Of course, the Hetero-Energy that a living organism could inherently contain under normal conditions was known as baseline Hetero-Energy.
Take Logan, for example, who was currently eyeing the Netherworld Key with predatory intent. His baseline Hetero-Energy level sat at 1.6 Black Holes. However, once a true battle commenced and his personal conviction erupted, his Hetero-Energy would instantaneously surge to far greater heights. As for exactly how high it could reach after that eruption, it depended entirely on the magnitude of the organism's conviction.
The height of a fountain will never exceed its source, and the Hetero-Energy of an Ultra Beast Warrior will absolutely never exceed the bounds of their conviction.
In front of Master Wyatt, Zoran's fingers twitched slightly, closing a fraction more.
Instantly, all the scattered mechanical parts and worn-out furniture inside the room lost their gravity, drifting up into the air and hovering slowly. Downstairs, the trio of Phoebe, Kino, and Thales, who had been sitting on the discarded sofa, simultaneously floated up toward the third-floor ceiling.
"Oh come on, not again!!!" Kino and Thales shrieked in unison.
Phoebe's expression, however, was significantly more composed. Given her leaping capabilities after transforming into an Ultra Beast Warrior, combined with the power of her soaring Phoenix Feather, being suspended like this was virtually no different from flying.
Her gaze locked onto the middle-aged man hovering directly across from Master Wyatt on the second floor. The moment she looked at him, a deep sense of bewilderment welled up inside her. Why did it feel like the power radiating from this man was actually decreasing?
Zoran let out a soft sigh, and the extended palm of his hand closed a bit further. In an instant, every single floating object in the room froze solid.
The next millisecond, a violent sensation of weightlessness struck. Every piece of furniture and debris plummeted toward the ground at breakneck speed.
With several dull thuds, Kino's agonizing wails echoed from below. He crashed to the floor in a thoroughly ungraceful posture, quite literally serving as a human cushion for the chubby Thales. Phoebe, meanwhile, landed elegantly on one foot, displaying a flawless sense of poise.
"Fatty, you seriously need to go on a diet. I swear I just saw a pig flying in the sky," Kino groaned, rubbing his bruised body as he slung a barb.
"I am not Fatty, I am Thales! And besides, every single pound of this meat is a symbol of my profound wisdom!"
The two bickered back and forth, and the lighthearted banter quickly eased their previous "ghost-induced" terror. Of course, the primary reason was that being able to sit right next to Phoebe allowed Kino to suddenly find his bravado again. For the sake of impressing a girl, he was fully prepared to completely ignore the mind-boggling phenomena he had just witnessed.
Upstairs, Zoran remained utterly indifferent to the racket below, merely stating calmly, "I shall temporarily shut down my authority as a Demon as well."
The core authority over gravity was entirely concealed by Zoran. What he needed to do at this exact moment was to temporarily assimilate into this universe, thereby obtaining and mastering its native Hetero-Energy.
Across from him, Master Wyatt watched the entire sequence without blinking. Even with his immense life experience, witnessing an otherworldly traveler actively integrate into his universe and accept its Hetero-Energy was a historic, unprecedented first. As for whether anyone else would ever replicate it, there likely never would be another.
Simultaneously, what piqued Master Wyatt's curiosity the most was exactly what kind of peak value Zoran's newly acquired Hetero-Energy would reach. One had to remember that when he had first sensed Zoran's aura moments ago, the peak value of the stranger's fluctuating Hetero-Energy had already exceeded the threshold of a single Black Hole. That was already an extraordinarily terrifying baseline.
And now, as Zoran formally opened himself up to accept the Hetero-Energy bestowed by the rules of this universe, how could Master Wyatt not be deeply intrigued?
Sensing the somewhat burning gaze from across the room, the corners of Zoran's mouth curved into a smirk.
He asked in a low voice, "Master Wyatt, based on my aura right now, how much can you perceive?"
Master Wyatt closed his eyes, focusing his senses intently for a brief moment, before shaking his head. "It is even weaker than before; there is no difference between you and an ordinary civilian."
