Boundless darkness suddenly swallowed the cosmos. The dark ancestral radiance that had just torn through the sky, the gray chess power that had swept across heaven and earth, and even the divine light of the Heavens and the black mist of Chaos all drew in their brilliance within this deathly silence.
A pair of eyes slowly opened at the very top of the void. Cool and indifferent, they encompassed countless galaxies and endless ages. Compared to the domineering majesty with which the Out-of-Domain Chess Player ruled the game, these eyes held not the slightest trace of bloodlust or malice. Yet they possessed an innate, supreme gaze that looked down upon all things, as though everything in the world had been under their watch since the moment of its birth.
Lin Chen stood at the center of the formation's core, the faint light of the Fate-Defying Ancestral Seal flowing around him and trembling ever so slightly beyond his control. It was not fear or retreat, but an instinctive response and wariness at the level of his very origin.
The ancient seal on his chest grew faintly hot, and the ancient whisper that had revealed the truth earlier echoed through his sea of consciousness once more: Chess players are puppets too. Breaking out of the cage is not the end. Only now did Lin Chen truly grasp the vast implications hidden in those words.
He had thought that the being beyond the domain who commanded Myriad Chess was the ultimate peak of this world. But with True Heaven's arrival, the difference between them was plain. The Chess Player who had ruled through eternity and schemed against countless beings across the universes was, in the eyes of this true Heaven, no more than a puppet tasked with watching over the game inside a cage.
The entire world fell silent. All living beings were tightly enveloped by this sudden, supreme pressure, and even breathing became difficult and labored.
On the ground below, Kallen, Frieza, and the Golden Super Saiyan stood frozen in place. The power surging within them fell instantly silent. Even the Saiyans' naturally fearless hearts could not help but feel small and insignificant under the gaze of those eyes that looked down upon eternity. The exhilaration they had felt when Lin Chen shattered Myriad Chess with a single palm vanished, replaced by an even deeper bewilderment and shock.
They had fought with all their might to break free of the game's constraints, only to discover that they were still trapped within another, far vaster prison.
"What kind of being is that..." Kallen murmured, his violet eyes filled with disbelief. "The Myriad Chess Player had already transcended the Heavens and Chaos, yet before it, he seems like a child at play."
The Golden Super Saiyan knitted his brows tightly and stared into the depths of the void, his thoughts churning. He had defied fate and struggled against it all the way, breaking through one shackle after another, yet the boundaries of destiny seemed to have no end. When the old cage shattered, the constraints of a new world appeared in its place.
High above the Nine Heavens, the Seven Supremes concealed in divine light wore solemn expressions. All the joy they had felt at the collapse of the game had vanished. Though they had lived through countless eras and traversed the many dimensions, they had never sensed an aura so far beyond all rules.
The order of the Heavens, the laws of the Great Dao, the cycle of life and death—all the powers they had spent their lives comprehending and mastering seemed ethereal and fragile beneath True Heaven's gaze, unable to withstand a single blow.
"The game was false, the Heavens a cage, and even Chaos could not escape its bounds." One Supreme sighed gravely, his voice tinged with weary helplessness. "We spent eternity fighting for power and authority, believing ourselves to stand at the pinnacle of the world. In truth, from beginning to end, we were trapped within territory marked out by another."
Nearby, the massive, pitch-black body of the Chaos King trembled faintly. His once proud and violent aura had completely withdrawn. The origin of Chaos instinctively resisted all restraints, but faced with True Heaven's pressure, even that instinctive agitation could only lie dormant. He could clearly sense the insurmountable gulf between their levels. If even the Out-of-Domain Chess Player occupied the position of a puppet, then he and the Supremes of the Heavens were nothing but insignificant specks of dust in a cage.
Within the void beyond the domain, the Myriad Chess Player, who had been gravely wounded by the Ancestral Seal and left wary, was now consumed by the utmost terror.
The Black and White Jade Disc, spanning countless dimensions, curled in on itself in a frenzy. The surging power of the Chess Dao that had been ready to strike back withdrew completely, not daring to run rampant in the slightest. Having ruled the game through eternity, he naturally knew True Heaven's origins. He knew that all his plans, all his killings, all his schemes had unfolded under the other's tacit approval and watchful eye from beginning to end.
