of the indomitable human spirit.]
[That is why I know you will survive the tribulation that has finally arrived.]
[All humans are allowed to participate in this last dungeon raid. After this, dungeons will become rare but powerful, nowhere near as numerous as they are now.]
[A secondary barrier has been placed around the raid location: the hidden, undiscovered island of Marksonov in the Pacific Ocean. There, the avatar of the Dragon of Dreams, Great Red, will descend and judge human progress. If he is not satisfied… he has promised to sink the continent of Europe.]
What?!
I immediately shifted into my main human form and used Blink to teleport back to Earth. I couldn't afford to miss a single second of Humanity's final trial, and I no longer cared if anyone noticed my devil persona was missing. Truthfully, I am tired of Hell and tired of playing nice with devils.
I appeared right in my home in Lviv to find my room trashed, the doors broken.
"Forget it. I can figure out why later," I muttered, stepping over a shattered table and walking outside to wait for permission to depart.
I strongly believe I am now one of the strongest beings within the Ultimate Class. During my months alone in the Underworld, I explored my abilities, unlocking new forms based on the energy I could access. I unlocked three more forms, which I promptly merged with my human form as a base. Now, I only transform into other races as a cosmetic choice.
```
[NAME: Soleil Strider]
[RACE: Angel]
[TRAITS: Holy Light, Light Manipulation, Portal Creation]
[NAME: Soleil Strider]
[RACE: Dragon]
[TRAITS: Draconic Magic, Cleave, Dismantle, Absorb]
[NAME: Soleil Strider]
[RACE: Frost Giant]
[TRAITS: Giant Physique, Winter Embodiment, Ymir's Enchantment]
```
These three forms gave me access to powers native to their races, along with unique traits that feel personal to me. It's as if… these are the abilities I would have gained in alternate timelines if I had been born naturally as those races. It explains why they are so varied; if they were based solely on me, most abilities would be linked to space or wealth.
The system caught my attention again as it continued.
[The Faceless One has given me permission to explain why he has been seeking to empower humanity so quickly, beyond simply not wanting humans to be fodder.]
[Playing his recorded message now.]
[The scene changed to a video of the Faceless One. He wore his signature hood but was now clad in silver armor, a huge greatsword in his hand as he rested on a golden throne.]
["Hmmm… so it's time. Let me explain something I'm sure most of you have understood by now, thanks to the Gates and the immigration from the alternate universe Earth Bet… we are not alone in the universe, or even the multiverse."]
["A century ago… I gained the ability to see the future. I saw the future of our world, and truthfully… it was wack. Angels, devils, Devas… humans were dying in droves. You see, we were invaded by Machine Gods from a nearby universe. Their first act… was to kill Great Red, the strongest being in our universe, bar none."]
["At the time of their arrival, the world was in dire straits. Almost all the major gods, devils, fallen angels, and angels were trapped in a dimension, locked in an eternal battle against the Beast of the End—and they were losing."]
["This world was left at the mercy of the Machine Gods. Sure, some devils and humans tried to fight back, but the truth is… none of us were strong enough. They were massacred. Our dimension was assimilated and used to birth one of their own."]
["I did not like this… in fact, I detested it. Our lives and existence were in the hands of teenagers way over their heads, the so-called protectors of Earth, and they lost badly. Every one of them died. All of us died… all plants, animals, humans… gods. I couldn't let it happen, so this project was born to give us a fighting chance."]
["I was lucky and learned an ability from another universe called The Kaleidoscope, which allows me to watch and travel to alternate dimensions and timelines. I used that to increase my power, and even after hundreds of years, I am still no true match for Great Red."]
["These Machine Gods are powerful and learn very quickly. I would not be enough. And as if that wasn't bad enough… I encountered something… an Outer God. H.P. Lovecraft gave us its name in a way humanity can understand, even if it is not its true name. I met Cthulhu."]
[The Faceless One laughed a little to himself, even as dread filled my heart at the implications.]
["Anyway, after testing me—and I passed—he explained something. The Multiverse is in a metaphysical arms race. At any time, a universe might invade yours for resources, or sometimes just for fun."]
["Sometimes, an event known as the Convergence might force two or more universes to combine into one to save energy, instead of manually pruning them due to stagnation."]
["We must always move forward. If not, we won't even know how we died. The Machine Gods are the least of our worries. I have seen universes where beings can wipe us all out with a wave of their hand."]
["The truth is, being weak disgusts me. I hate being inferior, and as a god of humanity, this trait is amplified by humanity's own need to prove its superiority. The Outer God told me that in less than a century—at our universe's pace—we will be subsumed in a Convergence with a cultivation universe."]
["To stop this… this universe, all of us, need to prove to the multiverse that we are constantly improving. That we do not need to be pruned. To do that, we will travel to other universes to improve ourselves, to conquer if need be, but primarily… we will have fun."]
["We will travel to wondrous worlds, have adventures, and innovate, because that is what drives us. We must not lose ourselves in the pursuit of power and survival."]
["Thus, survive this coming battle. Prove to me and Yahweh that you are ready to go to the multiverse. After all, don't you want to travel to universes that might hold your favorite characters? Like Goku?"]
[He smiled slightly. "Yes, I have seen the Dragon Ball universe… it's colourful, that's all I will say."]
["Oh, and the top ten combatants will all gain Ultimate Skills tailored to them, and positions of command in our first invasion."]
["So go ahead, and show me once again that humanity can take down even the gods when we work together."]
["Faceless, out."]
The screens went dark for a few seconds as everyone digested what had been said. But as usual, we weren't given time to prepare. We were thrown straight into the fire.
[The Dragon of Dreams is descending.]
And with that, humanity's ultimate trial had begun.