Indeed, with Zoran fully suppressing his primordial power, the chaotic Hetero-Energy that had previously swirled around him had settled into total dormancy. At this moment, he seemed no different from a common human.
Zoran nodded slightly. Within his perception, the universe was actively opening its arms to embrace him.
"It seems the world is ready," Zoran laughed heartily, turning his gaze toward Master Wyatt. "The process is incredibly fast. If you are curious, you better concentrate."
Master Wyatt's entire body tensed, his eyes burning with focus.
Zoran's fingers twitched, snapping shut instantly into a tight fist. This action signified that certain forces had been thoroughly gripped within his palm.
He smiled. "It appears this universe holds quite a deep appreciation for me."
Master Wyatt asked urgently, "What do you mean?!"
Zoran took a brief look at himself before throwing his voice out in a thunderous boom: "In a single breath, to leap from the realm of the ordinary straight to the absolute apex of this universe!"
"Master Wyatt, watch closely!"
Zoran's voice resonated like a crack of thunder. In Master Wyatt's perception, a colossal, terrifying ocean of Hetero-Energy began to skyrocket wildly. It was like a cataclysmic flood bursting through a shattered dam, rampaging forward with absolutely no sign of stopping.
In an instant, the look of perpetual tranquility that had rested on Master Wyatt's face since the very beginning finally fractured into sheer horror.
Meanwhile, on the other side, within a spaceship stationed in deep space.
The Golden Lion stared at the radar console before him, which had suddenly begun blaring emergency alarms, and froze in absolute shock. He stood entirely rigid, as if struck by a bolt of lightning.
But in the next second, as if carrying the weight of a thousand tons, he forced his neck to turn, screaming at his subordinates: "A massive surge of Hetero-Energy has just erupted on Earth! Where are the General and the others right now?!"
"Reporting to Vice-Commander Golden Lion, the General's coordinates are about to reach the surveillance position where the previous signal vanished..." The subordinate paused for a split second before continuing, "...which is precisely the immediate vicinity of this current Hetero-Energy eruption."
"Damn it!" the Golden Lion cursed fiercely.
Logan had personally deployed because of the fluctuating Hetero-Energy readings they had detected earlier. The Netherworld Key was currently on Earth in this First Parallel Universe, and by sheer coincidence, a bizarre Hetero-Energy reaction had manifested. As the supreme commander of the forces and their strongest warrior, Logan had chosen to personally lead a squad down to investigate.
But now...
The Golden Lion stared in sheer terror at the Hetero-Energy metrics flashing across the screen. Taking several steps back in a daze, he murmured:
"Quick... tell the General to retreat. We must notify the General to come back immediately..."
"What happened?" A voice filled with confusion echoed from behind as the Silver Lion stepped forward, casting his gaze toward the light display.
The Golden Lion turned around, a deep trace of horror embedded in his eyes as he spoke: "The strange Hetero-Energy signature we detected earlier suddenly erupted just now. It is currently expanding at a catastrophic rate..."
"Expanding? To what level?" the Silver Lion pressed.
The Golden Lion cast one final, despairing glance at the screen, completely bewildered. "It has already... surpassed the General..."
On the other side.
Beneath the cover of night on Earth, near a street that looked suspiciously like a public restroom.
A burly man clad in dark golden armor was leading several soldiers toward the coordinates of the initial detection. Any anomaly connected to the Netherworld Key was of paramount importance, which was why Logan had decided to inspect the site personally.
Regardless of what kind of entity that presence belonged to.
This universe, at its core, operated on strict rules. He did not believe that an entity on par with Master Wyatt would suddenly sprout out of nowhere on Earth within the First Parallel Universe. That was Logan's firm logic.
Yet in the very next second, an unparalleled, suffocating pressure swept across the surface of the earth and the vault of heaven.
A terrifying surge of Hetero-Energy, capable of striking dread into the very soul, was violently converging toward the building standing right in front of Logan.
On the street, the sound of marching boots instantly ceased.
Logan froze in his tracks.
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