The system's interface flickered, its usual smooth blue hue pulsing with shades of crimson and black. It was adapting. Reacting. Preparing.
> [Multiversal Gate Status: 89.3% Stabilized. Warning: Nexus Energy Overflow Imminent. Initiating Genetic Sync Process...]
Zerath stood at the epicenter of the ancient circular platform, surrounded by fractured monuments of long-forgotten civilizations. The pillars around him shimmered with inscriptions that bent space and twisted time. The dimension he had entered wasn't part of any normal universe—this was the Nexus Beyond, the hub of existence.
His system window appeared again.
> [System Syncing: G.E.N.O.M.E. Core Functions Unlocked] [New Sub-System Unlocked: Dimensional Echoes | Access to all Alternate Versions of Self]
His heart pounded—not out of fear, but exhilaration.
Zerath had crossed beyond. He was no longer just a warrior, no longer just a genius student or a charming, quiet teen with a hidden identity. He was now something the multiverse hadn't prepared for—a singularity in the form of a man.
"Show me," he commanded.
In front of him, the platform shifted. Beams of solidified energy created windows, each displaying a different version of himself: a demonic overlord ruling galaxies, a gentle healer revered as a god, a machine-enhanced tactician who dismantled empires with thought alone. Each a reflection of his potential, each real in their own right.
> [Would you like to Integrate a Dimensional Echo? Warning: Each integration will rewrite your existence partially. Confirm?]
Zerath closed his eyes. He saw his mother smiling under the twin suns of Prime Earth. He remembered the warmth of his sister's embrace, the loyalty of his best friend. He wasn't doing this for power.
He was doing it to protect those he loved.
"I will integrate... but on my terms."
> [Custom Integration Protocol Initiated. Personality Matrix Stabilized. Core Traits Preserved.]
A surge of energy rushed through him like a supernova igniting in his soul. New memories crashed into his brain—battles fought across galaxies, sacrifices made, betrayals endured. His body shimmered with radiant symbols, marks of gods, kings, and monsters.
Just then, a strange presence emerged from the rift—a figure made of void, wrapped in threads of pure entropy.
"I wondered when you'd arrive," Zerath said calmly.
The entity tilted its head. "You are not as the others. Your mind is still... yours. Curious."
"I don't share well," Zerath responded.
In an instant, the entire platform erupted into a battlefield. Reality twisted; gravity reversed. The pillars around him exploded with cosmic fire.
Zerath dodged and attacked simultaneously—his hands conjuring blades of starlight while his mind manipulated space. He bent time to reverse injuries, layered protective barriers made from crystallized thoughts, and countered entropy with quantum shields drawn from his other selves.
> [Battle Mode: Overclock Enabled] [Reality Rebooting Protocols Engaged — 12 Seconds Until Timeline Collapse]
Twelve seconds was all he needed.
He unleashed a barrage of strikes fused with power from three alternate selves—a healer's divine light, the tactician's spatial logic, and the overlord's raw dominion. His enemy's body began to unravel, atoms dancing into oblivion.
But just before the killing blow, the void-being whispered something:
"Your core identity... It is fractured. They will come for you. The Primordials know... now."
With a final scream, the entity disintegrated into cosmic dust. Zerath dropped to one knee, breathing heavily.
> [New Threat Logged: The Primordials of Source Layer] [System Note: Your presence in the Nexus Beyond has disturbed the Balance. Prepare.]
He looked up. The sky of the dimension cracked open. Through it, massive silhouettes emerged—gods of origin, beings who shaped the first realities.
And they were watching him.
The Rift Beyond Stars
Aether's body trembled with a pressure he had never known before. Standing before the gaping cosmic rift, where stars bled like open wounds in the night, he could feel the call — not of a world, but of many. Echoes from realities untold reverberated inside him, as if the multiverse itself was testing his resolve.
"System, status," he commanded.
[Smart Core Sync: Complete]
[Aether Sync: 87.2%]
[Void-Touched Title: Acquired]
[Primordial Recognition Pending...]
Aether squinted at the words. "Primordial... recognition?" he whispered.
Smart Core Notification:
> Recognition by primordial-level entities is ongoing. Judgment protocols initiated.
"Judgment? Let them judge," Aether said, the corner of his lips twitching up.
Suddenly, a gust of heat and golden mist surged from the rift. The sky fractured — constellations warped, gravity shivered — and from that endless abyss emerged a figure cloaked in obsidian flame. It wasn't a monster. It wasn't a god. It was something in between.
"You call yourself Aether?" the being boomed, voice shaking the very foundations of the system itself.
Aether stood unfazed. His eyes locked with the creature's glowing orbs. He didn't step back. Didn't falter.
"I don't just call myself Aether. I am Aether," he replied coolly. "And who are you supposed to be?"
The being chuckled, like entire galaxies were laughing.
"One of the Seven. The Primordial Sovereigns. I am Nihros, Warden of Dimensional Gateways."
Aether tilted his head, amused. "Is this your audition for being my enemy?"
[Aether's Traits Activated: Multiversal Adaptation | Cosmic Perception]
Time stopped. Colors bled. And in that suspended reality, Aether took a step forward.
"I don't kneel. Not for kings. Not for Primordials. Not even for gods."
Nihros' laughter ceased. "You speak boldly. Let us see if your power matches your arrogance."
With a wave of his hand, the dimensional field collapsed. Stars became spears. Time loops formed like nooses. Space inverted.
But Aether's Core System pulsed.
[Emergency Field: Omega Singularity Deployed] [Skill: Starbreaker Blade - Ready] [Signature Protocol: Mirrorverse Ascension - Unlocked]
The world bent to him. His right hand summoned a blade forged of refracted universes — a Starbreaker. He gripped it and leapt.
They clashed mid-air. Each strike sent tremors across planes of reality. Spectators across different dimensions paused, some by instinct, others by fear. The battle had begun to etch itself into the memory of the multiverse.
Then came the twist.
As Aether drove his blade into Nihros' chest, instead of crumbling, the creature began to glow. The flame dimmed, the body shifted — and from the center emerged a younger being. A boy.
"You... you're just a vessel," Aether muttered.
The boy opened his eyes. "Help me... he's coming. The true Sovereign."
[Smart Core Warning: Level Omega Alert]
> Energy reading surpasses system measurement. Prepare for Emergency Evacuation Protocol.
But Aether refused to move. He reached forward.
"I'll save you. Not because I pity you. But because I won't let anyone be used like this."
Just as he touched the boy's shoulder, a second rift tore open, and from it crawled a presence so vast, so vile, the very essence of the multiverse recoiled.
"Aether," a new voice rang out. "You've attracted my attention. Now you'll earn it."
The rift grew into a mouth, and the void whispered secrets not meant for any sentient being.