Lord of Annihilation

Stage 6. 

The Stage where a being would undergo its second 'transcendence'. It was a realm that separated the mortal from the immortal, the weak from the strong.

To reach this realm many things were needed. Many requirements had to be met and many sacrifices had to be offered. For now, let us look past all minor requirements and focus only on the most important ones.

Firstly, the entity must possess a body that was at least of Grade 6 quality. Being born into a Grade 6 or above race was the easiest, most direct way to meet this requirement. 

Nonetheless, not all hope was lost as 'Inheritances' with Race Transformation existed which allowed a few, very lucky ones to meet this requirement.

Secondly, one must possess a Domain with at least one of its Core Rules belonging to the Higher Rules. These Higher Rules consisted of the likes of; Space, Time, Life, Death, Cause and Effect, Judgement, Order, etc. 

One had to remember that each person had only one opportunity to from their Core Rules and that was during their Stage 3 ascendance. While upgrading to a Higher Rule from a lower-tier one was possible, such cases were rare and required one to possess tremendous talent. Discarding a previously set Core Rule for a new one was impossible and would directly result in their Domains collapsing, leading to death.

Thirdly, a Domain must be of at least of the 'Superior' rank. Reaching the Stage 5 realm, a Domain could be of five ranks. The better the rank, the more powerful the Domain, and hence, the user would be. (AN: ranks will be explained in the future.)

Fourthly, the entity's consciousness must reach the realm of 'Ascetic Oneness'. In other words, they must abstain and give up all forms of mortal indulgences and passions, focusing only on their path to power.

Finally, and perhaps the harshest requirement of them all was for the entity to sever all of their karmic connections with the denizens of the Universe. This requirement is broad and vague, but in short, it requires the entity undergoing the second transcendence to be an 'Independent/Unique Existence'. (AN: will be explained in detail later.)

This step was incredibly important as it was required to reduce the difficulty of the 'Bindings of Cause' trial that the entity will inevitably undergo. Only by meeting the fifth requirement will the entity have the slightest chance of succeeding and successfully ascending into Stage 6.

Having expounded all that let's return to the original topic.

Just looking at the five major requirements required to ascend into the Sixth Stage, it can be seen how incredibly difficult it was for an entity to do so. 

Not only does one require peerless talent and heaven-defying luck, one must have an unbreakable will, a ruthless mind, and unshakable determination. 

Anyone wanting to ascend into the Sixth Stage and beyond must readily be willing to sacrifice everything that they have worked hard to possess. They must be ready to sacrifice their wealth, abandon their family and loved ones, betray their organization, and much more, only to have a minuscule chance at success.

If they were to fail, they would unquestionably die.

In a way, it could be said that one would have to be fated to reach this realm. It was simply impossible for just anyone and everyone to reach this level.

And hence, this was also the reason why Lucius thought it would be impossible for Olivia to reach this level. 

There was no doubt that she was talented, but she just lacked that special 'something' that would allow her to enter this stage.

This, however, had now changed.

With bated breath, Lucius looked with his eyes wide-open as Olivia's body stiffly rose from the floor. Her movements were uneven and her motion was rather dull. Nonetheless, she was moving.

Standing upright on her two feet, Olivia's head and shoulders slumped forward seemingly with no strength. Her long, dark hair covered her pale face hiding underneath it her bleeding nose and murky eyes. Her posture was incorrect and her gait was unsteady, teetering back and forth.

Mechanically raising her left foot and moving it, she took her step and almost fell head-first once again. However, just as her upper body was on the verge of hitting the floor, her back muscles suddenly tightened and arrested her momentum.

With her left leg forward and her right leg in its original position and her upper body at a ninety-degree angle with the floor, Olivia's subsequent movements resembled less of a person and more of a puppet.

Rather than call it 'a person walking', it would be more apt to word it 'as controlled in the puppeteer's hands'. 

Puppet-like or not, it mattered little. What was important was the fact that Olivia was slowly but surely making her way towards the large-bodied Guardian.

The distance between the two was a mere thirty meters. Normally, it was a distance that could be covered in a mere fraction of a second. 

Now, however, with her senses sealed and her centers of power isolated, it took Olivia a full minute and a half to reach the base of Ovid's body.

