Immortal Paladin

The Divine Phantasm of Dreams was an illusion technique born from the fusion of Divine Possession, the Ophanim, and my Supremacy Trait. It allowed me to project countless alternate futures and timelines, weaving them into reality as incorporeal versions of myself. Through those visions, I could stand in ten places, a hundred places, or even a million places at once. Though they possessed no bodies, they carried my thoughts, my memories, and my voice. It was the closest thing to omnipresence I could achieve without truly becoming a god.

One of me sat within the grand council chamber of the Holy Empire, surrounded by officials buried beneath mountains of documents.

“The eastern granaries should increase exports by seven percent,” I said. “The southern provinces will suffer a poor harvest in three months. Begin stockpiling now.”

One of the ministers blinked. “Your Majesty... has something happened?”

“Not yet,” I answered. “I simply prefer that it stays that way.”

Elsewhere, another illusion wandered through the Player Convenant, where hundreds of adventurers gathered around an enormous quest board.

A young player stared at me with sparkling eyes. “Holy Emperor! Is there really a hidden dungeon beneath the Broken Sea?”

“There will be in eleven days,” I replied. “Take miners with you instead of warriors. The treasure you seek is sealed behind collapsed tunnels.”

The entire guild erupted into chaos.

“Write that down!”

“Get the excavation team!”

“I told you His Majesty knew everything!”

No. Not everything, but close enough. Another version of me stood beside Nongmin inside his enormous workshop. Strange machines, gears, and arrays covered every inch of the building while blacksmiths and engineers argued over blueprints.

Nongmin scratched his head. “If I increase the pressure here, the engine explodes. If I decrease it, the thing becomes useless.”

I glanced at the design before pointing at a tiny component near the center.

“You’re solving the wrong problem. Replace that alloy with refined Hollow Steel and invert the circulation array.”

Silence descended upon the workshop.

One engineer’s jaw dropped. “...Would that actually work?”

Sikao Biaoji’s eyes widened before he burst into laughter.

“You old monster! I spent three weeks trying to solve that!”

“At least you learned three weeks’ worth of mistakes.”

”No fair!”

Another illusion sat among scholars researching the Tower itself. Mountains of ancient records and countless floating diagrams filled the room.

A researcher looked exhausted as she asked, “Your Majesty, why does the Tower connect to both realms?”

”... I don’t know. Continue looking.”

A cold silence followed my words as every scholar understood the implication.

Another me stood within the depths of the Underworld beside Hei Mao. Countless souls drifted through the endless darkness while the Wheel of Reincarnation slowly turned overhead.

Hei Mao rubbed his temples. “These idiots somehow managed to create another traffic jam.”

I looked at the endless river of spirits. “Separate the newly deceased from the ancient souls.”

“I already tried.”

“Then separate them by karma instead.”

”How does that work?”

”I don’t know... er... Maybe try asking the judges...”

”...”

”It’s not a cure-all, okay?”

“You know... I hate how often you make impossible problems sound obvious.”

“I learned from watching you work, my disciple.”

He snorted before returning to his duties.

Elsewhere, another version of me stood atop a balcony overlooking a crowded city. Thousands gathered beneath as relief workers distributed food and medicine.

A little girl called to me. “Holy Emperor... will my daddy come home?”

I couldn’t touch her. My illusion had no substance. My hand simply hovered over her head.

“He will,” I told her softly. “And when he does, make sure you tell him how brave you’ve been.”

The child smiled through her tears. Nearby, exhausted volunteers seemed to regain their strength simply by hearing those words.

Another illusion taught within the Academy.

A young cultivator raised his hand.

“Your Majesty, what is the strongest technique?”

“The one you can trust your life to.”

“But what if it isn’t powerful?”

“Then make it powerful.”

”...”

”Something that you have the most compatibility with. I will help you create builds you will be able to quickly adapt to different strategies. There are many paths to cultivation. Most often, they diverge. However, combat is different. They all converge into a single path. Victory. There may be different methods how to reach this goal, but the strategies applied are not immutable. The path to victory is often singular, but rarely mutual. Instead of teaching you how to win. I will also teach you how not to lose. That’s my specialty.”

The entire classroom fell into thoughtful silence.

One of me trained alongside Guardian recruits.

A knight swung his spear at me. The weapon passed harmlessly through my body. He looked embarrassed.

“You can’t hit a dream,” I said.

“Then how am I supposed to train?”

“By imagining your enemy isn’t flesh and blood.”

The recruits exchanged glances.

One whispered, “That’s terrifying.”

“It should be.”

”Or maybe nonsense?”

I faked a cough. ”Get a hold of yourselves. I saw more academy cultivators doing better than this. I see that all of you paid attention well into your foundations. However, those are not enough in a real battlefield. You need to learn how to not die, conserve your resources, and most importantly, cycle through your spells, without leaving a gap to your defenses. A Guardian is someone who protects. The longer you live, the longer the Guardian besides you can fight.”

Across countless cities, villages, and settlements, versions of me walked among the people. I offered advice to inventors. I inspired artists. I guided wandering cultivators. I listened to grieving mothers. I encouraged frightened children. I congratulated soldiers returning from war. I even sat beside old men and women with nothing left but stories, listening to them speak as though their memories were treasures.

