Chapter 203: Nyx Revealed His True Forbidden Power
At least not yet.
"One attempt remains," the Origin Titan said calmly, paying no attention to Luke’s expression.
To him, this outcome was perfectly normal.
Strength had never been equal among species.
Some races were born standing near the summit, while others had to spend hundreds of thousands of years climbing toward it.
However, the gap wasn’t absolute.
As one’s cultivation increased, the natural advantages of superior bloodlines gradually diminished. Lower species could create techniques, authorities, and combat methods capable of threatening even those born at the top.
But that only became possible at higher realms.
Luke was still at the very beginning of his path.
He had yet to learn that truth.
"Sigh..." Luke let out a long breath before turning around and walking toward the exit. Nyx, Caelith, and Myrkhal also quietly followed behind him.
Seeing this, the Origin Titan frowned in confusion.
’Is he giving up?’
That didn’t feel right.
’Did I misjudge him? Was the miracle I sensed merely my imagination?’
Unable to hold back his curiosity, he finally asked, "Are you giving up, Hero of Light?"
Luke stopped. By now, he had already put nearly a kilometer between himself and the giant. Slowly turning around, he looked at the Origin Titan with a puzzled expression.
"When did I say I was giving up?"
He shook his head before explaining, "The third move I’m about to use is too dangerous, even for me. So I was only making some distance."
The Origin Titan narrowed what remained of his shattered face in curiosity, but before he could ask anything else, Luke slowly raised his left hand.
"Cosmos Manifestation."
BOOM!
Luke’s Cosmic Heart throbbed violently as brilliant cosmic veins spread across his body again. An enormous amount of Cosmic Aether erupted from his chest, not to create another Cosmic System inside him, but to manifest a second one outside his body.
A new cosmic system gradually appeared beside the first, revolving with the same flawless rhythm.
The instant it fully formed, Luke’s expression twisted in pain.
Creating it wasn’t difficult.
Controlling two manifested Cosmic Systems simultaneously was.
It felt as though he were trying to restrain two enormous beasts with nothing but invisible chains. Every moment they pulled in different directions, constantly trying to break free from his control.
Luke had no choice but to pour vast amounts of Cosmic Aether into those invisible bindings, strengthening them while simultaneously suppressing the terrifying gravity leaking from both systems.
Even then, they remained on the verge of escaping his control.
Sweat trickled down Luke’s forehead as fresh cracks spread across his Titan body before rapidly healing again.
"Luke, concentrate," Caelith reminded him calmly from the side.
Luke didn’t reply.
Every ounce of his concentration was devoted to controlling the two Cosmic Systems. He didn’t even nod at Caelith’s reminder. At this moment, a single lapse in focus could cause everything to spiral out of control.
This wasn’t something he had mastered overnight. During his time inside the Time Chamber, while his clone handled the affairs outside, Luke had spent days practicing this technique. Even then, he had only grasped its fundamentals.
There was a reason he had gone to such lengths.
Although the self-destruction of a single Cosmic System had already reached the threshold of Peak Golden Knight power, Luke knew that wasn’t its true limit. In reality, it still fell just short of that realm.
That was why...
He intended to detonate two Cosmic Systems at once.
The thought alone sent goosebumps across his body.
The Origin Titan quietly observed the second celestial system taking shape above the battlefield.
The first, which had previously aligned itself into an attack formation, had already returned to its smooth circular rotation. Now the second revolved beside it, creating a breathtaking yet terrifying sight.
For the first time since Luke entered the temple, the Origin Titan let out a quiet sigh.
It seems... my time has come.
Earlier, he had dismissed those celestial bodies as nothing more than oversized rocks infused with elemental energy. But now that he observed them more carefully, he realized he had been mistaken.
Every moon...
Even the barren planet...
Possessed a living core.
They weren’t ordinary constructs. They were incomplete celestial bodies.
Looking at Luke’s battered figure and the two revolving Cosmic Systems above him, the Origin Titan understood his intention.
With both of his stone arms shattered and cracks covering his body, he silently awaited the attack that was about to decide the trial.
"AAAHHHHH!"
Veins bulged across Luke’s body as cracks spread from his legs to his chest, almost reaching his face.
"COME DOWN!"
He slammed both hands downward.
DOOOOOOM!!!
The two Cosmic Systems crashed into the Origin Titan’s colossal body before self-destructing at the same instant.
A catastrophic explosion erupted, instantly swallowing the thousand-foot giant in blinding cosmic light. Moons, asteroids, and the two barren planets exploded together, unleashing a destructive force powerful enough to flatten an entire small city.
Luke’s expression changed.
’The shockwave...!’
Before he could react, the expanding explosion was already racing toward them at the speed of sound.
Nyx silently stepped forward and stood before everyone. Without taking his eyes off the incoming explosion, he glanced at Luke and smiled faintly.
"Luke, this may be the only chance I get to show you a glimpse of my true power."
Luke frowned in confusion.
’True power? But we’re both only Early Bronze...’
Even though he didn’t say those words aloud, Nyx understood his expression immediately.
Smiling, he explained, "Luke, not every type of power is measured by raw strength. There are powers that exist beyond cultivation itself."
Caelith silently nodded in agreement, while Myrkhal remained as calm as ever, quietly watching the city-ending explosion rush toward them as if it had nothing to do with him.
"I will show you the power for which I am known as the Warden of the Void Path." Nyx calmly spoke before turning to face the incoming explosion.
Luke’s eyes lit up with anticipation.
The power of a Warden...
The next moment, darkness spread from beneath Nyx’s feet.
Not ordinary darkness.
Void.
It expanded silently, swallowing everything before it without making the slightest sound.
"There are Wardens," Nyx continued, his calm voice echoing through the expanding Void, "whose titles were given by the Cosmos, allowing them to wield the authority of their Path."
He paused briefly before adding,
"And then... there are a handful of forbidden existences who no longer need those titles."
Luke frowned in confusion, while the Origin Titan, whose stone body was still crumbling under the ongoing explosion, silently watched the expanding Void.
"Remember this, Luke," Nyx said. "There comes a stage of mastery where even a Warden’s title becomes as insignificant as an ant."
His eyes remained fixed on the approaching explosion.
"Because I have already reached the extreme of the Void Path." His quiet words traveled effortlessly through the endless darkness.
Hearing those words, the Origin Titan fell silent.
For the first time...
A trace of jealousy appeared in his eyes.
Although he possessed the power of the Void, he had never been acknowledged as its Warden.
Then Nyx spoke again.
"I AM NOT THE WARDEN OF THE VOID PATH BECAUSE THE COSMOS CHOSE ME!"
His voice shook the very Void itself.
"I AM THE WARDEN OF THE VOID PATH..."
"BECAUSE I EARNED IT!"
Luke’s pupils contracted.