Chapter 394: Dimensional Power

“Dimensional Power...?” Karyl repeated.

“Yes. As you know, Yula, the creator of this world, isn’t the only god out there. Like all the others, she came from somewhere... a time before myth.”

“A force beyond the gods... To those aiming to slay them, it’s a terrifying idea. But looking at it another way, it proves the gods aren’t invincible.”

“Exactly.”

Karyl nodded, understanding Mael’s point.

“This Dimensional Power only confirms what we already knew. The existence of other gods isn’t just some obscure legend from the teachings of the Church. It’s the truth.”

Karyl recalled the inscriptions in Riseria’s lair and how its words mirrored the Church’s first verse.

“There were four children under the primordial god, who competed over dimensions. One vanished, and two of the remaining three united, birthing seventeen offspring.”

“You remember well.”

“Well, I led the Ten of the Oracle. There was a lot of talk about an immigrant without magic leading them, but Yula chose me. In hindsight, it almost feels like a cruel joke.”

“There’s no point in trying to understand a deity,” Mael argued. “They’re capricious. Like their ancestors, they competed among themselves as humans do. Of them, five perished, leaving twelve gods, one of whom is Yula today.”

“We fight for ourselves, but humanity has been turned into mere pawns in the gods’ games. Destruction and war—it’s the twisted nature of the gods. And it’s us who die because of it.”

Karyl’s eyes burned fiercely.

“That’s not competition. It’s just the gods toying with us.”

“Perhaps, but destruction often gives rise to creation. From chaos comes division, and new species, like spirits and demons, are born.”

“Don’t try to justify chaos. Destruction as creation? Fuck off! You speak of chaos and destruction, yet after losing the Great War of the Spirits and Gods, you forced us to uphold your laws and covenants!” Karyl growled back, gripping Mael’s form tightly.

The blue serpent gasped, its long tongue flicking out.

“You wouldn’t even dare to bare your fangs at Yula if I hadn’t freed you. What would you be without me? You’d still be cowering in the dark.”

“Hah...” Mael chuckled bitterly, seemingly unable to refute Karyl’s rebuke.

“So why is this here? If, as you say, Dimensional Power isn’t a power gods possess but one they’re granted, it couldn’t have been left by Yula...”

Voooom...

The shard responded to Karyl’s touch, gently spinning above his palm in a perfect circle. Then, Karyl’s eyes widened.

“

Cough

...!”

He staggered, his knees suddenly weak. Just touching the shard had unleashed an overwhelming flood of information into his mind—far beyond what he had experienced when accessing Allen’s repository of knowledge, or the fulfillment he had felt wielding Polsetia.

It was something closer to fear.

“Oh... And here you are, still breathing after touching the fragment. That, in itself, is something to marvel at.”

“You freaking... Is it really the time for this? You were trying to see if it would kill me?” Karyl snapped, summoning Mael.

“Ssss...!”

He squeezed the blue serpent just below the head, choking him again.

“You want to die? It seems you still don’t know your place. Has my kindness given you the false impression that you could still claim my body?”

“Krrk... Heh...”

[Calm yourself, Karyl. The words of that ancient venomous snake are even more insidious than those of a demon, but if he had intended to kill you, we would have stopped him.]

𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

“Oh, is that so? So what exactly is this? Even if you weren’t trying to test me, you still wanted to see if I could withstand this thing.”

“Karyl, I understand your frustration with these unexpected developments, but you mustn’t lose your composure.”

At that moment, Allen Javius appeared at his side.

“Do you really think I can be calm right now?”

“You may know the future, but that doesn’t mean you know fate. Things are diverging from the future you remember, allowing you to discover things you’ve never anticipated.”

Ramine’s form manifested as well, his blaze dispersing the darkness around them.

[Indeed, you’re correct.]

[We had to confirm it ourselves.]

[But we had no intention of killing you. We knew there was a possibility.]

“A possibility?”

[It isn’t impossible for you to handle the Dimension Spiral. With dragon magic, the blood of the Blader, and the energy of Polsetia, you should be able to construct Dimensional Power,] Duaat explained.

Ramine nodded in agreement. [That’s likely why Mael was so curious. Though he knew it was technically feasible, he still couldn’t believe a human could truly handle Dimensional Power.]