He had once believed that mastering reincarnation would let him transcend everything. Now he finally understood: he was merely a chess piece following a predetermined course. Even the endgame of Myriad Chess Convergence had never strayed beyond the bounds set by the cage.
His cold will no longer carried murderous intent, only deep wariness. He hid in the depths of a dimensional rift, daring not reveal himself.
Amid heaven and earth, only Lin Chen remained standing firm. Though the Ancestral Seal trembled faintly, his heart stayed true to itself, without the slightest wavering.
He slowly drew in the Ancestral Seal's radiance, letting its dim glow recede into its source, and calmly looked toward those supreme eyes in the depths of the void. Having faced the Chess Dao's will in a struggle for life and death, witnessed the myriad sufferings of living beings, and seen layer upon layer of fate's shackles, he now faced True Heaven, exalted above all creatures. His heart held neither fawning submission nor reckless defiance, only clear-eyed composure.
So there is a world beyond the game after all.
The Ancestral Seal came from outside the cage; it was the key to breaking free. And True Heaven before him was the cage's true creator and ruler. By breaking the Myriad Chess Game, he had effectively defied the rules the other had set. Now that True Heaven had appeared in person, its intentions were clear.
Would it punish those who had disrupted the order, or did it have other plans? Did it regard all living beings as ants to be manipulated at will, or was there some unknown calculation behind its actions? Everything remained uncertain.
The silence in the void did not last long.
The indifferent gaze slowly swept across the world, passing over the shattered gray curtain of light, the cowering power of Myriad Chess, and the Heavens and Chaos that stood mute with fear, before finally settling upon Lin Chen.
A vast, formless thought flowed down through the void. There was no thunderous roar, no overwhelming pressure striking at his soul. Yet it pierced straight through the barriers of his flesh and reached the deepest part of Lin Chen's source and sea of consciousness.
"Bearing the cage-breaking Ancestral Seal and severing the cycle of Myriad Chess, do you understand that your actions have disrupted the order established through eternity?"
The calm, emotionless voice sounded in his sea of consciousness. It held neither joy nor anger, sorrow nor happiness, yet seemed to contain the very source of time. Every word struck heavily against his Dao heart.
Lin Chen did not so much as sway. Resolve filled his eyes as he calmly answered this supreme question. "The so-called established order is nothing but a cruel game that uses countless lives as fuel and the destruction of innumerable civilizations as its price. The paths of all living beings are drawn from birth; their lives and deaths, their honors and humiliations, are never theirs to decide. Such an order should never have been allowed to endure."
"You defied fate by following your heart, unwilling to become a chess piece. Such conviction is rare even across eternity." True Heaven's will slowly replied. "But do you understand that the cage and the game were not created without reason?"
The instant the words fell, light and shadow shifted in the depths of the void. Scene after scene of ancient, primordial history appeared out of nowhere between heaven and earth, reflected in the eyes of every living being.
The scenes reached back to an ancient era more distant than the dawn of Chaos and the birth of the game. There had been no myriad worlds, no black-and-white Chess Dao—only an immense, desolate void, still and barren. Beyond the borders of that distant emptiness lay an indescribable cataclysm of destruction. Violent, uncanny power steadily eroded the primordial world, and wherever it passed, all origins perished, never to be restored.
To fend off this calamity from beyond the domain, which could destroy everything, True Heaven had personally divided the territories, built the eternal cage, and brought forth the Heavens, Chaos, and the Myriad Chess Game. The cage kept the cataclysm at bay, while the game tempered the origins of all living beings and steadily accumulated power across the long ages—all to resist the apocalyptic crisis that would one day arrive.
All living beings had become chess pieces, and the universes had become fuel. Though it seemed cold and merciless, it had been a desperate measure to preserve the entire world.
As scenes of the ancient past unfolded, all present were deeply shaken. The resentment and indignation they had felt now gave way to emotions too complicated to name.
So the shackles that had bound them had ultimately been created to protect this world. But how could peace bought with the sacrifice of countless lives truly be called protection?
