Paragon of Sin

Destroyed.

The observers on a platform of mystic power turned ashen pale to the zenith degree, watching as their planet, their home, began to split in two and become two halves of a once perfect sphere. There were cold gasps, heavy gulps, thuds of endless kneels, and horror-filled howls of loss, agony, and disbelief.

"It's…" The aged Timelord that had spoken before seemed to have lost his inner spirit, those wizened eyes reflected the continuously drifting Origin as it went into two different directions. The surface of the planet seemed abnormally grey, the atmospheric layers had thinned to non-existence, and the warmth of the planet's core began to rapidly descend, turning the planet into a frozen tundra, hounded by the infectious Dark Chill of the Void.

"…gone…" Not only had the inhabitants left, but Origin itself had lost almost all signs of its thriving state just a short while prior. The planet's geographic and topographic arrangement had changed to be almost entirely unrecognizable. The oceans had dried. The mountains had crumbled. Entire cities became scraps of refined rock, collapsed or buried in the depths of the planet's crust, and forests were crushed flat.

"Why…why isn't the Guardian doing anything?! DO SOMETHING! DO SOMETHING!!!" A heartbroken and rageful farmer whose entire livelihood, including his family's, was hopelessly vanishing. All the good and bad memories of his entire life flashed before his eyes as he outright questioned the Guardian of Elements, Han Yuhei!

"This is a dream…this must be a dream. I want to wake up. Yeah, I'll wake up soon. It's a dream, a nightmare. Honey, wake me up now…please…please wake me up…" A distraught woman on her knees was flooding with tears as she blankly watched Origin collapse.

"Mommy…is blankie…"

"It's fine, baby. It's fine. Everything will be fine."

The feeling of watching your home, and for many, the home they inhabited from birth and intended to stay in even in death, was beyond distressing. There was no word that could accurately depict this feeling, no sequence of words that could aptly put their feelings into perspective.

Han Yuhei and Zhang Ziyi were also a little sullen at seeing their planet reach its end.

"Can we reverse this?" Zhang Ziyi suggested, the emotions of all the inhabitants were clearly within her senses. Every tear, every wail, and every loss of spirit. She could feel their pain.

"Temporal Reversion?" Han Yuhei was sullen, but he was extremely calm in the face of such devastation. "Don't be foolish," he remarked. Temporal Reversion was an extremely powerful, world-defying ability that could tap into present time, reversing its state, and bringing it to a previous point. But as Earthly Saints, unless it's a minor matter, the power will consume their lifeforce, not just a little mystic power. There were many factors to determine if it was ‘minor'.

Firstly, energy.

Secondly, the extent of change.

Lastly, size.

Just the first requirement of energy, reversing the depletion of its power, reversing the conversion into saber energies, would take their entire lifespan to complete. This didn't factor in the changes to the environment and even the gargantuan size of Origin. If a tribulation was involved, this would be even more difficult.

The temporal presence of the heavens wasn't something barely middle-stage Mystic Ascendants like Earthly Saints could hope to affect.

In Han Yuhei's eyes, Origin was done.

Zhang Ziyi clenched her fist softly. "How can a Realm World Astral Tribulation cause such damage? What or who is this Wei Wuyin?" They've never seen a Realm World Astral Tribulation remotely possess such power. It defied conventional beliefs. Typically, the Realm World Astral Tribulation was in a state of fixed difficulties. As long as you met certain foundational requirements, it wasn't too difficult as long as your battle power was sufficient.

"Our fortune," Han Yuhei's eyes glinted with a strong, ambitious light as he whispered. He looked to Zhang Ziyi who was still within her emotions. He completely understood how she felt, so he touched her shoulder in a friendly, consoling manner. A rare gesture.

"Don't see this as a setback. Remember, Wei Wuyin's wealth isn't small. He doesn't seem to be the irresponsible type, at least. While he did unleash his tribulation on the planet, it only goes to show that he might not have expected such a dramatic change, or perhaps it was necessary. Whatever the case, this isn't a loss—for us or them." Han Yuhei looked back at the entire population of Origin.

If he had known the planet would suffer such damages, he would've spared them from seeing such a heart-shattering scene.

"What do you mean?" Zhang Ziyi asked this, but she had already comprehended what Han Yuhei was suggesting. A wisp of excitement flashed in her heart as she recalled Ma Zheng's Earthly Ascension and Wu Yu's spatial rings that contained boundless wealth. She couldn't help but feel uplifted at the thought.