Lucius watched this scene in utter awe with a strange sense of satisfaction in his heart. His eyes which equally looked at everyone with the same quiet indifference finally saw her as someone more.

Olivia's actions or rather, her talent had finally proven itself of being someone worthy of being his comrade. 

A person whom he could trust and count on carrying out the 'Great Plan'.

A person, like Ka'lor'ah. (Not to be taken literally. It means more on the lines of being of equal status/importance)

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"Your friend is quite the odd one, isn't he? I've never seen a Killer make deals, much less actively travel with companions by his side," Klytius boisterously said, sitting on his fur-clad throne and facing the minuscule-sized Faerie before him.

"Well, he's a unique person. That's for sure," Ka'lor'ah politely replied, reclining herself on a luxurious cushion that was hundreds of times larger than her.

The duo was currently in one of the common leisure rooms within the Giant King's Palace. Having left the trial grounds some time ago, the duo had stopped watching Olivia's clearing broadcast as they did not want to be spoiled by the result.

In fact, Klytius and Ka'lor'ah currently had a bet going on whether Olivia would successfully complete the Twelve Labors. Surprisingly, Klytius was in favor of her chances while Ka'lor'ah opposed. 

As for the prize of the bet, the duo had kept it simple; a single question.

Ka'lor'ah had originally wanted something more, something like a favor, or perhaps some rare items from the Giant King's treasury. 

She was quite confident of her stance as much like Lucius she found Olivia's chances of completing the Twelfth Labor to be abysmally low. 

'As long as she doesn't obtain any outside help, there's no way for her to succeed. That being said, gaining any form of outside help was also impossible since the Twelfth Labor has Rules specifically guarding against that.' This was Ka'lor'ah's thoughts.

Bringing any secret artifacts, devices, or runes that would allow one to circumvent the isolation spell was useless as the Rules of the Twelfth Labor specifically warded against such attempts. This warding was strong enough to stop any attempts under the Sixth Stage.

'It's not like Olivia has some secret supporters in the Stage 6 or beyond realm looking after her, right? Haha, what am I even thinking?' 

Klytius, however, did not agree to his proposition but instead proposed another. In exchange for a single question, he would allow Ka'lor'ah to have the first pick at choosing sides.

Ka'lor'ah did not hesitate for a single second and agreed to his proposal. Not to mention the fact that she was a simple guest from dubious origins, arguing with a powerhouse, who was at the Mid-Level of Stage 5, was simply asking for her death.

As such, the harmless bet was placed and the duo chatted on some other topics while waiting for the result to come out. 

DING! DING! DING!

Turning his giant head to look at the large clock on the wall chiming, Klytius spoke, "Time's up." 

"The result should be out now."

"Are you prepared to answer a question from me?" Sitting up straight, Ka'lor'ah jokingly asked while wearing a smug smile on her face.

"Bwhahaha, quite confident, aren't you?" Klytius roared with laughter. "Don't you have any confidence in your companion?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I have all the confidence in that little girl. Still, the odds are what they are and I'm just following along," Ka'lor'ah answered. 

"HAHAHA, well said!" Klytius laughed once more. "However…"

Abruptly stopping his laughter, Klytius wore a mysterious smile on his face and looked deeply at Ka'lor'ah. His brown eyes that seemed as large as the moon, relative to Ka'lor'ah, held profound wisdom and strange confidence.

"The odds aren't always what they seem to be." 

Saying so, he pointed towards the open glass windows which overlooked the Giant City and the trail grounds.

Ka'lor'ah, who had heard his mysterious answer, felt her heart tighten and her confidence waver.

'Impossible,' she immediately denied the possibility that arose within her mind and deemed that there was no way it could be possible.

However…

"BWHAHAHA seems like I've won!!" Klytius roared with honest laughter.

At the site of the trial grounds, a column of light shot up into the air brightening the entire city to the point of whiteness. Such a phenomenon would only occur in one case.

The Twelve Labors have been successfully cleared.

"Oh? There seems to be more!" Klytius continued, as he felt the movement of energy at that site.

Vast amounts of spiritual energy rushed towards the trail grounds seemingly being drawn in by a vortex of some kind. Klytius and all other powerhouses, at the Fourth Stage and above, sensed the Rules concentrate around that region and rearrange themselves.

This only meant one thing.

Someone was undergoing their Ascension!