Beyond the domain, the Myriad Chess Player watched the ancient scenes, his silent will rippling with emotion. He had ruled the game for so long, knowing only to reap and cultivate according to its rules. He had never touched upon secrets of such fundamental importance. Only now did he understand that everything he had done was merely one part of a plan to protect the world.
Lin Chen watched the scenes of the past in silence, his thoughts in turmoil, but his Dao heart did not waver.
"Resisting the cataclysm and protecting the world—there is nothing wrong with that original intent," Lin Chen said steadily, his voice carrying in every direction. "But protection should never be built upon the enslavement of all living beings. I cannot accept a method that buys peace by sacrificing countless lives and depriving living beings of the right to choose their own destinies."
"To exist in this world is to have the right to seek one's true self and take control of one's fate, not to be born as fuel for a game and wait for destiny to decide everything. The cataclysm may be terrifying, but a world stripped of its heart and freedom has already lost its reason to exist, even if it survives."
His words rang with conviction, carrying the resolve and determination he had held to throughout his journey.
True Heaven's eyes shifted slightly, and the faintest change stirred in its indifferent gaze. Lin Chen's thoughts had evidently exceeded its expectations. Across the long ages, countless living beings had either submitted to the rules and survived in peace or resisted, failed, and perished. Never had anyone learned the truth behind it all and still refused to yield.
"Clinging too tightly to your convictions will only bring disaster upon you." True Heaven's will sounded once more. "The cataclysm beyond the cage is approaching. With your current strength, you cannot even protect yourself. Recklessly breaking the order will only hasten the crisis and bring about the destruction of the entire world."
As the words fell, layers of massive spatial barriers suddenly appeared in the void, densely enclosing the world in every direction. The territory that had just broken free of the game's control was instantly sealed off. No news from the outside could enter, and none of its inhabitants could leave.
It was clear that True Heaven would not allow Lin Chen to keep disrupting the game at will. It planned to seal this place temporarily and watch what happened next.
The Seven Supremes sensed the power sealing space, their expressions grave. If they were trapped there for too long, the structure of the Heavens would inevitably undergo a tremendous upheaval, and the situation ahead would become even harder to control. The Chaos King also sensed that his range of movement had been restricted. The Chaos Tide churned restlessly, but he did not dare rashly ram the supreme barrier.
Just as the world's situation reached an impasse, Lin Chen considered how to respond and prepared to use the Ancestral Seal's power to seek a way out once more—
The Fate-Defying Ancestral Seal, silent within his chest, suddenly stirred again.
This time, it was no simple tremor of caution. From deep within the seal, a wisp of broken, incomplete soul-light slowly emerged. The light was hazy and indistinct, its form impossible to make out, yet it radiated an ancient aura that shared True Heaven's origin while faintly opposing it.
The moment the broken soul appeared, it projected itself toward True Heaven's eyes in the depths of the void. At the same time, an ancient, hoarse voice sounded softly in Lin Chen's sea of consciousness.
"The cage was sealed to protect the world back then, but that pact was long since void... The cataclysm hides something sinister; even Heaven has its own selfish motives..."
Those few brief words tore away a veil concealing even deeper secrets.
True Heaven's eyes, which had been calm until now, suddenly sharpened with a fierce glint. The temperature of the entire sealed void plummeted.
And just as the old and new contradictions abruptly surfaced, with the buried past on the verge of coming to light—
A series of strange, continuous howls suddenly rang out beyond the barriers of the cage. A cold, violent force slammed furiously into the eternal shield. The aura of the apocalyptic cataclysm, which had been kept outside, was actually seeping through the cracks.
On one side stood True Heaven, now present in the world, harboring secrets and inscrutable in its intentions. On another stood the remnant ancient soul awakened by the Ancestral Seal. Beyond them was the cataclysm from beyond the domain, drawing closer step by step and about to break through the barrier.
At the center of the storm, Lin Chen watched the three forces stirring in the void, and his heart sank.
He had thought that breaking the Myriad Chess Game would get him through the greatest crisis. He had never expected that the true, intricate struggle spanning eternity was only now beginning. And the secrets of the past tied to the Fate-Defying Ancestral Seal that had accompanied him on his journey were likely far more shocking than he could imagine.
Before you continue