A cold smile appeared on Yuta's face as he gazed at the system interface—a smile that grew even colder and more malevolent as a faint, shifting light—a blend of gray, green, and red—began to radiate from between his palms.
His cold, cunning smile gave way to an expression of deep satisfaction, even as sweat poured profusely from his body. Had it not been for the "time-acceleration" feature, he would have been forced to remain in that very spot for months before the process could even begin to take effect.
Yuta then settled into a lotus position, moved his hands away from his body, and opened a gateway to his own personal dimensional space.
He murmured in a low voice:
"The essence of the Spirit Realm, the essence of a forgotten world, a ten-thousand-year-old spirit, the Life Gu, the Fate Gu, the Death Gu, the Time Gu, the Soul-Reaping Gem, the Soul-Manipulation Amulet, the Eye of the Ruler of the Forgotten Underworld, dust from the depths of failure, fourteen Rank 9 Servitude Gu, the ethereal core of an ancient dragon, flames from the infernal realm, and the Flower of Hope from the Lake of Tears of Despair."
One by one, the resources Yuta drew from his dimensional space emerged, eventually hovering above him in a vibrant array of colors.
Yuta's expression remained perfectly calm; he was entirely unfazed by the fact that he had not managed to acquire the Time, Fate, Death, or Life Gu—though it was certainly not for a lack of searching.
After all, such types of Gu exist in other, ordinary worlds as well. For this reason, he spent the break granted to him by the Versalkin Academy searching for it, utilizing the billions of monsters he had acquired from the Gate of the Rulers' Graveyard.
Although they initially numbered in the millions, they had multiplied within his own personal spirit realm, reaching this staggering total.
He had been anticipating this moment ever since he first entered this world; the time had finally come to upgrade his spirit eyes and evolve them to the next level.
Moreover, having secured all the resources under the System's authority, he no longer cared how many times he might fail. Thanks to immortality and regeneration, he was immune to harm; furthermore, as a "fragment," he possessed no soul to begin with—meaning no process, regardless of its nature, could inflict damage upon his soul.
Yuta closed his eyes—a hue blending deep crimson and dark violet—and began to focus on the process of fusion and evolution.
"Essence of the Spirit Realm, Essence of a Forgotten Realm, and the Flower of Hope from the Lake of Tears of Despair... Fuse!"
Yuta's tone remained calm as he channeled his power toward the Flower of Hope from the Lake of Tears of Despair, the Essence of the Spirit Realm, and the Essence of a Forgotten Realm.
The Flower of Hope from the Lake of Tears of Despair resembled a sunflower; the Essence of the Spirit Realm appeared as a translucent, cold-gray gemstone; and the Essence of a Forgotten Realm manifested as a blend of charcoal black and stark white. The three resources began to fuse together, forming a sphere the size of a basketball that radiated a spectrum of shifting, multi-colored hues.
Moments later, a pale green portal materialized—a gateway to the realm where Yuta stored the souls of those he had slain.
Piercing, harrowing screams—capable of striking terror into the heart of any listener—erupted from the portal. Yuta, however, remained entirely unmoved; he directed more than twenty souls toward the sphere hovering in the air.
The instant the souls made contact with the multi-colored orb, they were absorbed into it with such lightning speed that they could not even manage a single cry.
Within the span of three breaths, the sphere expanded to the size of a wagon wheel. It held this form for three seconds before shrinking back down—this time to the size of a tennis ball.
As it did, its color shifted into a blend of jade green, cold gray, and pale gold.
The light it emitted was neither blinding nor dim; it possessed a moderate intensity, casting a colorful glow across the surroundings.
After several minutes, a circular, smooth-edged gem emerged, emanating a soft radiance—a harmonious blend of jade green, cold gray, and pale gold.
Yuta opened his eyes—the crimson hue within his irises now deepened—and fixed his gaze upon the disc-like object hovering in the air.
He murmured quietly as he watched it, his hand remaining closed the entire time. Had he done so, the rituals for developing the "Soul-Enslaving Eye" and the "Soul-Manipulating Eye" would have been ruined. He would have been forced to search once more for a "Soul Ring"—an item of extreme rarity—along with other resources that are scarce even for a ruler who has mastered an entire existential path.
Yuta stared at the disc for several seconds.
"The Symbol of the Oblivion Survivor... the first piece is complete."
