Chapter 309 – False Reality

Chaos appeared where Order was. 

The mass of oblivion concentrated on the eyeball that saw all. 

“Meaningless.”

“Why you so strongly believe in those delusions, I don’t know. We are the chosen, those who found Pronoia and Saboth before all others and took everything.”

“...You won’t understand until it’s too late. That’s just how you are.”

Chaos gave up, causing Order to scoff.

“Just you watch. They will bring everything to us. They will be their own end.”

“...Unlikely.”

The two went silent. 

The instance in Time felt so long. 

But it was soon interrupted. 

He saw Luna and Iris reappear within the throne room. 

And for a moment, he was sure of his thoughts. 

Until Time continued, and they vanished. 

Chaos saw this, and decided to leave. 

“It has been decided. It was meaningless…”

“...No.”

Order, unwilling to believe, vanished from his place. 

And his Will swept over the entirely of the Totality. 

All the universe, every concept and their worlds, and even the regions of nothingness. 

He searched it all in but an instant.

But they were nowhere to be found, 

Until Luna appeared before him. 

He focused on her. 

“You..!”

“It’s irritating, not being able to control me. I may be the first being in your existence to live beyond your absolute influence. And really, to think I could beat you before. I was naive.”

Luna sighed, but then smiled. 

“Thankfully I have it now. Origin Energy. Both of us now hold dominion over it. An infinite infinity. So, that makes us equal in every way.”

“...That may be true.”

Order narrowed its eye. 

“But you will never be able to expand throughout the universe. Your denizens will continue to be slaughtered, every uprising crushed. You will hold no true power. For eternity, you will be suppressed.”

“That’s if everything continues as you foresee it. With everything under your control, you indeed have the power to do that. But…”

She snickered. 

“There’s still a variable outside of your control. Did Chaos tell you about his visit from beyond existence?”

“Silence!”

Order roared. 

“There is nothing beyond me. There is nothing beyond the highest!”

“We won’t know that until Time continues. Keep your eye open, Order. And watch as your universe burns.”

Luna left with that statement, her existence vanishing from Order’s perception entirely. 

With rage, Order set his sights on the armies outside Tersa Prime, the armies of angels, demons, and gods that threatened to wipe out the remaining hold that Luna had on the universe. 

He gave a command. 

“Destroy them all!”

……

…

In a dark space, what was once the graveyard of the Archons…

Those founders of the universe no longer existed, their corpses no longer drifting in limbo. 

But the space was not empty. 

In the center of that fractured universe was a single sphere. It was invisible, and not even Luna or Iris could see it after becoming Order and Chaos. 

But it was there, and Dream appeared next to it. 

He approached the transparent sphere. 

“So this is where you were. Hiding in plain sight, huh?”

He chuckled before placing his hand against the sphere. 

And then, it changed. 

It became Earth, allowing Dream to see the planet’s birth and the conceptual forces that led to the evolution of humanity. 

Then, it became a star, glowing with hot blue radiance. 

Then, it transformed into conceptual world of Death. 

And Life…

And Creation…

And Annihilation…

It could become everything and anything. It could create and destroy. There were no bounds to its capabilities. 

But in a way, what it created was dependent on what already existed. It was a false copy, not the true thing. So although it could become the concept of Death, it was not Death. 

It was an empty shell, a mere vision of everything, but one that held the potential of all things. 

That meant Dream needed to fill this shell, this sphere, with all things that are real.

And for that, he would need help. He would need a medium that could spread throughout the universe, one that was himself yet also others. 

And there were four people that could help him perfectly. 

“Khroia is your lesser form. That between Order and Chaos, between Origin Energy and Null energy, higher than them… What would you be called?”

He pondered for a moment, and then, reached out. 

His core of Khroia, one that contained an entire machine world and many concepts, merged into the sphere. 

It all became transparent, but Dream could feel it. 

The incomplete form of that which was above all. 

