Creation

Charles only felt a vast, boundless will descend with a crash, wrapping his entire consciousness within it.

The giant hand's power was gentle, yet impossible to resist.

"You have stayed in my mind for so long, drawing upon all my knowledge," Ultimus said slowly.

Calm and utterly devoid of emotion, he continued, "Now, it is time for you to return the favor."

A warning flared abruptly in Charles's heart.

He wanted to resist, but discovered that he could not move at all.

He was only consciousness here to begin with. He could not even speak and could only observe passively.

And now, Ultimus's power was so overwhelming that even Charles, a source-level powerhouse who had traversed countless planes and even glimpsed the river of time, felt an instinctive shudder.

Then, Charles was taken out.

His consciousness—no, not merely his consciousness, but Ultimus's entire brain as well.

This powerful source-level being found that he could not extract Charles's consciousness alone, so he attempted to peel away his entire brain.

Charles's consciousness and Ultimus's entire brain were both extracted, held aloft in Ultimus's hand.

Charles's consciousness—the self that had coexisted with Ultimus for who knew how many ages—and the countless pieces of knowledge it held were connected to Ultimus's brain and gently placed together into that mass of light gradually condensing into form.

Ultimus said, "You have personally experienced time. Your very existence carries the aura of time."

"I cannot see your fate. Therefore, you are the finest material for creating this existence of mine!"

Charles was very calm now as well.

The many scattered clues, like the tangled threads of a ball of yarn, were rapidly connecting.

He gradually understood more.

No wonder Omniscient Carbuncle had told Charles about the opportunity to ascend to the source.

No wonder it had suggested