A dull thud emanated from Lancelot's fist, echoing through the Void and resonating in every corner of the Astral Realm. The very fabric of Space-Time groaned under the strain of the punch, as if the entire Astral Realm itself trembled at the force of that blow.
A punch was thrown!
The power, condensed to its extreme, exploded as if splitting the heavens and earth the moment it left the fist, transforming into an overwhelming sense of oppression that swept towards the Mother of the Stars.
Wherever the fist passed, the Void shattered, the laws were annihilated, cause and effect were severed, and the river of time surged violently.
The Goddess of Fate was startled.
Under this blow, He felt a strong sense of threat—not the threat of serious injury, but the substantial pressure of "if this punch landed on Him, even a part of the laws of Fate would be shattered."
Everyone here only recently broke through to the Eternal, so how come this Lord of Endless has progressed so quickly?
An incredulous glint appeared in the eyes of the Goddess of Fate. She clearly remembered that in the Mother of the Stars ' plan, Lancelot, although assessed as having "great potential," was still quite far from being Second-Step Eternity being. But now, the power of that punch had Infinity approached the threshold of the Second-Step Eternity, and in some aspects—such as the pure burst of power—it had even reached the level of some Second-Step Eternity One.
Is the path to perfection really that terrifying?
Countless descriptions of the "Path of Perfection" Legend ancient Legend flashed through the Goddess of Fate's mind: a realm that only a very few beings could reach, and once traversed, every step was divinely aided, and every breakthrough far surpassed one's peers. Lancelot was clearly one of those beings walking on the Path of Perfection.
And at this moment, He is pouring the power of this Path of Perfection before the Mother of the Stars.
The Mother of the Stars, however, did not think that much about it.
He knew one fact very well: now was the time for the final battle.
So-called potential and talent are irrelevant at this moment. What truly matters is absolute strength; whoever is stronger will emerge victorious. Past history, future possibilities, and all calculations and schemes will be revealed in this clash.
Rumble!!
The Chaos Stele suddenly appeared, hovering in front of the Mother of the Stars.
The golden patterns on the monument suddenly lit up, wriggling and spreading like living things, weaving an extremely complex diagram of material structure on the monument. Each node in the diagram corresponds to an extremely hard material structure—some are the core matter of a neutron star, some are the event horizon of Black Hole, and some are "absolute solid" fragments left after the collapse of laws.
Guided by the Chaos Stele, these material structures condensed from the Void at an incredible speed. There was no energy conversion, no laws constructing them, no intermediate process—they were directly "created," just as matter willingly submitted to Her will the moment the Mother of the Stars said, "Let there be."
In an instant, these substances merged, superimposed, and strengthened, ultimately transforming into a dark golden wall, as thick as a mountain, that stretched out before the Mother of the Stars.
The wall surface has no cracks, no pores, and no weaknesses that can be attacked.
The thickness of the wall is immeasurable.
The wall's hardness exceeds the limits achievable by any known material.
Thump!!
Lancelot slammed his fist into the wall.
The deafening roar echoed throughout the entire Astral Realm.
The sound was a shockwave at the level of laws, piercing through dimensions, through space, and through the barrier of time, exploding simultaneously in the consciousness of all beings. Stars millions of miles away shook violently because of this deafening sound, and fine cracks appeared on the dimensional boundaries billions of light-years away because of it.
The surface of the wall was covered with a dense network of cracks, centered on the point where the fist made contact with the wall.
Cracks spread like a spider web, radiating outwards from the center and covering the entire surface of the wall.
But the wall did not break.
The cracks began to heal themselves the instant they reached the edge of the wall—not by external force, but by the activation of the material's own "memory" properties. The Mother of the Stars had imbued this wall with the law of "self-repair," allowing it to automatically return to its perfect state after being attacked.
Cracks heal as quickly as they spread.
The wall still stands.
Lancelot frowned slightly, about to change his move, but the Mother of the Stars had already vanished from her spot.
The next instant, He appeared above Lancelot.
The Chaos Stele flipped in His palm, face down, carrying the combined mass of millions of stars, and pressed down on Lancelot from top to bottom.
"Matter and the Vast Sky Subdue the World."
The force of the falling stone tablet was so terrifying that the spatial structure around Lancelot collapsed entirely at the same time. Without the support of space and the laws of nature, Lancelot's escape route was completely blocked.
Lancelot had no choice but to take the hit head-on.
The Immortal-Execution Sword was held horizontally in front of him, its blade pointing upwards, to meet the falling stone tablet.