It merged back into his body, becoming him. It merged with his mind, with the boundless infinity that comprised his existence, with all other abilities and concepts that he had ever accumulated throughout his life. 

And it became the final Skill that he would ever attain. 

<False Reality>

Dream smiled. 

“Good. Now, how about we go and make it complete? And this place… I suppose it’ll become our new home. With this, I can fulfill those wishes and promises that I wasn’t able to before.”

Reaching his hand out, his Will reached every corner of the fractured universe, the graveyard of the Archons.

And the paradoxes that had once rendered the Archons null, all of their invisible bounds and conceptual chains, were dispersed. 

The universe healed, becoming whole and infinite. Its fractures were kept as scars though, ones that would serve as an anchor and reminder for the past. 

“Before the fun stuff though, I should settle work first.”

Letting out a sigh, Dream took a step, disappearing from the Fractured Universe. 

And he reappeared in front of his machine world. 

A giant metal sphere the size of a star. 

It sat quietly, like an egg waiting to hatch. 

And Dream cracked it open. 

“It’s time.”

“The machine god responds. Hail.”

The voice of the machine world reverberated through space. 

Dream lowered himself to the planets surface. From it arose a throne, that cradled his body. 

From atop the world, Dream pointed. His gaze fell upon Tersa Prime and the armies that threatened to wipe it out. 

He smiled. 

“Let’s go to work.”

“Hail!”

With that command, the visible image of the world undulated. 

And then, it warped in on itself. What was left was a tiny black hole that momentarily disappeared. 

……

…

Luna’s Galactic Warriors. 

Melody’s Asuras.

Iris’ Chaos Eaters. 

The warriors amounted to a few hundred trillion. They had all manner of consumable devices packed with power, and countless weapons of all types forged by the best craftsmen were in their hands. 

Siege weapons blanketed the planet’s surface. Surface to orbit cannons set their sights on the invaders outside their atmosphere. 

Gods could feel their infinite power roil as they anticipated the worst to come. Demigods and the legions underneath them prepared themselves to die like cannon fodder. 

The End had come. 

It was a standoff between the universe and a single world that sought to defy it. 

For many hours, neither side moved. 

They awaited the orders of their true gods. 

And finally, they appeared. 

Beyond the angelic legions, the eyeball manifested, palpable rage roiling from its existence. Everyone could feel it through the concepts. 

Beyond the demonic legions, Chaos appeared. It’s image brought forth the fear of all its denizens. The most unhinged warriors would bow before that being of nuclear oblivion. 

Order and Chaos had entered the battlefield, but they were faced with being of equal strength. 

Luna and Iris appeared at the top of Tersa Prime within their throne room. But everyone could see their two figures, their image unable to be obstructed by mere physical obstacles. 

Tersa also appeared within the throne room. 

As the one who absorbed all the primary worlds of the Asura god clans, she had become the strongest primary world in the universe. 

Primary worlds were sentient worlds that had touched the concepts, taking hold of their infinite power. It was with Luna’s help that she became able to touch several concepts, simultaneously absorbing the concepts of the Asura primary worlds. 

And although she couldn’t use the concepts like a normal person, she could wield the power rof her concepts to directly aid the denizens of her world. Through her, even the lowest warriors would multiply their strength, their limits being broken. And demigods would attain a more thorough connection to the concepts through her, the magnitude of their infinite power increasing. 

Tersa throught herself to be the greatest singular world in the cosmos. She had never heard of another world with her level of infinite power, and now that the entire Asura faction had consolidated upon her, she surpassed even Heaven’s greatest worlds. 

Of course, before the armies of the universe, it all seemed futile. 

Unfortunately, Order and Chaos were here to make it worse. 

The eyeball, beyond its heavenly armies, let out its voice that reached all corners of the universe. 

“I call upon my Cosmic World, the Record of All Things.”

<The Record responds.>

With his word, all the denizens of the universe, both of heaven and hell, felt their souls respond. 

Their power that was granted and codified by the System, including even the god cores and conceptual infinities, bowed to the ultimate power of the universe. 