His tone carried a hint of satisfaction as he raised the gem above his head.
Yet, his expression shifted instantly from satisfaction to sharp intensity—as if the smile that had graced his face moments ago had never existed.
Then, in his usual calm, composed tone, he spoke:
"The Soul-Reaping Gem, a ten-thousand-year-old soul, and the Death Gu."
A split second later, the blackish-green Soul-Reaping Gem, a statuette of an old man, a soul trapped within the gem, and a Gu—shaped like a coal-black skull and radiating a suffocating aura of death—all stirred into motion.
These resources began to fuse together, coalescing into a black cloud.
Almost as soon as it appeared, the cloud lunged directly at Yuta, intent on killing him. But it was halted in its tracks by Yuta's immense mental power; he easily suppressed and brought it under control.
Had Yuta not been omniscient—and renowned for possessing infinite power—he would have perished before even realizing he was under attack.
The coal-black cloud began to sway slightly, emitting a faint, buzzing hiss into the air—as if issuing a warning. However, Yuta had no intention of leaving it alone.
He summoned five hundred spirits from his own spirit-realm gateway and sent them toward the coal-black cloud.
Several bolts of powerful lightning shot out toward the spirits, binding them in shackles of electricity and causing them to shriek from the sharp, searing pain that tore through them.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Aaaaaaaaaaa!"
Even as the spirits' screams rose, Yuta's expression remained entirely unchanged; he simply continued to watch as the black cloud voraciously devoured the spirits.
Several minutes passed until the cloud had completely consumed the souls. Its color shifted from coal-black to gray, its size expanded, and the hissing sound emanating from it grew louder.
The cloud attacked Yuta once more, but the outcome remained the same: he suppressed it with his terrifying mental power.
Following this, Yuta summoned five types of Strength Path Gu:
- Three Rank 9 Winged-Horse Strength Gu.
- Five Rank 9 Humpback-Whale Strength Gu.
- Six Rank 9 Rock-Bear Strength Gu.
- Five Rank 9 Ice-Tiger Strength Gu.
- Twelve Rank 9 Violet-Dragon Strength Gu.
Every five minutes, he would cast one of these types toward the black cloud.
The black cloud transformed into a winged horse, taking flight and striking the sky with its hooves, letting out a loud, furious neigh.
"Aaaaaah!"
Yuta narrowed his eyes as he watched the unruly horse soaring through the air; he knew this stage would be more challenging than the others.
The black cloud—now in the form of a winged horse—attacked Yuta with even greater force than before.
Yuta shook his head, his disappointment clear.
"You never learn."
Once again, he suppressed the cloud—now shaped like a winged horse—without the slightest effort. His focus was not on that at all; rather, it was directed toward the "Soul Enslavement Eye" and the "Soul Manipulation Eye," and toward safeguarding his own spirit realm from collapse.
After being subdued for the third time, the black cloud reverted to its original form.
Yuta cast five "Humpback Whale Strength" Gu toward it, one after another. From the grey-black cloud, a sound erupted—a chilling blend of a hiss and the call of a humpback whale.
The cloud began to expand rapidly, soon reaching the size of a humpback whale.
Had he not been positioned at the heart of the "Origin Tree" Gu—located several kilometers beneath the earth's surface—and shielded by a dome designed to conceal the traces of his refining and development process for the Soul Manipulation and Soul Enslavement Eyes, the inhabitants of Jigwa Island would have been able to witness the spectacle from every corner of the island.
Yuta let out a deep sigh as he watched the grey-black cloud, which was now shifting into the shape of a humpback whale.
"What a stubborn cloud you are! Do you truly think I will continue to tolerate such defiance?"
Yuta tossed a "Suppression Gem" toward it. The gem, resembling a smooth, black pearl, shimmered in the air with a dark, obsidian glow.
The moment the gem was cast, intense bolts of lightning began to arc from the cloud, which then lashed out at Yuta—and anything else that dared to stand in its path.
However, Yuta had already erected a protective dome, shielding both himself and the vital resources he required to further develop his Soul Manipulation and Soul Enslavement Eyes. Several minutes passed before the cloud ceased its barrage of lightning bolts, gradually returning to its original form.
Not content with this, Yuta tossed a legendary-grade "Subjugation Pill" toward the cloud, causing it to grow even calmer than before.
