My Talent's Name Is Generator Chapter 648: Surrender

A single breath escaped my lips.

"[Sovereign Reversal]."

Two rotating gateways ripped through space, manifesting above my head and beneath my feet. The stolen kinetic energy was funneled into my generator core, the portals humming and vibrating under the immense pressure. Fissures spread across their surfaces like glass on the verge of shattering.

I sensed the exact moment they gave way. The redirected force burst through the failing gateways and slammed directly into me.

A surge of obsidian lightning swallowed my frame. It slithered into every opening of my Essence armor, tendrils searching for a way into my flesh. I pushed back, my Essence erupting in fierce, rhythmic pulses to repel the intrusion.

Despite my defense, the sheer force of the impact tore into me. Wounds erupted across my body—deep, jagged slashes of charred skin and smoldering cuts that smoked in the cold air.

My regenerative Factor triggered instantly.

Injuries sealed almost as quickly as they were inflicted, my skin weaving itself back together in a heartbeat. Within seconds, nothing remained but fading scorch marks.

I lowered my arm at a measured pace, wisps of smoke curling from my fingertips.

My gaze locked onto the empty eyes of Number One once more.

"So," I remarked, my tone level and steady, "that was the talent you consumed."

The specter tilted its head, dark mist spilling from its maw like a phantom breath.

"I’ve ended a phantom possessing a talent before," I continued. "How many others are hidden inside you?"

Number One offered no reply. Instead, its silhouette blurred and it vanished into thin air.

It materialized behind one of the remaining phantoms, appearing like a shadow snapping into place. Its arm pierced through the victim's back and out the chest, clenching the core. The target didn't even have the chance to cry out before the consumption started, deathmist flowing into Number One like a receding tide.

I couldn't suppress a small laugh. "I can do that too," I muttered.

I took a step, my wings vibrating as space folded around me. I appeared behind a different phantom just as it attempted to spin toward me. My hand sliced through its chest with zero friction, my fingers locking around its core. The creature froze, its entire form trembling.

"Devour."

The Star of Origin pulsed in response. The phantom’s physical form exploded from within, turning into ribbons of deathmist that were drawn into my palm and funneled straight into the Dawn Core.

One second it was there; the next, there was only a void.

The surviving phantoms watched us—Number One on one side of the asteroid and me on the other—both of us harvesting their kind with chilling efficiency. Terror spread through their ranks. Their deathmist flickered wildly as they attempted to scatter, desperate to flee the slaughter.

But escape was impossible. I moved, and Number One moved simultaneously.

We intercepted the retreating phantoms in an instant. Within moments, the entire upper battalion had been wiped out, their essences absorbed into either my core or Number One’s.

The asteroid fell into an eerie quiet for a beat, save for the low rumbling and the distant cries of confused abominations below, with lingering deathmist swirling in the air.

Then Number One turned its blank face toward me again. I sensed the shift in its aura—the deathmist was denser, the pressure sharper, a rising tide of power gained from eating its own. It had grown stronger. Significantly so. Its level was likely in the mid to high 380s now.

It was more powerful than Vaelix, more powerful than any summon I possessed.

"For me," I whispered, "this is already decided."

The phantom didn't speak. It only let out a low whisper.

"Domain... Endless Storm."

A black ripple surged from its body, washing over the asteroid like a heavy curtain of darkness.

Space groaned and the air twisted. Violent, predatory lightning began to churn within the growing dome of its domain.

In the next breath, the environment went dark. Above me, storm clouds coalesced instantly, swirling in a chaotic dance.

Then the strikes began. A bolt of black light shot down from the heavens toward my skull. I shifted a mere half-step, letting the bolt strike the surface below, incinerating even more abominations.

A second strike followed immediately, a horizontal arc that sliced through the air like a blade. I raised my sword, parrying it aside.

Then came a deluge of beams. They fell vertically, diagonally, and in spiraling, zig-zagging patterns that defied logic. Each one possessed enough raw destruction to turn a novice Transcendent into dust.

I wove through the onslaught without effort. The beams hammered the ground around me in a rhythmic thrum, gouging out pieces of the asteroid and vaporizing any abominations caught in the crossfire, leaving behind trails of molten rock.

Yet, I remained untouched. The phantom watched, its agitation growing as the storm surged. The domain grew thicker. The lightning became more frantic, faster, and more aggressive.

Suddenly, Number One’s form turned to smoke, reforming directly over me. Lightning teleportation. Its hammer was already mid-swing, black sparks dancing across the head as it descended toward me.

I raised my blade to meet it.

BOOM!!

The hammer collided with the sword like a falling star. The shock of the impact carved a crater into the very air, sending out concentric rings of force. The ground far beneath us cracked open, and abominations were scattered like ash in the wind.

I didn't budge. I absorbed the full weight of the strike. Number One flickered away, retreating several meters with a newfound sense of caution. The storm clouds of its domain churned uneasily around it.

I let out a breath and shook my head slowly.

"Your domain is impressive," I said, "but it isn't enough. I won't even need my full domain to break it."

I raised my hand.

"Let me show you... the nature of a true domain."

"Domain."

An outward ripple erupted from me. The storm clouds above were instantly shredded, torn apart like paper in a gale.

Behind me, a colossal, ancient silhouette materialized. A massive stone tablet—weathered, primordial, and far older than the asteroid itself—descended through the fractured sky. Its mere presence forced the surrounding domain to its knees.

Then the true pressure arrived. A suffocating, crushing weight made the entire asteroid groan in protest. Number One’s domain vanished instantly, as if extinguished by a giant's heel.

The swirling storm froze in place. Black lightning hung motionless like threads of cracked glass. The deathmist stopped its churning. Then, everything shattered. The storm dissolved into harmless particles. The lightning unraveled into faint, fading lines.

I allowed my domain to recede just as quickly.

Total silence followed.

Number One’s grip failed. One of its hammers slipped from its fingers, tumbling down and clattering against the cracked, floating debris.

Despite the realization of its defeat, the Executor’s Halo tightened around it like a restrictive chain. The weight of the Original Command bore down on its very soul. Its body began to shake violently—a physical manifestation of its instinct to resist me clashing with a will that was already falling apart.

It wasn't choosing to fight anymore. It was being compelled to.

It was a pathetic sight.

I walked forward at a slow, steady pace.

"Let me end your suffering," I said.

Number One did not flee. It didn't lift its remaining weapon. It didn't call upon any lightning or deathmist.

It simply stood there, shivering, paralyzed and unable to move an inch.