After listening to the words of the Mother of the Stars.
The Astral Realm Will fell silent once more.
This time, there was a long silence.
You mean... you want to devour me?
"Yes."
The Mother of the Stars did not deny it.
"This is the only way."
"But... if I am devoured by you... what will happen to the beings of the Astral Realm? What will happen to those planes? What will happen to those civilizations?" The Astral Realm was not afraid, but a trace of doubt appeared in its hazy consciousness.
They will become a part of me.
The voice of the Mother of the Stars carried a tranquility that transcended both mercy and cruelty.
"Their matter will become the stars in my Inner Universe, their energy will become the laws in my Inner Universe, their lives will become the beings in my Inner Universe, and their dreams will become the fantasies in my Inner Universe. They will continue to exist, only in a different way."
Will they still have self-awareness?
"Some will, some won't," the Mother of the Stars answered truthfully. "But in any case, they will continue to exist. And if they don't, when the Destruction Tide comes, they will vanish completely—without even the chance to become nourishment."
The Astral Realm Will fell silent.
Although His intelligence is simple, He can understand this choice.
It was swallowed up, became part of the Mother of the Stars, and continued to exist—albeit in a different way.
Or it may be swallowed up by the Destruction Tide, disappearing completely without leaving a trace.
"You... you're doing this for our own good?" The voice of the Astral Realm Will carried a hint of uncertainty.
"I did it for the Astral Realm," the Mother of the Stars said calmly but firmly. "The Astral Realm is my home, which I have protected for countless ages, the place to which I have poured all my heart and soul. I cannot bear to see it swallowed by the Destruction Tide and reduced to nothingness."
"Therefore, I am willing to bear this sin. To devour you, to refine the Astral Realm, to become Third-Step Eternity, and then to erect a barrier to the Astral Realm —to protect the Astral Realm that has become a part of me."
The Astral Realm Will fell silent once more.
This time, the silence was brief.
"All right."
The voice of the Astral Realm Will carried a profound understanding that transcended all else.
"I trust you."
"Thanks."
The Mother of the Stars raised her right hand, spread her five fingers, and pressed them upon the very source of the Astral Realm Will.
The Astral Realm Will did not struggle, resist, or fear.
He simply felt the power of the Mother of the Stars seeping into his very being, felt his existence being gradually absorbed into another being, and felt his self-awareness as the "Astral Realm Will" dissipate bit by bit.
"Mother of the Stars..."
The last vestige of the Astral Realm Will uttered its final words.
"Take good care of... my children..."
"I will."
The Mother of the Stars ' voice carried a tenderness she had never shown before.
I swear.
The consciousness of the Astral Realm Will has completely dissipated.
The Mother of the Stars slowly withdrew her right hand, revealing a massive, seven-colored primordial entity in her palm—the origin of the Astral Realm Will, the core of the entire Astral Realm.
This is the second source He devoured.
The first is a hybrid origin of Nightmare Hydra and Fantasy Dimension.
Now, it is the origin of the Astral Realm Will.
The two primordial forces began to merge, transform, and become Her own power within the Mother of the Stars. Her aura surged, Her existence was sublimated, and Her realm steadily advanced toward the threshold of the Third-Step Eternity.
But that's not enough.
More is needed.
The entire Astral Realm is also needed.
The Mother of the Stars opened her arms, and white light surged forth from her body, spreading in all directions. Wherever the light passed, the laws of the Astral Realm were rewritten, the boundaries of the Astral Realm were shrunk, and the planes of the Astral Realm were refined.
The Astral Realm is being refined into Inner Universe.
It transformed from an open, expanding dimension that constantly devoured the outside world into a closed, stable Inner Universe completely controlled by the Mother of the Stars.
The Lord of Time stood in the Void, watching all of this.
In His clock-like eyes, the all-consuming light of the Mother of the Stars was reflected. Within that light were the remnants of the Astral Realm Will, fragments of the Fantasy Dimension, energy of the Elemental Dimension, and the essence of countless planes, countless beings, and countless dreams.
All the power is flowing toward the Mother of the Stars.
All existence is becoming part of the Mother of the Stars.
All Fate are in the hands of the Mother of the Stars.
"Is this... the power of the Third-Step Eternity...?"
The Lord of Time murmured to himself, his voice trembling slightly.
It wasn't fear, but rather—longing.
He also wanted to possess that power.
He also wanted to become that kind of being.
But He knew that He was still just a pawn of the Mother of the Stars.
Perhaps one day, He will be able to shed His status as a pawn.
Perhaps one day, He will be able to stand at the height of the Mother of the Stars.
But not today.
Today, He only needs to do His own thing—be a good follower of the Mother of the Stars and wait for His own opportunity.
Deep within the Void, the fleshy mass that was once the Nightmare Hydra still drifts slowly.
Deep within the fleshy mass, a faint, almost imperceptible consciousness still burned.
