Lord of Annihilation

"The 108 Steps to Heaven?"

"The First Transcendence?"

Olivia and some of the Giant experts asked respectively with surprise in their tone. 

Being the recipient of the test and the one undergoing the ascension, Lucius looked towards the sky with an unusually serious look. His deep black eyes looked darker than usual with a hint of solemnity deep within.

Turning to the young ascender, Klytius curiously asked, "How confident of succeeding are you?"

Hearing his question, Lucius did not immediately reply but continued to watch the sky as the storm of lightning and thunder within the clouds turned denser and more of the golden steps formed. 

This wasn't a new sight for Lucius. He had already undergone this ordeal once and had even succeeded. 

This time, however, the circumstances weren't the same.

"…I must move out of the city," Lucius deflected Klytius' question and moved.

Just as he was about to take off into the sky, Lucius felt his right arm be grabbed by someone. Turning his head around, he saw Olivia clutching onto his arm with a look of confusion and worry in her eyes.

"Hey, don't you need to make some preparations or something?"

"What?" Lucius was so confused by that random question that he vocalized inadvertently.

"Look at that thing!!" she pointed to the storm of lightning in the sky and continued, "The energy density of that storm far surpasses anything that I have ever seen! It's way beyond the Stage 4 realm! How the hell are you going to face that?"

Olivia's current tone of the speech was in sheer contrast to her regal, confident demeanor from a few moments. Even her sassy and cheeky demeanor from successfully rising up to the realm of Stage 3 was completely gone.

Now, not only were her words hurried and jittery but even her tone was full of concern and fear.

Truth be told, the second Olivia caught sight of that brewing storm in the clouds, she ran a scan with her newfound abilities. And the result of the said scan filled her to the brim with dread and trepidation.

The monstrous scale of energy up there within the clouds went way beyond anything that she had ever seen or imagined. So much so, that Olivia's eyes were almost blinded the second she activated her scan ability, even though it was for less than an instant.

With the horror of the scan still fresh in her mind, she had just turned around to warn Lucius, when she saw the latter getting ready to begin the ordeal as nonchalant as always.

Not only was he nonchalant, but he was also talking some nonsense about moving out of the city.

'Why would you want to move out of the city? Isn't it obviously the safer in here? There's even this giant, friendly guy who is apparently a Stage 5 being?' she mentally grumbled.

Olivia, who had just undergone her third ascension, was sorely lacking knowledge regarding the higher ascensions. In her mind, the ascension was simply a process of overcoming your weaker self to become stronger, similar to the Stage 2 and Stage 3 ascension.

Of course, while those ascensions were challenging and dangerous in their own right, they weren't 'that' dangerous were they. (AN: 'that' refers to the storm in the sky.)

Isn't facing this ascension or First Transcendence or whatever, without any preparations, just suicide?

The above paragraphs were solely Olivia's internal turmoils and questions. While a keen or sensitive person might have understood her point of view, Lucius with his negative levels of empathy did not.

As such, facing Olivia's monologue which was full of great concern for his safety, he answered…

"So?"

Lucius' face was placid and his tone was as mechanical as ever. 

To be honest, he wasn't quite sure as to why Olivia was stating the obvious in the first place. Weren't the ascensions from the Third Stage onwards filled with innumerable dangerous and numerous life-or-death situations? Weren't the chances of succeeding in ascensions incredibly slim and unable to be guaranteed by anybody or anything?

Sure, his First Transcendence was a lot stronger than the others at the same level. But that was because of Lucius' special identity. Starting from here on it would only become more and more difficult and dangerous for him.

In fact, as mentioned earlier, it would be absolutely impossible for Lucius to overcome his Second Transcendence (Stage 6 Ascension) if he were to face it without some 'special' preparations. 

"So? SOO!?" Olivia was literally speechless at Lucius' irresponsible answer.

