Archwizard K’s Journey In The Cultivation World

Case 44: Cosmos, the insatiable beast of the universe.

'It has been a while, my friend.'

Gazing at her old friend in the sky, Kierra couldn't help but smile. When was it? Ninety years ago? A hundred years ago? 

Kierra couldn't remember the last time Cosmos descended. 

However, the terrifying, madness-inducing, indescribably unnerving, and possibly inspiring image of Cosmos was clearly etched into her mind. It was exactly like this.

Admiring the sheer might of her friend was something, yet watching others' reactions to it was even more entertaining. One glance around the battlefield was enough for the archwizard to know—every soul was petrified.

Yu Chen, Tian Yun, Mie Xieren, Abbot Xuanji, and even Kamikaze were stunned.

For the demons, things were worse.

From small to big, from weak to strong, everyone and everything was still. Time seemed to halt, and space cowered in fear. They all turned to the broken sky, where Cosmos slowly dived down.

Passing through the rift of reality, plunging into the realm of mortals.

Bit by bit, the people could see the beast's true form. It has skin as black and as glamorous as the starry night, scales thick as a planet's crust, and eyes glowing brighter than stars themselves.

Then, like a guillotine winding up for execution, Cosmos's colossal jaw gaped, much to the despair of the souls below.

——————————!!!

An unimaginable amount of energy was then pulled from the stars around Cosmos, forming a storm of world-ending caliber right in between its teeth and warping what was left of the tattered space fabric.

Intense plasma chaotically danced in the air, radiating scorching heat to the surroundings.

Right as this happened, Kierra also began to wield her own magic.

A dense aura of gold escaped the archwizard's body as she chanted. For the moment, her vivid red eyes were dyed yellow.

''For today, I sing.''

''For the year, for the laughter, for the tear,''

''Sing for every soul, for every cheer,''

''For our children, for humanity,''

''Here, I stand.''

''Steel me,''

⌈Aegis—9★⌋

In an instant, hundreds of divine spears, ones of clouds-piercing caliber, spurt from the ground, shrouding the demons within. Then, numerous golden threads manifested between them, stringing together with the spears to become a formation of absolute defense.

With this, the stage for Cosmos had been set. Kierra nodded gently toward her friend as if encouraging the mighty beast.

Not disappointing her, Cosmos soon finished its wind-up, and before anyone could realize it, the massive sphere of annihilation had left its original position, descending toward the ground.

Helpless.

The demons could only feel helpless, watching the spell that would end their life slowly coming at them. One by one, from small to big, from weak to strong, they were helplessly devoured by the plasma, the sheer wind tearing their body the shreds, the intense heat disintegrating their very souls.

Crash.

——————————!!!

In an instant, the whole battlefield plunged into deafening silence as blinding light exploded inside Aegis, consuming everyone's vision. A terrible earthquake sent people tumbling around, and the sheer energy emitted from the blast made a sizeable portion lose consciousness.

After a long while, the light finally subsided, giving sight back to everyone.

CRACK—!! CRACK—!! CRACK—!!

Unable to withstand the immense pressure, Aegis's spears cracked loudly and soon turned into millions of sparking shards, which were carried away by the wind.

Right then, they could peer into the aftermath of the battle—no, the massacre that had just occurred.

'''' ... ''''

A crater so deep it might as well reach the other side of the planet was there. No living organism could have survived it. Whatever was left of the demons had been sent straight to the other side of the world.

Having done its job immaculately, Cosmos then calmly closed its jaw and retreated to the abyss once again. Right after, the sky returned to its former vibrant color, yet the abyss below did not disappear no matter what.

While everybody was beyond stunned, Kierra smirked.

''Well done, Cosmos.'' She said to the small sphere that had just popped up beside her. ''How did it feel?''

[A tad boring, if I were to be honest]

''Figured. They didn't have a chance to begin with.''

Realistically, the only opponents that could match Cosmos back in her world were herself, August, and maybe that woman. Still, in this world, there were supposed to be individuals who could bend reality itself into folds with one of their fingers, so Kierra had hope. But for now, these small fry could act as time passes for her.

After the matter was cleaned up, Kierra was about to jump down to converse with Shaolin's abbot when Yu Chen stopped her.

"K-Kierra, do you know what just happened...?! " Yu Chen exclaimed, her face seeming as though she had just seen a ghost.

Right then, the other two also joined, piling question after question on Kierra.

Patiently, Kierra calmed down the three one by one, then, in her true fashion, simply stated, ''It is an old friend of mine. No need to be alarmed.''

(;° ロ°) (;° ロ°) (;° ロ°)

Ridiculous. Truly ridiculous.

At this point, they were certain that Kierra was an Immortal, and even if she weren't, she would be on the same level as them. These feats could never be recreated by anyone still in this mortal realm.

With a renewed respect for the archwizard's strength, the three quietly swallowed their questions and followed Kierra down. As Kamikaze perched in front of Xuanji, the moderately strong impact caused by the touchdown snapped everyone out of their daze.

Kierra lightly landed before Xuanji in a joyful mood.

''How is it going, abbot?'' She asked.

In response, Xuanji slightly freaked out like others, but he soon recovered.

''...Was that your doing, Miss Kierra?''

''Technically, not mine. My friend wanted to do a simple exercise, you see.''

'''A simple exercise,' you say...''

''Right, as I am here already, why don't you guide me through the sect?''

At this, Xuanji could only nod meekly, sighing. Who the hell brought that scary beast as a friend?! From demons, a weird woman with weird powers, to now a stupidly overpowered galactic monster.

Clearly, something was wrong with this world!

When they were about to head back to Shaolin, a sudden jolt halted everyone. A tingling sensation as though an invisible needle was poking ever so slightly at their essence, the very core of their being, could be felt.

In an instant, all eyes were on the massive hole that Cosmos's attack left behind. Before any doubt could be raised, Kierra spoke up.

''Do not worry much; this is merely a harmless, involuntary reaction of the universe.'' She said. ''Causality does not welcome my friend. How tragic.''

As Kierra lightly joked about the situation, the onlookers were sweating cold all over.

''What did you say?!'' Mie Xieren grabbed the archwizard's shoulders. ''This is bad!''

''Hm?''

''If you try to surpass the Heavenly Dao's constraints, you will be severely punished!''

'Oh... was there something like that?'

Kierra mused to herself.

Heavenly Dao.

She had heard of this concept many times in this realm, yet she did not yet know whether it was potent. If so, why not test it out at this moment?

''Heavenly Dao?'' Kierra smirked. ''Let's see if it can compete with a supernova!''