Chapter 644: Stairway of Eternal Return, Power!
Boom!
The pitch-black markings on Kaito Shirogane's skin suddenly seemed to glow as the membrane of light beneath his dermal layer finally shattered, transforming into a sky-tearing column of golden Ki.
At this exact microsecond, Kaito finally understood why Super Saiyans, upon transformation, abandoned what grandmasters called absolute kinetic control, allowing their Ki to mindlessly radiate outward like an expanding nova.
It was purely because this classification of power had far eclipsed a boundary that could be meticulously steered by a martial artist's ego.
Strong. Too strong. A raw strength that completely transcended the domain of [Control].
It was a power so monumental that even if their Ki erupted toward the heavens or ran completely wild, the mere leftover remnants were still more than sufficient to systematically crush their enemies.
Unlike the weak human martial artists of Earth, who spent their entire lives pursuing a threshold of force they could perfectly govern...
That breed of demons and extraterrestrials pursued a violence designed to surpass the dimensions themselves.
A dense mist of blood finally erupted from Kaito's pores once more as his capillary network fractured under the pressure. Paired with the golden Ki, it painted a shroud of deep crimson across his coordinates.
Kaito no longer looked up at Solomon. Lowering his eyelids, his gaze seemed to flawlessly pierce across a distance of tens of thousands of meters, locking straight onto the two powerful native entities standing on the grid below.
At this moment, he actually experienced a hint of regret. Because this world was merely a secondary worldline observed from a cinematic framework, its maximum power ceiling was ultimately restricted.
He regretted that Odin was a decaying husk stripped of his divine power; he regretted that the Ancient One had already departed the board.
The entities who were genuinely, monumentally powerful were entirely unavailable to grant him a true battle.
Hum~
The golden Ki unshakeably and relentlessly drove the [Emperor Dragon's Sigh] back toward the stratosphere.
At the absolute center where the golden Dodon Ray clashed against the devastating white column of energy, a colossal sphere of pure luminescence materialized, vibrating as if it were on the verge of a cataclysmic detonation.
Solomon's automated John's Pen Mode script executed an instantaneous processing recalculation.
"Hazard classification: Unknown. Recalculating defensive countermeasures. Formula Counter-Interception: Saint's Collapse; Formula Counter-Interception: My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me."
High above, the colossal magic circle rotated with immense velocity, its underlying formula shifting patterns in a heartbeat.
Bang!
Directly behind Solomon's back, his silver-white energy wings violently exploded outward into a spray of light. Evidently, even operating under the automated subroutines of John's Pen Mode, forcing the simultaneous deployment of three massive, high-tier spell formulas placed a catastrophic operational duress upon his framework.
Furthermore, his system was actively caught in the middle of a delicate stairway ascent.
[Special Reincarnator EX051, you have encountered the influence of a specialized capability.]
[Based on your Spiritual Focus, you have extracted the following informational resources:]
[You have encountered the influence of Reincarnator LL70015666's active ability: Saint's Collapse. This capability is engineered to systematically fracture and destroy a Reincarnator's specialized abilities and innate talents derived from lineages or divine blessings.]
[Executing structural immunity check...]
[Processing...]
[Based on the overriding priority of Energy: Ki (300+), you have successfully achieved total immunity against this specialized attack.]
Bang!
Across the exterior surface of Kaito's golden, wall-like shield of Ki, a flash of pure white luminescence flared for a microsecond before completely and flawlessly dissolving into nothingness.
[Special Reincarnator EX051, you have encountered the influence of a specialized capability.]
[Based on your Spiritual Focus, you have extracted the following informational resources:]
[You have encountered the influence of Reincarnator LL70015666's active ability: My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me. This capability is engineered to systematically fracture and dissolve a Reincarnator's deployed techniques, energetic emissions, and active creations.]
[Executing structural immunity check...]
[Processing...]
[Based on the overriding priority of Energy: Ki (300+), you have successfully achieved total immunity against this specialized attack.]
Bang!
Kaito Shirogane remained entirely oblivious to the system prompts. His frame was radiating an exceptionally high, absolute tier of conceptual presence that cleanly shrugged off both high-tier spell formulas.
In the next fraction of a second, Kaito violently thrust his right hand forward alongside his left, driving a catastrophic explosion of golden Ki that caused the golden column of light to aggressively and relentlessly shove the white beam straight back down its original trajectory.