Furthermore, Wei Wuyin had launched a series of pavilions on Origin called the Four Extreme Pavilion, selling even ninth-grade products. She had followed the overt purchases, and she realized that the total value of all those alchemical products vastly exceeded the True Element Sect's annual gains. This was merely the ones she could track.

Hab Yuhei faintly smiled. It seemed Zhang Ziyi had grasped that this was an opportunity for them. They just had to wait.

"…!" The two Earthly Saints felt incoming auras that were extremely vibrant and fast, traversing towards them from a distance. They turned their heads to view the Aeternal Sky Domain's direction, feeling several mystic auras and seeing comets of various lights approaching.

"The Imperial Clan?" Zhang Ziyi was startled.

"It seems they were indeed looking for Wei Wuyin," Han Yuhei's eyes narrowed. How could they not have the same thoughts as him? Regardless of Wei Wuyin's backing, the means and manner at which he carried himself was enough to place tremendous importance onto him.

Before, the King of Everlore's initial arrival was relatively disguised. There were other Mortal Sovereign Alchemists, with greater skill, at the time. He was simply a foreigner with a shitty foundation in comparison to these established alchemists who were all Ascended beings.

By the time he became an Alchemic Saint, it was too late to cozy up to him. He stayed with his entourage, only having some relations with the Tian Clan, Liu Clan, Void Voyage Sect, and Godpill Association, later renamed the Everlore Association.

If these forces were indications of anything, it was the importance of establishing a clear relationship with the prominent figures. Considering how his cousin often referred to the King of Everlore as someone who values what he valued and discarded the rest with indifference, the temperament of alchemists was hard to predict.

"…" The two knew from the Imperial Clan's actions that the situation was going to grow a little bit complicated and more lively.

—–

On the collapsing and environmentally changing Origin, Wei Wuyin had used his Saber Intent to rein in the latent saber energies within his body, expelling it, and then using the Mark of Eden to rid himself of the remnant annihilation power that sought to obliterate his lifeforce, Sea of Consciousness, and meridians. It was trying to end him even now.

"How pesky," Wei Wuyin remarked at the absurd amount of lifeforce and energy he had to expend to deal with the annihilation power. Fortunately, it allowed him to grasp how domineeringly infectious and extremely difficult it was to deal with.

After a few minutes, the atmosphere of Origin had already dissipated. Wei Wuyin landed on a piece of lifeless rock, staring at Element unblinkingly.

"Will King succeed?" Ori worriedly asked. While the Astral Souls were connected, it still felt anxious.

"…He's King; if anyone can succeed, it's him." Eden consoled with some much needed reaffirming words. This considerably soothed Ori's unease. Because it was King! The ‘tch' lord! How could King fail?!

Wei Wuyin knew that, out of his four Astral Souls, King and Orianna had the strongest bond. They were both Divine Souls, and they had lived together for a full decade longer, being together far before Kratos or Eden arrived. They were also housed in the same location, sharing a greater, firmer connection with each other.

In a way, they could be considered full siblings while Eden was adopted and Kratos was a half-sibling. Their connection was undeniable.

Wei Wuyin kept his senses on Element. The worldly light that represented the fragmented and defeated Worldly Avatars still swirled around him in a beautiful manner. It was waiting for him to take them in, using the latent power to form his Domain Seed, entering the Seventh Stage of the Astral Core Realm, the Realm World Phase, and becoming a genuine Realmlord!

However, Wei Wuyin was a little curious. He asked Eden while not moving his gaze, "Why is the worldly light waiting?" According to past records, once one resisted the Worldly Forces intent on killing you, the tribulation would naturally progress and send tribulation light that could form a Domain Seed tethered to one's Soul Idol, Spatial Resonance, Primary Light Source, and Gravitational Central Mass.

They would be contained in the Domain Seed, nurtured by the unique Worldly Forces, greatly increasing their connection and relative power. They would be able to exert their Domain Seed to conjure a Worldly Domain that mimicked the powers of the tribulation.

This seed was extremely important to forming a Star Core and grasping Time Energies. However, he had never heard of worldly light waiting to be absorbed. He recalled what Eden had said before, to absorb the worldly light, but why?

Where's the tribulation light?

"We're not finished," Eden reminded. "When the world is defeated, the tribulation ends, and we'll receive the blessing of the tribulation. But we can't end, not yet."

"Not yet." Kratos echoed with a strong growl.

Clearly, they were trying to manipulate the tribulation to perform something abnormal. When he thought about how he had birthed the Origin State from their antics of the Sky Ruler Astral Tribulation, he decided to trust them. They might not be able to properly explain what was the eventuality of their efforts, simply that it was beneficial.

