Staggering, Regretless took four steps backward before stabilizing himself.
"Spurting blood already? I guess old age spares none. I'd recommend you a good hematologist, but I'm afraid those able to treat your condition didn't survive the Empyrean."
Konrad chortled while Regretless suppressed his internal chaos. When back to rationality, Konrad's words were facts he'd hypothesize. No, he knew them true but didn't want to acknowledge them or the implications they carried.
And now bashed with the reality he denied for eons, even for him, the blow was hard to bear.
Crimson lightning erupted from his form while the might of his inscrutable powers unfurled.
"This Sovereign will erase you…once and for all!"
Regretless pledged and stretched out his right hand toward Konrad. Indeed, when Transcendent Beings were concerned, the term "kill" no longer applied. The only way to end their existence was to erase it altogether.
And throughout the Omniverse, only two still possessed that ability. The trapped Dharma Lord, and Regretless, of course. However, even before Regretless' impending strike, Konrad remained undisturbed.
The scenery changed, and the two landed in a world of endless sea. The sky was a sea, the earth was a sea. In fact, aside from the place they stood in, everything lied within that endless sea.
"No you won't. Rancid idiot."
Konrad replied without an ounce of fear.
"As our dear Dharma Lord said, this is the place where the three Supreme Forces gather in one. On this day that I build my bridge with the Almighty as my witness, you have no right to run amok before me, and interfere with my moment.
First, go cultivate some more."
Konrad's snide rang within Regretless' eardrums but fell on deaf ears.
"You underestimate This Sovereign. Even the Almighty Will of this realm cannot protect the one This Sovereign wishes to eradicate!"
Regretless proclaimed and stretched out his hands, causing the crimson tribulation lighting around him to morph into a crimson bow. He bent the bow, aiming it at Konrad's face and forming a crimson arrow, the same crimson arrow that ended the Empyrean.
But from the bottom of the endless sea, an immaculate bridge rose to tear through the vault of heavens. Konrad and Regretless both found themselves on this bridge which seemed able to shoulder all within creation.
The endless sea roared and gathered a gargantuan force that threatened to obliterate all throughout the omniverse. But now, that force aimed solely at Regretless. Yet, he didn't care, and still arched his bow!
This was a development Konrad was glad to see. If there was one thing he learned within his first incarnation, it was that while Regretless was ordinarily a shrewd man able to hatch plans that stretched across eons, he possessed one fatal flaw:
Wrath.
Once he entered a frenzy, all rationality left him. And perhaps eons of unchallenged dominion further assured him of the correctness of his move. However, Konrad didn't doubt that if he struck, destruction awaited him.
On his bridge, he was invincible. Of course, Regretless could choose to take a step back and wait for another opportunity.
But for the one that claimed Supremacy, such a choice was hard to make. Although Konrad's nasty tongue showed no apprehension, the fact of the matter was that Regretless was far too strong. A horrendous gap stood between them. If he could use this opportunity to erase him, then in the future, he could breathe at ease.
But as the arrow was about to leave the bow, a vortex tore the space to see the entrance of a new individual:
Night, and with his new memories, Konrad could identify him with ease.
"Night, long time no see. As gloomy as ever. I didn't miss you."
Konrad stated, and his words confirmed Night's suspicions. However, he wasted no time in pointless banter.
"Eldest brother, even for you, this is no different from courting destruction. Take a step back."
Night urged without reservation.
"Moreover, Celestial Slaughter's return is impending. With the Conqueror's Will's endless self-improvement, no one can gauge what level he will reach. When he reappears within the Omniverse, we need the sacrifice of an Infiniteness Supreme to obliterate him for good. Otherwise, he will run amok without end.
Where are we going to breed another candidate in the assigned timeframe? You are invincible, the past, present, and future do not have your match. Today or tomorrow, what does it matter? Furthermore, what better revenge can there be than having the beloved son self-destruct to end the father?
You do not have to do anything. He's already on the road, you can watch at ease how those you loathe the most destroy one another!"
Night rationalized, for indeed, this was Regretless' original goal and the reason why he created The System. Back when he slew his father, Celestial Slaughter, Regretless wasn't Supreme, and there were certain mysteries he didn't comprehend.
The first Ancient Secret, the Supreme Conqueror Sutra possessed two unique abilities no one knew of: Endless Resurrection and Endless Self-Improvement.
Those that mastered the Supreme Conqueror Sutra existed within Nothingness.
Once destroyed, such an individual would vanish from existence, only to reappear eons later. But without fail, they would always be at least stronger than the force that ended them, or rather, stronger than that force was at the time.
In this case, Primordial God, triple top-lineage and all Laws Wielding Regretless.
Even in the ancient era, this wasn't a force non-Supremes could contend with. Moreover, back then, Regretless had already achieved Transcendence in Three Primal Laws. Although the current him was incomparably stronger, unless he reached the Almighty Supreme altitude, he couldn't erase the Conqueror's Will without self-destruction.
Regretless would of course not ruin himself to end Celestial Slaughter or anyone else for that matter. Alas, when he broke into the Firmament, all those Infiniteness Supremes refused to compromise, leaving him no other choice but to seek a new road:
Create a new Infiniteness Supreme.
But if achieving Supremacy was such a simple task, the zillions of years old Firmament wouldn't have had only nine Supremes.
For the sake of that goal, Regretless used the Infiniteness Principle to create Systems which he scattered across all the multiverses. Each multiverse saw a different system, but there were two things that remained unchanged:
First, the host was forced to pursue Supremacy in one way or another.
Second, a Hidden Quest Goal to reach Nascent Insight in Infiniteness by comprehending The System's roots and composition.
Naturally, all failed. Konrad was the first successful candidate. Although Regretless hadn't expected him to achieve it without the system, that was of little consequences. The next step was to guide him toward mastery while keeping him under control through the very system he thrived on.
Yes, the system was a parasite meant to become Regretless' tool to control a successful host.
And recalling all this, Regretless calmed his ire and lowered his bow.
"Indeed. Why waste such a golden opportunity. Konrad or Dragon Warden, it matters not. You cannot escape This Sovereign's palm. In the past, you couldn't. In the present, you still can't. This Sovereign will watch from the Firmament how you undeviatingly step toward your doom."
Regretless declared with his lips curled into a fiendish grin.
Hearing this, Konrad chortled.
Knowing that irreconcilable enmity existed, but allowing the foe to roam and grow no end. Now, that was true conceit. A path even Konrad didn't dare take. Admirable, Regretless truly was "admirable."
If the situation were reversed, Konrad would kill without exception.
Amused, he stretched out his hand, causing bright light to erupt from his forehead and morph into a pure white sphere. With a wave of his hand, Selene's soul flew out of the sphere to land beside him. The sphere then flew toward Regretless.
"You can take it back. Henceforth, I Am the System."
397: Henceforth, I Am the System
