As they continued their arduous ascent, Heaven Itself grew curious about the endless nature of the Divine Bridge and tilted his head upward to scan the golden heights. His sharp gaze caught the faint outline of a shadow far above him in the mist. "Hey, owner of the voice, who is that person walking so far ahead of us?" he shouted into the void. "That one? He has been walking here for ten thousand years," the Voice replied with an ancient, indifferent tone. "What? Ten thousand years?" Heaven Itself gasped in disbelief. "He has rejected the offer to stop six times already," the Voice added. "Why would he do such a thing?" "His goal is to find his parents, and he refuses to stop until he has the power to do so." Although the Voice spoke softly, the sound reverberated clearly through the minds of everyone on the Divine Bridge, including Aldo. Aldo did not remain silent and immediately took the opportunity to ask a question of his own. "Sir, what is the difference between their trial and my own?" "The difference lies in the numbers; they arrived as a group, but you came alone. After all, not everyone is destined to reach the Nine Heavens.
This is merely one of two thousand four hundred and seventy-three Divine Bridges in existence." The revelation struck the climbers like a physical blow. How could this be possible? Is there really another world beyond the one we know? Questions began to swarm in their minds like angry hornets. "Sir, what exactly do you mean by that?" Aldo pressed for answers. "The world you live in is merely a small, dying branch of the Multiverse, which itself is but a part of the vast Mega-universe. Soon, this world will cease to exist, and a new era will rise in its place." Everyone froze in shock at this terrifying prophecy. "Is there a way to leave this world before the end?" Aldo asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "The only way is to become a Divine Being; then you can traverse the Space-Time Astral Milky Way to reach the Mega-universe.
The Multiverse is a place meant only for mortal beings." "You said I have been here for ten thousand years, is that truly the case?" "Time flows differently on the Divine Bridge; one second in the outside world is equal to one year in this domain." "Hah!" A collective gasp of horror escaped from everyone below. Realizing the urgency, they began to move with renewed, desperate energy. "So, the destruction of the Inner World, was that a natural process?" Aldo asked. "Yes, it was natural," the Voice confirmed. At that moment, Heaven Itself finally reached the seven thousandth step. The Voice returned immediately to present the choice. "Do you want to become a Sage?" Heaven Itself sneered and rejected the offer without hesitation. "No." Aldo paused and shouted down from the heights. "Sir, why was the requirement for me only one thousand steps, but for him, it is seven thousand?" The Voice remained silent for a long moment before answering slowly. "Because you are the child of a Divine Being, whereas they are merely mortals, so do not concern yourself with them. I am the one who decides at which step one qualifies to become a Divine Being, so do not worry about it."
With those cryptic words, the Voice vanished into the ether. The climbers below wanted to discuss this shocking revelation, but the crushing pressure of the bridge stole the air from their lungs, rendering them mute. Everyone was bewildered. Who was the person above them that could speak so freely with the administrator? These questions tormented them as endless time seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Just like the Inner World before it, the Outer Space began to show signs of its imminent demise. The Heavenly Calamity descended, and the terrified cultivators watched as the chaotic winds of Space-Time Turbulence began to tear the fabric of their reality apart.In a matter of seconds, the entire world simply ceased to exist. Where mountains and oceans once stood, now only a profound darkness and an absolute, suffocating void remained. The cosmos was dead. However, the Divine Bridge remained as the sole survivor of this apocalypse. Yet, even this ancient artifact could not offer total protection to everyone.
A terrifying storm stripped away the protective shell of the trials. Now, only the bridge and those upon it floated in the nothingness. "The world has turned into nothingness, what is happening?" This question echoed in the terrified minds of every cultivator. Amidst the chaos, Buddha struggled his way to the seven-thousandth step. Desperate to escape this collapsing reality, he immediately accepted the rank and status of a Sage. His appearance transformed instantly, glowing with a newfound, yet limited, divinity. His power surged, and the bridge rejected him, expelling him into the void. One by one, the others followed his example. Everyone except Heaven Itself reached the seven-thousandth step. They accepted the Sage title. They were cast out. Outside the bridge, thirty-two new Sages floated in the emptiness. They watched Heaven Itself and the mysterious shadow far above. Suddenly, the Space-Time Turbulence roared toward them like a hungry beast. Instead of uniting to stop the storm, they selfishly dodged it. Unchecked, the Space-Time Turbulence turned its fury toward the Divine Bridge.
