MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 994: Memories-1

'Where exactly am I?' Aaaninja Chronisynth Eternos pondered inwardly as his awareness sparked back to life amid what felt like an infinite void of pure blackness. Suspended in the air while lying down, he effortlessly shifted his form with a mere thought, letting his feet touch down on the 'floor' of this boundless dark expanse.

'Could this be some uncharted part of my soul, perhaps my sea of consciousness?' he wondered silently. Aaaninja wouldn't pretend to be an expert on the soul's mysteries. Even after delving deep into its study to prepare for any potential severance from Time's flow, that didn't make him its ruler or give him total command over its vast, puzzling realms.

Right as that idea crossed his mind, the vast, ever-stretching darkness began to pull back gradually, giving way to a brief flash of stark white. Suddenly, the landscape shifted, with the 'ground' now becoming a serene body of water. Aaaninja watched the transformation unfold calmly, his face showing no surprise. He stepped forward, and ripples spread gently from his foot across the flawless water's surface, extending outward in quiet, elegant patterns without end.

Aaaninja kept walking steadily. He had no idea how much time had passed in this place. Or rather, did he even move at all? Maybe he'd stayed in one spot the whole time, his legs just simulating steps without any real progress. Yet Aaaninja stayed composed, refusing to panic or complain about his strange situation; his calm demeanor held firm against the baffling environment.

Time held no fixed rules. It dragged on when you craved speed and raced ahead when you longed for it to linger. It ignored human senses, twisting based on viewpoint instead of rigid truths. Thus, Aaaninja saw no point in tracking the duration of his stay. In truth, time might not even progress here, or it could twist in patterns beyond any normal understanding.

After what could have been a mere instant, or perhaps centuries, or even ages upon ages, Aaaninja reached a massive wall that rose from the calm waters underfoot, climbing endlessly into the boundless white heavens overhead. This wall pulsed with powerful waves and specks of time, so intense and thick that a weaker soul might wither away or perish instantly just from gazing at it, their life crumbling under time's relentless wear. Yet Aaaninja Chronisynth Eternos felt nothing from it.

Ever since discovering how Time itself favored him—enough that the River Of Time had welcomed him—Aaaninja had often speculated: if he quit cultivating right now, would old age still claim him? As cultivators, they boasted lifespans reaching millions of years, but ultimately, neither he, nor Anthony, nor the Spirit King counted as a True Immortal with endless life defying Time's ultimate rule.

Take Anthony, whose lifespan stretched over billions of years after draining life from the Second Supreme Monarch's lineage—he'd still fade away once that borrowed essence ran dry. No matter how immense and mind-boggling that span seemed, it stayed limited under Time's unyielding control.

So Aaaninja Chronisynth Eternos found himself questioning: would he, Time's most cherished, still fall to the very force that adored him? Would Time, which had cradled, led, and held him close, eventually sweep him from being? He couldn't trace where this notion came from. It wasn't born of a clingy grasp on life or a frantic chase for forever. No, it was pure intrigue. Even the River Of Time appeared hesitant or unable to provide clarity on the matter.

Letting out a breath free of dread or doubt, Aaaninja advanced through the barrier without pause. It shimmered at his touch, as if greeting him, yielding to him, existing only for his passage and none else. The instant he passed to the far side, the view altered in a flash, and his gaze landed on a vision of Nyxss during her pregnancy with him.

Aaaninja observed how she beamed with warmth, caressing her belly tenderly each time, her face brimming with endless affection and eager hope. He saw Zachary come back from his travels and press his ear softly against Nyxss’s abdomen, absorbing the unborn Aaaninja’s heartbeat in quiet awe, a joyful, genuine smile lighting his features.

The vision grew hazy as time sped up wildly, pushing onward unchecked, drawing near the birth itself. But the Celestial race birthed differently from humans, skipping typical body processes. When delivery neared, the mother enveloped herself in a cocoon woven from mana and a primal energy straight from the Celestial Solar System, an essence predating all known societies.

No male in Celestial history grasped what happened inside that cocoon; legends held that its secrets belonged solely to women. Still, the men never pried or worried about the enigma, content that every child arrived safe and sound, without fail.

Indeed, in the Celestial Solar System, stillbirths were unheard of. From the dawn of creation, every birth succeeded flawlessly, as if the Solar System guarded its offspring with unbreakable assurance.

A few hours passed before Nyxss broke free, drained and weary, but her face glowed with infinite delight as she cradled the tiny Aaaninja. His features were soft and charming, free from any trace of struggle, with hair of spotless white shining brightly. Zachary hadn't strayed from her since the process started, and he hurried over at once, brimming with eager happiness to join his wife and newborn son.

"I hope the planet gives him a good name," Nyxss murmured tenderly, gazing at the infant Aaaninja in her grasp, her words laced with optimism and deep motherly care.

"Me too," Zachary answered with genuine warmth. As if answering their wishes right then, shimmering letters appeared on Aaaninja’s chest.

Aaaninja Chronisynth Eternos

Nyxss and Zachary gazed at the name wordlessly. Zachary teased with a light chuckle that it was quite a tongue-twister, his voice playful and fond, but Nyxss quickly scolded him, insisting he not mock the name bestowed on their sole child.

In the Celestial Solar System, the system itself aided births, and the birth planet bestowed each child's name at arrival, as if affirming their role and essence in the cosmos.

Aaaninja watched his own birth in quiet stillness. Despite his perfect recall, sharp senses, and superior intellect, he held no memory of this from his infant viewpoint—which made sense, since newborns at that stage lacked deeper selfhood, their minds too raw to hold clear recollections.

The vision changed again, fast-forwarding to Aaaninja at age five. He dashed about on tiny legs and arms, his giggles bright and free as he frolicked without care. His eyes shone white with blue pupils, for his Eyes Of Genesis lay dormant back then.

Though unawakened, the current Aaaninja spotted faint time particles swirling around his younger self, like unseen playmates, hinting that Time had always favored him—even before his powers stirred, even prior to grasping his innate gifts.

"Mom, look, I caught a bird," the little Aaaninja boasted happily, presenting the creature he'd snagged himself to his mother. Though just a five-year-old untouched by mana, Aaaninja's power and body already surpassed the norm, his build and traits far exceeding the average, as expected for a Celestial blessed and upheld by reality's core powers.