Dimensional Descent

At that moment, Leonel’s Destruction World cracked apart as well. The land of crimson fragmented, the Stars that hovered above it almost collapsing. What would the greatest weakness of Anastasia be after this was completed? Wouldn’t it be that she would soak up the vitality of her world too fast? But where did the vitality of a world come from…? Wasn’t it the Stars? Everything shifted around Leonel. The world faded, and he found himself buried deep within piles of sand, the Segmented Cube pressed against his chest. He had been expelled from the Segmented Cube, and this could be considered the most dangerous part of the operation. That was because he was now exposed to the world and couldn’t use Anastasia’s abilities to hide any longer. Even if the Four Great Families had stopped their search, they would certainly sense such a commotion. But this was the only way to finish the rest of the process. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Echoing, thunderous drums reverberated through Leonel’s body, and the skies looked as though they might collapse. Beneath the might of Anastasia’s momentum, the world itself cracked, and its World Spirit, which had already been waning in strength due to the actions of the Sylvan, only grew weaker. “Solidify.” Leonel coughed up a mouthful of blood the moment he said these words. Trying to control such unruly laws was going to be the death of him if he wasn’t careful. However, he still spoke again. This time, he activated [Star Fusion: King’s Might]. His Violet Winds, Vital Star Force, and his Dream Force layered onto one another. This was the first time that Leonel had ever done this, and it happened entirely subconsciously, but when he felt the result, his eyes couldn’t help but open wide. ‘Is that…’ He didn’t have the time to think about it. His body was rattling as though it might collapse at any moment, his bones snapping and crackling, and even his Ethereal Glabella had begun to have fine-line fractures on its surface. The pain was unbearable. Leonel had never experienced such a thing before. This was the first time his Ethereal Glabella had ever suffered like this. He could feel the gates of death opening up to him, and even compared to the hundred years he had experienced, this was even worse. But… Leonel’s jaw set, his mind calm, and his expression even calmer. There was only one path forward after he reached this point. Success. He wouldn’t settle for anything less, and there was nothing that would be able to pause his steps. A violet melding of energies around him fluttered and glided, soaring and growing stronger and stronger until it suddenly pierced through the skies. “SOLIDIFY!” His roar came with a mist of blood, but the blood condensed into a complex array of runes that seemed to be an advanced application of Blood Force. This was one of Aina’s additions. And though Leonel’s Blood Force affinity was nigh non-existent, his Ability Index gave him perfect control over his body, while Star Fusion used Vital Star Force, giving him a large amount of Life Force. When he added that with the power his words gave him, this mist of blood that carried a large amount of Life Force suddenly became an anchor. The blood-red characters were infused into the world, and a large amount of billowing violet smoke came from Leonel’s body. At the same time, his Innate Node thrummed with life, auras of Creation and Destruction swirling through the world. ROAR! All of the Force in the world was suddenly sapped away in an instant. BOOM! It shattered apart at its seams, blasting apart into the Inbetween Worlds. At that moment, the hidden portals of the Four Great Families fragmented and shattered apart, revealing all of their locations at once. It was too late to do anything. Although they had been on their way, they were still a step too late. They didn’t even have the time to get eyes on Leonel before everything went south. Leonel didn’t even have time to mind it as his body was thrown into a wave of chaos. Being bombarded from all sides, his injuries only became worse and worse, but his focus didn’t waver, until… ‘Success.’ Leonel roared and a stabilizing force projected out from his body. All of a sudden, he seemed to have stepped out of time and space. Despite all the chaos around him, it couldn’t make it through. Or, rather, it went right through him as though he wasn’t even standing here. Wasn’t this Blackstar’s ability? Only in part. Blackstar hid in the shadows, but in a lot of ways, Leonel was taking it a step further than this. In this state… He didn’t even age. And apparently he couldn’t breathe either because despite huffing for it, there was no oxygen whatsoever. Luckily, he had several inner worlds he could pull it from. Leonel slowly calmed down, his gaze flickering. Had he really succeeded? This one was a true razor’s edge. After all that preparation, they still almost failed. He had to say that he had definitely underestimated the Minerva. But in the end… He and his wife together had surpassed them. And one day, they would even surpass the God Beasts of Creation that came before them. Leonel clenched his fists, his eyes blazing. Now, it was time to find out what had changed. His body flickered and vanished. All that was left was a Segmented Cube where he had been. But soon… even that disappeared. The world fell into silence, leaving behind nothing but Destruction. In several other locations, though, old Ancestors began to stir. Deep within this Pluto’s world, several opened their eyes. Their gazes were unfathomable as they all looked in the same exact direction. If a clear line was drawn between them and where they looked… it would no doubt pass right through where Leonel had vanished. The ancestors began to commune with one another and realized something. “The debt to the Fawkes has already been repaid.” “Agreed.” “Yes. This is far enough.”