CHAPTER 395: 395 ASCENSION

[OP: ]

’To think I’d fall for something so obvious.’

In his own consciousness, the emperor was fighting the toughest battle of his life against a cancer that not even the offsprings of this very Worldline could deal with easily.

He was fighting a battle worse than any that he had ever had, and in this process, not only was he fighting against a version of his own self, he was also battling against a dark power that was extremely powerful.

Thanks to his self realisation, it did not possess his Divine power anymore, however, it still had the abundant powers that it possessed.

The emperor was somehow able to realise what he was seeing on that battlefield was in fact not the truth.

He had the feeling that something was off already, and right when he realised that there was no response to the general’s death, not even from his sister- the one controlling the sky fortress- he knew there were many things wrong with his situation.

The moment he realised something was wrong with his current situation, he felt something weird inside of him.

Something was directly affecting him. And, in that state, he knew the only thing that could possibly affect him on the subconscious level was something that could make them think that there was logically nothing wrong with what he was thinking.

It was not like him to not even think about the very obvious things like this.

He doubted his own self for a moment, but then he realised something was definitely abnormal with his situation.

He first looked inside of himself— but he could not do it. And at that moment, he had confirmed the thing making him think that was, was in fact the corrupted energy that he was not thinking much about until now.

It was a dark power that he knew could make him a cripple.

It might destroy him, and even knowing that, he had confined that power within himself, and until now, he believed he had complete control over it.

Though, thanks to that strange shock making him realise something was wrong with his current situation, he now knew he had actually lost all control over that power.

The power that was supposed to be his slave, had already enslaved him.

And, not just that, it was turning him into something extremely hideous.

He realised that it was too late to save his entire being however, he also knew that there was still a chance to get things workable if he retrieved his divinity.

So, he worked and fought against the darkness and first obtained his divinity back.

Then he fought against the rest of the corrupt power and first freed his soul, then his mind, and then his ego.

He was doing it instinctively but he knew well that he was doing the right thing.

He had fought against the creatures that were born from his own subconscious.

He fought against his own self, he fought against the corrupt power, and now he was fighting against the seed that he himself planted inside his being.

He was fighting to eradicate it, however, it was not an easy task.

First of all, he had to deal with the strong shadows that were created with the power of corruption in his mind realm.

A unique power was enhancing his divine power and was helping him fight better against the dark creatures.

It gave him greater strength than what his lone divine power did.

He only had a limited divine power after the corruption consumed him, and in this mind realm, he also had no physical powers.

With the limited power that he possessed, without the unique power giving him strength, he might not have been strong enough to even hold his own against these creatures, much less the actual source of the darkness.

But, thanks to this power, he was now on the winning end.

He was completely covered in scars, there was blood splattered everywhere in this completely white surface, and he was nearly dead... but as he faced the core of corruption, the dark power that had personified into a physical form and resembled himself, he was on the winning end.

With the unknown unique power and the divine power that he possessed, along with his invaluable experience, he fought against the dark replica of his.

It possessed his memories and was almost his own replica. If one had to logically say, they can also say that they were the same being. Or the original emperor that was fighting against the personification of the corrupt core, was in fact less original then the personification.

He had lost almost his entire being and even after freeing some elements of his being from the corruption, the body was still in fact in control of the corruption.

He had to completely eradicate the power that he had sacrificed hundreds of people to obtain. And he was in fact ready for it.

He was the one and only original emperor. There was no one, not even a cheap copy of him that could ever obtain the title of the emperor.

He was the only legitimate possessor of that title and this persona. There was no way he would let some dark power overtake his existence.

-Ooooooooooooooong!

He was fighting the last opponent and he was on the verge of dying. But at the same time, the personified entity that he was facing had almost lost all the power that it had obtained from the core that was making up his being.

Just like how the imaginary space was filled with the emperor’s imaginary blood, the atmosphere around them was completely filled with something that used to be a part of the dark creature’s existence.

The fact that it was cut down by the attacks used by the emperor were in fact the truth that was reflected by the dark miasma in the atmosphere,

He was winning against it. He was in fact very close to winning this battle.

He only needed one final blow to deal the last bit of damage he needed to destroy it, and he did not wait long to deal this final blow.

’This is it.’

-Zaaaaaaaaaa...!

Thanks to the power that was helping him, his fiests imbued with the divine energy were able to deal significantly more damage than he normally would have.

He knew this outside power did not belong to him, but, at the same time, he also knew that this strange power also had only one goal... ghe destruction of that corrupt power.

It was not exactly helping him. They merely had the same objectives.

And since he was in no position to do this on his own, he accepted the help from this power, concentrated all the last bit of divine power that he had left on him, and... unlike what he might have ever done, he punched on the ground!

-BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The shadow was stunned when he did that.

It instinctively thought that the emperor must have tried it and released all that power on the ground to explode the very ground that they were standing on. Something that any logical emperor like him would think... but the creature was wrong right there.

"Fool."

It was just a fake attack.

-Swish!

When the creature tried dodging the impact that might come from the ground, the emperor made a quick moment, closed the distance between them, and this time, he released all the energy for real.

-BOOOOOOOM...!

The force of the energy obliterated the outer darkness of the creature first.

The energy’s explosion was so great that it then peeled off the other various layers that the creatures possessed starting with the dark skin that existed under the dark ethereal skin.

Then, with the organs, the bones, the soul body, and a unique power that was the underlying cause of the creature’s existence, everything that came in contact with the unique light and the divinity, all of it was blown away into thin space...

"I am the only emperor. The only one that must sit on the throne of my empire."

The way the dark energy at the core vanished resembled the last screams of a demon fiend.

Just that it was even darker and more heinous than something that simple.

[Ding!]

After he was done and the light had consumed the darkness completely, for the first time in forever, a screen popped up before his eyes.

[ *Worldline has detected the presence of an unbelievable achievement in the actions of someone related to an ongoing epic.* ]

[ *It has been confirmed that the initiator of the epic has a great role in the unique event, thus the individual contribution will be transferred to the initiator.* ]

[ *You have eradicated a fragment of (Cancer of the Worldline) while still being a mortal being.* ]

[ *It has been confirmed that you possess all necessary qualifications for ascension and you have met all the requirements!* ]

[ *As a mortal being possessing divine powers, you have achieved something that will be remembered forever by the Worldline and its inhabitants!* ]

[ *You have defeated your inner demons. Completing the mortal journey of your prideful existence!* ]

He knew after hearing those messages that the one truly behind these happenings, the ones who must also have been behind that strange power giving him strength was, in fact, the very person he wanted to defeat the most.

"A forced ascension..."

He had done his best to not get the qualifications to ascend until now.

There was no meaning to his being if he could not rule what was his himself.

He only wanted to be the emperor and for that, he had dedicated his entire life, doing things that he hated himself for.

But that bastard ruined everything...

He was the reason all this happened in the first place, and he was the reason he would have to lose his position as the emperor...

"..."

He was enraged.

There was no one else in this world... that he hated more than that one person, in this moment.