Yet, Yuta realized one thing: each time he deployed the Rank 9 "Rock Bear Strength Gu," he would be forced to repeat the entire process—over and over again—to advance to the next stage of refining the cloud, which rebelled against him at every turn.
Yuta, however, remained unperturbed; he had expected the task to be anything but easy.
Although these resources were trivial to him—obtainable from virtually anywhere across the infinite realms of fantasy—it did not mean they were all readily accessible.
Even if a specific Gu existed only once per world, the sheer infinity of worlds would render the concept of "rarity" almost meaningless. Nevertheless, this does not preclude the existence of truly rare items; in fact, some low-rank objects can be far scarcer than those of an exceptionally high rank.
Meanwhile, the cloud's hue shifted once more—from a grayish-black to a reddish-black—and the hissing sound emanating from it grew even more intense.
Yuta fixed his gaze upon the Rank 9 "Rock Bear Strength Gu," which took the form of a small bear, no larger than a grown man's fist.
He sent it toward the cloud, which, as usual, lay perfectly still. As soon as the power of the Rock Bear Gu touched it, the cloud began to fragment, emitting a high-pitched, crackling hiss.
A few seconds later, the cloud grew agitated once more, its size gradually expanding.
Yuta, however, had no intention of waiting for it to fully transform into a bear and launch another attack.
He deployed a Rank 6 Sloth Gu and a Rank 8 Submission Gu—the Suppression Gem and the Servitude Pill were no longer sufficient at this stage.
Upon the integration of the Sloth Gu and the Submission Gu, the cloud began to stabilize, shrinking back to its previous dimensions.
Its hue shifted; the reddish-black color took on a deeper, more intense red, while a faint, barely perceptible hint of light green began to emerge.
Yuta closed his eyes to rest—not because he himself was weary, but because his other half was utterly exhausted from the immense mental strain.
Several hours passed within the Origin Tree Gu center, though only a few seconds elapsed in the outside world. During this interval, Yuta shared a portion of his own mental energy with his other half, allowing it to return to a stable state.
Taking a deep breath, Yuta opened his eyes and fixed his gaze upon the cloud, which hovered about twelve paces away.
He was in no rush; although days had passed from his perspective, only a few minutes had gone by in the outside world. Time within the Origin Tree Gu center flowed at a rate many times faster than it did on the island or anywhere beyond it. Furthermore, most of the areas surrounding it on the island were perilous, owing to the influence of the Fate Gu and Death Gu—both of which exerted a more potent effect here—causing destiny to unfold at an accelerated pace, far outstripping the rate at which it played out elsewhere.
No one would dare venture to this location; yet, as the saying goes, the most dangerous places can sometimes be the safest.
Yuta cast the Rank 9 Ice Tiger Strength Gu and the Rank 9 Violet Dragon Strength Gu toward the black cloud.Upon the simultaneous deployment of seventeen Rank 9 Gu, the cloud descended into an uncontrollable state of chaos.
It shifted forms—at times manifesting as an icy tiger, at others as a violet dragon—all the while emitting a piercing, deafening hiss that caused the very earth to tremble with immense force.
Yet, Yuta remained steadfast, entirely unperturbed.
He then introduced a Rank 5 Yang Gu and a Rank 5 Yin Gu to maintain equilibrium, followed by a Rank 8 Violet Lotus Gu—resembling a pale purple lotus blossom—and a Rank 7 Tranquility Gu, which took the form of a smooth-edged jade disc.
Next, he added forty-five million spirit stones, three "Thousand-Year Longevity" Gu, five "Five-Hundred-Year Longevity" Gu, two "Ten-Hour" Gu, and finally, the "Greed Master" Gu.
Each component was introduced at precise five-minute intervals.
Every Gu was deployed at a specific, meticulously timed moment, ensuring that no errors could occur.
The cloud underwent repeated cycles of stabilization and color transformation, shifting from black to red, then to various shades of green—light and dark—before settling into an ethereal gray.
With the addition of each Gu, the cloud's volume steadily diminished until it was no larger than the wheel of an ordinary car.
Though it now appeared calm, Yuta's expression grew increasingly cautious. He shifted his head slightly, and a bolt of lightning shot forth, shattering the barrier and striking the trunk of the Gu-tree of Origin, leaving behind a charred mark the size of a grown man's palm.