Chapter 2008 Observations

Chapter 2008 Observations

One moment, Rui's Martial Embodiment ravaged the minds of all those it beheld witnessed, erasing their consciousness.

The very next, however, it disappeared once Rui dispelled Niflheim, finally putting his Martial Art to rest. Although it had felt like an eternity since the inception of the battle, no more than three minutes had passed since.

Yet, the disappearance of his Martial Embodiment certainly didn't undo the damage it had already inflicted. It had been minutes since his battle with the chimera had begun, yet almost all life in the manifold had perished as a result.

Despite millions and even billions of lifeforms of all sizes across the entirety of the hundred-kilometer-wide manifold, not a single one of them could survive the battle between Rui and the chimera.

Such was the horrifying power of beings at their level.

"Huff..." For the first time in what felt like ages, Rui remembered to breathe. "...Huff."

The battle between him and the chimera had been so intense that even breathing was difficult, especially when the two of them ravaged the very atmosphere that nourished them with tornados, infernos, Muspelheims, and Niflheims.

STEP

He descended before the frozen corpse statue of the chimera, gazing at the horrifying monster with soft eyes. "You were exactly what I needed."

He was grateful.

He was grateful that the Master-level beast of the dungeon core was a creature that was almost impossible to adaptively evolve against with the power of the Senior Realm alone. Its strengths and weaknesses were deeply mismatched. A singular solution could not encompass all of it, for it was three beings integrated into one. Rui had not been able to adaptively evolve to it pound for pound despite all the preparations that he had made for the battle.

It was a direct challenge to his Martial Drive with extraordinarily high stakes. Had it not been for that, it most likely would not have triggered his breakthrough. His desire for power was not as strong as his desire to complete Project Water and was, in turn, in service of Project Water. After all, one could not adaptively evolve to overcome powerful calamitous monsters such as the chimera if one did not have power.

Everything boiled down to the ambition that carried on from his previous life, and it was precisely what the chimera posed a powerful challenge to.

Secondly, the combination of his heightened awareness and senses, along with the Riemannian Echo, allowed him to instantly notice and recognize the spatial anomaly at the very epicenter of the dungeon core.

"Lorentz Contraction." His eyes lit up with faint interest. "Just so," the Divine Doctor's frozen smile sparkled with fascination as he stared at Rui with deep interest.

Rui narrowed his eyes.

This was the third observation that made no sense.

"Why are you so focused on me when an alien flora lifeform exists right behind your back?" Rui's dark eyes sharpened.

Rui, like the Divine Doctor, had instantly noticed that the white sapling was clearly not a part of the Tree of Life of Gaia. That was simply another way of saying it was from another world.

It was a staggering and shocking discovery that could alter the very foundations of the human worldview.

Perhaps the shock was less stunning because Rui knew for a fact that there were other worlds out there.

After all, he, too, was a denizen of another world before his soul somehow traveled from it to Gaia.

Yet, even then, he was still truly surprised to see a lifeform alien to Gaia right before his eyes. Even if he wasn't a biologist, he could still genuinely appreciate the shocking wonder that a truly alien lifeform was.

It was truly groundbreaking and world-shattering.

That was why he didn't understand.

"Why do you turn your back to it..." Rui's tone was soft. "...and gaze at me instead?"

The air grew tense as the two men stared at each other.

-