A world that is usually incredibly hard to notice, even if one is specifically looking for it. Its humble name could be said to be a form of concealment. But even if whatever scheming creature that had designs on it were to give it a slightly less disdainful name, the Barren World would still be indubitably safe.
Breaking both in and out of it has been out of the question for untold eons. No matter how many almighty individuals teamed up and laid siege upon it, the formless barrier encompassing this unassuming world remained unmoved.
But at this very moment, the seemingly eternal peace has been broken. An ominously crimson fog was concealing the destruction that was taking place on it from outsiders. Even though the carnage could not be directly observed; from the surrounding silent void, one could see and even pinpoint the origin of the bloody storm that was now raging on the vast expanse of the Barren World.
The source was a mighty and colossal tower that was predominating over the entire realm. Built atop the illusory nucleus of the world, the tower seemed as if it was about to pierce through the very fabric of reality. Nevertheless, an enigmatic and invisible power effortlessly kept it at bay, leaving it no chances at all.
Currently, a thirty-meter tall demonic figure sat on the peak of the enormous structure, expressionlessly channeling his arcane power into it. Although clearly focused on the task at hand, Acheron's eyes carried a blank look. Reminiscing not only the past few centuries of struggle, but also the rest of his life. All the way from when he first came out of his mother's womb to the approaching end.
The preciousness of these memories couldn't be underestimated. They made up whatever his current existence consisted of, after all. However, he would soon have to part with them, and everything that made him who he is right now will disappear forever.
In truth, he already had a way to achieve something similar to eternal life. He could keep on reincarnating for eternity just like the rest of this world's living creatures, with the only drawbacks being that he would lose his memories and be forced into the endless cycle of life and death.
Yet, Acheron was unwilling. This wasn't the kind of immortality he was seeking. True immortality, as he describes it, entails the ability to keep on living without being affected, nor relying on any external factors. Be it time, space, or his homeland, he was determined to escape from these invisible cages.
In the end, he conceived a method to not only escape from his shackles, but also gain an overwhelming advantage over others. Although he was very reluctant to part with his current state of being, he could only steel himself and start looking forward to the future, expectantly waiting for the beginning of his next life.
A few hours later, the crimson fog retracted back into the tower, revealing the apocalyptic wasteland that it had caused. Every living being has been completely wiped out by it, becoming eerie clouds of ash that lacked not only the vitality of life, but also something much more precious.
The giant quickly snapped out of his reverie. Despite seeing the ridiculous massacre that he had brought upon the world with his own hands, Acheron's expression remained unmoved. Even if he wasn't immortal, he had lived long enough to become wholly detached from worldly matters. It would be a joke if killing people stirred up his emotions. Their death was just the fate of the weak.
'𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺.' called out Acheron in his mind before a wall of text appeared inside of his mind.
"𝗛𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲: 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗻"
"𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗲: 𝗨𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗱 (𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿)"
"Life 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱: 30%"
"𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲."
Law World Source planets are rare in the universe, but they are there, even if hard to locate.
Throughout the entirety of existence, multiple methods of taking advantage of World Source have been conceived, with Acheron's System method being the best of the best. The easiest and most crude method is direct consumption of World Source, turning the physical body into the holder of World Source.
Acheron's System, being fused with the soul, has the power to turn the soul into the container for World Source, granting much stronger control over the World Source and a greater range of abilities.
Gathering 100% of a Law World Source is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, as holders of the portions of World Source roam the universe and are almost impossible to hunt. There are a few cases in which creatures are able to consume entire planets when they are still in their primitive state, obtaining the ultimate power of existence.
According to his theory, thirty percent of the World Source is split up among the world's other natives, while the rest sixty percent is divided between the rest of the world and its core. He figured that the missing ten percent signified himself. He's indeed achieved the peak of strength that the world allowed him to possess, even creating his own species. If he wanted to go further, he would have to leave. Thankfully, he didn't have any descendants.
Acheron gave a light sigh. Without a doubt, he knew that the next step was mutual destruction along with this cage world. What he would lose included everything from his strength to his memories; his past, and his present. Maybe he would still be a little bit hesitant in the past, but now that he had completely ruined this world's ecosystem, he could only be filled with determination.
After leaving a message inside of the System for his next reincarnation he started to relax. He was sure that his future self will be able to move unhindered in the boundless universe soon enough.
The System is an entity he developed after centuries worth of effort. Its main purpose was to keep his soul safe while also transporting and sneaking it into other worlds through the reincarnation cycle in case he dies. His soul has already completely fused with the System, so no matter what happened in the future, he would always be able to survive.
Its other main function is to contain and harness the abilities of multiple World Sources, giving the System's host different powers based on the type of World Source. Even though he is doubtful of the existence of other worlds since he has never seen them, this is still one of the aspects he is most proud of. Besides, as a fail safe, he added many other auxiliary features. He couldn't afford to be careless with things regarding his future self.
Acheron didn't know what ability his future self will get, but he wasn't worried that it won't be powerful enough. After all, how bad could it be considering the World Source is described by the System as 'Life'?
Even in the worst case scenario, his soul would still carry light traces of his current self. Just like how a piece of metal would inevitably get a bit rusty after being in contact with water for too long. Acheron was confident that even without the many other abilities of the System, he would still be able to get at least to his current heights in his next lives.
'It's time.' he thought as he slowly got up and started walking leisurely toward the bottom of the tower. There was no reason for him to hurry. Ever since he managed to perfect the System, everything else became a walk in the park. The entire world has been at his mercy for many centuries and destroying it was the simplest part of the plan. He may as well loosen up and enjoy the process.
Unbeknowenst to him, several grotesque figures were staring at him as he slowly approached the world's core. In fact, they've been watching him ever since he became the most powerful creature in this world. One of the creature's appearances was a black mass of tentacles with a single red eye at the center. Gazing at the weird structure that was built atop the Barren World's core, it couldn't help but squint, having a bad premonition. The closer Acheron got to the core, the more intense the foreboding feeling became.
Naturally, since the evil-looking eye could see it, the other hideous creatures could as well. The ominous feeling immediately prompted them to back away, as they were able to understand a little bit of what was going to happen.
After retreating to a safe enough distance, all of them started watching intently. Some had a look of schadenfreude while others looked rather helpless, as if something they considered theirs was being taken away by someone else right in front of them.
An insane explosion startles the surroundings of this planet, leaving behind no debree at all, as if the entire being of this planet disappeared into nothingness, absorbed by some strange power. All of the eldritch creatures stared in stunned silence. They weren't able to locate any object from which they could've obtained even a smidgen of the 'Life' World Source.
"Life 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱: 100%"
"Commencing Reincarnation Process"