Cosmic Ruler
Chapter 486 - 486: Fate VI

The pressure hit him instantly. The Abyssal Ruins were alive in a way that defied logic. The very air seemed to seethe with something ancient, something hungry.

[Spatial Distortion Detected.]

[Timeflow: Unstable.]

Aiden's senses flared as he adjusted. He was standing at the edge of a massive crater, a swirling vortex of blackened mist and fractured energy at its heart.

This was no ordinary ruin.

This place was a tomb.

A battlefield that had never ended.

Good.

Aiden cracked his knuckles, his golden sword pulsing with anticipation. If this place wanted to devour him—

Then he'd devour it first.

Aiden stepped forward, and immediately, the ground shifted beneath him. The Abyssal Ruins were not just dead—they were actively resisting his presence.

[Foreign Presence Detected.]

[Echoes of the Fallen Stir.]

A low, guttural whisper slithered through the air, weaving between the fractured remains of once-mighty structures. The ruins stretched endlessly, crumbling temples, shattered monoliths, and rivers of obsidian mist carving through the landscape.

Aiden's grip tightened on his sword. This was a battlefield where countless had fallen, their grudges left unresolved.

Perfect training ground.

He activated Spirit Sense, his perception expanding beyond the visible. The world bled into shades of energy, revealing twisted figures lurking in the depths of the mist.

[Warning: Abyssal Wraiths Approaching.]

Aiden's expression sharpened. Wraiths. Spirits bound by lingering hatred.

—𝘞𝘏𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘔—

The mist pulsed, and suddenly—they emerged.

Twisted humanoid figures, their forms half-real, half-shadow, their eyes glowing with eerie blue malice. Their bodies flickered in and out of existence, making them difficult to target.

"You tread upon the forsaken ground, mortal."

Aiden smirked. "Yeah? And?"

The wraiths screeched in unison, lunging at him from all sides. Their clawed hands ripped through the air, aiming to tear his soul apart.

But Aiden was ready.

—𝘊𝘖𝘕𝘚𝘜𝘔𝘌—

He activated Energy Ruler. The moment their abyssal claws neared him, his aura shifted—black tendrils of energy surged outward, forcefully absorbing their attacks.

The wraiths froze. Their own power was being drained before they could even strike.

Aiden moved.

His golden sword flashed, a blur of radiant destruction. His blade carved through the wraiths like they were paper, their screeches turning into distorted howls as they were devoured by his energy.

[Abyssal Wraiths Defeated.]

[Absorbing Residual Abyssal Essence…]

Aiden's body thrummed as the stolen power flowed into him, raw and untamed. It burned against his veins, the dark energy writhing against his natural Qi.

He grinned.

If I can refine this, I can turn it into something even stronger…

But before he could process the stolen energy—

—𝘛𝘏𝘜𝘕𝘋𝘌𝘙—

The sky above the ruins split apart.

A voice, deep and ancient, rumbled across the battlefield.

"WHO DARES STEAL FROM THE ABYSS?"

Aiden looked up, eyes gleaming with defiance.

Something colossal stirred in the mist, an overwhelming force pressing down upon him.

A Guardian of the Abyss.

And it was coming for him.

Aiden felt the weight of the presence bearing down on him—immense, suffocating, absolute. The air trembled, rippling like disturbed water as the mist thickened into a swirling vortex.

From within, it emerged.

A monstrous figure, clad in obsidian armor, towering over the battlefield like a dark titan. Its form was vaguely humanoid but distorted, as if reality itself rejected its existence. Chains of shattered souls wrapped around its limbs, their tormented cries echoing in the wind.

[Abyssal Guardian Detected: Nyx'Tal, the Warden of Forgotten Souls.]

[Threat Level: Catastrophic.]

Aiden's grip tightened around his sword. He could feel the difference between this being and the Abyssal General he had fought earlier. This wasn't just an enemy—this was a force of nature.

Nyx'Tal's gaze locked onto Aiden, six glowing eyes burning like dying stars.

"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨… 𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙪𝙣𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪."

Aiden exhaled slowly, his golden aura pulsing outward.

"Yeah?" He rolled his shoulders, his sword igniting with celestial energy. "I'd like to see you try."

Nyx'Tal moved.

Faster than something of its size should be capable of. The ground beneath it shattered, and in an instant—it was in front of him.

—𝘉𝘖𝘖𝘔—

Aiden barely had time to raise his sword before a colossal fist crashed down. The impact tore through the earth, sending shockwaves across the battlefield.

Aiden skidded backward, his feet carving deep trenches in the shattered ground. His arms burned from the sheer force.

[Warning: Physical Integrity of Energy Barrier at 68%.]

He didn't have time to think. Nyx'Tal was already following up.

A second fist came down—this time, wreathed in abyssal flames.

Aiden reacted on instinct. Space Rend.

A flicker of dark energy laced through his sword as he slashed the air itself, bending space around the attack. The Abyssal Guardian's strike warped, its trajectory thrown off as Aiden sidestepped.

—𝘍𝘓𝘈𝘚𝘏—

He countered instantly. His sword blazed, and he unleashed a golden arc of destruction, aiming straight for Nyx'Tal's chest.

The attack hit.

A surge of divine light erupted, swallowing the Guardian in an explosion of radiance.

But—

—𝘞𝘏𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘔—

The dust cleared, and Nyx'Tal still stood. Unscathed.

Aiden's eyes narrowed. "Of course."

The bastard was regenerating.

Nyx'Tal's voice boomed, thick with amusement.

"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚, 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙡. 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙗𝙮𝙨𝙨, 𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙪𝙣𝙮𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜."

Aiden sighed. "Man, you guys really love monologues, huh?"

[Analyzing…]

[Abyssal Regeneration Detected: Core-Based Regeneration.]

[Target's Core Located—Buried within a Dimensional Fold.]

Aiden's smirk widened.

There it was.

The Guardian could regenerate—but only because its true core was hidden somewhere beyond this plane.

Then all I have to do is tear through dimensions and drag it out.

He shifted his stance, his aura shifting from golden radiance to something darker.

—𝘈 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯.—

The Pathfinder's Authority.

Nyx'Tal's six eyes flickered, sensing the shift in power.

For the first time—it took a step back.

Aiden grinned.

"Not so untouchable now, huh?"

And then—he struck.

—𝘊𝘙𝘈𝘊𝘒—

Reality fractured.

Aiden's sword cleaved through the air, but this was no ordinary slash. Space itself warped and crumbled, like a mirror shattered from the inside. A black rift—an abyss of nothingness—tore open.

Nyx'Tal roared, its form rippling like a distortion in time. The guardian tried to retreat, its instincts screaming of the impending catastrophe. But it was too late.

Aiden's Pathfinder's Authority had already latched onto the dimensional fold where its true core was hidden.

—𝘎𝘙𝘙𝘙𝘙𝘙𝘙—

The abyssal titan's body convulsed, twisting, its six glowing eyes flaring with desperation. It reached out with its soul-bound chains, trying to anchor itself to the plane of existence—but Aiden's power was absolute.