MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 976: Time Splintering

A hush fell over the whole isolated realm as everyone witnessed Lucian's disappearance. No one there was naive; except for Altheria and Veronica, all the onlookers understood exactly what Aaaninja had inflicted on Lucian. Most had never witnessed such a feat before—simply wiping someone out so effortlessly, so completely, like existence was mere scribbles on a slate ready to be erased.

While various methods could produce comparable results, removing someone from the timeline was a whole other level. In the end, the gap between death and never having lived was immense and horrifying. Erasure from the timeline accomplished just that. Lucian's entire being had been unraveled, nullified at its core, torn from the weave of cause and effect, as if the universe denied any trace of his life ever occurring.

Regeneration and resurrection became nearly unattainable for those watching. This realization made the spectators narrow their eyes, their breathing hitch a bit, their chests constrict, like an unspoken fear had gripped their breaths. Had Lucian Darkheart truly met an eternal end... the real kind of death from which even myths didn't recover?

Could Klaus even revive someone who had never been? Riven Darkheart and Vespera Darkheart's gazes turned grim right away; this was their boy, their lineage and heritage. Yet they held their tongues briefly. Their child had pulled off countless absurd feats before, wonders that mocked reason and normality, so they clung to the hope that somehow, just somehow, he might force his way back into being, dragging himself from oblivion as he always managed.

Aaaninja let out a quiet sigh after securing his triumph. Having deployed this power, he faced a twenty-four-hour lockdown before reusing it. That's why he'd avoided unleashing it on anyone in this gathering. Though his Eyes Of Genesis bestowed godlike powers like the one against Lucian, certain ones still carried lengthy cooldown periods. Otherwise, an idiot could abuse it nonstop until fatigue or rebound claimed their life.

Aaaninja lifted his rainbow-hued, clock-shaped eyes to the heavens, as if pressing Klaus to proclaim his victory. He wasn't truly concerned about Lucian's current state. Klaus had permitted full-throttle combat for all. Lucian's fate now rested solely on the overseer, and if this realm's manager permitted it, then the outcomes were merely the toll of warfare.

Sensing Aaaninja's stare, Klaus parted his lips to declare the victor, but before a sound escaped, reality quaked with tremendous power and pressure. The isolated dimension shuddered deeply, space warping fiercely, time essences wailing like shards grinding together, and tremors racing across the ground as if some primordial force was breaking into being.

All present raised brows in bewilderment, unsure of the disturbance. Riven and Vespera couldn't suppress broad grins spreading over their features. For them, it signaled their son Lucian's comeback, and that slim optimism swiftly hardened into conviction.

A swirling maelstrom of Time, Space, Law, Order, Nihility, and Void shuddered into form, ripping a gash through reality's veil. Out of it emerged a figure with steady, leisurely strides. He measured six feet tall, his frame slender, his physique flawlessly sculpted, his aura subdued but crushingly potent. His eyes gleamed black, profound and infinite, complementing the locks crowning his head like a shadowy throne.

Lucian's gaze turned to Aaaninja, a broad grin lighting his features as he regarded him. He had to concede, he'd never foreseen such a power from the fellow, yet this was Aaaninja after all. An act like this fit right into his wheelhouse, and maybe he ought to have expected something so extreme.

'How?' Aaaninja wondered inwardly, his eyes tightening in shock. He couldn't fathom how Lucian had reemerged from oblivion, a state beyond existence, outstripping even laws and concepts.

Even possessing a means to restore himself, Lucian shouldn't have managed it. Nonexistence shouldn't allow skill or power activation... but somehow, Lucian had achieved it, defying the principles ruling their world.

Yet Aaaninja overlooked one detail. Lucian wielded Reality Anchor, a power that tethered him to reality, which he'd employed to link his presence so that whenever Aaaninja and Anthony shared a space, he would instantly manifest there.

Lucian activated this during his encounter with Anthony and Aaaninja against the Demon King's clone. The power required no ongoing awareness or mana upkeep. He only expended mana initially to trigger it and define the triggers for Reality Anchor.

Once set, it operated autonomously. Provided the triggers aligned, Reality Anchor fired without exception, sidestepping logic, cause-and-effect, and even deletion.

That's how his return occurred.

A grin spread over Anthony's mouth as he observed Lucian from his vantage. He'd anticipated an event like this. His Sense Dome offered insane insight and prediction now, sufficient to glimpse potential paths before they solidified.

Thus, the confrontation picked up again. Lucian had returned from oblivion, and it was time to press on, as if reality had merely hit pause to permit his reappearance.

Grinning widely, Lucian drew his sword from its scabbard while he uttered words.

His Black Sword Intent surged once more as he deployed his supreme Sword Technique. Though it fell short against Anthony, Lucian recognized not all were like him, and few could endure a strike bearing the essence of void itself.

Aaaninja's Eyes Of Genesis flashed as the assault barreled toward him at insane velocity and crushing might. No questions or hesitation needed; he realized evasion was impossible. The icy touch of mortality already crawled along his back, his thoughts and spirit screaming for any action before the blow landed.

Such a technique rendered defense futile.

Fortune smiled because Lucian's timeline erasure had dissolved his Null Field from nonexistence, freeing Aaaninja to wield mana without restraint or disruption now.

In an instant, he invoked another ability, his words booming like a god's decree, reverberating through the dimension.

Instantly, vast mana burst from his center, surging skyward while the whole area soaked in azure power, the air quivering as if existence teetered on the brink of shattering from the immense force he prepared to release.