The entire universe is watching with abated breaths. A cataclysmic event with two Aeons sending their gazes down was something to be expected from Nous' four Instants—cataclysmic events destined to affect the future of the entire universe.
The thing is…
It is not a part of Nous' four Instants of the universe.
Tick.
Tock.
Click.
The sounds of cogs meshing together resounded as the Droidhead's gaze penetrated deeply into Amphoreus. All falsehoods shattered under its overwhelming might, revealing Amphoreus' true situation. The barrier that stood for four hours, twenty-three minutes, and fifteen seconds faced its collapse.
In an instant, everything that has occurred was analyzed, recounted, and stored inside Erudition. The dim red glow of THEIR eyes remained as a mortal… no, an immortal cultivator faced it head-on.
A metaphorical sword, holding all of his beliefs, manifested in the form of a pitch black dao. It held the Dao present in his Tao Heart; the power to rewrite endings through the power of All Creation.
Nous' actions became the precedent.
Hum~!
An unfamiliar, irregular, and discordant rhythm flowed within the endless void. It is chaotic, yet it held a special Order that Harmonized all things.
The Aeon of Harmony, Xipe.
The immortal's golden pupils gleamed as he met THEIR gaze. The rhythm brought by the three-faced Aeon did not affect his Tao Heart, much less his unchanging nature.
Rumble-!
Then, there was the rumbling of volcanoes. The spilling of golden blood. The roars of the lives reaped by calamitous Destruction.
For the third time, Nanook's gaze landed onto Amphoreus.
If not for the immortal blocking THEIR way, it would have succumbed to an enhanced version of the Black Tide right at this moment.
"One more."
THEY weren't surprised by his words. Everyone, save for Nous, are all related to this universe's Finality. It is only natural that one more Aeon would descend, save for Remembrance.
And so THEY came.
The origin of the Black Sun.
The cause of endless tragedies… of endless meaninglessness.
The Aeon most fated with the immortal.
IX.
Four Aeons, each representing a possibility towards Finality. THEIR gazes intertwined, all because of the once prospective immortal cultivator.
"A chance to shatter this universe's predetermined Finality. I will show them to you."
No vague words, no poetic phrases.
Pure and direct.
That was how Shi Tian chose to communicate with these Aeons.
At first, his worldview was narrow. He viewed these Aeons as potential enemies, one that would threaten everything he held dear.
The truth revealed by Remembrance suggested another possibility.
THEY are scrutinizing Shi Tian, for THEY are finding possibilities of shattering the advent of Finality. THEIR methods may clash—Shi Tian might experience THEIR malice—but it is a fact that none are willing to accept Terminus' arrival as the universe's endpoint and beginnings.
THEY seek purely not to go against Shi Tian, but the brand new possibility he could bring to this world trapped in a false cycle—an eternal samsara with scale so large it was unheard of.
"Take a step back. Just this once. That is all I ask for."
Responses did not come. THEY gaze lingered for a second longer before THEY retracted them. Shi Tian watched THEM—the place THEY originated from—as THEY did so.
If the real universe is the mortal realm, the place THEY are located is the spirit realm.
What was strange was THEIR dimensionality.
It remains in the eleventh dimension.
It goes beyond the existence of Dao Integration Realm experts whose weight spans beyond mere eleven dimensions.
Hence, Shi Tian confirmed one conjecture more and more.
'This world is flawed… and THEY are trying to fix it by surpassing Finality.'
He set aside this startling discovery as he saw the Aeons disperse one by one. The gazes of several other Aeons flickered every now and then, but THEIR presence is not as pronounced and as blatant as the first four.
Though their intentions remain unknown, he had said his piece.
His tense nerves relaxed slightly as Shi Tian grasped a paper-like talisman. Four other talismans floated around his right hand as they rotated slowly. The mystic light they gave off is more than enough to match the intensity of an Aeon's gaze, if not slightly surpass it.
On his left hand is a set of miniature formation flags. A hexagonal disk rests atop his palm. The small flags hovered above it, their positions shifted every single moment.
Five eight-grade Talismans;
One eight-grade formation;
80% authority to the Remembrance Path;
And his active eight-grade Tao Heart.
These were Shi Tian's confidence in stripping off the universe's memories.
The first two came from the golden orb's daily draws. His eight-grade items exceeded a hundred. Eight-grade talismans can all be used normally despite his limited cultivation. It was the eight-grade formation that challenged Shi Tian. Ultimately, he can only operate on one formation at a time, lest he would have stacked it with the two remaining eighth-grade formations that he possessed.
'The second is to create. The third spells extinction.'
One of his future projection's words popped up at this opportune moment.
'Three calamities. Tribulation Transcendence. To create… was it to assist the Imaginary Tree from its tribulation?'
From Otto's final performance, Kiana managed to gouge out the Imaginary Tree's cultivation equivalent: above that of Dao Integration Realm, but below the Tribulation Transcendence Realm.
A half-step Tribulation Transcendence Realm, per se.
'Then this Dao Integration feat of mine…'
Shi Tian inexplicably felt that it was connected to his second tribulation. He could only sigh at this "protagonist treatment" that he had once looked down upon.
Others confront their tribulations at the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, but he confronts them at the Dao Integration Realm.
His saving grace was that the "tribulations" scale with his current strength. It is infinitely times better to face a life-and-death scenario at his Dao Integration Realm breakthrough. If its death rate was 60%, then the Tribulation Transcendence equivalent was 99%.
Had it not been for this, reality would have been long filled with True Immortals.
'Perhaps, this is the biggest cheat given to me.'
It was his limited worldview that led him to flawed assumptions. Everything started making sense after discovering this universe's biggest secret.
Spiritual qi surged out of the talismans, emanating a profound meaning of Dao. The world around him was rewritten in an instant as patches of grass appeared out of the void.
As the master of these powers, Shi Tian sensed their overwhelming might.
He looked at the world he had stayed in for a thousand years. Its brilliance was reflected in his pupils.
'See you tomorrow, Amphoreus.'
*****
A/N: Next chapter will mark the end of Amphoreus' Arc 1. There will be a breathing time, Tian's punishments (sucked dry), and the cultivation towards the end of Void Refinement Realm. After that, we'll have another peak showdown with Tian's coming self-coronation...