Lord of Annihilation

'Did I hear that correctly? Did he just call her an ally?'

Looking up at Lucius' cold, handsome face with wide-open eyes, Ka'lor'ah continued with her delirious thoughts, 'Am I dreaming, or did he finally acknowledge her with his heart?'

Lifting her hands, Ka'lor'ah used both her hands to grab Lucius' cheek and pulled.

"What are you doing?"  Lucius asked, using his hand to thwart her attempts. 

"Just checking to see if this is real," Ka'lor'ah replied, having confirmed it. The shock in her heart had sufficiently decreased by this point allowing her to regain her usual mental faculties.

Organizing the thoughts within her head, Ka'lor'ah spoke, "Still, I never thought I would hear those words coming from your mouth." A teasing smile appeared on her face as she continued, "Seems like she swept you off your feet, huh?"

Lucius couldn't be bothered to reply to her childish provocations and chose to remain silent. This act, however, only served to encourage Ka'lor'ah as she soon fell into a series of silent mutterings and low-pitched giggles.

Once again, Lucius chose to completely ignore her and continued to walk forward. Klytius, who had been following the duo from behind, suddenly intervened.

"How long did the little one dawdle before coming to her senses?"

Ka'lor'ah, also feeling curious at the same thing, perked her ears.

"Fifty-three seconds."

Nodding his head, Klytius spoke, "Fifty-three seconds, I see. Quite normal for a—wait, what?" His eyes widened and his footsteps came to a stop.

Ka'lor'ah, who stayed perching on Lucius' shoulder, felt her shock explode once again. Her eyes widened to the utmost and her hands unconsciously caught her mouth from falling.

Also stopping his footsteps, Lucius turned back to face the Giant King and calmly repeated, "Fifty-three seconds. You heard it correctly."

The scene froze for a few seconds at his revelation. 

Klytius seemed to have stiffened from the realization while Ka'lor'ah looked like she was on the verge of passing out from sheer shock.

Fifty-three seconds.

One had to know, that it had taken even Lucius thirty-nine seconds to break out of the isolation spell. And this was a person who possessed the boundless experience and was the epitome of talent in the whole Universe.

Klytius' shock stemmed from the fact that two geniuses- of the likes that he had only heard about in stories and legends- had visited his city during his lifetime. He felt incredibly lucky and honored to have made their acquaintance.

Ka'lor'ah's shock, on the other hand, stemmed from her gross underestimation of the young woman's potential. Hearing Lucius' seal of approval was one thing, but having the facts thrown at her face was completely different.

'Breaking out of the isolation spell in under a minute…this is a level of talent that is hardly seen even amongst the top-level organizations within the Universe. Hell, I don't think even the Heavenly Sovereigns or the Abyssal Rulers have a talent at this level.'

'First Lucius and now Olivia, how does a newly ascended race like Mankind keep spitting out such powerhouses? Is this pure chance or…something else?'

(AN: The above statement is relative to Lucius' first life where he was a human for 'almost' half his life.)

"Stop here."

Lucius' statement forced Ka'lor'ah out of her thoughts. 

Gathering her senses, she realized that the group had made it to the interior hall of the coliseum where the participants of the trial would be teleported out to.

At the center of this large, drably decorated stone hall floated a violet-colored, crystallized cocoon. The crystal cocoon which was as tall as a man pulsed with obscure mystical energy while floating amidst the air.

Transparent lines which were half real and half illusory appeared in the space above the crystallized cocoon and extended in the latter. These lines, which could be instantly recognized to the 'Rule Lines', seemed to stretch from infinity.

In the space underneath the crystallized cocoon, a large pool of chaotic energy roared and crashed, wanting to destroy everything in its proximity. However, a gentle violet-colored light routinely shined upon this pool of energy, calming it and extracting it into the crystal.

Looking at this marvelous sight, anyone who had an ounce of soul power within them would be instantly filled with awe. A profound feeling would appear within their heart and inspiration would endlessly pour into their minds, tempting them to cultivate.

However, acting upon this temptation and cultivating near this place was a heresy of the highest order. 

Not only would such an act interrupt the ascension of the original entity but it might also cause the whole ordeal to go askew, seriously endangering the lives of both the ascending entity and the despicable thief.

This was also one of the reasons why the 'Ascension' must be done in a place that is completely private and isolated from any kind of presence. Having someone stronger to guard you were also advised as the temptation felt by stronger beings is less and in some cases, almost non-existent.

"Everything is proceeding smoothly. Seems like there are no issues," Klytius spoke out first.

Hearing his evaluation, Lucius also nodded his head. 

While his perception was extremely lacking to the Mid-Level Stage 5 powerhouse, his experience of the situation was unmatched. After all, he did undergo the ascension for a total of ten times. (7 in previous life, 3 in current life)

"May I ask what concept your mate is planning to build her Domain around?" Klytius curiously asked.

Facing that question, Lucius did not answer but instead turned to face Ka'lor'ah who sat upon his shoulder. The latter, feeling his gaze upon her turned her head to face him and shot him a curious look.

"Well?" 

Lucius prompted, also wanting to know what exactly Olivia's plans for her Domain were. His mood soured slightly when he recalled how the young woman had audaciously refused to answer him earlier.

Listening to his tone filled with inquisitive curiosity, Ka'lor'ah flashed a toothy grin filled with playful mystery.

"Well, wouldn't you like to know? I'm gonna have to disappoint you, however, as I made that little girl a promise to not tell you."

"Don't sweat it though. You'll be the first to know once that little girl finishes her ascension and stabilizes her Domain. You will be in for a huge surprise, I can promise you that."

Saying as much, Ka'lor'ah immediately shut her mouth and turned to watch the crystallized cocoon once more. Lucius naturally found himself in a bad mood from being refused and quietly glared at her.

Klytius, on the other hand…

"BWHAHAHAHA! Your mate is just as interesting as you! Now even I'm looking forward to what her Domain is going to be! Hahahaha!"

This Giant King seemed to be really enjoying his time as he continued to roaringly laugh for a good five minutes. In fact, ever since the arrival of Lucius and his group, Giant King Klytius found himself laughing more often than usual.

"Haa. Haa. Anyway, there is nothing to do but wait for the little one to complete her ascension. Say," Klytius cracked his neck and loosened his arms, "wanna go and have our promised duel?"

His voice oozed with battle-intent and hot-bloodedness.