Who knew how long had passed.
Ten years, a hundred years?
Or perhaps only an instant?
Ren walked up to the eye.
Beneath his feet stretched boundless whiteness; above his head shone flawless light.
The darkness that had shrouded his vision had now completely faded, leaving only this void so pure it was nearly transparent—as if it were the primordial realm before the birth of the universe.
The Emperor stood still.
Behind him, a phantom slowly emerged.
The ten circular nodes of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life lit up in sequence, layer upon layer, ascending from below, from mortal to divine.
Ten crowns revolved and merged behind his head, becoming an immaculate halo.
Like a god.
Like a saint.
"The knowledge accumulated since a world's birth, the evolution and development of civilization... whew—"
"My head's about to burst."
The Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan spun in Ren's eyes. He raised his right hand, his long fingers spread, palm facing downward, and pressed it against the enormous eye.
The eye trembled violently.
Deep within its pupil, the concentric rings began to twist, shatter, and reform. First, they became babbling infants, their pure eyes untainted by a speck of dust.
Then they became countless wonders of history—dynasties rising and falling, civilizations changing, the myriad lives of all beings flashing past like a revolving lantern.
Then they became a windswept desert, yellow sand filling the sky, heaven and earth vast and desolate.
One instant, one world. One thought, one lifetime.
Countless images flashed by.
Countless lights and shadows shattered.
At last, every phenomenon converged into one—a door.
An ancient stone gate stood within this flawless void.
The Tree of Life, symbolizing all things, was carved upon it, its crown reaching heaven and its roots entering the earth.
The Gate of Truth.
Ren looked at it, his