The Record, the all powerful System. 

It wasn’t a cosmic wonder. 

It was the Cosmic World of Order himself. 

Luna narrowed her eyes while Tersa felt the situation become worse. 

“What’s a Cosmic World?”

She asked Luna, who answered simply. 

“A world that has surpassed the bounds of primary worlds. One that doesn’t just wield the power of concepts, but becomes a concept. It is not just a conceptual world, but one that can manifest within the universe. Since the gods of Heaven and Hell never had control of any concept, they were unable to create them. So only Order could create one, and it took the form of the Record. A world bonded to him directly.”

“...Well, I guess I was naive for thinking I was the best.”

Tersa smiled wryly. But then, Luna looked at her. 

As she pondered, Chaos spoke similar words. 

“I call upon my Cosmic World, the Lineage of Nothing.”

Her words garnered a response amidst the darkness of space. 

Phantoms began to appear, like zombies rising from the dead. Demons and angels manifested by the trillion, multiplying the size of the armies around Tersa Prime. 

This time, Alice appeared within the throne room, her gaze curious. 

“Calling upon those who have existed in the days bygone, and those who will exist in the coming ages. All the warriors of the past, present, and future have arrived, their existences pulled from the eternal void of Nothing.”

These armies of Time amounted to several times more than what was present, turning the hundreds of trillions into quadrillions that completely engulfed Tersa Prime. Not a single ray of light from the nearby star fell upon the world. 

Another blow that turned the situation more hopeless than it already was. 

But then…

“Tersa.”

“Hm?”

Luna called, and her clear gaze made Tersa regain some hope.

“Become my Cosmic World.”

“Uh, what? Can I do that?”

“If I want you to. Nothing is impossible for me.”

“...”

Tersa went silent. Her womanly figure that had been crafted through her experiences with Dream looked conflicted. 

“Don’t worry.”

Luna grabbed Tersa’s hand. 

“You aren’t betraying Dream. Through this you will be elevated, becoming a world directly bonded with Order. So when the time comes to see Dream again, you’ll be someone who can stand proud beside him knowing that you have what it takes to be of service.”

“...I understand.”

Tersa nodded. 

“I’ll do it.”

“Good. Then, let the transformation begin.”

Tersa’s figure shone with great light. 

Then, she warped into a small seed. Luna took this seed and dropped it. 

It hit the ground, and with an explosion, engulfed half the world with its power. 

The power of the seed filled the core of the world, and it grew. 

From space, one could see Luna’s castle transform into a massive tree. Its body was the purest silver that had the veins of Life glow with blue across its body, and from its branches sprouted beautiful green leaves with similar blue lines of Life. 

This tree grew to colossal proportions. Its roots spread across the surface of the world, its power taking in all the trillions of asura, galactic, and chaos warriors that waited for the battle. 

The tree soon surpassed the size of the planet itself, its canopy rising into the darkness of space. Yet despite no light from the nearby star hitting it, it glowed with wonderful radiance that could be seen through all obstacles. 

Soon enough, the planet could no longer be seen, having been entirely consumed. Yet the tree continued to grow. 

The legions of the universe were pushed back as it grew, unable to fight the infinite power of its growth. 

And it grew to the size of a dozen exoplanets. Its size was about half that of the nearby star.  

Only then did it stop growing. 

Of course, Order and Chaos could see more than what met the eye. 

Within the tree, every warrior and person that resided on Tersa Prime was taken within the conceptual existence that was the tree. Then, they all became small leaves that sprouted on the branches of the tree. 

After the leaves sprouted, the figures of all the warriors appeared. Realizing the changes, they all roared in praise of their sovereign. 

At the same time, a universe appeared within the tree, and through the roots it spawned worlds and stars to fill the infinite conceptual void within the Cosmic World. 

<The World Tree>

Luna made her declarations. 

“The Asuras shall be the sword of the heavens, attaining wings and living within the canopy amongst the gods. 

