The Overgods of the four edicts didn't move for a long time. They just continuously stared absentmindedly into the void, their thoughts solely revolving around Ace.
Even till now, although the power Ace displayed was heaven-defying in every sense of the word, when all was said and done, they still felt confident in their chances. Even if Ace made a few more significant breakthroughs, the difference between them was too large to close in ten thousand years, and that was factoring in Ace's ability to slow time for him, to allow him more time to train – an ability that they had figured out he had after Ace's battle with Phueus.
You see, a big part of what made the Overgods of the four Edicts so fearsome was their ability to fuse, just like the Overgods of Earth and Lightning. But unlike the Earth and Lightning Overgods, when fused, the powers of the four edict-based Overgods would create an odd resonance. When fused, their combined power wouldn't be as simple as the sum of all four; instead, their power would multiply.
Still, as they replayed Ace's display of power over and over in their minds, their expression became increasingly solemn. Not because Ace's power threatened them but because of the heaven-like aura he radiated when killing the Overgods he had faced till now.
When using it to initially scare them from making a move after Kannal's breakthrough to the Sovereign Realm, between the fact that he had only used it for the briefest of moments when they hadn't been expecting it and that it was still very immature, they hadn't been able to understand much about it.
Even when he used it in his fight with Phueus, because Ace had purposely tried to hide it from the senses of his future enemies as much as possible, even though they had been paying greater attention that time and therefore were able to sense it with greater clarity, they still hadn't been able to really grasp the meaning behind it.
This time, though, not only had Ace done nothing to hide it from the Overgods of the four Edicts, but it had also grown in maturity.
The more they replayed the scene of Ace's heaven-like energy bearing down on the Overgods of Lightning and Earth in their minds, the more they realised that it wasn't simply similar to the aura of Heaven; it truly was the aura of Heaven – something that by all intents and purposes should've been completely and utterly impossible! It was still very immature in its current state compared to the true power of Heaven, but it didn't make it any less shocking!
Still, by now, they were very much used to Ace being able to accomplish the impossible. The fact that he was somehow able to utilise true heavenly power wasn't the thing that had them so dazed. No, the reason for their current hesitation was the fact that Heaven didn't seem to mind.
They were extremely powerful and exceedingly ancient existences created directly by Heaven itself; as such, their understanding of Heaven was second to none – not even the other Overgod Spirits knew as much about as Heaven as they did.
They knew full well that although Heaven was fair, it also had its bottom line and would smite anyone who dared to cross it. It was what ultimately prevented them from abusing their powers to become Overlords of the universe. Anytime a thought like that even crossed one of their minds, heaven's almighty energy would invade their souls as though to warn them – the pain was intolerable, no matter how strong they became, but as long as they suppressed their thoughts, they would be spared.
Because of that, they thought that upon sensing Ace's power, which may as well be blasphemous, Heaven would take it upon itself to smite him, but such a thing never happened. The more they thought about it, the more they thought about Ace's life and the sequence of events that led him to the point he had reached now.
As a parasite of the Coiling Dragon Universe, Heaven should've smited him from the very moment he first destroyed the heavenly barrier enveloping his soul and preventing him from sensing the laws of fire. Instead, it simply turned a blind eye and allowed Ace to continue down his path, slowly growing in power till he had reached a level that allowed him to look down on even most Overgods.
They had been so focused on cementing themselves as Overlords of their universe and preventing anyone from ever being able to rise up and threaten their position that they never stopped to think about what it meant for Heaven to not care about Ace's existence. The moment they did, though, they all simultaneously came to the same conclusion.
Since they couldn't simply ask Heaven and expect to receive a direct reply, they had no way of confirming their guess. Still, the more they thought about it, the more they thought they had to be right – Heaven tacitly agreed to Ace's ascension.
The moment they came to that shocking and terrifying conclusion, they felt an overwhelming feeling of fear – the likes of which none of them had ever felt before.