Wei Wuyin nodded in acceptance. However, facing those Worldly Avatars, he knew that the next phase of their process was not going to be significant. He was ever-vigilant, maintaining his Draconic Transformation even if others might notice.

SHIING! SHIING! SHIING!

A series of saber howls resounded from Element.

From his palm, the Mark of Annihilation manifested without his control. It emanated an Aura of Annihilation. Wei Wuyin's expression grew dignified. He tightened his grip upon the saber, ready to perform whatever was necessary to support King.

After all, King was trying to evolve!

When King faced his Worldly Avatar, it felt an imbalance in itself, in its reflection. It wasn't complete. It wasn't treading the right path.

That was how it phrased it. So it wanted to change, to follow the path that it felt to be the most consistent with itself.

In truth, Wei Wuyin could feel it too. King's personality was born from his personality, his belief of a saber, and all its principles. The domineeringness born from ending all conflicts with its edge, concluding all things with a single swing, and the constant belief that the saber was the greatest weapon that could annihilate everything in its path.

With its edge, all things would meet its end!

Wei Wuyin's Saber Intent had been forged by this strong imprint that had etched itself into his soul, taught to him by his older brother, shaped by his experiences, and reaffirmed by his own efforts. There was never a single problem that his saber had met that it couldn't solve!

At least, in this life!

Facing the Wall of Heaven, the saber was capable of bringing him away. Facing a cultivator several stages beyond himself, forcing him to flee for his life, his saber ended their life. When he faced the Second Calamity, his saber was key to bringing it to an end!

There was nothing in this world that could stop his saber.

This was King.

But the essential quality of its soul, ‘Divine', wasn't very cohesive to that belief. Kratos embodied the Infinite Void, Eden embodied Boundless Alchemy, and Ori embodied the core, connective spirit of all elements. Ori was more suitable for ‘Divine' than himself.

But what did King connect to? What was spiritual about its nature? It was the end of all things. It was absolute. It was supreme.

Why would it ever be ‘Divine'?

So it refused to accept this flaw in itself. A flaw of its soul.

Thus, it decided to change its essential quality, becoming something more. Becoming something…greater.

Wei Wuyin had funneled the Imperial Heaven Aura into King by its own choice. It needed an element to define its superiority, and the Imperial Heaven Aura contained supreme qualities that restrained all forces. Whether it was time, space, the spirit, or the mind, Imperial Heaven Aura had miraculous suppression means. Even the Dark Chill of the Void couldn't penetrate its aura.

It was the only piece that it needed. With the Annihilation Saber Soul Light and the Mark of Annihilation, it was enough.

King was going to abandon his ‘Divine', replacing it with Annihilation infused with the Imperial Heaven Aura! If all things worked out, it would become an Annihilation Saber Soul! Or a Supreme Saber Soul! Or an Absolute Saber Soul! EVEN AN EXTREME SABER SOUL!

The evolutionary change was unpredictable, but Wei Wuyin respected its choice in success or failure.

SHIING!!!

Suddenly, Wei Wuyin felt his five senses, his life, and energies uncontrollably sever their connection with his mind. His mind was instantly isolated, brought into Element as a mental incarnation. Beside him, the three Avatars of Eden, Kratos, and Ori spirit's floated. Before then, a gigantic saber hilt plunged into a dark, starry vortex, its blade hidden within.

"Oh my heavens…" Wei Wuyin was stunned.

"King!" Ori shouted excitedly.

"I couldn't give it up," an impossibly vast voice resounded, carrying King's vocal inflections and succinct nature.

"King!!" Ori was extremely emotional hearing this.

Kratos and Eden stayed silent, but they were also emotional. They knew exactly what King meant.

It couldn't give up the ‘Divine'! The connection of it to Ori, to all of them, and it retained this quality, changing itself without abandoning any of its original self, merging them all into one.

Awed at the sight of this hilt, Wei Wuyin said: "My saber carries my emotions as much as my intent to kill and internal pride. It only makes sense." He couldn't help but smile.

"Indeed," King replied.

The hilt slowly began to pull itself out of the void, ceaseless saber howls resounding! This was the same world that Wei Wuyin had visited long ago, the embodiment of King's Saber Dao. He could feel its name as its sharp edge revealed itself.

In a voice that seemed to manifest truth, King stated with incomparable dominance: "I am not Divine; I am not Imperial; I am not Annihilation. I am the END of all things, the harbinger of finality, the SUPREME saber—I am Omega."

SHIING!!!!!

The saber fully revealed itself and the world shook!