Solanky deactivated his observation technique, and his mind snapped back to the present. Supremo Solanky circled his source-defying body and noticed faint traces of the flames from his vision already flickering across every cell of that body.
He settled into a cross-legged position before his other self and split his consciousness once more — thirty percent flowing into the source-defying body, the remaining seventy staying with his Supremo form. The Supremo body reached out into the space before it, and an infinite source world core condensed out of the emptiness. The source-defying body caught it and pressed it flat against his chest. The instant contact was made, the core's energy surged into him.
With only thirty percent of his consciousness driving it, waking inside the source-defying body still felt like operating at full capacity — proof enough of the staggering gap in power between his two forms. He began drawing every spark of fire scattered through his cells inward, gathering them at his chest. As the sparks converged, the region began to swell, the infinite source core's energy feeding its expansion.
The blue ice flame surfaced first, and as cold radiated outward from his source-defying body, his power climbed steadily — countless beings and particles within the forbidden zone froze mid-motion under its influence. Next came the golden-yellow flame, purifying every trace of negative energy and malevolent presence in an instant. Then the crimson-red flame erupted, its radiance alone erasing all karma bound to the beings trapped within the miniature source worlds.
Solanky felt his strength climb toward the half-step infinite source god level, and Supremo Solanky raised a barrier around the source-defying body strong enough to rival the wall of an infinite source world itself. The moment it formed, a deafening BOOM rang out as black flame tore free of his body, shattering the surrounding space into countless fragments. Cracks spread across the barrier as wisps of black fire began eating into it.
The source-defying body had now reached full infinite source god level — but ever cunning, Solanky chose to mask his true strength, presenting himself as merely a perfect source god instead, saving the surprise for when he finally faced the devil ancestor in the coming war. Supremo Solanky shifted his focus toward the miniature universe while his other self grew accustomed to the newfound fire and strength. Now, even against the devil ancestor at full power, he was confident he could hold his ground — and perhaps even seize the advantage.
He decided his Supremo body would remain sealed in the forbidden space, as his future self had asked, while the source-defying body handled all dealings with the outside world. With his Supremo body's current strength, he could condense countless avatars at the perfect source level to act in his stead without the main body so much as stirring. His second body emerged from the forbidden space trailed by a hundred such avatars, all at perfect source god level. To avoid drawing suspicion, he waved a hand, folding the avatars back into his second body, then vanished from the newcomer continent and reappeared in the great hall of the god realm.
The instant he arrived, every powerful being present bowed in greeting. Solanky took his seat beside Elena. Though he now far outstripped her in raw strength, he still held her as an equal, out of respect. Elena rose and addressed the hall. "Two hundred years remain before war breaks out with the devils. As we all know, this war will touch every source world within our infinite source world, and we need to draw the vassal races from other source worlds into our ranks."
Star God stood, bowing to those gathered. "Over the last eight hundred years, my teammates and I have visited source world after source world, and secured the support of four source gods — the Ancestral World Tree, the Flame Monarch, the Ice Goddess, and the Mist Emperor. The rest declined to join this war outright — though we all know that the moment the devil ancestor reveals his true strength, they'll defect to his side regardless."
Solanky rose from his seat. "Send word to the remaining source worlds. Make it clear they won't be treated as allies once the day of war arrives — they have exactly two choices: stand with the devils, or stand with us." With that, he vanished from the hall, reappearing near a distant source world far removed from the god realm. There, he released the hundred avatars he'd absorbed earlier, seating one cross-legged on a remote planet within that world — he had no intention of involving his Supremo body in this war, in any form.
Solanky and his remaining ninety-nine avatars shot off at a speed no being of source god level or below could perceive. They arrived at another source world, ruled by a source god shaped like a minotaur — the first to defect to the devils' side. Solanky felt no shred of pity for him. His avatars descended on the world's core and struck the minotaur down, laying his massive body out in the space before his own source world. Even in death, Solanky had no wish to harm the countless innocents living there, so he made certain the source energies dispersed cleanly through the world before departing.
From there, he arrived before a world tree standing several million light-years distant — a colossal being eighty billion light-years tall, its crown spreading two hundred billion light-years wide, entire star fields and galaxies scattered across its branches like leaves. This was the true body of the Ancestral World Tree, said to be the very first being the infinite source world's previous owner had created, and the most knowledgeable soul in all the realm.
Solanky approached and offered his greeting. A calm voice answered, filling the space around him.
Ancestral World Tree (AWT): "You're welcome here. I imagine you've come seeking counsel on the coming war?"
Solanky nodded. "That's one of two reasons."
AWT: "Oh? And the second?"
Solanky: "I want to understand the devil ancestor — everything about him. I've learned you're from the same generation, and that you're the only living being he still seems to fear and respect, despite his strength now surpassing yours."
AWT: "As well he should. I know full well he's responsible for the previous owner's death — he deliberately lured those calamitous beings into our infinite source world just to draw the previous owner away to face them alone. I watched it happen. That's why I've chosen to join this war — for the first time, we finally have the numbers to stand against him. And knowing Elishen, he won't back down easily. Ah, yes — that's his true name. The 'Elishen' you've encountered is only a cultivated second body, one that never managed to reach the original's full power."
Solanky felt a jolt of disbelief — when he'd first met Elishen, nothing about him had hinted that he was merely the devil ancestor's second body.