In that consciousness, the image of the Mother of the Stars refining the Astral Realm was reflected.
"I see... I see..."
A complex emotion emerged in the consciousness of Nightmare Hydra - not anger, not hatred, but a kind of emotion.
Finally, the ball of flesh floated into the deepest part of the Void and disappeared into the Endless darkness.
The Astral Realm Will is dying.
But at the moment of death, a new being that controls everything is being born.
An entity that seemed capable of withstanding the Destruction Tide.
An entity that seems capable of the Astral Realm.
An existence burdened with countless sins, countless sacrifices, and countless hopes.
Mother of the Stars.
Earth Mother Goddess.
The Termination of the Astral Realm.
He is also the savior of the Astral Realm.
As the Mother of the Stars fully bared her fangs at the Astral Realm.
All the powerful beings in the entire Astral Realm realized something.
A sense of impending danger, like a thorn in the side, arose in the hearts of every Eternal.
World Tree Universe.
The World Tree was utterly shocked.
"The Mother of the Stars actually..."
"Even this one couldn't resist the temptation of power..." The World Tree was unusually bewildered for a moment.
However, His eyes widened in surprise, and then a look of great joy appeared on His face.
"She finally succeeded in saving her life!!"
"Eternity Realm!"
"Finally, one of my offspring has become Eternal."
at the same time.
Forest of Life.
Time seemed to flow backward.
The Ancestral Tree of Life has lived for a very long time.
So long ago, she herself couldn't remember the exact year. She only remembered that she was born among the branches of the World Tree —from a drop of dew, from a tender leaf, from a ray of dawn, her consciousness slowly, unconsciously, and naturally coalesced.
That consciousness was initially very weak, like a candle flame flickering in the wind, which could be extinguished at any moment. But the World Tree sheltered her from the wind and rain with its branches and leaves, drew nourishment for her with its roots, and provided her with sunlight with its canopy. Under the World Tree's care, that consciousness grew stronger and clearer day by day, and gradually developed its own shape, color, sound, and temperature.
Later, she got a name.
The Ancestral Tree of Life.
The World Tree gave her that name. Because she is the World Tree's child, the continuation of life, and the inheritor of the way of nature. Her existence is to provide the creatures in the Forest of Life with a place to rely on, a place to shelter, and a pillar that will never fall.
The Ancestral Tree of Life has lived up to its name.
With her long life, she witnessed the Forest of Life expand from a small green area into a vast ecosystem covering hundreds of planes. She witnessed the birth, reproduction, evolution, and extinction of countless species, the rise, prosperity, decline, and demise of countless civilizations, and the joys and sorrows, partings and reunions, loves and hates of countless living beings.
She witnessed too much.
It has protected too many things.
Her body grew continuously over the long years, from a small seedling to a towering tree. Her trunk was so thick that it would take hundreds of planes to encircle it, her canopy was so large that it could cover the sky of tens of thousands of planes, and her roots were so deep that they could reach the oldest rock layers at the bottom of the Astral Realm.
Her power is also constantly growing.
From her initial insignificance to her later prowess, and then to her eventual undeniable power, she climbed the ladder of power step by step, from mortal to Transcendent, from Transcendent to Legendary, from Legendary to Demigod, from Demigod to god, and from Subordinate God to Supreme God.
Every step was soaked with her sweat, tears, and blood.
Every breakthrough is accompanied by pain, struggle, and choices.
But she never gave up.
Because she knew she wasn't living for herself. She was born for the Forest of Life, for the creatures living among her branches, and for all the beauty that needed her protection.
She cannot fall.
She cannot give up.
She cannot fail.
Therefore, when the opportunity to break through to the realm of Eternity arrived, she did not hesitate.
The opportunity did not come suddenly.
In fact, the Ancestral Tree of Life had sensed it for a long time—that faint, elusive, ebb-and-flowing "something" within her body. It was a bottleneck in her cultivation, a harbinger of a qualitative change, a signal that the Gate of Eternity was slowly opening for her.
She had been waiting.
Waiting for the right opportunity.
This timing was not something she could choose; it was determined by the laws governing the Astral Realm. Breaking through to the Eternity Realm is unlike any other breakthrough. It requires not an increase in power, not refinement of skills, not understanding of laws—but a kind of "resonance."
Resonance with the Astral Realm.
Resonating with the River of Space-Time.
Resonance with existence itself.
When this resonance reaches a certain critical point, the Gate of Eternity will truly open, and the one who breaks through will be able to take that step—to break free from the River of Space-Time, and thus transcend time, space, cause and effect, and Fate.
This step is called "transcendence".
The Ancestral Tree of Life sensed this resonance.
During the process of the Mother of the Stars refining the Astral Realm, the entire structure of the Astral Realm was violently shaking. This shaking affected the River of Space-Time, causing the originally stable river to ripple with enormous waves. In the midst of these waves, the texture of Space-Time loosened like never before, the constraints of the laws loosened like never before, and the chains of cause and effect broke like never before.
