Oblivion Backs Down!

Boom!

Deep in the boundless reaches of space,

a dazzling golden light erupted.

The vast Sea of Stars was instantly bathed in its sacred glow.

Its blinding radiance held none of a star's heat.

It was like the first ray of dawn tearing through endless darkness.

Within that halo

surged boundless vitality and unshakable power,

setting the surrounding void trembling.

A full fifteen minutes passed

before the brilliant light deep in space began to fade.

The vast cosmos fell silent once more.

Across the endless galaxies, countless powerful beings frantically sought the source of the phenomenon.

But

no matter how hard they searched,

even the greatest civilizations, with all their mastery of dimensional technology, could not trace the energy.

Meanwhile,

Oblivion and Ren still faced each other across the distance of space.

On the surface, all was calm.

But

the supreme god was in terrible shape.

His body had once

resembled a miniature, glittering galaxy.

Countless stars had been born and died within its depths,

like a universe in miniature,

mysterious and magnificent.

Now, though,

every shining galaxy within him had gone dark.

Only a lifeless mass of black remained.

Dense golden streaks of lightning raced through him, like Runes branded into his being that he could not erase.

They clashed violently with his own energy,

utterly alien to it.

Worse still,

Oblivion's face was twisted with pain.

He looked as though he were enduring something that pierced him to the core.

"Human, what kind of power did you put inside me?"

"Why can't even my essence dissolve it?"

Oblivion glared at Ren, barely containing his fury.

At first, he had taken it for a somewhat stronger-than-usual attack

and tried to force it out with his own destructive essence.

The light that had illuminated the Sea of Stars

had erupted