The swords clashed, and the resulting light illuminated half of the Astral Realm.
Lancelot's body was crushed by the stone tablet and knocked from the sky. His body fell like a meteor, passing through layers of space, through the broken dimensional boundaries, and finally crashing into a huge, burning plane.
That celestial universe was shattered during Lancelot's fall—not by explosion, but by the terrifying force that crushed it from within. The entire structure of the star disintegrated in an instant, turning into countless burning fragments that scattered in all directions.
Lancelot rose from the cosmic debris, a trickle of golden blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
His right hand trembled slightly, and a tiny crack appeared at the base of his thumb as he gripped the Immortal-Execution Sword. It was a wound inflicted by the Chaos Stele; though small, it proved that Lancelot had lost this round in a pure physical contest.
That unparalleled power and terrifying physical strength caused Lancelot to suffer an unprecedented defeat in the realm of "physical combat" for the first time.
It truly lives up to its reputation as an ancient being that has simultaneously reached the level of Eternal in both its Matter System and Law System, and has been honed over countless years.
The title of the strongest being in the Astral Realm is well-deserved.
Lancelot took a deep breath, golden light flowing across his body, healing his injuries. His gaze deepened, and the fighting spirit in his chaotic, swirling eyes burned even more fiercely than before.
"Continue."
Lancelot whispered, rising once more from the star's remnants, the light on the Immortal-Execution Sword reforming.
Another chaotic battle erupted.
This time, Gustavo was also included.
The silver-black demonic spider spread its eight long legs at the edge of the River of Space-Time, drawing countless fragments of Space-Time from it and condensing them into spears woven from timelines. These spears rained down on the Mother of the Stars' camp. Each spear carried the causal weight of a complete timeline, and anything struck by it would instantly experience the impact of all events within that timeline—equivalent to undergoing the baptism of an entire epoch, enough to cause most One-Step Eternal ' defenses to collapse instantly.
Lancelot's forces were no longer so stretched thin. Although the Mother of the Stars remained despairingly powerful, the addition of Gustavo, a being Infinity close to the Second-Step Eternity, disrupted the balance of the battlefield. The light of the laws of Dale shone once more, the defensive barrier of the Ancestral Tree of Life was reinforced, the Ruler of the Abyss, though weakened, continued to fight, the Fire of Original Sin of the Lord of Hell was reignited, and the battle blade of the God of War of the Astral Realm cleaved through the Void.
The two sides engaged in a fierce battle.
Laws collided with laws, authority clashed with authority, fragments of Space-Time fell like snowflakes, and dimensional rifts spread like a spider web.
The Mother of the Stars ' gaze remained calm and serene.
Even when faced with the double attack from Lancelot and Gustavo, and even with the threat from Dale and the Ruler of the Abyss behind him, His expression remained unchanged. That composure set off alarm bells in Lancelot's mind—He never believed that a person could remain calm from beginning to end, unless there was an explanation: the other party felt that the situation was still under His control.
As Lancelot swung his sword to block yet another crash of the Chaos Stele, he rapidly considered all the possibilities in his mind.
' The Mother of the Stars... what other tricks does she have up her sleeve?'
' The Goddess of Fate has been exposed, the Lord of Time's attitude is ambiguous, and while the Abyss Warden have pledged allegiance to Him, their sincerity remains to be seen. The Abyss has been torn apart from within by the Earth Titan and cannot provide much support in the short term...'
What else is He hiding?
Is it another pawn planted throughout Endless ages? Or some absolute trump card that even the Eternal cannot foresee?
Lancelot was unaware of this.
but--
His gaze swept across the Void and landed in a direction extremely far away.
A faint, almost imperceptible light flashed by, going unnoticed by anyone.
Lancelot's lips curled up slightly.
The Mother of the Stars may or may not have a backup plan.
But Lancelot definitely has it.
Logo has resolved all the problems and is now in place.
That variable buried deep within the Astral Realm, that hidden move unnoticed even by the Mother of the Stars, that foreshadowing planted by Lancelot himself countless ages ago, existing solely for this moment—
Awakening.
Lancelot withdrew his gaze, gripped the Immortal-Execution Sword once more, and faced the Chaos Stele crashing down once more.
The swords clashed, Void shattered.
But in a place unseen by anyone, in the deepest, chaotic realm of the Astral Realm, a figure slowly opened its eyes.
Those eyes reflected the Fate of the entire Astral Realm.
Then, the figure smiled.
"Finally... it's my turn."