1,000 Years (3)

The world was destroyed and only a massive abyss was left in the center of this particular island, and surprisingly enough, none of the other regions were affected, remaining perfectly afloat, as if they were never connected to the central region in the first place.

In the center of this space, three figures still floated... Oblivion stood in the skies with clasped hands behind his back as he had an unreadable expression omnipresent on his face. His deep and dark pupils glanced toward Cecelia who seemed to protect him throughout as he then went on to ask with an amused tone.

"Color me surprised, what made you protect me? I thought you'd join your little friend and attack to kill, after all, I'm the root cause of all your problems..." Staring at the veiled figure of Cecelia, Oblivion had a slight smirk etched onto his face.

"Why would I not..? From what I understand so far, we weren't ever meant to be anyway. So, what you've done is give each being in creation as I know it, a life...

"This is something opposite to what you spoke of last time and now that I understand this, what you said last time, about wiping all living beings from creation, if this is what you want, no one has the right to object!"

Closing her eyes and drawing a deep breath that lasted several seconds, Cecelia reopened them as her eyes flashed with determination.

"You created me and the others, so our life is up to you to decide... At least, this is how I see it..!"

Oblivion's eyes flashed with a light of mystery as his teeth showed. Shaking his head, he sighed lightly at his previous way of thinking. Wiping out all life...? Oblivion didn't care about that at all, and he presumed that Saber was the same.

The only thing the two cared about, at least now that he had awakened his memories, was complete and absolute strength.

Resisting the Ancient Universe, and resisting the mysterious force that had instantly suppressed the Ancient Universe and himself which was the true cause of this whole charade in the end.

"Orion, Cecelia, I'll be focusing on improving my strength from now... I hope that during this time both of you can protect me until I decide to leave this place. At that time, it'll also be when I go into Hell's Towers to meet with my other half and become Pure-Heart once again!"

Thrum!

The duo listening to his words felt their hearts beat faster. Become Pure-Heart once again..! Though they didn't know this name, they understood what it implied. The end and a new beginning for them, especially for Orion. He'll become real...!

"Don't worry Cecelia, you too will benefit from protecting me. Becoming real, this is all you want right..?" Oblivion confidently stated. And earning a nod from Cecelia, his smile widened even more as his current performance was beyond what Oblivion ever showed before.

"Becoming real..." Oblivion paused before waving his hand and shaking his head. "Such a thing, when Pure-Heart descends is as simple as breathing..."

Thrum!

Cecelia once more felt her heart quicken. Any more and she'd be the first Immortal cultivator to die from a heart attack. Snickering, Oblivion slowly returned to his expressionless and aloof persona as he turned his back to the duo. His next destination... Nowhere.

Crossing his legs and closing his eyes, suddenly the wheel symbol on his forehead spun. Above his head, a crack in the space took form, revealing an endless grey space! Right after, the grey space seemingly rushed out of the crack and tried to permeate the space of the Heavenly Mystic Domain!

But, instead of this, all the grey light shone onto Oblivion's body, seeping into his pores as the mysterious force surrounding Oblivion slowly became more and more dreadful. It gave one a sense of fear that originated from the depths of their souls. As if they were facing an unprecedented apocalypse that meant instant oblivion for their existence!

Cecelia and Orion stood nearby watching this scene with slight apprehension. Though this was the case, nothing stopped them from performing their duties.

Any being who was curious enough to come to investigate why there was now a massive piece of land missing from this island, met Cecelia who quickly chased them away.

Time passed... Just like this, days went by, and months turned into years...

...

...

Urgh!

Oblivion's eyes shot open as a light groan escaped his lips. Turning around, what came to view were two figures who sat close by mid-air in meditative postures. Soon after, they stood up, bowing to Oblivion before relaxing once more after a gesture from Oblivion.

"How long has it been?" He asked. Orion replied right after, "Seven years... Exactly seven years and nine months..." Oblivion thought. 'Seven years to reach the peak of the Profound Immortal realm...'

"Hmm... I've stumbled upon a bottleneck. I guess even with the memories of Pure-Heart, my comprehension isn't present until I become Pure-Heart again. Well, there is still that one solution to a bottleneck."

Death... By killing enough cultivators, Oblivion would break through any bottleneck. And this was what he intended to do. But seeing as Profound Immortals would probably not do much in breaking this bottleneck, he'd have no choice but to raise the level of his resources a little.

"Orion, I'll be going on a hunt. I want you to gather every Golden Immortal, from level 1 to level 9 inside the Heavenly Mystic Domain Inner Region in one spot... Do it as fast as possible..!" Oblivion ordered with a smirk. Though he didn't understand why Orion would still follow the orders.

A profound immortal facing a golden immortal is already madness but facing possibly thousands or tens of thousands of golden immortals, nothing was more nonsensical than that. Of course, Oblivion wasn't planning to do such a thing. His abilities didn't exactly make group battles favorable for him, unlike a certain Saber.

But Oblivion still intended to develop his swordsmanship simultaneously with his cultivation. One must know that, unlike the mysteries of the universe, fire, water, etc... The way of the sword held no limits. It wasn't just swords but weapons in general. After all, they weren't made by the ancient universe.

In the battle against the ancient universe, two things would be important. One would be the mysterious force that pitted him against the ancient universe in the first place, mastering that was the most important thing... But, if he couldn't then he could only rely on weapon mastery.

Thus, developing his sword art was the second most important thing. Thinking this, a long katana appeared in his palm and it then went on to release a blinding light that enveloped Oblivion's body. With the help of the system and its strings, he could view the location of nearby golden immortals.

And with the help of the katana's teleportation, he could appear in front of these golden immortals in an instant...!

...

...

Flying at an incredibly quick speed over an endless ocean of burning miasma and flames was a young-looking woman with fiery red here and a pair of crimson eyes. The whites of her eyes were flaming red and they didn't contain any pupils.

"Huh... Who the hell are you?" She suddenly frowned as a young man with dazzling features suddenly appeared in her path. Shockingly enough, she didn't even sense the ripples in the void as he teleported...!