The entire universe was still in uproar over Ace's revelations, but that had nothing to do with Ace and his allies.
It should also be mentioned that now that Ace's personal dimension had separated itself from Heaven's influence, the rate of growth of Ace and his allies skyrocketed. At first, they all assumed that, as impressive as it was, the only benefit to training there was that they could refine their Willpower, removing Heaven's influence, but as they continued to train, they realised something even more impressive.
It had to be remembered that ordinarily, as one progressed through the realms, although their perception increased, because of Heaven's influence, their perception of the laws would become more and more distorted.
This was where the magic of Ace's dimension truly came into play; between the purity of the elemental essence in the atmosphere and the distinct lack of interference from Heaven, it allowed all of them to progress at speeds that made it feel like they had to be dreaming.
The natural laws descended even more frequently than during the formation of the various elemental planes. It became such a normal occurrence that no one even blinked anymore. Or at least that was the case until a certain breakthrough only a few years before Ace's upcoming battle.
Now that there was finally a method to break through to the Sovereign Realm without first merging with a Sovereign Spark, all those who had reached the limits of the High-God realm were once again training with a renewed fervour.
Though no one came out and said it, they were all competing against one another to see who would be the first to become a Sovereign, and each of them was nearing their respective breakthroughs.
Even though, by now, there were many in the unofficial competition, the two that most people believed would come first were Linley and Killian.
They were not only the two strongest deities aside from Ace and Amira, but they were also publicly recognised as the most talented. Still, neither of them was the first to achieve the breakthrough.
As talented as they were, both of them were soul mutates. And although, by now, both had become true paragons of their respective fused laws, it took a lot more for them to become a breakthrough than others. That was especially true for Linley, who was a four-way soul mutate. As a result, the first to make his breakthrough was none other than Kannal.
Still, the reason his breakthrough was so shocking was due to the giant disturbance it caused. Even Ace exited seclusion with a frown on his face as he looked up at the now cloudy skies of his personal dimension.
As the overlord of the dimension, he could see at a glance what was going on, but that, in turn, only served to anger him further.
Upon breaking through, Kannal had firmly cemented himself as an existence that was outside of Heaven's influence. In response, Heaven had decided to smite him for his act.
Ace snorted as his eyes frosted over. If this had been anywhere else, Ace would've been limited in what he could do to support him, even with his current level of power, but in his own dimension, he was in control.
He was just about to make a move to intervene, but before he could, Kannal told him to wait.
As the focus of the tribulation, he could sense Heaven's intent even more clearly than Ace or the other Overgods. According to Kannal, this was more of a trial and tribulation than a death sentence. Although death was a definite possibility, if he was able to face his tribulation and survive, he would receive a Heavenly blessing.
Hearing that, Ace frowned as he looked up at the slowly forming tribulation. As it stood, the power it emanated was equal to that of an Intermediate Sovereign. For him, that wasn't much, but for Kannal… no matter how he looked at it, it seemed to be more like a death sentence.
Now that Kannal had become a Lesser Sovereign, he had gained an additional 20 units of Will, bringing his new total up to 24. Even among Lesser Sovereigns, you'd be hard-pressed to find many that could challenge him, but the difference between a Lesser and Intermediate Sovereign was too hard to put into words.
Ace wanted to intervene on behalf of his friends – he knew that Heaven wouldn't take lightly to such an act, but he didn't care; he couldn't bear to see someone he thought of as a little brother die in front of him. Still, when he saw the look in Kannal's eyes he knew that he'd already made his mind up, all he could do was respect his decision.
Seeing that Ace had agreed to his request, Kannal proceeded to enter the depths of Chaotic Space to face his tribulation.
Whether it was out of curiosity or concern, all the powerhouses of the Yulan Plane followed him out to watch.
It was an odd image, clouds forming in the vast expanse of Chaotic Space, but it was one that none would ever forget. Kannal, though, was solely focused on what was to come.
Sword in hand, he stood ramrod, calmly waiting for the descent of his Heavenly Tribulation.
As the first strike descended, many of those watching were shocked to find that although the strike took the shape of a bolt of lightning, the way it moved through space, it more resembled the Laws of the Wind.
As the wind-like bolt of lightning descended, Kannal, who previously seemed ready and waiting, entered a daze.
If not for Ace's shout reverberating in his soul, Kannal likely would've been killed by the first strike. Even so, between the fact that the strike had the power of an Intermediate strike and the fact that he only acted when it was almost too late, it was no surprise that he was left in a half-dead state.
What was odd, though, was despite his current condition, an excited grin could be seen on Kannal's face.
Everyone was wondering what he could possibly be smiling about when they suddenly saw the Natural Laws descend around Kannal.
That's right, although it came at a cost, those moments when Kannal was in a daze, he had actually managed to enter a bout of sudden enlightenment.
It had to be remembered that after having comprehended his third Concept of the Wind, Kannal had reached the limits of what he could achieve as a deity. Still, it didn't stop him from theorising possible Concepts for after he broke through to become a Sovereign. With such a solid foundation, the moment he saw the bolt of lightning embodying a Concept of Wind, it allowed him to comprehend yet another Concept.
It was only a single Concept and, by extension, only a single additional unit of Will. Still, it allowed him to increase his chances slightly, especially as he was able to take advantage of the descent of natural laws to heal his injuries.
Unfortunately, now that he had comprehended his fourth Concept of the Wind, he had once again reached his limits as a Lesser Sovereign, and not only was he still 15 units of Willpower weaker than the average Intermediate Sovereign, according to what he could sense from Heaven's Will, he still had to face another two strikes.
As the second bolt of lightning descended, Kannal reacted on time, going all out to strike back. Still, he was sent hurtling through the void at breakneck speed. He was in better condition than he was after the first strike, but he knew he couldn't take another strike like that.
Seeing that, Ace prepared to make a move. Although he wanted to respect Kannal's wishes, he couldn't do so if it came at the expense of his friend's life, but before he could, he was once again stopped by the unyielding shout of Kannal.
Kannal told him not to interfere; he told him to trust him as this wasn't his end. It was then that Kannal did something that took everyone by surprise.
Until now, Kannal had never expressed a desire to comprehend any of the other elements. It wasn't for lack of ability either; although his affinities to the other elements paled in comparison to his affinity to Wind, his incredible perception more than made up for it, but whenever he was asked, he simply told them that none suited his path of swordsmanship, but now, as the third and final lightning bolt descended, everyone clearly felt the Laws of Space move to obstruct the incoming attack, effectively weakening and slowing it down, to the point where Kannal was able to ignore his injuries enough to land three all-out attacks on the bolt of lightning.
Unfortunately, against an attack like that, it would take more than three attacks to dispel it. Ultimately, Kannal had his chest pierced by the lightning.
As the clouds dissipated, Faye and the others hurried over to Kannal's side, but none as fast as Ace, who was able to directly teleport to Kannal's side.
Kannal was on death's door – the last strike held a distinct spiritual element which had shaken Kannal's soul. Still, an excited grin formed on Kannal's face as he looked up at Ace and told him that he had done it; he had actually overcome heaven!
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