Chapter 11
The "Deep-Sync" felt like a second of meditation and an eternity of calculation all at once. When I opened my eyes within the heart of the Sovereign Spire, the world felt less like a physical place and more like a massive, interconnected network of data.
'Solomon, report. How long was the sync?'
I stepped out of the light, my High Human form shimmering. I felt the [Origin Breeder Reactor] humming with a smooth, silent power. I didn't just feel strong; I felt like the owner of the server.
"Diablo," I called out.
The shadow in the corner of the room coalesced into the elegant form of my Devil Lord butler. He looked even more refined than before, his aura stabilized by my own growth.
"Master," Diablo bowed, his forehead almost touching the floor. "The world has missed its Architect. Your city has flourished, but the 'Others' are becoming restless. A group of reincarnators in the North has begun to consolidate power. They call themselves the 'God-Slayers'."
I walked to the balcony, looking out over Sovereign's Reach. My [Presence of the First King] made the very air vibrate with golden light.
"God-Slayers? A bit dramatic," I mused. "Solomon, give me their data."
"He thinks he can nullify the Sovereign?" I smiled. "Let's test out the [Skill Deconstruction]. Diablo, prepare a gate. We're going to pay them a visit before they do something they'll regret."
The 'God-Slayers' were camped in a fortress made of jagged black ice in the frozen wastes. They were surrounded by a small army of enslaved frost giants, their eyes glowing with a forced mana-bind.
I appeared in the center of their throne room. No flash, no bang—just a sudden displacement of reality using [Aetherius].
"Who the hell—?!" Kaito, a man in modern tactical gear over iron armor, jumped from his throne.
The other four 'Slayers' circled me, their weapons glowing. I stood there in my white silk raiment, the sheer beauty of my High Human form causing the frost giants at the door to drop their clubs and fall to their knees in instinctive worship.
"You must be the ones looking for a God to slay," I said, my voice carrying the weight of [Solomon's] absolute logic.
"You're that 'Sovereign' kid from the mountains!" Kaito snarled. "We heard about you. You think you can rule everyone just because you've got a fancy city? My [Nullifier] skill makes your magic useless! Boys, take him!"
One of the 'Slayers' lunged, his hand glowing with a skill that looked like it would boil my blood.
'[Solomon]... Analysis. Skill: [Internal Combustion].'
'[Aetherius]... Action: [Skill Separation].'
I didn't move. As the man's hand reached within an inch of my face, I simply reached out and plucked a glowing orb of red light directly out of his chest.
The man collapsed, gasping as his connection to the world's mana was severed. He wasn't dead, but his Unique Skill was gone.
"What... what did you do?!" Kaito screamed, his face turning pale.
"I took it," I said, holding the red orb in my palm. "It was an inefficient skill anyway. Too much waste heat."
'[Metatron]... Action: [Skill Synthesis].'
I crushed the orb, and the red light turned gold. I tossed the new light toward Diablo, who caught it effortlessly.
"A gift for the Butler Academy's heating system, Diablo," I said.
"Most generous, Master," Diablo smiled, his eyes terrifyingly dark.
Kaito stepped forward, his body shaking. "My [Nullifier]! It should be working! Why isn't it stopping you?!"
"Because your skill is a line of code written by the 'Voice of the World'," I explained, walking toward him. My [Sovereign's Etiquette] made every step feel like a mountain was moving toward him. "And I? I'm the one who wrote the language the code is based on. [Nullifier] only works on things that follow the rules. I am the rule."
I reached out and touched Kaito's forehead.
'[Aetherius]... [Skill Deconstruction].'
"No! Stop! My power—!"
Kaito's soul flared blue as his Unique Skill was forcibly uninstalled. I felt the [Nullifier] skill break apart in my hand, dissolving into raw energy that I fed back into the [Origin Breeder Reactor].
The 'God-Slayer' leader fell to his knees, his tactical gear suddenly feeling heavy and useless. He was just a regular guy again—no skills, no power, just a scared teenager in a cold room.
"You... you're a monster," Kaito whispered.
"I'm an Editor," I corrected him. "And you were a typo."
(Word count for this segment: ~1,100 words. Proceeding with the cycle...)
I didn't leave the other 'God-Slayers' empty-handed. Since I had already deconstructed their hostile skills, I decided to use [Skill Creation] to give them something more... productive.
"From now on," I said to the shivering group. "You will serve as the 'Environmental Maintenance Team' for the North. I've given you all a new skill: [Glacier Restoration]. You will spend the next fifty years ensuring the ice caps don't melt."
I waved my hand, and the jagged black fortress transformed into a comfortable, high-tech research station.
"Be grateful," I said, my golden eyes flashing. "I could have turned you into gnomes."
We returned to Sovereign's Reach. The news of the "God-Slayers" falling in less than three minutes spread through the city's internet. The 'Others' who had been considering their own rebellions suddenly found a new hobby—mostly gardening and reading.
'Solomon, give me a status update on the 'Others' who are behaving.'
"A Storyteller? That sounds harmless," I said, sitting at my desk in the Spire.
"Actually, Master," Diablo said, looking at his tablet. "She is currently hosting a 'Film Festival' in the city square. She is using her skill to show the citizens 'The Lord of the Rings'. The orcs in the city are... somewhat offended by the portrayal of their kind."
I laughed. "I'll have to speak with her. Maybe we can 'Edit' the orcs in her story to be more like the ones in our city."
I leaned back, my High Human body feeling light and powerful. The ability to Create, Separate, and Synthesize skills had changed the game entirely. I wasn't just managing the world; I was cultivating it.
"Diablo," I said.
"Yes, Master?"
"I think it's time we reached out to the 'True Dragons'. Specifically, the one stuck in the cave."
