He had only meant to inspect the space, but the moment Asher activated his Absolute Appraisal, he froze.
This wasn’t just some dungeon or an illusionary trap. It was a Realm Gate—a fully stabilized, sovereign micro-realm. A small, self-contained world formed from the remains of a dying plane. The kind only cultivators at the peak of the Star-Forger Realm could create—after wiping out all life in that world, refining its core, and bending its laws to their will. A divine nest born from pure destruction.
And the one at the center?
Not a memory. Not a phantom. A real, living being.
A true peak-level Star-Forger, and not just someone with the title—someone who had the power to back it up.
"Stronger than me..." Asher muttered quietly, shaking his head. "I’ve gotten too comfortable. I’ve spent all my time fighting and climbing the Tower, storing power instead of actually cultivating it."
His eyes locked on the distant throne, where the figure sat with an aura that flickered between divine light and void-like emptiness.
A pressure like that wasn’t fake. This realm didn’t try to push Asher out—but it didn’t accept him either. It resisted him simply because his presence didn’t belong.
Asher turned away from the throne and stepped off the floating cliff he had landed on.
It was time to move. Time to evolve.
He walked deeper into the edge of the Realm Gate and finally stopped on a high slope made of shining crystal stone. With calm focus, he sat down, crossing his legs. Then, his aura pulsed briefly before disappearing completely. His Absence Law enveloped him, hiding his presence entirely.
He began absorbing the realm’s stellar essence—fragments of law and spiritual energy still lingering after the original world’s death. These fragments were rare and potent, only usable by those with enough mastery to claim them.
His soul laws began to glow. His World Rank body—already refined to its near limit—began improving again.
"I’ll need atleast 60% law comprehension to even think about facing that monster," Asher whispered, sweat starting to form as his cultivation pushed harder. "This realm isn’t just a place to train—it’s a warning."
He closed his eyes and spread his divine senses outward, tracing the structure of the Realm Gate.
This thing wasn’t born naturally.
Realm Gates weren’t just created—they were seized. Someone else once made this. Lived here. Ruled it. And they were defeated. Their realm was stolen, the core refined, and the ownership changed. A new god rose, not by creation, but by conquest.
And that being on the throne?
He wasn’t the one who built this realm.
He was the conqueror.
That meant he was powerful enough to kill another Star-Forger and steal their world seed—a feat that even peak cultivators rarely achieved.
Asher breathed in deeply, then returned to stillness. The law fragments around him glowed faintly—unstable, ancient, and extremely valuable. They didn’t belong to this galaxy. The energy was different. Older. Sharper. These were not just leftover scraps of power. These were imprints of a Star-Forger who had fully mastered their world—and even now, after death or escape, their laws still lingered.
And Asher was drinking in every last drop.
He opened his inner vision.
All around, glowing embers of Law floated like sparks—colliding, reforming, twisting through multidimensional patterns. Asher absorbed them slowly and carefully. One after another, fragments of Darkness, Space, Blood, Absence, and Soul Laws flowed into his core, weaving through the foundation of his cultivation. He had already pushed several of these laws beyond 50% comprehension.
This wasn’t just training. He was preparing for the next leap.
He was building the early framework for his own realm.
Meanwhile, far above, the being on the throne opened a single eye and glanced down.
"Ant," he murmured with calm indifference. He didn’t sound angry. Or amused. Just bored.
Then he closed his eye again, resting in the stillness of his stolen world.
This ancient creature had stolen a realm from another god. Slaughtered its owner. Taken the core. And now sat there, waiting. His realm wasn’t fully anchored to this galaxy yet, but in six more months, it would be. Once stabilized, he could leave the Gate, step back into the universe, and continue his journey toward his next conquest.
"As for that one..." he whispered, referring to Asher, "let him meditate. Let him fantasize about stars. It won’t change a thing."
Below, Asher’s aura kept growing dim—not because he was weakening, but because he was concealing everything. His Absence Armor compressed tighter, hiding even the subtle shifts in his cultivation. His soul force stopped radiating. Instead, it coiled inward, condensing into a powerful node of energy.
He was entering a state rarely achieved by World Rank cultivators—true invisibility, not through stealth, but through absolute suppression.
As he settled deeper into his trance, his inner world surged with motion. His core began pulsing again, slow at first... then violently, until it bloomed into a mini supernova.
Layers of his soul peeled open and began to ignite.
Then, inside that vast spiritual sea, stars began to form.
The first was a blood-red core, blazing from his Sanguine refinement—it split the space of his mind and let waves of killing intent flood in. Then came the Obsidian Star, black and silent, shaped from the unbreakable will of his battles.
Next, the Soul Star burst into view—calm and immense—echoing forgotten memories and deep truths of his spirit.
And finally, with a shudder that ran through his entire body, appeared the Reaper Monarch Star—a violet-black sphere filled with death energy, created from the innate ability of Soul Reaper Monarch.
These four stars began to spin and pull together. Not in collapse—but in synchronization.
Together, they started forming a galaxy inside him. The foundation of a Star-Forger Realm.
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His soul screamed. His blood thundered. His entire body trembled under the pressure—but he didn’t stop. He embraced it.
He had truly started to ascend.
And in the silence of his soul, the four stars finally fused into one.
A new core—brilliant, ancient, and terrifying—one that held control over blood, void, soul, and death.
The power it gave off wasn’t that of someone just breaking through.
It felt like someone already standing at the Peak of the Star-Forger Realm.
Even though Asher had only just stepped into the early stage, his foundation and fusion were already so complete, so vast, that his pressure rivaled those near the top.
Was only the beginning.