MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 994: Memories-1

’Where am I,’ Aaaninja Chronisynth Eternos thought to himself as his consciousness flickered into what seemed to be an eternal and endless darkness. He was floating midair in a lying position, and with a simple exertion of control, he adjusted his body, changing his position as his feet made contact with the ’ground’ of the endless darkness.

’Is this a part of my soul, like an unexplored region, or my sea of consciousness?’ he thought to himself. Aaaninja didn’t dare claim he knew everything about the soul. Just because he had studied it extensively in case he ever lost his connection to Time under any circumstance didn’t make him a master of it, nor did it grant him absolute authority over its endless and enigmatic depths.

The moment he had that thought, the endlessly ever-expanding darkness seemed to recede ever so slowly, as everything turned pure white for a moment. Then the scene changed as the ’ground’ transformed into tranquil water. Aaaninja merely observed the change without any change in his expression. He took a step, and with that step, a gentle ripple was sent outward across the pristine surface of the river, spreading infinitely in silent, graceful waves.

Aaaninja simply walked. He didn’t know for how long he had been walking here. No, who even knew if he had truly been walking at all, or if he had simply been stationary the entire time while his legs mimicked motion without true displacement. But Aaaninja didn’t react or curse his circumstances; he remained utterly calm, his composure unshaken by the incomprehensible nature of his surroundings.

Time was relative. It was slow when you needed it to be fast, and it was fast when you needed it to be slow. It obeyed no mortal perception, bending itself according to perspective rather than absolute law. So Aaaninja didn’t bother measuring how much time he had spent here. After all, time might as well not flow here to begin with, or perhaps it flowed in ways no conventional mind could ever perceive or comprehend.

After an unknown amount of time, maybe a second, maybe a decade, maybe an eon, maybe an epoch, Aaaninja arrived before a huge barrier that stretched from the tranquil water beneath his feet, rising endlessly toward the infinite white sky above his head. The barrier radiated immense time waves and particles, so potent and dense that merely staring at it could cause lesser beings to age uncontrollably or die on the spot, their existence eroded by temporal erosion. But Aaaninja Chronisynth Eternos wasn’t affected in the slightest.

Aaaninja had always wondered, ever since he realized he was loved by time itself, to the point that even the River Of Time had embraced him, if he stopped cultivating today, would he still die of old age. While they were cultivators and possessed lifespans stretching into the millions of years, at the end of the day, neither he, nor Anthony, nor even the Spirit King was a True Immortal with an infinite lifespan that transcended the absolute authority of temporal law.

Someone like Anthony, who possessed over billions of years in lifespan after sapping the vitality of the Second Supreme Monarch’s descendants, would still eventually die when he had lived through and exhausted every single fragment of that stolen vitality. No matter how vast or incomprehensible that duration was, it remained finite beneath the absolute dominion of Time.

Hence, Aaaninja Chronisynth Eternos couldn’t help but ask himself, would he, the one loved by time like no other, still be claimed by time that loved him so dearly. Would time, which had nurtured him, guided him, and embraced him, one day become the very force that erased him from existence. Aaaninja didn’t know where this thought had originated from. It wasn’t like he was obsessed with life or immortality. He wasn’t driven by fear of death or desperate for eternal existence. He was simply curious. But even the River Of Time itself had seemed unable, or perhaps unwilling, to answer his question.

With a sigh that carried neither fear nor hesitation, Aaaninja stepped through the barrier without hesitation. The barrier rippled upon contact, as though recognizing him, as though accommodating his presence, as though it had always existed solely for him and no other. The moment Aaaninja crossed over to the other side, the scene changed immediately, and his eyes fell upon what appeared to be the image of Nyxss when she was pregnant with him.

Aaaninja could see the way she smiled warmly and rubbed her stomach each time with gentle affection, her expression filled with immeasurable love and anticipation. He could see Zachary returning from wherever he had gone and placing his ear carefully upon Nyxss’s stomach, listening to the unborn Aaaninja’s heartbeat with silent wonder, a proud and heartfelt smile appearing on his face.

The image seemed to blur as time itself accelerated, hastening forward without restraint, and the moment of birth approached. But unlike how humans gave birth, the Celestial race didn’t follow the same biological process. Instead, whenever they were about to give birth, the mother would be wrapped within a cocoon of mana and an energy that originated directly from the Celestial Solar System itself, an energy older than civilizations.

No man in the history of the Celestial race knew what transpired within the cocoon, as it was said that only women could ever understand its mysteries. But the men were never curious or concerned, nor were they bothered by the unknown, as their children were always delivered safely without exception.

After all, within the Celestial Solar System, there had never been an issue of stillbirth. Every single childbirth had been successful since the most ancient and primordial days, as though the Solar System itself safeguarded its progeny with absolute certainty.

Nyxss emerged a few hours later, weak and exhausted, yet her expression remained filled with boundless joy as she held the small Aaaninja in her arms. His face was delicate and adorable, untouched by hardship or suffering, and the hair upon his head was pure white, pristine and radiant. Zachary had never left her side since the moment the birthing process began, and he immediately rushed to his wife and son’s side, his movements filled with urgency and joy.

”I hope the planet gives him a good name,” Nyxss spoke softly as she stared at the baby Aaaninja in her hands, her voice carrying both hope and maternal devotion.

”I hope so too,” Zachary replied sincerely. And as though responding directly to their thoughts and expectations, glowing letters began to manifest upon Aaaninja’s chest.

Aaaninja Chronisynth Eternos

Nyxss and Zachary stared at the name in silence. Zachary joked lightly that it was a mouthful, his tone filled with gentle amusement, but Nyxss immediately reprimanded him, telling him not to joke about the name given to their only child.

Within the Celestial Solar System, the Solar System itself assisted with childbirth, and the very planet upon which a Celestial was born granted the child their name upon birth, as though recognizing their identity and purpose within existence itself.

Aaaninja remained silent as he witnessed his own birth. And despite his flawless memory, heightened perception, and transcendent mind, he couldn’t remember this particular moment from his own perspective, which was understandable. After all, he had only just been born at the time, and newborns lacked complex self-awareness, their consciousness not yet fully formed or capable of retaining coherent memory.

The scene shifted once more as Aaaninja turned five years old. He ran around with his small feet and hands, his laughter pure and unrestrained as he played freely. His eyes were white with blue irises, as he hadn’t yet awakened his Eyes Of Genesis at that point in time.

But although he hadn’t awakened them yet, the present Aaaninja could see small time particles dancing around the younger Aaaninja, surrounding him like invisible companions, as though he had always been loved by time itself even prior to his awakening, even before he became aware of his own affinity and talent.

”Mom, look, I caught a bird,” the young Aaaninja spoke proudly as he showed his mother the bird he had captured with his own hands. Although he was merely a child of five years of age who hadn’t even touched mana, Aaaninja’s strength and physical capabilities were already beyond ordinary limits, his physique and natural attributes overwhelmingly superior, as befitted a Celestial whose existence was acknowledged and cherished by the fundamental forces of reality itself.