The golden stairs began to disintegrate from the bottom up. In mere seconds, the first one thousand steps vanished into non-existence. Heaven Itself looked down from the forty-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-seventh step and froze in pure terror. The void was climbing the stairs to claim him. He abandoned his pride and rushed forward three steps. He reached the fifty-thousandth step. He screamed his acceptance of the God status. The bridge flashed, and he vanished, leaving the crumbling structure behind.Aldo watched the encroaching void and activated every single restriction within his body. He shrugged off the crushing pressure as if it were a mere child's game and began to sprint upward. "Faster, faster, faster." His voice trembled with a rare, icy fear. He had planned to use the pressure to temper his cultivation, but that plan was now irrelevant. He had already surpassed the nine hundred thousandth step mark. The time dilation at this altitude was terrifying. Every one hundred thousand steps felt like a billion years of solitude to him. He glanced down and saw the Divine Bridge disintegrating rapidly behind him. He ran faster. One by one, the countless restrictions in his body began to break apart. In a matter of seconds, he arrived at the final three steps.
The bridge shuddered as if it would collapse at any moment. The pressure returned with a vengeance. He used the sudden weight to propel himself forward two more steps. Only one step remained to complete the million. Three-quarters of the staircase had already vanished into the void. He checked his internal state and found only the original thirty-two restrictions remaining. "I will gamble this time." He fused the power of the thirty-two restrictions into a single burst. He took the final step and stood atop the Divine Bridge. This was the true end of the path. The summit was a flat, circular disk floating in the darkness. A strange, ancient sword stood upright in the very center of the platform. The Voice echoed one last time. "Challenger, if you want to achieve your goal, draw the sword and you will become a Deity." Aldo felt the pressure vanish instantly. He ran toward the weapon. He grasped the hilt slowly and began to pull. Outside the barrier, Heaven Itself materialized and watched the distant figure. "I do not know who that shadow is, but he reached the end of the Divine Bridge." "Hhhhaaaaaaaa, haaaaaa." Aldo screamed as he tried to pull the sword with all his physical might. It seemed it was already too late. Only the disk remained of the once-mighty bridge. The edges of the platform began to crack and crumble into dust. Aldo suddenly found a deep reserve of courage. He stopped pulling with his muscles and started lifting with his will and belief. The sword moved up by a single inch.
As he lifted it, he felt an impossible weight. It felt as if he was trying to lift the entire universe with his bare hands. "Be drawn for me!" He roared into the silence. His voice shook the foundations of the entire cosmos. He ripped the sword from its sheath. At that exact moment, the Divine Bridge vanished into nothingness. "That voice, it is Dao! He is gone now. Hahahaha." Heaven Itself laughed maniacally as he recognized the scream. He turned and fled through the tunnel along the Space-Time Astral Milky Way. The others followed him blindly into the unknown. A few minutes later, the universe fell into a deep, eternal silence.In the absolute, suffocating silence of the void, where even the concept of time had ceased to flow, a miracle occurred. A tiny, insignificant spark of light suddenly ignited within the crushing darkness. It was a lonely beacon in a graveyard of reality. The light did not flicker or fade in the face of the encroaching abyss. Instead, it pulsed with a rhythm that defied the cold death of the cosmos. It began to expand with a gentle warmth. It twisted and turned, coalescing into a sharp, brilliant form.
It took the shape of a magnificent, golden star. It was a manifestation of pure will and divinity that shone with an intensity capable of piercing the soul. The star hovered for a moment as if orienting itself in the infinite nothingness. Then, it sensed the faint, lingering trail left by the fleeing traitors. It detected the entrance to the Space-Time Astral Milky Way far in the distance. The star surged forward. It left a trail of shimmering stardust in the empty blackness. It moved with a speed that rendered distance meaningless. It approached the swirling, colorful mouth of the inter-dimensional tunnel. The tunnel was a river of chaotic light cutting through the void. Without a moment of hesitation, the star dove into the vortex. It vanished into the tunnel to chase the new dawn of a greater universe.Mega-universe, First Heaven, Ten Thousand Astral World... In a desolate and forgotten corner of this sprawling galaxy, the fabric of space began to twist violently. A massive vortex formed from swirling light and chaotic gravity. It spun with a power that could crush ordinary stars into dust. Thirty-three figures stumbled out of the swirling portal. They gasped for air as they stabilized their bodies in the vacuum. They immediately felt the overwhelming pressure of this new world. The spiritual energy here was heavy, ancient, and thick enough to touch. It was Heaven Itself and the new Sages. They looked around with wide eyes and trembling hands. They realized they had truly arrived in a higher realm. The vortex began to collapse rapidly behind them. The portal started to seal itself shut forever. Suddenly, a small, brilliant star shot out from the center of the dying gateway.