Pantheon

Gathering all his might, Lorien mobilized every ounce of power at his disposal, causing his domain to quake intensely from the sheer pressure.

Gritting his teeth as he struggled to stabilize the domain while simultaneously engaging in a tug of war with the world for control over the surrounding reality, Lorien concentrated all his power into a singular point, his determination unwavering.

For this attack, Lorien left no power unused; His Chrono Eyes worked at their full capabilities, attempting to influence the outcome in advance by choosing the most favorable future, while his Dream/Reality ability functioned as the core of the attack, surrounded by all the other powers at his disposal.

His energy, his abilities, the laws he had just seized control over, and those he manipulated by breaking the world's shackles — It all merged into a single sphere.

"Alright then, let me take one from Pantheon." Stated Lorien as signs of exhaustion slowly appeared on his face.

"With this, it's everything or nothing!" 

Following this powerful and unwavering declaration, Lorien extended his hand forward, carrying the condensed power within it, which swiftly morphed into a new form — a multicolored spear of energy.

*Bzzz*

*Bzzz*

*Crack*

*Crack*

With such immense might condensed in one place, it seemed as if the surrounding space was unable to contain it any longer which caused it to begin to collapse and crack around this spear-like energy formation.

Time and Space, Cause and Effect, Creation and Destruction, Dreams and Reality; These Laws swirled around the tip of the spear as Lorien aimed it towards the heavens.

"Anwards! The spear only aims in one direction."

*Bzzz*

*Swish*

With a swift twirl, Lorien's body spun in place, generating further power as he sent the spear hurtling into the sky, leaving behind a trail of multicolored energy.

*Bzzz*

Rushing at a speed that appeared to defy the laws of the universe, the spear swiftly found its target, intercepting the world's attack before it could breach the domain's barrier.

*BOOM*

It all happened in an instant, the moment these two attacks met, it all went silent.

At that moment, all meaning seemed to dissipate into the void as a chaotic force erupted from the collision of laws at the epicenter.

From a distance, it appeared as though the world itself had been split in two just above the horizon line.

The upper half, shrouded in black and red world-destroying lightning, contrasted sharply with the lower half, enveloped in vibrant multicolored energy.

And there, at the meeting line between these two divisions, at the center of the previous collision, chaotic light bloomed, signaling the collapse of the order that had gathered the laws of the universe together.

Churning and swirling, this chaotic force quickly condensed into a dark black hole before blooming once again with unbelievable light.

Seeing this, Lorien, who was eager awaiting the result of their clash couldn't help but be shaken as his eyes shrank in fright, an ugly look appearing on his face.

'Damn it.'

'It's coming, the aftermath of our attacks.'

'Ughh, I should have expected it, after all, all this energy has to go somewhere.'

Bracing for the impact, Lorien raised his hand into the sky as he mobilized whatever energy remained in him to reinforce the domain's barrier, aiming to block and redirect the impact.

As he did this, the domain's transparent barrier bloomed with a magnificent light, acting as a shield to block the explosion.

'I can't let the domain get destroyed, and I also can't transform it into a closed domain to escape the explosion.'

'Damn it, I gotta block it head-on.'

Gritting his teeth, Lorien channeled all his remaining power into the barrier knowing all too well that if his domain got torn apart, there was no way the world would allow him to launch it again without a fight.

Additionally, there were also numerous people within his domain who would die because of this impact.

*Bzzz*

*Crack*

*Crack*

'Damn it, I can't hold it anymore.'

Raising his head and looking at the numerous cracks that appeared and were silently spreading all around an ugly expression crept across Lorien's face. He realized that he needed to make a quick decision.

'Should I just give up and rely on the golden barrier, or...'

It's just that as this thought arose, Lorien swiftly extinguished it as a resolute look appeared on his face.

'Damn it, I already said it at the beginning, it's everything or nothing!'

Making his decision, Lorien didn't waste any more time as he began implementing plan B.

'My domain is 19Kilometers in radius.'

'If I condense its size, I should be able to reinforce the barrier.'

'It's basically an exchange of quantity for quality.'

*Bzzz*

With his right hand still raised, Lorien moved his other hand and raised it alongside the other, initiating his plan.

From an outsider's perspective, it appeared as though Lorien was grappling with an immense weight, his hands straining visibly under the pressure as blood veins protruded from the skin.

19Km...18Km...17Km...16Km...15Km...

As the outer portions of the domain began to collapse, turn into radiant light particles, and then condense into the barrier further strengthening it, the cracks that had previously appeared slowly began to heal, restoring the barrier to its intact state.

As Lorien's domain barrier intercepted a significant portion of the explosion, its spherical nature caused the force to be redirected to the sides, thereby causing everything in the vicinity to be erased by the aftermath.

This force tore through towering buildings, city blocks, shops, playgrounds, and tragically, lives, leaving behind a massive crater encircling the domain's sphere.

Ironically, if this crater were to be filled with water, it would resemble the ancient fantasy cities that employed such water-filled moats for their protection.

However, luckily enough, as Lorien's barrier began to collapse and shrink in radius, the destructive aftermath was limited, only targeting the areas Lorien had vacated.

Moreover, this time, as Lorien steadily relocated the people in those areas closer to the center of the domain, there were no casualties.

Moreover, even if Lorien's barrier hadn't partially collapsed, it appeared that the residual energy wouldn't have traveled far beyond the immediate vicinity.

After all, in addition to the energy Lorien blocked and redirected, a substantial portion of it expanded toward the sky.

This action caused a significant portion of the clouds formed by the world's power to disperse and dissipate, leaving behind a vast gap in the sky which allowed the sun to once again shine upon the world, illuminating the aftermath of the cataclysmic clash.

Seeing this, Lorien, whose control over the surrounding reality had temporarily receded to a radius of 14 kilometers after successfully blocking the aftermath, couldn't help but smile.

'Heh, it seems that I wasn't the only one affected.'

It's just that before he could completely feel happy, his smile froze as another wave of dark clouds quickly emerged in the sky, swiftly filling the gap and covering the sky once more.

'...'

"Why are you so persistent?"

"Didn't you already lose enough energy in this attack?"

Thinking back to their previous collision, Lorien is quite sure that the energy that the world has lost even exceeded the losses caused by what he had previously done, so, the world going for another attack really exceeded his expectations.

"Hey, aren't you a rational entity? Why aren't you following the normal logic?"

However, receiving no response, all Lorien could do was brace himself for the next attack.

'Tsk, this is very bad.'

'I don't know if I'll be able to block the next attack relying solely on my own power.'

'If I condense my domain again, I should be able to block such an attack once or maybe twice.'

'So now it's a question of whether the world is willing to expend such a substantial amount of energy to eliminate me.'

'With each attack, the world depletes a significant portion of its original power, which takes a considerable amount of time to replenish, thus hindering its evolutionary progress.'

'With this in mind, eliminating me will become an expenditure the world simply can't afford.'

'However, the question now is whether I should just give up and rely on the golden orb or continue relying on my own power?'

'After all, with our connection, I should be able to harness some of its power actively rather than just letting it passively shield me.'

'...'

However, just as Lorien was considering this idea which he had previously dismissed, an untimely voice suddenly interrupted his train of thought.

"Ummm, excuse me, can we just leave? Or preferably just send us away."

--Note--

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---Author---

P a t r e o n . c o m /AuthorHoussem (Support me there and get to read up to 15 advanced chapters or more) - You can finish reading the 3rd volume now~

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