A single point of golden-white luminescence flared with eye-tearing brilliance for a microsecond before violently contracting into an imperceptible speck, as if vanishing from reality entirely. In the very next heartbeat, a devastating wave of pure, unadulterated energy exploded above New York with an absolute, overriding majesty that could not be restrained.
The golden shockwave expanded outward from the stratosphere in a colossal, smooth circular ring.
The entirety of the United States—and indeed, the entire North American landmass—could clearly discern that magnificent, golden-crimson ring of light expanding across the upper atmosphere.
The cloud layers were completely and flawlessly erased from the grid, leaving the sky over the continent a pristine, incredibly deep, and surreal shade of pure azure.
A fraction of a second later, a terrifying, earth-shaking sonic boom rolled down from the heavens like a line of heavy artillery.
Rumble!
The entire population of New York simultaneously let out a panicked, throat-tearing shriek, as if the absolute apex of strategic nuclear ordinances had just detonated directly over their heads.
A devastating gale laden with extreme thermal heat and concussive kinetic pressure plummeted downward, hammering across the city blocks in a non-discriminatory sweep.
The Hulk planted a lone hand in front of his face to anchor his mass, while young Parker, standing atop the same ruined skyscraper, let out a startled shriek as the wind violently launched his small frame into the air.
Black Widow was violently swept off the pavement without a shred of resistance, her body crashing deep into the structural masonry of a commercial storefront several blocks away, her operational status entirely unknown.
Having only just managed to cross the outer perimeter of the New York grid, Trade Wind and Monsoon caught sight of the regional border markers for New Jersey. Yet, the cataclysmic detonation echoing from behind still caused the faces of these two exceptionally elite sensory practitioners to warp with severe dread.
"Was that... was that the metrics of the Mad tier?!"
"No, it shouldn't have cleared the absolute threshold yet, but... it's close..."
"Solomon and Mercenary Tao have already aggressively closed the distance to that exact boundary..."
One woman possessed [Clairvoyance] while the other wielded [Clairaudience]—traits that were, in essence, highly refined structural applications of atmospheric elemental magic. Yet at this precise microsecond, both found it entirely impossible to accurately map the absolute power metrics executed by those two top-tier Reincarnators.
According to their proprietary information resources, within the historical logs of the Space, only a [Supreme Being] could forcefully touch the boundaries of the [Mad] tier, and even then, it explicitly required the high-priority reinforcement of the [Crown of the Supreme].
Though the surviving Reincarnators would systematically experience a massive leap in their power parameters at the conclusion of every single mission world, the division separating the [Fierce] and the [Mad] classifications remained an absolute, insurmountable chasm of monstrous evolution for the vast majority.
That was a tier of violence that completely divorced an individual from the parameters of mortality, granting them absolute, unilateral dominance across virtually any derivative universe they barged into.
"Heh, it's merely their raw destructiveness hitting that threshold, nothing more..."
The cold sneer rippling through the wind carried a deeply familiar cadence, but more than that, it exuded a wave of absolute, unyielding arrogance.
Trade Wind and Monsoon turned their frames around, only to see the white-haired Yun Wujiu materializing out of nowhere. He stood completely unsupported atop the howling gale, his pupils flooded with a pitch-black coloration, while dense streaks of dried blood stained his skin.
The two women exchanged a sharp glance, their sharp intuition instantly identifying the structural anomaly: the surrounding atmosphere did not retain a single wisp of his personal elemental signature. This could not possibly be his own power.
Recalling the sequence that had unfolded underground earlier, the tactical answer was razor-sharp:
It was the Tree Herder. That bastard had forcefully re-engineered Yun Wujiu into his brand-new Divine Envoy, weaponizing the blood of Odin to forge a monumentally powerful proxy asset on the grid.
"Don't harbor any personal resentment toward me, Monsoon, Trade Wind. I require Mercenary Tao's absolute validation to secure my position. Therefore... I must ask the two of you to die right here."
Carol Danvers's cognitive functions finally broke through the mental daze. As she violently shook her head, the suffocating sensation of neurological paralysis and slow processing speed slowly receded from her mind.
She felt as if her brain had been forcefully packed to the brim with an infinite, redundant ocean of raw data—leaving her in a state where her consciousness could distinctly perceive reality, yet her motor functions were completely locked down.
Inhaling a series of sharp, ragged breaths, she instantly registered that the local environment had entered an absolute state of apocalyptic ruin.
