Ray's mutation energy surged rapidly, flowing out of his body and seeping deep into the ground below.
Beneath the surface lay a massive underground bunker filled with countless totems. Millions of them stretched endlessly as far as the eye could see, all neatly arranged in bundles.
The totems varied in shape—some resembled turtles, others cobras, and even a few were shaped like humans.
As Ray's mutation energy reached them, the totems began to glow brightly, their intricate designs coming to life.
One by one, they activated, until millions of them were lit simultaneously, radiating an intense and synchronised energy.
Zhh! Shing!
A strange, resonant sound echoed through the surroundings, an otherworldly vibration emanating from the activated totems.
In the room where Ray faced the wolf, flashes of brilliant light burst upward from the ground, illuminating the space in an almost blinding display.
"Hmm," Ray muttered, effortlessly dodging every ferocious attack the three-metre, two-legged wolf threw at him. His movements were so fast that they were imperceptible, surpassing the speed of light at his peak. There was almost nothing in existence that could touch him.
The wolf swiped wildly with its claws, undeterred by the blinding flashes of light around them. Yet no matter how ferociously it attacked, its claws never found their mark. Ray's speed rendered him untouchable.
Still, the wolf seemed unfazed by its misses, its bloodshot eyes filled with madness as it continued its relentless assault.
Then, without warning, the wolf froze in place.
Two metres away, Ray's figure materialised, standing casually with his head tilted slightly as he observed the beast.
"Why did you stop?" he asked, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "Isn't it fun anymore?"
The wolf crouched low, its body nearly touching the ground, its pupils fixed intently on Ray with the gleam of a calculating predator. Its muscles coiled tightly, ready to strike.
Without a sound, it lunged violently, its talon slashing through the air with terrifying precision and speed.
The first swipe connected with a sharp crack, the edge of its talon grazing Ray's skin just as his figure blurred and vanished into near invisibility.
Drip!
A bead of crimson blood slid down the wolf's claws, falling to the ground and staining it vividly.
"Khakagaka," the wolf cackled, tilting its head back toward the ceiling, its voice echoing amidst the bright light. It seemed to mock Ray.
"It's time to stop playing around," Ray said calmly, his figure appearing further away, his expression as nonchalant as ever.
The moment he reappeared, the wolf leaped at him with startling ferocity, its jaws wide open and claws poised to strike.
"You're getting ahead of yourself," Ray sneered. In an instant, he was directly in front of the wolf, his fist driving forward to meet its snout.
Bang!
The impact echoed through the space, shattering the void with its power. Despite the strength behind it, the wolf's head didn't burst as expected. Instead, it retaliated, swinging its claws violently as a swirling dark orb manifested between them.
Thump! Thump!
"It attacked my genes," Ray realised with clarity.
Genes, in simple terms, are sequences of DNA. A typical human body contains around twenty to twenty-five thousand genes, and these sequences define the physical characteristics of a person.
For a Celestial being who has surpassed the limits of their genes, the genetic material in their body becomes essentially limitless. As they grow stronger, their genes grow alongside them. Each gene not only defines the characteristics of their body but also governs the vast power contained within.
This is what allows Celestial beings to possess infinite strength, speed, and other abilities—their genes evolve perpetually with their growth. However, the moment that attack grazed Ray, a strange energy seeped into him, directly disrupting all of his countless genes.
"No, it isn't as simple as that," Ray thought, his senses honing in on the core principle hidden in his body.
He realised something far more alarming. Time itself was collapsing upon him, and every cell in his body had been frozen, stopped entirely by the force of Time.
"What the fuck is this?" Ray muttered, his voice filled with disbelief.
He couldn't make sense of the situation for a long time, feeling lost and unsure of how to proceed.
If he could move even slightly or channel his Mutation Energy, he might have a chance to devise a solution. But without either, he was completely and utterly helpless, trapped with no way out.
"Come on, Ray, one step at a time," he murmured to himself, trying to stay calm.
Consoling himself, Ray began to slowly focus on his genes, carefully sensing how they were being disturbed.
The process was excruciatingly tedious and painfully slow, but he was making progress. After what felt like an eternity, he finally detected a faint, fleeting energy disrupting every single one of his genes. With each disruption, the energy seemed to dissipate ever so slightly.
"Thankfully," Ray heaved a sigh of relief. If this strange energy had lasted indefinitely, finding a solution would have been exponentially more challenging, wasting even more precious time.
As the disruptive energy dissipated, Ray focused intently, trying to capture as much data as possible. He vowed not to suffer the same fate again.
After some time, he felt a subtle change in his body. Slowly, his muscles twitched, and his Mutation Energy, once stagnant, began to flow again.
With renewed control, Ray floated, levitating slightly above the ground.
The Time that had been frozen for him also gradually began to dissipate. Though Ray's understanding of Time was still rudimentary, he knew enough to recognize its effects. He was far from being able to manipulate it, but as he regained his ability to move, the obstruction of Time seemed to lose its grip entirely.
If Time could kill him so easily, Ray mused, he would have already perished while facing the Sun or battling other Peak Planetary beings.
"I should have killed that wolf," he muttered, frustration evident in his tone.
After freeing himself, Ray casually stretched his body, trying to shake off the unpleasant stiffness. The sensation of holding back and allowing the wolf to live, only to be momentarily bound by it, left a bitter taste.
"I'll deal with you later," Ray said coldly, his gaze shifting to the half-torn corpse. He called out, "Berry 12.0."
"Yes, Master Ray," a mechanical voice replied, as an arm materialised in front of him.
"Have you recorded the data?" Ray asked.
"Yes," Berry 12.0 confirmed. "According to the reports, this characteristic is embedded in every human Gene."
"So we are all wolves, even me?"
"No Master Ray, this chain and that temple that you gave the data of seemed to represent an unknown sequence that leads to another door and that wolf seems to be merely a guardian."
"A guardian?" Ray touched his chin in thought.