Cain clenched his fists as he perceived the unbearable weight of the power emanating from the Champion of the Root. It wasnt merely energy that made the void shudder, nor the monstrous physical strenh that could shatter stars. What shook him was something far greaterthe nature of that power itself.

It was not born of Laws or Concepts, nor any familiar force that governed the Nine Empyrean Suns Universe.

This… this is like the Primordial Forces, Cain realized grimly. A cosmic power that exists outside the framework of creation itself.

If it had been only raw strenh, he could have met it head-on without hesitation. But thisthis was a force that defied the rules of existence, one that could distort reality itself. And facing such an enemy meant that every mistake could be fatal.

Still, there was no turning back.

Primordial Azura Form: Tenth Gear! Cains roar echoed like a declaration of war.

His heartbeat thundered so fiercely that the void itself seemed to quake in rhythm. Crimson mist poured from his body as his blood boiled, and the World Strenh coursing through his veins surged exponentially.

BOOOOOOM!

Golden and scarlet energy exploded outward in a blinding wave. Cain stepped forward, every motion cracking the space beneath him. His aura burned like a newborn sun, radiant and merciless.

Emprik, the Grafter, watched in silence. The cold, cruel intelligence in his eyes sharpened. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he gave a signal.

From the colossal Heart of the Root, the corruption stirred once more.

Tens of thousands of new spawn emergedmonstrous entities of decay and nightmare. Their ranks were vast, each one radiating the strenh of a Prime Deity, while hundreds bore the oppressive might of ArchDeity Rank abominations. The influence of the Matrix weakened them significantly, their forms hissing as divine light burned their skin, but not enough to stop their advance.

They came at Cain like a tidal wave of flesh and shadow.

Cains eyes glowed, golden light flaring like twin stars. Meet your end.

He extended his arm and unleashed a storm of Tidal Mass Lances. Each throw tore through the horde, blasting dozens of abominations into dust. Yet for every monster he slew, ten more filled the gap, forming a wall of rotting flesh and gnashing maws that surged toward him like a tsunami.

ARGHHH! The Scarlet King did not yield even for a heartbeat. He surged forward, his body moving with the combined might of the Primordial Body, the Laws, the Star Power, and the Light of the Flow. His strikes carved bloody paths through the darkness.

Every abomination he slew drained himbut also strenhened him.

The Matrix purified the corpses of his enemies the moment they fell, converting them into streams of golden light that poured back into Cains soul as Primal Origin Energy. He siphoned off a fraction to sustain his body, using twenty percent to restore his stamina and power, while the rest channeled into his Eclipse Molotiuh Inherence, amplifying his endurance with each heartbeat.

Empriks fury deepened. The Grafters expression twisted with disgust. To him, Cains defiancehis individualitywas blasphemy.

You persist, Emprik muttered, his voice vibrating with venom. Then you will feed the Root with your defiance.

His left arm extended, and the tendrils writhing from it slithered outward like rivers of darkness. They pierced hundreds of his own spawn, mutating themtwisting their forms until they grew larger, stronger, and more grotesque. They fused into extensions of his own body, each one pulsing with the same dark energy that flowed through him.

Then, with a gesture, he sent them all forward.

The pressure that followed was unbearable. The weight of the hordefueled by Empriks own essencepressed against Cain like a collapsing world. His momentum slowed, his advance haing inch by inch, until at last, the swarm surrounded him completely.

Flesh merged with flesh, bone with bone, until the abominations formed a massive sphere of rotting bodiesa moon of decay. Cain was trapped at its core, buried beneath the weight of corruption itself.

Empriks laughter filled the void. It was a low, guttural sound that curdled the very air. He closed his clawed hand, and the moon began to compress. The abominations at the center screamed as their bodies ruptured, but their agony only fueled the crushing mass, their death feeding the unity.

Yes… yes! Emprik hissed, savoring the destruction. Be consumed. All strenh becomes the Root. All will, all defiancedissolved into unity!

He loathed beings like Cainthe independent, the defiantbut he loved to watch them fall. To see their pride break, their essence absorbed into the endless, perfect unity of the Root.

The moon of flesh contracted further. Bones snapped. The light inside dimmed. And for a moment, it seemed as if Cain had been erased.

Thena sound.

A whisper at first, then a voice.

RESURRECCIN!

The word tore through the void like the roar of a dragon and the command of a god fused into one. The very fabric of space shivered at its utterance.

From within the decaying moon, power surged.

An overwhelming wave of energy erupted outward. The sound of tearing flesh echoed across the void as the entire sphere of abominations convulsed, then exploded. Tens of thousands of creatures were obliterated in an instant, their remains vaporized into dust.

And from that cataclysm, he emerged.

The Scarlet King stood in his uimate form.

His body was encased in obsidian armor streaked with moen red veins that glowed with divine power. At its center pulsed a black holealive, spinning with the perfect fusion of his Astral Supremacy Star and Inner Universe.

Golden-scarlet flames cloaked his body, his presence radiating such heat and power that even the corrupted void recoiled. He was no longer merely a being of strenhhe was the embodiment of cosmic will, the flame that refused to be extinguished.

Cain lifted his head, eyes like abysses staring at Emprik and the Heart of the Root. Yet the darkness in those eyes was not born of emptiness or detachmentit was the coldness of purpose, the weight of responsibility. The resolve of one who carried the hopes of countless lives behind him.

Emprik, the Champion of the Root, hesitated.

For the first time, a flicker of something aliensomething dangerously close to fearcrossed his grotesque features. The sheer defiance, the willpower radiating from the Scarlet King made even this creature from beyond creation faer.

And then, Cain moved.

He shot forward like a blazing scarlet sun, each step warping the void around him.

Emprik howled and summoned every remaining spawneven those still tearing at the golden hands of the Matrixto converge on Cain. A tidal wave of monsters rushed to intercept.

But as they neared, the Scarlet King raised his hand and made a single, effortless motion.

He snapped his fingers.

A spiderweb of invisible blades erupted around him, slicing through reality itself. The abominations disintegrated in midair, bursting into clouds of corrupted blood before they could even touch him.

And through that storm of destruction, Cain advancedunstoppable, incandescent, and beyond divine.