None of those illusions could lift a stone or swing a sword. They could only speak, yet words alone carried weight.

The pull of faith flowing into me grew stronger with every passing moment.

I let out a long sigh.

The battle against the Great Beast had taught me something unpleasant about myself.

The Ophanim had granted me glimpses of nearly infinite knowledge, and somewhere along the way, I had mistaken borrowed omniscience for my own wisdom. I had become arrogant. I thought that because I could see countless possibilities, I alone could carry the burden of deciding humanity’s future.

That had been foolish.

No single person could ever truly wield all of the Ophanim’s power. If I tried, I would simply repeat the mistakes of those Supremes who believed themselves above everyone else. The Hollowed World didn’t need one all-knowing ruler.

It needed millions of minds moving together.

That was why I spread my knowledge. Why I encouraged innovation. Why I searched for talent instead of hoarding everything myself. 

If everyone advanced together, then our civilization would grow exponentially.

While countless dream projections wandered throughout the Hollowed World, my true body floated silently above the False Earth.

The world below remained trapped in its Victorian elegance. Endless rows of towering buildings, cobblestone roads, and sprawling cities stretched beneath an overcast sky. It almost looked peaceful, but it was far from that. The aftermath of my fight with Famine inside this world had left the False Earth’s civilization shaken. And then there was the Tower.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that the Supreme Void might try something while the Warden was absent.

Beside me floated Jue Bu, arms folded behind his head as he lazily looked over the world below.

I chuckled.

“Thanks for taking the Warden’s post for now.”

He rolled his eyes.

“It better stay ‘for now.’ I didn’t agree to become some old watchdog.”

I smiled.

“Of course it’s only temporary.”

Jue Bu looked toward one of the distant cities and whistled.

“I have to admit though... this world’s genre is pretty nice.”

“What genre?”

He pointed downward.

“The ladies wearing those corsets.”

I stared at him.

“You have some really strange fetishes.”

“They’re called refined tastes.”

“You’d better not interfere with this world.”

Jue Bu burst into laughter.

“That would be difficult even for you.”

I knew exactly what he meant. The Tower. The impossible structure pierced reality itself, connecting the Hollowed World that formed the outer shell and the False Earth hidden at its core. Every time I looked at it, I questioned the Supreme Heart’s sanity. What was that lunatic thinking? Did he intend to free the Supreme Void?

Jue Bu’s expression gradually turned serious.

“Da Wei, you should be careful from now on.”

“I am.”

“Stop taking risks.”

I smiled faintly.

“That’s exactly what I’m doing.”

At that very moment, another thread of my consciousness was already simulating a future. In that vision, another version of myself stood at the edge of the Greater Human Realm.

The Mortal Plane.

Back when I first entered the Underworld, I had been completely gung-ho about charging into that place. I had dragged the Mighty Duck along with an entire party, convinced that overwhelming force and future-seeing wit could solve everything.

Looking back on it now, I could only laugh at my own recklessness.

The Mortal Plane looked surprisingly peaceful.

Considering I had dropped the Warden into this place not too long ago, I had expected entire continents to be missing or reality itself to have developed a nervous twitch. Instead, the world below carried on as though nothing extraordinary had happened. Kingdoms prospered, villages bustled with life, and caravans traveled ancient roads beneath a bright blue sky.

It seemed the Warden had already left.

I wondered where that old monster had wandered off to now.

I looked toward Jue Bu and gave him a small nod.

”Looks like nothing’s happening here. I’ll excuse myself for a bit.”

He waved lazily without even looking at me.

”Go on. I’ll keep watch.”

At the same time, one of my countless projections continued its journey through a simulated future. In that reality, I had entered the Greater Human Realm and, after a series of surprisingly uneventful events, found myself being escorted toward the Human Empire.

It was the central power of the Mortal Plane and the place where the Supreme Heart’s authority was the strongest. For some reason, an uncomfortable feeling crawled up my spine. I was filled with a sense of... dread.

My instincts screamed at me.

No.

Absolutely not.

I reached out through the Divine Phantasm of Dreams, intending to dispel the simulation entirely.

However, the world blinked all too suddenly. The Hollowed World and the False Earth vanished. Jue Bu disappeared. The endless sea of projected futures collapsed into a single point.

As a Ruler of Laws, I saw exactly what had happened.

The simulated version of myself inside the Mortal Plane had ceased being a projection. It had become reality. Or perhaps more accurately... Reality had decided that my projection was the real me. I had been ripped out of the Hollowed World and shoved into my own simulation, transforming a projected future as the current reality.

”...What the fuck?”

I immediately looked around. Half of a colossal cathedral stood beneath my feet. The left half remained intact, filled with ivory pillars and rows upon rows of elegant pews. 

The right half simply... ended. Beyond it was an endless cliff overlooking a sea of clouds. Standing upon that impossible horizon was an enormous figure. It was Aixin. Her body resembled a celestial titan sculpted from starlight itself. She possessed no face, no eyes, and no features that a mortal could recognize, yet merely looking at her filled my heart with an indescribable sense of warmth.