The once-prosperous metropolis of New York had been completely reduced to a smoldering field of rubble, and virtually every single high-rise had been structurally twisted into a broken husk.
Across the boulevard, a dense veil of crimson Chaos Magic was still operating under a lone hand's guidance, forcefully holding a collapsing, tilting skyscraper at bay to protect the surviving civilians who were screaming and fleeing beneath her boots like a swarm of ants.
The upper atmosphere was a terrifyingly clean, surreal shade of blue. The angel, its energy wings severely fractured and torn, remained suspended mid-air—but at this exact microsecond, a black-haired man held his hand clamped tightly around the angel's throat.
The stranger's physical vessel was currently radiating a wave of pure energetic capacity that caused even her own cosmic senses to recoil in sheer, unadulterated disbelief.
Kaito Shirogane stood rigidly in the sky, his grip locked onto Solomon's throat. In the very next fraction of a second, two micro-magical arrays crystallized directly in front of Solomon's unaligned pupils.
The [Emperor Dragon's Sigh] was triggered at absolute point-blank range.
Hum!
Kaito merely tilted his head slightly to the side, allowing that devastating column of white light to graze past his neck, shooting cleanly beyond the planet's atmospheric rim into the cosmic vacuum.
Snap!
In the next microsecond, without Kaito executing a single visible motor movement, Solomon's skull violently detonated out of thin air into a spray of essence.
Thick streams of blood skyrocketed into the azure sky.
At this exact microsecond, the dragon-like blood and vitality within Kaito's core were roaring with a frantic velocity. Within the complex network of pitch-black markings covering his muscles, an absolute, binary opposite current of power was flawlessly flowing through his cells.
[Stairway of Eternal Return (Tier 12) — The absolute essence of the cosmos; the perpetual cycle of Life and Anti-Life.]
[Tier 5: Dragon's Heart Furnace, development successfully completed.]
[You have unlocked the Capabilities: Domain of Life Siphoning (A), Abyssal Breath (A+).]
[Commencing structural ascent to Tier 6: The Ultimate Lifeform.]
Kaito Shirogane raised his head, sensing that the high-tier symbiote biomass belonging to Grendel within his flesh had officially been thoroughly, unconditionally broken and broken to his absolute will, morphing into a series of smooth, immutable marks across his skin.
In the very next instant, his physical vessel completely ceased its structural fracturing. The active pores across his skin methodically closed and vanished down to the cellular level, rendering his entire body as clean and flawless as polished jade, while the wild currents of Ki roaring across his muscles were forcefully dragged inward, boring into those pitch-black marks to establish a perfect, self-sustaining internal circulation loop.
[You have obtained the Characteristic: Absolute Adaptation (Incomparably Rare) — Your physical vessel possesses the structural capacity to execute high-speed cellular re-engineering and real-time evolution based on your active environmental parameters (e.g., absolute zero, extreme thermal heat, lethal toxicity, vacuum) or the specific classification of your enemy, generating an unshakeable, flawless resistance to the hazard.]
[You have obtained the Characteristic: Perpetual Motion Furnace (World's Rare Treasure) — Your internal systems can execute a maximum-efficiency energy self-circulation loop, exponentially elevating your kinetic sustainability and absolute adaptive metrics.]
"Ugh, ah~"
A deep, profoundly comfortable sigh escaped Kaito's lips as the monumental physical load and internal pressure generated by the active Eight-Fold Kaio-ken were systematically and instantaneously slashed by over half.
[Limiter activation threshold has accelerated. Current parameter: 19.9%]
[Limiter activation threshold has accelerated. Current parameter: 19.9%]
The identical system notification began to aggressively flood his vision. Kaito instinctively captured the underlying structural reality: the exact microsecond his underlying vessel evolved to support an active Eight-Fold Kaio-ken without suffering structural failure, his Limiter had locked onto the absolute boundary of the second threshold!
Directly in front of his frame, Solomon's skull was already beginning to execute a rapid biological reconstruction, but Kaito paid the rising flesh absolutely zero mind.
He was going to forcefully breach the next boundary of existence right here!
Whir, whir, whir~
As the sharp screech of tearing air cut through his sector, Kaito violently snapped his left hand outward. Accompanied by a heavy, metallic clang, a massive double-bladed war glaive was cleanly caught and anchored within his obsidian palm.
Kaito Shirogane turned his cold, pitiless eyes downward. The purple titan—Thanos—had already stepped onto the ruins directly beneath his coordinates.
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