Over the passing days—if time could even be called days anymore—Ashura moved.
Dimensional rifts collapsed one after another.
Some were erased cleanly, their conceptual anchors severed and returned to nothing.
Others were subdued—their rulers bent, their laws rewritten, their existence folded neatly beneath the dominion of Black Light.
Ashura did not discriminate.
Whether the rift belonged to ancient monster realms, higher-dimensional civilizations, or even the shattered remains of universes once ruled by the Thirteen Outer Gods and the All-Denying Father—the result was the same.
Judgment.
And with every action, Ashura grew.
Not explosively.
Not erratically.
But inevitably.
There was no bottleneck. No saturation point. No upper boundary.
Because Ashura's growth did not come from accumulation.
It came from existence itself.
The Absolute Beings watched from afar with growing unease.
They were beings born from the First Light—the origin point of all existence. The First Light was paradox incarnate: creation and destruction unified in a single primordial state. From its residual laws and mana, the Absolute Beings were formed.
They could create multiverses.
They could erase them.
They were architects and annihilators in equal measure.
Yet even they understood something unsettling.
Black Light was different.
Where the First Light began all things, Black Light ended them—not as an element, not as energy, but as an authority.
Ashura's core authority—Black Light—governed life, death, balance, reincarnation, void, and the transitions between them. Every birth, every collapse, every end and rebirth across the omniverse fed him.
Not directly.
But inevitably.
Black Light had no cap.
As long as something happened—anywhere—Ashura advanced.
He did not need to fight to grow.
But when he did?
The growth simply became visible.
Within the realm of the Absolute Beings, the atmosphere shifted.
Eight presences descended—each one distorting reality simply by existing.
The Sovereigns had arrived.
Brox, Sovereign of Dreams — reality blurred around him as if thought itself bent in his wake. Nar, Sovereign of Primordial Darkness — not shadow, but the darkness that predated light. Melias, Sovereign of Space — distances collapsed where she stood. Julius, Sovereign of Time — causality trembled with each step. Lexus, Sovereign of Light — radiance so absolute it forced laws to realign. Yamamoto, Sovereign of Fire — not flame, but the concept of burning inevitability. Demetri, Sovereign of Command — authority incarnate, every word heavy with compulsion. Sailor, Sovereign of Perception — nothing escaped his awareness.
Then—
Silas arrived last.
The air buckled.
Lower Absolute Beings flinched instinctively as pressure rolled outward—not targeted, not hostile, simply present.
Silas, Sovereign of Dragonic Creatures, descended calmly.
A chair slid across the chamber on its own, stopping precisely at his feet.
Silas sat like royalty, crossing one leg over the other.
"Why have you called us, Agoth?" Silas said casually. "I don't recall being your subordinate—or anyone else's."
Agoth, leader of the Absolute Beings, narrowed his eyes.
"Silas," he said coldly, "don't forget your position. You exist before me. Take your orders."
Silas smiled thinly.
"I could visit your domains right now and erase them," he replied pleasantly. "Seems I've been quiet for too long."
Agoth ignored the threat.
"Anyway," he continued, "there is an individual you should know of. He is called the Sovereign of Black Light. Ever heard of him?"
The room stilled.
Julius frowned and raised his hand, eyes glowing as time unfurled before him.
Seconds passed.
Then his expression changed.
"…Nothing," Julius said slowly. "No past. No future. Just… black."
Blank.
Agoth's lips tightened.
"I want you to go to his universe," Agoth said. "Find him. Tell him I demand his submission. He will work under me."
Yamamoto's aura flared violently.
"This is the last time," he snapped. "I answer your call once more and never again. Your leverage ends here, Agoth."
One by one, the Sovereigns turned and departed.
None waited for dismissal.
Outside the Absolute Realm, the eight Sovereigns regrouped.
Silas chuckled softly.
"You know he's using us, right?" he said. "Testing this so-called Eternal One."
Sailor's eyes narrowed. "He's hiding information."
Melias nodded. "Agoth wouldn't waste his last chance unless…"
Silas laughed openly now, a deep, amused sound.
"…Unless we're dealing with another Sovereign," he finished. "One outside the system."
His smile widened.
"This could turn out very well."
Far away—beyond time, beyond law, beyond even the reach of the First Light—Black Light pulsed softly.
And Ashura continued to grow.