Why was I feeling this way? I have no idea.

Behind me sat numerous figures upon the cathedral benches. Some were angels. Some were strange primordial beings. Others were entities my Ophanim immediately labeled as ”Do Not Engage.” Then my gaze landed on the culprit.

Supreme Heart stood at the altar. He wore pristine white priestly robes. His hands were folded before him. And he had the most infuriatingly smug smile I had ever seen.

A terrible premonition filled my heart.

Slowly, I looked down.

Instead of my usual clothes...

I was wearing a perfectly tailored white tuxedo.

”...”

”...”

I lowered my eyes toward my left wrist. Specifically, at the Binding Vow, representing the promise I had made with Aixin. A silver shooting star endlessly circled my wrist like a living bracelet, burning brighter than it ever had before.

A horrible realization struck me.

This damned thing had dragged me here.

I looked between Aixin and Supreme Heart.

”Wait.”

I held up both hands.

”Wait a second... what’s happening here?”

Aixin’s gentle voice echoed throughout the cathedral.

”You once made a Binding Vow with me.”

”...”

”You promised that after ten thousand years had passed, I would bring you to meet my father.”

Supreme Heart suddenly raised both thumbs.

”And that father is me!”

He grinned from ear to ear.

”And today, I’m also going to be the fatherly priest overseeing this wedding.”

His smile somehow became even brighter.

”Isn’t that wonderful? I get to be two fathers at the same time—”

”You whacko!”

I pointed at him in disbelief.

”What’s this marriage setup about?!”

I jabbed a finger toward my wrist.

”And we agreed I had to come voluntarily after ten thousand years!”

Supreme Heart burst into laughter.

”Da Wei, Da Wei, Da Wei.”

He wiped an imaginary tear from his eye.

”You did come voluntarily.”

”...”

”And it has been ten thousand years.”

I stared at him.

”...What?”

He spread his arms dramatically.

”But what exactly is ten thousand years? The revolution of one planet around one star, right?”

I nodded slowly.

”...Yes?”

He pointed at the sky.

”This is the Mortal Plane.”

Then he pointed at himself.

”And who happens to be the big boss of the Mortal Plane?”

I felt my blood run cold.

Supreme Heart’s grin widened.

”Me.”

He snapped his fingers.

”How difficult do you think it was for me to accelerate the passage of the sun and moon?”

”...”

”I could’ve cheated even harder, honestly.”

He scratched his cheek.

”I almost picked a tiny planet orbiting a tiny star and finished the whole thing in an afternoon.”

He looked oddly proud of himself.

”But I decided to put in the effort.”

”...”

”I manually adjusted celestial mechanics for ten thousand years.”

”...”

”That’s dedication.”

I stood there completely speechless, and then it finally hit me.

”...Ah shit.”

I had been scammed, absolutely, utterly, and so completely out-maneuvered I couldn’t help but curse my misfortune. Fuck Binding Vows. Fuck magical verbal agreements. 

I immediately pointed toward Supreme Heart. ”Hold on! There was absolutely no discussion about marriage! This gotta be a fraud!”

He tilted his head. ”Oh? The Binding Vow you’re talking about? Historically speaking, that was a marriage contract.”

I blinked.

”...Excuse me?”

”A very ancient one.”

He nodded sagely.

”So ancient that practically nobody remembers it anymore. It only existed during the Primordial Age.”

My Ophanim exploded into action. Countless streams of information flooded my consciousness as I searched every fragment of history available to me. Ancient records. Forgotten civilizations. Lost primordial laws. The deeper I searched, the paler my face became.

Supreme Heart was telling the truth.

The bastard had reached into an era so ancient that even the Ophanim barely possessed records of it and used that forgotten interpretation against me.

Supreme Heart looked almost offended.

”To be fair, nowadays the Binding Vow is mostly used for trade agreements and important promises.”

I immediately pointed at him.

”Exactly!”

He nodded.

”Between people of the same gender.”

”...”

”But between opposite genders? It was a sacred marriage vow acknowledged by the Laws of the Universe themselves. And further empowered by Primordial Chaos.”

My vision darkened.

Supreme Heart started laughing.

”Oh, don’t look at me like that. This is simply revenge. You dropped the Warden into my world, caused unimaginable trouble, turned my nice peaceful realm into a disaster zone, and worst of all, you gave me paperwork. Do you have any idea how much paperwork there was? Mountains of it! Entire civilizations worth of reports! I had to sit there signing documents because of you! So naturally, I decided to get even. I could’ve punched you, cursed you, or thrown you into some horrible primordial prison, but where’s the fun in that? No, I wanted something personal, something petty, something that would haunt you forever. So I stole your marriage. Honestly, I think it’s a masterpiece. Every time you remember this day, you’ll remember that I won.”

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!

Alice was definitely going to kill me after this. No. She was going to resurrect me just so she could kill me a second time.

I grabbed my head with both hands.

”FUCK NEAR OMNISCIENCE!”

For once, it wasn’t even the Ophanim’s fault.

Supreme Heart had simply scammed the living hell out of me.