They had no idea why, nor did they have any intention of even trying to comprehend the thoughts of Heaven, but now, because of their greed, they seemed to have inadvertently put themselves as enemies of Heaven, albeit indirectly.
Looking at one another, they could see the fear and helplessness in the eyes of the others. The Overgod of Life asked what they should do now.
In response, the Overgod of Fate suggested they apologised and tried to cancel the final battle. It wouldn't be simple, but they suggested that as long as they showed enough sincerity, it wouldn't be impossible for them to appease Ace's anger.
The Overgod of Death snorted, replying that with Ace's personality, there was no chance he would forgive them.
The Overgod of Life acknowledged that the Spirit of Death was probably right, but they didn't really have a choice. Their current situation was a lose-lose – if they lost to Ace, it would mean death for each of them, and if they won, it would mean that they had likely foiled the plan of Heaven, at which point, who knew what their fate would be.
After saying that, no one responded immediately, understanding full well that the Overgod of Life was likely right in her assessment. Eventually, though, the Overgod of Destruction, who was also the strongest of the four and the de facto leader, finally spoke up.
They said that they would go and attempt to apologise, and if Ace was stupid enough to reject their apology, they would kill him in ten thousand years. Seeing the hesitant expressions on the faces of the other three, the Destruction Overgod continued. They reminded them that their current assumption was just that, an assumption. For all they knew, they were wrong, and Heaven simply didn't care about Ace's rise as it just had complete assurance in their ability to stop him. And if worst came to worst, at the very least, they would've killed Ace before succumbing to their fate at Heaven's hands.
Ace had no idea what the Overgods of the Four Edicts were thinking about and discussing, nor did he care about them. The moment they returned to Ace's personal dimension, all of the Overgods of the Yulan Plane, Aiden and Orloff included, tried to convince Ace to change his mind and challenge them one by one, or at the very least continue challenging them two at a time.
As supreme existences that stood at the very pinnacle of power in the universe, the Overgods of the Yulan Plane understood the power of the Overgods of the Four Edicts very well. They understood very clearly that when fused, their combined power would multiply several times over.
Had Ace chosen to challenge them one by one, the chances that any of them would be able to defeat Ace was virtually nil, and that included the Overgod of Destruction, but challenging them together…
Once fused, it would take all of them fighting together to defeat them – and that all included Ace.
Still, Ace was nothing if not stubborn – once he had made his mind up, it was all but impossible to change it. No matter how hard they tried, there was just no changing Ace's mind, especially as they didn't understand the reason for Ace's urgency.
The truth was that between his boost of power thanks to his personal dimension, as well as his connection with his wife, he could now sense with clarity the state of his wife's pregnancy. As a result, he could sense that his wife would finally give birth in a little under ten thousand years from now.
Although he finally had the power to protect his family, a fact that would be even more true at that point, as long as there was even a hint of a threat to his wife or child, he wouldn't be able to rest easily. As such, he would use his next challenge to rid the world of all threats to his family once and for all.
He knew that his decision might seem crazy to others, but that was because only he understood the reason behind his confidence – there was no longer anyone qualified to halt his steps. Not his friends and family, not the Overgods of the four Edicts, not even Heaven!
He knew that it wouldn't be easy to convince Aiden and the others of his success, not with words. As such, he simply told them he had made his mind up; they just had to trust him, but for now, he had to get back to his training.
With that, Aiden and the others let him be, albeit reluctantly. As for Ace, with his distractions gone, Ace began willing his dimension to absorb the power in the Overgod Sparks of Destruction and Lightning.
He was just about to begin studying the changes to his personal dimension when he, as well as the Overgods of the Yulan Plane, had sensed the arrival of his four soon-to-be final opponents.
Even though they didn't appear to have come to cause trouble, Aiden and the others didn't hesitate to head out, not daring to take their arrival lightly.
Ace was the last to appear, but the moment he did, the four Edict Overgods made a move which took not only Ace by surprise but even Aiden and the other Overgods of the Yulan Plane – they sincerely bowed their heads and apologised in unison.
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