"If he's in the Domain of Watchers, do you think your dad can keep an eye on him?"
"You're really asking who's stronger, me or that old Merlin, right?"
"I'll just tell you directly—he can't beat me, but I can't kill him either."
After speaking, the man pulled a pitch-black glass orb from his pocket and tossed it to Zane.
The glass orb seemed to possess an extraordinary magical power, instantly swallowing Zane's consciousness as he reached out to it.
"This is…"
Roma seemed to recognize the orb. After pondering for a moment, she blurted out:
"This is a pure energy orb formed from fragments of the Phoenix Force?"
"Yes. It's just part of the Phoenix Force fragments that drifted to Earth in the main universe, and I picked it up," the man said proudly, pleased that someone recognized the gift he'd brought.
"It originally had some impurities, but they were refined and purified by the ancient cosmic force, forming this small orb."
"Zane, don't underestimate this orb. It's only a fraction of the Phoenix Force fragments left in the main universe."
"If you gather the entirety of the Phoenix Force, it would easily surpass those six little broken gems of yours. At least then you'd be able to instantly obliterate those dumb muscleheads."
"And you wouldn't accidentally cause universe-scale quantum collapses every other day."
Zane listened to the man's lecture-like tone and couldn't help but feel a little helpless.
Not that the man needed to explain—having read the original story in his previous life, Zane naturally understood the power of the Phoenix Force.
Forget instantly obliterating the rookie heroes on Earth. If even a ten-thousandth of its power were unleashed, it could instantly annihilate Arishem of the Celestials.
Seeing the changes in Zane's expression, the man assumed Zane was taking his words to heart and nodded with satisfaction.
"Alright, consider this my gift to you. As long as you carry this orb, you'll be able to sense the Phoenix Force fragments scattered across other universes."
"Hmm? An extra-dimensional space within your body?"
The man fixed his gaze on Zane's body, then suddenly reached out his hand. A grain-sized ball of light emerged from Zane.
Zane could sense the aura of Bastis and the others within the light, along with the constant flow of faith energy.
The man glanced at the light and seemed to follow an invisible thread, looking toward Zane as he murmured, "I see…"
"Fine. Consider this a belated compensation—I'll give you another gift."
*Whoosh!*
The man held the glowing ball containing Zane's entire [Divine Realm] and instantly infused it into the black orb he'd given Zane.
Immediately, Zane felt a surge of immense, untamed energy merging with the faith energy from his Divine Realm, integrating into his very being.
However, this massive energy was as unruly as a disobedient child; Zane couldn't control it right away.
"This orb contains only fragments of the Phoenix Force. I'd advise you not to touch it for now—it won't be of much use to you yet," the man said.
"Once it guides you to gather the entire Phoenix Force, the results will be beyond anything you can imagine."
"How did you do this?" Zane asked.
The man smiled faintly at Zane, his tone casual as he said, "In this universe, as long as I want to, there's nothing I can't do."
"Alright, I've delivered my gift. Time for me to leave—otherwise, my new company might fire me…"
*Swish!*
Just like when he arrived, the man vanished in an instant.
"Who is he?" Zane asked Roma. Beside him, Lorna, who had been silent until now, held onto Zane's arm, her curiosity mirroring his as she looked at Roma.
"He's the one called the Beyonder," Roma replied, her eyes sparkling as if her feelings toward the man were complex.
"So, he's the Beyonder…"
Zane recalled that in his previous life, the Beyonder had only been mentioned by name in the original story, never actually appearing in person.
"Then why is he helping me? Why give me the Phoenix Force?"
"I don't know. Maybe he sees you as someone like him," Roma replied ambiguously, her gaze growing increasingly enigmatic.
A man known as the Beyonder suddenly appeared aboard the spaceship where Zane and the others were traveling and handed Zane a glass orb containing the Phoenix Force.
This took Zane by complete surprise.
Even Roma, who had known the Beyonder before, couldn't accurately explain his intentions.
Although the Beyonder's purpose remained unclear, Zane could sense that the man bore no malice.
Otherwise, in the mere instant when the Beyonder reached out and extracted Zane's [Divine Realm] from his body, he could have easily annihilated Zane completely.
Not just death—Zane would have been reduced to nothingness, with even his soul erased, beyond the ability of the [Divine Realm] to revive him.
As much as Zane hated to admit it, the gap between him and the Beyonder was currently insurmountable.
The sheer power the man displayed so effortlessly was comparable to the Judgment Force unleashed by Arishem the Celestial Judge using the Judgment Scroll.
Both were unfathomable forces Zane had no means to resist.
This also proved one thing: in terms of raw strength, the Beyonder was on par with the true master of the Judgment Scroll, the Living Tribunal.
"Looks like I still have a long way to go…"
Zane muttered to himself, recalling the Beyonder's naturally arrogant demeanor when he appeared. Then, glancing at the system embedded in his body, he murmured,
"But with the system's lottery skills, I'll stand tall before anyone."
"So, I need to complete the system's tasks quickly and draw higher-level skills."
At that moment, Zane made up his mind: after helping Lorna locate the Nemesis Goddess' ruins, he would head to the dimensional universe to complete the Fulcrum Rescue mission.
He then picked up the black orb hanging around his neck, inspecting it closely over and over again.
Finally, he sent a strand of consciousness into the orb from his mind.
Instantly, he sensed feedback from Bastis, who was inside the [Divine Realm].
Zane asked Bastis if she had noticed any changes, catching her off guard. She seemed puzzled by the abrupt question, unsure why Zane was asking.
Tentatively, she replied,
"Master, I don't think anything has changed…?"
"Everyone seems fine—or rather, all their eggs are fine. And no, I didn't secretly carve 'Bastis was here' on their eggshells…"
"It's just that the sky here seems darker than before."
"I never even noticed there was a sky here before…"
Hearing this, Zane's consciousness quickly ascended to the highest reaches of the [Divine Realm].
As he rose, the ghostly lands below shrank smaller and smaller. But compared to before, the process felt significantly longer.
When he reached the very top, where he could go no further, a deafening sound erupted.
*BOOM… BOOM… BOOM…*
Endless darkness, accompanied by an overwhelming sound of expansion, surged forth like a hammer striking Zane's consciousness.
"So this… is a pocket universe," Zane murmured.
From the highest point of his consciousness, he gazed down upon the entire [Divine Realm]: a lone black-flame-covered planet suspended in a vast, pitch-black void.
The black flames of the planet, though also dark, stood in stark contrast to the endless blackness of the surrounding space.
This planet was, of course, the land where Zane had previously placed the statues and the souls of the dead.
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