The condition of Ace's personal dimension was unfortunate. Ace calculated that at its current rate, it would take another thousand years before it recovered to a state where he was capable of once again increasing the flow of time, and by then, his battle with Phueus would've long since concluded.
Even though there had only been a couple of years between then and now and, by extension, shouldn't have been enough to elicit any major breakthroughs, Ace had reached a bottleneck in his comprehension, not in the Rules of Space but the Rules of Time.
Initially, Ace had wanted to complete his comprehension of the Rules of Space before moving on to its more complex counterpart, but with his gradually but ever-increasing faith steadily boosting his perception, he decided to go for broke and focus on the Rules of Time. Not just because he knew it, in and of itself, would be a big help in his battle against Phueus but also because he wanted the Heavenly Blessing that would inevitably come with it.
Whilst the first Law of the Rules of Space was the Law of Warped Space, the first Law of the Rules of Time was the Law of Temporal Flow. It was a Law that allowed Ace to control the flow of Time for both himself and those around him. Unfortunately, although he had made great progress, having effectively comprehended 99% of the Law, the difference between 99% and 100% was like the difference between Heaven and Earth.
Ace knew that it would be incredibly difficult to break through even with the help of the time difference between his dimension and the rest of the universe, and without it, it would have been several times harder. Still, he wasn't ready to give up.
He knew it was a hail mary, but there was only one thing he could try that he hadn't already, and that was asking for help from Linley and the other members of the Azure Dragon Clan. Their divine ability allowed them to slow time, or in Linley's case, thanks to his bloodline purity, he could even freeze time altogether for a brief period.
There were no guarantees, but with their help, he may just be able to create yet another miracle.
Like Ace, Linley was engrossed in his training, but unlike what the others believed. He wasn't actually focusing on his breakthrough to become a Paragon yet. Instead, his entire focus was on completing the four-way fusion of the Laws of Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth.
By now, he had long since become a paragon in each individual Law and even fused each of them with at least one other, but the more he comprehended, the more complicated it became, but at the same time, he could faintly sense how incredible it would be when completed.
Even so, when Ace came to him for help, he didn't hesitate to drop what he was doing. Although the gap between him and Ace only seemed to grow with each passing day, in his eyes, he was the only one allowed to defeat Ace – Overgod or not; they were simply unqualified.
Just like that, the two rivals spent the next two years training together. This was the first time they had actually trained together, and the results were nothing short of incredible!
Between Ace's current understanding of the Rules of Time and the help of his bloodline, Linley was actually able to somehow begin comprehending the Rules of Time; this was despite the fact that he had become a soul mutate and, by extension, shouldn't be able to comprehend any Laws that weren't a fusion of his four chosen Laws.
It came as a shock that neither Ace nor Linley were able to understand. Still, neither was complaining – as his comprehension of Temporal Flow, the power of Linley's Divine Ability likewise increased, which in turn only benefited Ace.
Two years seemed to fly by, and the day of Ace's fated battle rapidly approached. Because of the fact that Heaven's Will couldn't spread to his personal dimension, the Natural Laws were unable to descend whilst Ace was still inside. As a result, no one knew just how Ace was getting on with his training. Still, as curious as they were, no one even attempted to disturb Ace and Linley.
It was only on the morning of the big day that the duo made their reappearance. Everyone studied both Ace and Linley intently, hoping to discern something from either of their expressions, but both appeared calm and composed, as always.
Seeing the curious and slightly concerned of his friends and family, a small chuckle escaped Ace's mouth as he merely said, it's time to go.
With a thought, Aiden wrapped each of them in his Godrealm before transporting them all to the corner of Chaotic Space. Phueus and his group were waiting for them.
His dark and evil aura, laced with dense killing intent, was especially potent as he patiently awaited his soon-to-be opponent. As he stood silently in the void with his eyes closed, he couldn't help but think back to their first meeting.
It was hard to believe that the little full god he could've killed with a thought had grown to such a point. He never would've thought that he would've actually managed a breakthrough to the Overgod realm, but what was even more shocking was the fact that despite his incredible jump in power, he actually had no idea which way the battle would go. He deeply regretted not killing him there, and then, unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret.
The moment Ace and the others arrived, Phueus' eyes opened as they fell on Ace. An overwhelming battle intent exuded out of him, one so potent it seemed to actually put pressure on the void itself – if he was going to die today, he would do so with no more regrets. He would go all out to kill Ace today!
Ace felt Phueus' aura and could see through his thoughts, but in response, he merely smirked. It was a casual action, but when Phueus saw it, he felt his heart lurch. Then, as if that wasn't enough, the natural laws descended around Ace, making Phueus' eyes constrict.
As an Overgod, he could clearly sense that this wasn't your average Breakthrough. For the third time, Ace was being blessed by Heaven; at the same time, the chimes of Heaven sounded throughout the universe, signifying the founding of yet another new Law.
Linley was the only person who seemed to see this coming; as such, he completely took it in his strides. As for the rest of their friends and family, they all sighed in relief. With that, although Ace's chances at success weren't guaranteed, they were improved significantly.
As for the other Overgods standing behind Phueus, their eyes narrowed coldly. Anytime Ace got stronger, it made them feel cold inside. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do at this point, especially with the Ace's side turning out in full force.
As the Natural Laws dissipated, Ace smiled calmly at Phueus as his trusted glaive slipped into his palm before calmly asking if he was ready.
Ace did nothing to hide his aura; as such, all the Overgods were capable of sensing Ace's current power. Likewise, they were also capable of sensing Phueus' current power.
At that moment, be it Phueus or the Overgods that stood behind him, all of them sighed in relief. They could all sense that, as it stood, Ace's Willpower had reached a total of 110 units, and as for his Divine Power, although it felt more pure and several times more powerful, it was still ten times worse than Phueus'.
It had to be understood that, after condensing one's Overgod body, one would be able to tap into the faith of their element to increase their power several times over. Although his faith definitely took a hit thanks to the actions of Ace and those on their side, Ace's Willpower would still need to reach at least 250 units to be able to match him. Unfortunately, even if he were to use his Divine Ability, Ace's Willpower would only double to 220.
Phueus' expression warped into an evil sneer as he realised that Ace was too weak to pose a threat to him.
Ace could guess what was going through Phueus' mind, and even so, his expression was light as ever as he once again asked if Phueus was ready.
Phueus roared with laughter as he stated that he was going to enjoy this.
The moment Phueus drew his weapon, Ace nodded and said him too. As he said that, he used his Divine Ability.
If one were just looking at the mere manifestation of Ace's soul self, there would be little to no change, but by sensing the aura Ace was radiating, everyone could sense a clear difference from the former effects of his divine ability.
Before, like the other members of his Gol Clan, his Divine Ability merely doubled his Willpower, but now… not only did it double his Willpower, both his physical ability as well as his Divine Power also saw a giant leap in power.
It still shouldn't have been enough to completely close the gap, but the moment Ace made his move, Phueus shuddered as his eyes constricted into pinholes.
He hurriedly leapt back thousands of miles in an instant, but it did nothing to diminish the heart-rendering fear he felt as his eyes met Ace's, especially as he looked at the singular arm steadily floating in the void.
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