Across the myriad anime dimensions, people stared at the TOP 1 title in shock.
Eternal, immeasurable, the beginning of all things...
Could it be that the TOP 1 divine beast—the one standing at the very summit above all gods—was a God of Life?
Otherwise, why would it be called the beginning of all things?
Didn't that mean the creation of all things?
The countless viewers thought back over all the divine beasts that had appeared in the ranking series so far, and sure enough, not a single one had anything to do with life.
There had been no God of Life.
Not even Mew, the ancestor of all Pokémon, counted. All Pokémon merely inherited their genes from it.
It was not the one that created all things.
Combining all those clues, the eyes of the viewers across the anime dimensions grew brighter and brighter. They felt certain they had guessed right.
That damn author had always loved playing tricks with the clickbait titles in the past.
Always dangling people by the throat.
But this time, before the video had even started, everyone had already figured out what authority the divine beast being ranked controlled.
It had to be a divine beast that governed the authority of life.
At the very least, it had to be related to all life, the existence that created all life in the Pokémon world.
They were extremely certain.
However...
there were also some viewers across the dimensions who did not agree with that guess.
Dragon Ball World...Universe 7...Supreme Kai Planet
The East Supreme Kai, the only remaining Supreme Kai of Universe 7, had the same first thought when he saw the title—he also assumed it was a divine beast that governed the authority of life.
But he felt that something was off.
Looking at the cover, although it was pitch-black, it gave him a strange sensation, a kind of familiarity, as though it was very close to his own power.
Ling Cage World
"Boss, the divine beast they're about to rank is definitely one that governs the authority of life. It has to be connected to the birth of all things."
Xia Dou looked like she had already seen through everything.
Bai Yuekui shook her head. "Don't jump to conclusions so quickly. Haven't we been slapped in the face by the author enough times already? In the last ranking video, when Necrozma first appeared, everyone thought it governed the authority of a black hole. Who would've thought it would be the complete opposite? It was the God of Light."
"Oh... right, that does seem true."
"Just keep watching. Won't the answer be revealed soon enough?"
Every world had its own discussions and opinions about the TOP 1 title.
Overall, they split into two camps.
One camp believed the divine beast about to appear had to govern life, the existence that created all the Pokémon in the Pokémon world, as well as forests, flowers, trees, mountains, rivers, and lakes.
The other camp believed they had already been slapped in the face too many times by the author and held the opposite view.
If one had to say where the argument was fiercest—
it was, of course, in the Pokémon world.
After all, this was the ranking video of their own world.
They clicked into the TOP 1 ranking video. The screen was still dark, and the video had not officially begun yet.
But the chat area had already exploded into intense discussion.
Bug Catcher: Big shots, what do you think? Shouldn't we take a guess at what authority this divine beast is about to control?
[Lance]: Hah... looking at the title, the TOP 1 divine beast probably won't destroy the world. After all, "the beginning of all things" sounds like the creation of all things.
[Professor Birch]: Yeah, I think so too. This TOP 1 divine beast should be the one that governs "life," the existence that created all things in our world.
Cynthia: Whether from our archaeological discoveries or from the divine beasts that have appeared in RIN Aokawa's ranking series, there still hasn't been a divine beast that governs "life." This TOP 1 is very likely the one that created all things, the existence that gave birth to life, forests, and vegetation.
[Professor Oak]: That should be right. Time, space, daylight, night, ideals, reality... all these conceptual things have corresponding divine beasts. There's no reason "life" wouldn't have one too.
[Gary Oak]: Agreed. "The beginning of all things" means the beginning of all things, the beginning of life, doesn't it? If this isn't the God of Life, then what else could it be?
[Leon]: This title makes me feel slightly relieved. Since it's "the beginning of all things," then that means it won't destroy the world. Our world should be fine.
When the trainers of the Pokémon world saw the TOP 1 title, they truly let out a huge sigh of relief.
The beginning of all things.
What a great title!!!
If it had instead been "the end of all things," it would have scared them to death. This title was good. It meant the TOP 1 divine beast would not destroy the world.
[Goh]: Wahahaha, didn't expect this, huh? I have tons of dimensional coins, so I'm back again!! TOP 1 divine beast, huh? I wonder what kind of existence it'll be. I wonder if I'll be able to catch it.
[Goh]: By the way, how are you all so sure that "the beginning of all things" means it won't destroy the world??
[Goh]: If it destroys the world first, then lets the world give birth to life all over again—mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, and vegetation—wouldn't that also count as "the beginning of all things"?? Isn't rebirth the opposite side of destruction?
Silence...
Utter silence...
The chat area, which had been flying by with dense messages just moments ago, suddenly went quiet.
[Goh]: Huh? Why isn't anyone talking again?
[Leon]: I fucking—
[Professor Birch]: Get lost already, you bastard.
[Lance]: You've done this over and over again. I've already found your address. Kanto region. Just you wait.
Looking at that idiot named Goh's words—
everyone panicked all over again.
