Nameless King

"Transcendence Stage...? What is that?" Wain muttered with a confused look.

"It's a power that's separate from anything you've heard about before. To be perfectly accurate, the Transcendence Stage isn't above or below the God Stage, it's just something different." Abyss Artist said in a calm voice.

He looked into the distance at the massive pillars of energy and continued, "To reach the God Stage you need followers, in other words, your power depends on the number of followers and how strong their faith in you is."

Wain nodded, "Yeah, that doesn't work for me. It's a real headache. Also, if someone kills all my followers who are obviously weaker than me, then my power as God is greatly diminished, isn't it?"

"Sure. You're a quick thinker. However, the main disadvantage of the God Stage is that you are still dependent on this world and its energy." The Abyss Artist uttered as his eyes became deeper, "In order to reach the Transcendence Stage you must achieve 100% blood purity, so you give up the energy of this world. Then, to complete the transformation you must create your own energy."

"Sounds pretty simple, but it seems to be much more complicated in reality, right?" Wain asked in a curious manner.

"Yeah." Abyss Artist nodded, "Many in the Fifth Chronicle know this, and almost everyone in the God Stage has tried to reach the Transcendence Stage, but only a few dozen have succeeded."

Wain thought for a while. He already knew that 100% blood purity was something only the most powerful beings could do, but now he had another condition.

"Hmm... You said the Pillar Progenitors are in the Transcendence Stage, didn't you? So... What about the Dragon Elders?" Wain asked with a serious look as the Dragons were strong in any Chronicle.

"They're in the God Stage. Only the Dragon Progenitor is in the Transcendence Stage, however, don't underestimate the Dragon Elders. There are certain divisions in the God Stage as well, as everyone has a different number of followers and the quality of the followers also affects a lot." Abyss Artist said in a calm voice with a confident expression.

"I see... One Dragon follower is far more important to God than a thousand monsters in the Third Chronicle..." Wain muttered in a thoughtful manner as his eyes widened temporarily.

"Exactly, but... You shouldn't underestimate monsters. There's a widely held belief that monsters are far weaker than other races, especially the Pillars, but things change in Fifth Chronicle." Abyss Artist said as he looked at the cliff in the distance, "Look, we're lucky someone's fighting already."

Wain turned as he immediately felt a powerful aura emanating from the two creatures.

There was a monster and Axalt fighting in front of a rock, in a field of many blue flowers. The monster had long blue hair, a lean body, and many long blades on his arms and legs. Axalt was a tall man with short black hair and an azure sword.

"They are both on the Demigod Stage. If they were in the Fourth Chronicle, Axalt would definitely win, but in the Fifth Chronicle, it's not at all obvious..." Abyss Artist said with a calm look as though he already knew the outcome of the battle.

Whooooooosh.

Axalt's sword glowed brightly as he swung his sword, unleashing a massive energy blade on the monster. The monster responded by putting his arms out in front of him, using his many blades like a shield.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble

The energy blade exploded, causing a powerful shockwave to spread for hundreds of meters around.

The monster flailed its arms dispersing the energy and with a calm look muttered, "Is that the best you can do? Your attack couldn't even penetrate my shield, though I don't specialize in defense at all."

"What...? No damage...?" Axalt muttered with a dazed look while in disbelief.

Whooooooooosh.

The monster's silhouette blurred as he turned into a dark flash, instantly reaching the man.

"Speed attacks are my forte, so... you were unlucky to meet me. Although, you only have yourself and your weakness to blame." The monster said with an ice-cold look as his pupils narrowed. Then, two long, sharpest blades as if scissors closed around Axalt's neck.

Crackle.

The man's head flew high up as a fountain of bright blood gushed from his neck, flooding the blue flowers around him.

"What...? Just like that...? Is that normal?" Wain muttered in a dazed as he could not believe what he saw.

He had fought monsters many times, but all of his toughest fights had been with someone from the Pillars, except for the last time.

"Well... This Axalt was weaker than I thought. He seemed to be on the lower edge of Demigod, so against such a dangerous monster he had no chance. All of this monster's strength is concentrated in fast and deadly attacks." Abyss Artist said as he shrugged in a careless manner, "Watch what happens next."

Crackle.

The monster swung his hand as the sharp blade sliced through the man's stomach, then out of Axalt's body flew a massive red soul that contained a tremendous amount of energy.

"Ascendant Soul...?" Wain muttered with a confused look, "Was he strong enough to have such a rare Soul?"

"Huh, that monster's soul must be Legendary." The Abyss Artist grinned, then his look became serious, "Many creatures in the Demigod Stage have souls that are Legendary, and every God has a soul at least Legendary."

"At least...?" Wain uttered with a puzzled expression as he was about to ask something, but suddenly the Abyss Artist looked again at the monster, which began to absorb a soul.

Red streams of energy headed toward the monster as its aura greatly intensified. At the same time, a blue glow appeared on some of the blades as the monster grew slightly taller and larger.

"What...? It evolved so fast...?" Wain said while in disbelief.

"Yeah. If it had absorbed the Legendary Soul, the changes would have been more drastic." Abyss Artist shrugged, "Okay, viewing is over, let's get back to the conversation."

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Suddenly a powerful pressure came over Wain as the monster looked directly at him, even though the distance between them was several kilometers.