For ordinary living beings, this is a disaster.
For the Supreme God, who was waiting for a breakthrough, this was an opportunity.
The Ancestral Tree of Life seized this opportunity.
She did not hesitate, did not waver, and did not back down. She mobilized all the power she had accumulated over countless years, released all her understanding of the Law of Life, and condensed her consciousness, soul, and existence into a single point—
Then, it crashed into the Gate of Eternity.
The River of Space-Time of the Astral Realm is an Endless river that runs through the past, present, and future.
It has no source, no end, no boundary. It simply flows on and on, from the untraceable past to the unpredictable future. The long river contains the Fate of countless beings, each a thin thread, interwoven to form an unimaginably complex web of Fate.
Within this web, every living being is bound—bound by the past, bound by the present, bound by the future. No one can break free, for to break free would mean breaking free from time, breaking free from cause and effect, breaking free from Fate.
That's impossible.
At least, it is impossible for beings below the Eternity Realm.
But for beings who are breaking through to the realm of Eternity, this could become a reality.
The body of the Ancestral Tree of Life began to glow.
That was no ordinary light, but the light of life—a light that transcended all colors, frequencies, and intensities. The light was a deep golden hue, like the first rays of spring sunlight shining on newly sprouted leaves, full of vitality, hope, and Infinity possibilities.
A golden light erupted from her trunk, branches, leaves, and roots, condensing into a massive pillar of light in the Void. The pillar shot straight up into the River of Space-Time, attempting to tear a hole in it and free her from it.
The River of Space-Time is resisting.
This is inevitable.
The River of Space-Time has its own laws of operation, and any existence that tries to break free from it is challenging its authority. The river will not allow any existence to leave easily, because the departure of each existence will leave an irreparable void in the river, destroying its integrity.
There are many ways to resist.
Sometimes it's a temporal turbulence—the timelines of the past, present, and future intertwine, forming a giant vortex that pulls the Breaker in, leaving her disoriented in Endless Space-Time, never to find a way out.
Sometimes it's a backlash of cause and effect—every cause the breakthrough achiever sows in the past will bear fruit at this moment. Those fruits may be good or bad, but in any case, they will all erupt at this moment, forming a huge force that pulls the breakthrough achiever back into the long river.
Sometimes it's Fate's strangulation—all the Fate lines in the long river of destiny related to the breakthroughist tighten simultaneously, like a thousand venomous snakes coiling around the breakthroughist, binding her firmly in place, unable to move.
The Ancestral Tree of Life encountered all three kinds of resistance.
The turbulent flow of time formed countless vortexes around her, each leading to a different timeline—some to the past, some to the future, and some to non-existent "possibilities." She had to find the right exit from these countless vortexes, or she would be trapped in the turbulent flow of time forever.
The backlash of cause and effect erupted within her. Every cause she had planted throughout countless past eras—whether good or evil—beared fruit simultaneously at this moment. Good results turned into blessings, and evil results turned into curses. Blessings and curses clashed fiercely within her, tearing her body into countless fragments, only to heal again under the Power of Life.
Fate strangled her, binding her firmly to the spot. Those threads of Fate extending from the River of Space-Time, like countless invisible hands, grasped every branch, every leaf, and every root of hers, trying to pull her back into the river.
The Ancestral Tree of Life bore the brunt of all this.
It wasn't that she didn't experience pain, but rather that she chose to endure it.
She transformed all her pain into power— the Power of Life. That pure, Infinity, and indestructible power that flows from the very source of life.
A golden light burned wildly within her body, burning through the turbulent flow of time, resolving the backlash of cause and effect, and breaking free from the strangulation of Fate.
Her tree trunk began to slowly rise from the River of Space-Time.
It is not a physical ascension, but an ascension on an existential level—from "within time" to "above time," from "being bound by causality" to "transcending causality," from "being governed by Fate" to "mastering Fate."
This is a slow and difficult process.
Lancelot and Gustavo have not yet gone through this stage because they did not break through in the Astral Realm.
But it was bound to happen sooner or later.
Every inch she ascends in the River of Space-Time requires an enormous amount of her Power of Life. Every foot she ascends requires her to endure unimaginable pain. Every ten feet she ascends requires her to face new challenges, new predicaments, and new crises.
But she didn't stop.
Because she knew that once she stopped, she would never be able to take that step again.
There is only one chance to break through to the Eternity Realm.
Success is Eternity.
Failure means annihilation.
There is no third way.
At a certain moment, the trunk of the Ancestral Tree of Life finally broke free completely from the River of Space-Time.
At that moment, the entire Astral Realm felt it.
It's not sound, not vibration, not anything that can be captured by the conventional senses. It's a deeper, more essential feeling, directly imprinted on the very essence of every being.
A new, Eternity realm has been born.