Holy shit, that actually made sense.
Destroy the world first, then let it give birth to life all over again—wouldn't that also count as "the beginning of all things"?
Professor Oak and the others felt their mentality starting to collapse.
They could only silently pray—
please don't let it be what that idiot Goh said.
For god's sake, don't let it be that TOP 10 through TOP 2 all turned out fine, even though they went through a lot of twists and turns and none of the worlds were destroyed—
only for TOP 1 to come along and really destroy the world.
However...
in the Pokémon world, there was indeed a group of beings who truly knew the identity of the divine beast about to be ranked.
And those were—
all the first-tier divine beasts.
Especially Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina in subspace. Their eyes all shone brightly.
Just from the title, they already knew who was about to be ranked.
If there was no TOP 0 after TOP 1—
then it absolutely had to be that one.
At last—
under the eager anticipation of the audiences across the myriad anime dimensions,
and under the uneasy hearts of all the trainers in the Pokémon world,
the TOP 1 ranking video officially began to play.
All members of the dimensional platform entered immersive viewing mode.
In the pitch-black world before them, subtitles appeared.
[Inventory of the Top Ten Strongest Divine Beasts]
[TOP 1: Eternal, Immeasurable, the Beginning of All Things]
[— RIN Aokawa]
The familiar opening subtitles flashed past in the center of the black world.
And that meant—
the TOP 1 ranking had begun.
The opening subtitles faded.
The scene appeared...
In immersive mode, everyone found themselves standing within a sea of chaos.
Before them was a planet.
In immersive mode, everyone found themselves standing within a sea of chaos.
Before them was a planet.
The planet was blue, slowly rotating in the darkness.
This should have been the Pokémon world.
And just as everyone was wondering why the camera was focused on the whole planet—
all of them suddenly widened their eyes.
It was as though they had just witnessed something horrifying!!
They saw—
before the eyes of everyone across the anime dimensions—
a beam of energy slammed straight down into that blue planet from above.
The next second—
endless brilliant flames erupted, and a terrifying shockwave raged through the cosmos. Everywhere it passed, ripples spread out, destroying everything.
The planet shattered. Countless gigantic chunks of rock howled through their bodies, then shot off toward every corner of the universe.
The viewers across the anime dimensions stared with wide eyes.
The planet was gone!!!
The spot where that blue planet had just been—
was now empty.
Holy shit, was this really how the TOP 1 ranking video was opening? Was the opening really this insane? It just destroyed an entire planet right away?
"Th-This... this is way too terrifying. An entire world just vanished." In the One Piece world, Whitebeard was horrified. The scene was so goddamn terrifying his heart almost couldn't take it.
"B-B-Boss, the world got destroyed..." In the Ling Cage world, Xia Dou's face had gone deathly pale. The Pokémon world got destroyed? At that moment, she suddenly felt that her own world was actually pretty safe. Sure, there were countless Devourers lurking outside, but that was still better than having the whole world destroyed.
"The Pokémon world got destroyed? Holy shit, what was that beam? One move and the entire Pokémon world was gone?" In the Dragon Ball world, Bulma and the others felt their scalps go numb.
"Hahaha, shattering planets—just as expected, fireworks like that are the most beautiful. But a planet exploding in the Pokémon world... somehow it looks even more shocking, even prettier." In the Dragon Ball world, Frieza laughed wildly. Destroying planets was his favorite thing to do.
"So this... is what the destruction of a world looks like." In the Bleach world, Aizen's eyes were filled with shock. What a terrifying sight this was.
The people of the other worlds were equally horrified, their hearts flooded with endless shock.
Wasn't TOP 1 supposed to be "the beginning of all things"?
Then what the hell was with opening the video by showing the Pokémon world being destroyed!?
Pokémon World...
All the trainers had their mouths hanging open, their pupils dilated, their eyes out of focus, while endless fear rose in their hearts.
They stared blankly at the image.
Gone.
The Pokémon world was gone.
Holy fucking shit.
In the future, the Pokémon world really did get destroyed.
What the hell was that beam of energy!?
Professor Oak and the others stared fixedly at the screen. Then their pupils shrank. Above the universe, they saw a vague figure.
It was bathed in golden light. They could not observe its true existence at all, nor could they make out its exact appearance.
They were horrified.
The Pokémon world had actually been destroyed by a living being.
That creature had used that beam of energy to destroy the entire world in one strike.
And judging from how it looked—
destroying a planet did not seem to have cost it much effort at all.
Even Eternatus, ranked TOP 3, would have to use Eternabeam and go all out if it wanted to destroy the world.
A creature that could destroy a planet this easily—
could only be...
TOP 1, right?
But wasn't TOP 1 supposed to be the beginning of all things!?
They couldn't take it anymore.
They really couldn't take it anymore.
It was over. It really was just like that idiot Goh had said.
The beginning of all things—
meant destroying everything first, then letting it all begin anew.
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