Seeing the clueless, blank look on Lucius' face and the 'verge-of-exploding' look on Olivia's, Ka'lor'ah being a master at conversation immediately stepped in.

"Alright, stop now." She then turned to look at Olivia and teasingly spoke, "Look at you, full of worry like a newlywed wife."

Her tone became a lot softer and gentler as she continued, "He'll be fine. He's LUCIUS for heaven's sake! Have you ever seen him actively preparing for something?"

She then faced Lucius and admonishingly spoke, "And you! Answer that earlier question. How confident are you?"

Lucius took another look at the sky and at the sixty-something steps that had already formed and replied, "At least ninety percent, accounting for any external disturbances and unforeseen circumstances."

"You don't have to worry about external disturbances. As long as you don't undergo your ordeal within my city and destroy it in the process, I will personally guard you against anyone intruding." Klytius, in his deep and powerful voice, answered. 

Nodding her head, Ka'lor'ah turned to look at Olivia once again and spoke, "You hear that? Now, let go."

Olivia deeply frowned and hesitated for a few seconds before letting go of her clutch on Lucius' arm. The latter on being released immediately turned around and disappeared from the sights of everyone.

Lucius' physical evolution into the next Stage brought his top speed and instantaneous acceleration to new levels. 

Speed, which was his superior attribute, had just gotten faster.

Seeing Lucius wordless disappear, Olivia quietly cursed under her breath, "Heartless jerk." 

"HAHAHA! Young love, how innocent." Klytius roared with deep laughter. He then waved his hands and lifted Olivia and Ka'lor'ah with his soul power.

"Let's go take a look at how your mate performs, shall we?" 

Having said that, Klytius did not even bother waiting for an answer and disappeared with the duo, with a speed which was no less than Lucius' own. 

The other Giant experts who were also excited at the prospect of a person undergoing their First Transcendence rushed towards the city wall in the direction which Lucius' had fled in. 

Roars and messages were thrown around and in mere minutes almost the entire Royal City was aware of the matter of the Black Blade undergoing his First Transcendence. Every person, both Giant and otherwise, was equally curious and excited as they rushed towards the city walls to watch the great show.

The sky, meanwhile, continued to intensify in power and fervor and the golden steps neared completion. Once the 108 steps were fully formed, Lucius' trail would officially start.

----------

Klytius, Olivia, and Ka'lor'ah were the first to arrive at the top of the city walls overlooking the infinite barren lands outside the Royal City. It was within these lands that Lucius was waiting for his trial to begin.

With their vastly superior eyesight, the group immediately spotted Lucius calmly looking up at the sky with the scythe in his hands, some few hundred kilometers away. 

Klytius, however, seemed to be unsatisfied by this distance as he performed some strange motions with his hands and muttered an ancient language with his mouth. 

After performing these actions for a few dozen seconds, he suddenly let out a yell while pouring his Stage 5 soul power into the air.

"Distant Mountains Prying Technique!!"

The instant his voice fell, the soul power pouring out of the Giant King's hand surged into the air before them and formed a large, translucent screen. The translucent screen, a few hundred meters wide both longways and sideways, flickered with white static light for a few moments before displaying an image.

The image was, of course, Lucius standing with his eyes facing the sky and his hands holding his pitch-black scythe. The screen broadcasted in high-resolution and zero delays showed a close-up of the event that was happening in the distance. 

With this screen, none of them have to strain their eyes to look into the far distance.

"That's much better—Hmm?" Klytius grinning with satisfaction at his actions suddenly wore a quizzical expression on his face.

On the screen, Lucius, who was previously looking at the sky waiting for the ordeal to finish forming, suddenly frowned and looked exactly into the direction of the broadcasting technique. His black, depthless eyes seemed to have pierced through the distance and stare directly at the crowd watching the screen above the city wall.

"He instantly detected my observation technique and even pinpointed its location. What a frightening perception," Klytius spoke with praise, a large smile on his face.

"Ah, my itch to immediately fight him only grows stronger!"