My attributes are increasing infinitely

Chapter 491: Dark Alliance

When the fissure in space opened, it did not do so with a bang or a violent tear. It parted like silk under a master’s blade, revealing a void of absolute, terrifying serenity.

From that crack stepped the Founder. He did not fly, nor did he walk upon the ruined earth. He simply was. His presence felt like the sudden appearance of a mountain in the middle of a flat plain, an objective reality that could not be ignored or bypassed. His robes, woven from threads that seemed to capture the light of dying stars, did not flutter in the wind. The wind itself had died, strangled by the sheer density of the Founder’s aura.

The General of the Dark Alliance, a level 135 nightmare that had just been mocking Ethan with the casual cruelty of a god, froze. The hundreds of eyes covering its body, previously darting with predatory glee, all dilated in unison. The flickering flame atop its head, a symbol of its dark vitality, sputtered and turned a sickly, pale blue.

”A General of the Dark Alliance?” the Founder’s voice was soft, barely a whisper, yet it resonated in the marrow of Ethan’s bones. ”Expanding your reach into the fringes of my territory? You have grown bold in your old age, Akatsu.”

The monster, Akatsu, let out a gurgling hiss. The black hole in its maw collapsed instantly, the gravitational pressure vanishing as the monster’s focus shifted entirely to survival. Even so, the creature did not immediately flee. The fanaticism of the Dark Alliance ran deeper than the instinct for self-preservation.

”The Founder of the Aurora Clan...” Akatsu’s hundreds of mouths spoke in a discordant, wet harmony. ”To think you would descend for a Level 1 worm. My senses did not deceive me. This boy... he is the anomaly the Seer spoke of. The one who carries the secret of Apocalypse.”

The Founder’s expression remained as calm as a frozen lake. He did not bother to deny it. To a being of his stature, lies were a tool for the weak. ”His level is irrelevant. He is mine.”

Akatsu let out a jarring, rhythmic clicking, a laugh. ”It matters not if you kill me! Even as I speak, my thoughts are being mirrored to the Abyss. The Association knows. The Alliance knows. You can shield him in your castle, old ghost, but you cannot hide the sun with one hand. Be ready for endless pursuit! The hunt has only just begun!”

The monster closed its eyes, its body beginning to swell with a chaotic, suicidal energy. It intended to detonate its core, to erase its soul and any trace of information the Founder might try to extract.

The Founder did not even blink. He simply raised a hand, fingers slightly curved as if plucking a grape from a vine.

”Static,” he murmured.

The swelling energy in Akatsu’s body stopped. The monster’s eyes snapped open, filled with a primal, existential terror. It found that it could not even choose to die. Every atom of its Level 135 form was pinned to the fabric of reality by an invisible weight that defied the laws of physics. In front of the Founder, a general who could level cities was nothing more than a pinned insect in a collector’s jar.

Ethan, still bathed in the divine glow of his Supreme One Physique, stepped forward. His movement was stiff, the lingering suppression from Akatsu’s earlier attack was still fading, but his eyes were burning with a cold, calculated intensity. He was not looking at the Founder with the awe of a rescued victim; he was looking at Akatsu with the hunger of a scientist.

”Sir,” Ethan’s voice was steady, catching the Founder’s attention. ”Do you have a way to merge my soul with the body of this creature? Even if it is for only an hour... I want to feel it. I want to know the sensation of the invincible power of an entity above Level 100.”

The Founder turned his head slightly, his gaze landing on Ethan. For a moment, there was a flicker of something in those ancient eyes, perhaps surprise, perhaps a grim sort of respect. Most Level 1s would be weeping or unconscious after being targeted by a Level 135. Ethan was asking for a way to hijack the monster’s power.

[Master!]Yumiko’s voice echoed in his mind, [The risks are astronomical. Your neural pathways are not designed to handle the data throughput of a Level 135 existence. It would be like trying to pour an ocean into a thimble.]