To that, Mael gave a hiss dripping with derision.

[The very idea of a Dimension Spiral being left here defies all logic. It makes no sense for the power of a specific dimension to be present in a foreign realm.]

Karyl squeezed even harder, wrenching a choked scream from the snake.

“Khaaah...!”

[While it may seem miraculous, it wouldn’t have been possible without the preparations he made to claim such a chance.]

Ramine gently placed a hand on Karyl’s back, then extended it over his shoulder to grasp the shard.

[Look closely.]

Karyl gazed into the fragment—something trembled within, spinning like a vortex.

“...”

He activated Infinity Circle, and his field of view expanded, revealing the swirling contents in even sharper detail. And yet, its true essence still eluded him—small yet immeasurably vast. Mere sight couldn’t possibly grasp something like that.

“...Is this a universe?”

[More precisely, a dimension. Within the Dimension Spiral lies an entire dimension. Dimensions collapse and give rise to new ones, expanding realms where gods beyond Yula preside.]

“This is crazy... Ramine, are you saying that with this, one could become a god?”

[...It’s not impossible.]

“...!”

At that, Karyl’s heart skipped a beat.

[But I am afraid it is for you. For us as well, and dragons, and demons.]

Karyl frowned, his excitement promptly suppressed by Ramine’s words.

“Why is that?”

[I don’t know how that Kaye Aesir individual discovered this, but he passed it on to the Demon King. Of all creatures, that demon is the most cunning and malevolent. Why would he refrain from claiming such alluring power and keep it stored instead?]

Karyl stared at him.

[The reason is simple. He couldn’t use it.]

“Equating me with the Demon King is insulting. Just because he couldn’t wield it doesn’t mean that I can’t.”

[This isn’t about diminishing your abilities. It’s an issue beyond strength.] Ramine offered a faint smile.

[Humans, dragons, even demons—all are creations of the gods. The Bladers are no exception. Whether it’s Judex’s techniques or even the absolute magic within the Grand Grimoire, everything is beneath the gods’ power. No matter what we do, we remain subject to that absolute power.]

“Yet you still defied them,” Karyl challenged.

[Yes, and we failed.]

“What are you getting at? You think I’ll fail as well?”

[No. Quite the opposite. That’s precisely why we wanted to confirm it.]

Wooog...!!

As Ramine raised his hand, the shard started rotating again.

[Gods can wield Dimensional Power, but one doesn’t have to be a god to use it. Creation is inherently destructive. The Dimension Spiral carries this power, so it will destroy anything unworthy of it. Yet here you are, still standing after touching it.]

Thump, thump, thump...

“Could it be...?”

[Yes. A miracle born of many fortunate coincidences. Without the combined forces of draconic mana, spirit power, the Blader blood, and Polsetia, merely touching this fragment would have reduced you to ash in an instant.]

“...”

[The draconic mana helped you withstand the Dimensional Power, the spirit power purified it, the blood of the Bladers—who once followed the gods, before their rebellion—made the fragment accept you, and Polsetia enabled this power to manifest in

this

world rather than a dimensional realm.]

“So I was just lucky?”

[Yes, but you’re the one who created this luck. It’s your achievement.]

The Blazing King gave a faint smile. Being the first one to forge a pact with Karyl, he could grasp the true extent of his growth.

“Still, you insist that humans can never reach the realm of the gods.”

[Do you desire to become a god? The Karyl I know never sought that. If you craved ever-greater power just for the sake of it, we never would’ve followed you.]

“I suppose you do know me, Ramine,” Karyl said with a faint grin.

Crack—

At that moment, Karyl reached out and firmly grasped the shard, even though a gentle touch had overwhelmed him moments ago.

“As curious as you are to see if I can wield this, I’ve only ever had one reason for wanting to breach the gods’ domain. I don’t desire to be a god. I simply wish to eliminate them.”

Shraaak...!

With that declaration, the pitch-black darkness peeled away like a curtain, revealing a flood of brilliant light pouring in.

“Let me rephrase. Even if I don’t become a god, could this shard serve as a weapon to kill one?”

[Absolutely,] Mael hissed, as if he had been anticipating this moment.

“Then I’ll make this power my own.”

Crunch!

Without further explanation, Karyl tightened his grip on the fragment, shattering it into countless sparkling particles.