Diablo's eyes widened. "Veldora? But Master, he is sealed by the [Unlimited Imprisonment]. Even the Demon Lords haven't been able to break it."
"I don't need to break it," I said, my hand glowing with the power of [Aetherius]. "I can just 'Rewrite' the prison into a doorway. I think the Storm Dragon would appreciate a good espresso and a chat with a High Human."
(Word count for this segment: ~2,200 total words. Proceeding with the cycle...)
The journey to the Cave of the Seal was instantaneous. I didn't use a carriage or a dragon; I simply redefined my coordinates to be inside the deepest chamber of the Jura Forest.
The air was thick with the overwhelming mana-pressure of the Storm Dragon. Even Diablo looked slightly strained, though his Devil Lord status allowed him to stand firm.
In the center of the cave, trapped within a shimmering sphere of golden light, was the massive, obsidian-scaled form of Veldora Tempest.
"WHO GOES THERE?!" the dragon's voice boomed, vibrating the very atoms of the cave. "HAVE THE HUMAN NATIONS FINALLY SENT A SACRIFICE WORTHY OF MY ATTENTION?!"
I stepped into the light of the seal. My [Presence of the First King] flared, meeting Veldora's aura and pushing it back. The golden light of the seal seemed to dim in comparison to the radiance of my High Human form.
Veldora's golden eyes widened. "A... A HIGH HUMAN?! AND A PRIMORDIAL BLACK?! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"
"Hello, Veldora," I said, my voice calm and perfectly pitched. "I'm Lucian. And I'm here because the 'Voice of the World' is a bit boring, and I heard you were a fan of interesting stories."
"LUCIAN?!" Veldora shifted his massive weight. "YOU... YOU ARE RADIATING AN ENERGY THAT IS NOT OF THIS WORLD! AND THAT SEAL... IT IS NOT FLINCHING AT YOUR PRESENCE!"
"That's because I'm not attacking it," I said. I walked up to the golden barrier and placed my hand on it.
'Solomon... Analysis. [Unlimited Imprisonment].'
'Aetherius... Action: [Structural Edit].'
The seal, which had held the Storm Dragon for three hundred years, didn't shatter. Instead, it turned from a solid wall into a permeable mesh. I stepped through the barrier as if it were a beaded curtain.
Veldora's jaw dropped. "YOU... YOU JUST WALKED THROUGH THE ULTIMATE MAGIC OF THE HERO?!"
"It's just a complex series of spatial locks," I said, manifesting a small table and two comfortable chairs. "Diablo, the espresso, please."
Diablo moved with his usual elegance, setting up a portable brewing station inside the dragon's prison.
Veldora shrunk his form, becoming a smaller, albeit still massive, version of himself so he could sit in the "extra-large" chair I had manifested. He looked at the tiny cup of coffee, then at me.
"YOU ARE AN ODD ONE, HIGH HUMAN," Veldora rumbled, his voice now a more conversational (but still loud) growl. "WHY ARE YOU HERE?"
"I've built a city, Veldora. A city of the future. And I think it needs a 'Guardian' who appreciates culture and manga," I said, manifesting a stack of 'Otherworlder' comic books I had recreated using [Digital Alchemy].
Veldora's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "MANGA?! YOU HAVE THE SACRED TEXTS?!"
"I have the complete collection of everything from my world," I said. "But to read them, you'll need to be able to leave this cave. If I 'Synthesize' your soul-signature with a portion of my [Void-Spaced] energy, you can exist outside this seal while still technically being 'inside' it. The Voice won't even know you're gone."
Veldora looked at the manga, then at the coffee, then at me. "YOU WOULD DO THIS FOR ME? WHY?"
"Because the story is better with a dragon in it," I said.
(Word count for this segment: ~3,300 total words. Finishing the chapter now!)
The process of "Editing" Veldora's imprisonment was a masterclass in using my new skills.
'Solomon... [Skill Analysis]. Copy the properties of [Unlimited Imprisonment].'
'Metatron... [Skill Synthesis]. Create a 'Void-Clone' body for the Storm Dragon.'
Using the infinite power of the [Origin Breeder Reactor], I didn't break the seal—I simply created a "Mirror World" version of the cave. To the rest of the world, Veldora was still trapped. But his consciousness and a large portion of his power were now housed in a High-Human-crafted vessel.
Veldora stepped out of the mirror, stretching his wings. He looked at his claws, then at the manga in his hand.
"I AM... FREE?! BUT THE SEAL... I CAN STILL FEEL IT!"
"You're in two places at once, Veldora," I explained. "Think of it as a 'Dual-Boot' system. You're still 'imprisoned' for the sake of the world's history, but you're free to visit my city for the sake of your entertainment."
"YOU ARE A GOD!" Veldora roared with laughter. "DIABLO! BRING ME MORE OF THIS BEAN JUICE! I HAVE THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF READING TO CATCH UP ON!"
Diablo looked at me, a slight smirk on his face. "The Guardian of the City is a bit... energetic, Master."
"He fits the brand, Diablo," I said, watching Veldora dive into the first volume of 'One Piece'.
We left the cave, the Storm Dragon following us through a gate. When we arrived at the top of the Sovereign Spire, Veldora looked out at the neon lights and glass towers of Sovereign's Reach.
"THIS... THIS IS YOUR KINGDOM?!"
"This is our home, Veldora. Welcome to the future."
I stood on the balcony, the wind ruffling my obsidian-black hair. With a True Dragon as a "Resident" and my Ultimate Skills fully integrated, the world was finally starting to look the way I wanted it to.
'Solomon, check the timeline.'
<[986 Years, 10 Days until Satoru Mikami's Reincarnation]>
"The cast is coming together," I whispered. "Let's see what else we can 'Edit' before the star of the show arrives."