”Then we build a better thimble, Yumiko,” Ethan replied internally. ”If the Alliance is coming for me, I cannot wait for the natural progression of levels. I need a blueprint for godhood. I need to know what ’peak’ feels like so you can simulate it.”

The Founder went silent for a long beat. ”Soul merging is a forbidden art, Ethan. To tether a Level 1 soul to a Level 135 vessel, even a paralyzed one, is to invite the soul to be crushed by the sheer density of the host’s life force. It is not like putting on a suit of armor; it is like trying to swim in molten lead.”

”But it is possible,right?,” Ethan pressed.

The Founder looked at the frozen, terrified Akatsu, then back to Ethan. ”I have never tried it with such a vast gap in power. But... your physique is unique. It might just be the anchor needed to keep you from dissolving into his consciousness. Let us return. I will think of a way to bridge the gap.”

With a flick of his wrist, the Founder did not just teleport them; he folded the space between the ruined terrain and the Aurora Castle. One moment they were standing in the dust of a battlefield; the next, the cool, sterile air of the inner sanctum brushed against Ethan’s skin.

The Founder gestured toward a massive, hovering containment sphere. With a thought, the paralyzed General Akatsu was flung into it, the monster’s many eyes still wide with silent screams.

”You will stay in the castle for now,” the Founder commanded, his tone shifting back to that of a stern patriarch. ”The Dark Alliance is not a group that makes idle threats. If they have mobilized, the borderlands will be swarming with their inquisitors within the day. I will arrange for high-grade monsters to be brought into the training grounds. You will kill them under my supervision until you reach Level 10. Only then will your foundation be stable enough for the soul-merge experiment.”

”Thank you, sir,” Ethan bowed. He knew this was more than a gift; it was an investment. The Founder was curious to see if Ethan was the ”anomaly” the Seer spoke of.

As the Founder disappeared into the depths of the library to research the soul-tethering ritual, Ethan stood alone in the hall, looking at his hands. They were still shaking slightly. Not from fear, but from the adrenaline of realization.

”Yumiko, did you get the readings?”

[Partial data captured during the Founder’s intervention, Master. The energy signature of a Level 135 is... incomprehensible. It operates on a multi-dimensional frequency. But if the Founder succeeds in the merge, I will be able to map every synapse, every mana circuit, and every soul-groove of that creature. I can create the ”Overload Protocol” you desire.]

Ethan smiled, a thin, dangerous line. ”The Dark Alliance thinks they are hunting a lamb. Let them come. By the time they find me, I’ll be wearing the skin of their own generals.”

Deep within a separate dimension, where the sky was the color of a fresh bruise and the air smelled of ozone and sulfur, a massive cave echoed with the low growls of ancient things.

At the center of the cave, a holographic projection of General Akatsu’s last moments flickered.

”General Akatsu has fallen into the hands of the Aurora Founder,” a voice boomed. It came from a creature that resembled a dragon made of obsidian, its wings spanning the width of the cavern. This was General Vorax, one of the three pillars of the Alliance.

”The information is confirmed,” another voice chimed in, slithering from the shadows. ”The anomaly is a Level 1 outsider. But the Founder’s protection makes him untouchable within the Aurora territory.”

”Then we make the territory a prison,” Vorax hissed, flames licking at his snout. ”We cannot strike the Founder directly without triggering a World War we are not yet ready for. But the boy cannot stay in that castle forever.”

A third figure, a hooded wraith with glowing blue eyes, stepped forward. ”I have already compiled the list. We will not send the fodder. If the Founder is involved, we send the elite. A team of thirty. All Level 90 and above. They will establish a ’Dead Zone’ around the Aurora Clan’s exit points. The moment the outsider breathes a lungful of air outside those walls, he is to be turned into ash.”

”And if the Founder accompanies him?”

”Then we watch,” the wraith whispered. ”The Founder cannot protect him from every shadow, every poison, every curse. The Seer has spoken. This boy is the crack in the foundation of our future. We fill that crack with blood.”