“Humanity shall be the body, living within the First Root of the Cosmic World Tree. The Elves, Dwarves, Beasts, and Humans, shall each have a world within this mortal Root. 

“There shall be a Root of the Souls that contains all of the deceased and cycles them into the Trunk. The Trunk shall contain a world of warriors, those of valiance, legend, and virtue that receive a chance to attain great power.”

“And I get the Third Root!”

Iris interrupted, and from her body the power of Chaos surged. 

“I call upon my Chaos Eaters, become my Cosmic World.”

With a wave of her hand, all her horrific metal monsters of chaos, that both allies and enemies feared, appeared before her. 

Then, they all began to devour each other. The small battlefield of her monsters rapidly dwindled as they all conglomerated into a single figure. 

By the time the fights ended, there was a single being standing. 

It wasn’t recognizable by anything other than gods. It was a being of pure Chaos, resembling the worst of the universes horror and fear. 

Iris smiled. 

<Universal Parasite>

“That which eats and destroys everything, the embodiment of Greed, Gluttony, Pride, Wrath, Lust, Envy, and Sloth. The Great Corruptor of the Universe.”

Iris smiled as she watched her Universal Parasite writhe across all dimensions, its body pulsing with the power of all that was hated by Order. 

And, she pointed.

“Go eat.”

The Parasite responded by warping its location, appearing outside the Third Root of Luna’s World Tree. 

And then, it chomped down on that colossal root that contained a portion of Luna’s universe. 

Worlds were generated by its power, worlds that resembled hell’s battlefields. And on top of those worlds, creatures of Chaos were born, ones that sought to infect the World Tree. 

But Iris knew that there was a war to fight beyond the Tree, so the Parasite also birthed more Chaos Eaters. There were fewer than before, but every single one of them were massive, containing power that was magnitudes greater than the other minions. 

Now…

Luna and Iris, both with their own Cosmic Worlds that were drecctly bound to Order and Chaos. 

The warriors of the World Tree, the Asuras with new wings, left the canopy of the Tree and fearlessly faced their enemies alongside the Chaos Eaters. 

All of them wielded power that couldn’t be compared to before. Even the gods received the support of Order through the World Tree and Tersa who became that Tree. 

But, even through all this, their enemy still surpassed them. 

Order and Chaos of heaven and hell watched the transformations take place. It didn’t take long despite the vast changes. 

Now, with the battlefield set…

Order commanded. 

“Destroy them all!”

“...Go.”

Chaos ordered as well, but with far less care.

And with their words, the countless warriors of heaven and hell, the countless angels and demons, went to face the Asuras and Chaos Eaters. 

Luna and Iris also commanded their troops who went to face their enemies. 

And they clashed. 

The Chaos Eaters tore apart millions at a time, and the Asuras could vaporize hundreds of thousands with a single swing of the sword. 

Tersa, who could see everything happen with eyes that reached every corner of the universe, was shocked. 

The two armies were actually equal. 

Luna and Iris, who now had the power of Order and Chaos, were equal with their enemies who also had the power of infinite infinity. 

They were no longer disadvantaged. 

But, they were still in a stalemate. The battle raged, but all the myriads of forces that worked in the dark of the battle were equal. 

For Tersa, it was a massive turn of events. They went from hopeless to equal in the blink of an eye. That’s what it meant for Luna and Iris to attain true Order and Chaos. 

But despite that…

Luna sighed. 

“Sure enough…”

“Only the variable can push things one way or another, huh?”

Iris mumbled with a smile. If it were left like this, the battle would last for an eternity. Eventually, Luna and Iris would expand across the cosmos and take over half the universe, eternally battling their equal enemies. 

But, there was someone who was beyond the forces of Order and Chaos. 

The variable that could give one side an advantage, yet couldn’t be controlled by either. 

Luna smiled as she felt his power undulate beside the battlefield. 

“It took him long enough. Now, what did he bring this time?”

She turned, and her vision was pulled toward the man who sat on a throne of machine and steel.