Chapter 585 - 539: Apocalypse Divine Artifact vs Time Giant
’What is this...’
’The Apocalypse Divine Artifact?!’
The Time Giant, Candela, stared in disbelief at the mechanical armor before him. Its cold, mechanical head and twelve pitch-black wings emanated an oppressive aura so suffocating it seemed to choke space itself. Even as a new god, Candela felt a strong sense of discomfort.
It was just like the old days, facing the gods in the Divine Council—the natural suppression from a higher order of being!
’That’s right! It’s the Apocalypse Divine Artifact!’
’When was it redeemed?’
As a member of the Pillar Stone of Truth, Candela knew the top ten, even the top hundred, treasures in the Divine Treasure Vault like the back of his hand. He was naturally familiar with the appearance and basic information of the Apocalypse Divine Artifact. To covertly spy on Shi Ming’s activities in the First Civilization Cosmic Country, the five false gods would periodically check the Treasure Vault’s inventory. Just a few days ago, this artifact was still on the list as always, its "super-unsellable" discount still active!
’And in just a few days, it was redeemed?’
No!
’Perhaps his opponent’s authority was simply too high, allowing him to conceal the details of the redemption, causing us to misjudge the situation!’
Since its creation, the Apocalypse Divine Artifact had never been used. Although Candela had never witnessed its power, its status as the second-ranked mega-treasure in the Divine Treasure Vault, its original price of ten million Civilization Stones, and the oppressive aura it was now emanating before even making a move... all of this forced him to give it his absolute, undivided attention.
But the Time Giant’s pride inevitably gave rise to a certain contempt for such artificial creations.
Hmph!
’So what if it’s a creation of the gods? It’s just a lifeless object that needs to be controlled! It’s no different from any other so-called ultimate treasure. Once it loses its master, it’s just a pile of scrap metal!’
’And I... I am the adopted son of Time, the darling of Fate, the one and only Time Giant, the strongest warrior in the Star Sea, a newly ascended god!!!’
’All power external to oneself is an illusion!’
Because his reservoir of [Time] had been emptied and Fate was currently inaccessible, the Time Giant’s bloodline began to ignite from within!
BOOM!
Cracks spread like a dense web across Candela’s body, following the faded gold and silver patterns on his skin. It made the Time Giant look like a shattered humanoid figure, pieced together from countless fragments. Each fragment represented a different time he had lived through: the moment of his birth on a deserted island, his youth spent roaming the cosmos, and the era of his campaigns across the Star Sea under a god’s command.
There were over a hundred thousand fragments in all.
This was not a skill.
This was the Time Giant revealing his true form. A Time Giant is a unique life-form composed of the fragments of countless eras!
...
...
...
On the other side, Shi Ming’s skin was being covered by cold machinery. His flesh and blood seemed to fuse into the divine artifact, merging with it to form the strongest mechanical body in the Star Sea!
During this process,
His will was the axis that governed all; his body, the engine that judged all beings.
Of course, there was also a severe backlash.
Using a mortal body to pilot this divine creation took a tremendous toll. At every instant, Shi Ming could feel the agony of his flesh being torn apart and reassembled. Yet the pain was just barely tolerable, and it served to make him all the more lucid.
’This is the price of power.’
The fusion was complete.
The divine artifact’s twelve wings unfurled as it opened its eyes. It stood like a solitary god, an indifferent observer looking down upon the world. The Star Sea trembled wherever its gaze passed.
It was a pity there were no witnesses here.
BOOM!
Without a word, it threw a punch.
Within the First Civilization Cosmic Country, where the Dark Cosmos does not exist, an unnamed fissure cracked open. This true Star Domain, superimposed with a god’s Divine Country, was ripped apart by a black rift. A violent suction, like that of a Black Hole, erupted from the rift. In an instant, it shattered all the pristine ice on Glacier Star, pulling the fragments into its frenzied maw like a vortex!
???
Candela subconsciously took a step back.
Like the tides of fate and time, Candela only ever moved forward; he hadn’t retreated in many, many years. But now, he stepped back. He did it just to avoid a casual blow from the Apocalypse Divine Artifact, a blow whose power far exceeded his imagination.
Amidst the intense pain, Shi Ming felt a thread of excitement rising from his very genes.
"Incredible!"
"And that’s just a basic attack!"
’Right now, I feel like I have endless strength. If I could keep fighting, I could tear this entire starfield apart. But that’s obviously impossible. My stamina and endurance are already extraordinary, but I’m still a long way from being able to pilot this divine artifact for long. From now on, I have to make every move count!’
With a pilot, the Apocalypse Divine Artifact became like a true living being. Inscribed within it were nine complex secret sigil patterns, which corresponded to its unique secret techniques. Activating these patterns allowed the Apocalypse Divine Artifact to unleash nine terrifying techniques—this was the treasure’s most fearsome and powerful feature!
First Sigil Pattern! Proclamation of the End!
Fourth Sigil Pattern! Wings of the End!
First, Candela was locked in place by the indifferent gaze of the Apocalypse Divine Artifact. The machine’s oppressive power focused entirely on his body, as if heralding the end. This was the technique that weaponized its immense pressure to the absolute limit: [Proclamation of the End].
Immediately after, the twelve wing plates on the Apocalypse Divine Artifact’s back split into 144 blades of light. They swept across Candela’s crack-riddled body like guillotines. This was [Wings of the End]! At the same time, parasitic borers clung to these blades, finding a vulnerability in Candela’s left arm—a scar from a battle seventy thousand years ago!
Candela defended with all his might, yet the blades of light still managed to slice a shallow gash across his left arm, right over the old wound. As if they had found a breach in a dam, the light blades pierced through his powerful surface Defense Power and penetrated the giant’s left arm.
BURST!
The blades exploded exponentially, multiplying into 20,736 smaller blades of light that began to tear the Time Giant apart from the inside. The microcosms of the corresponding eras were sliced into even smaller pieces, then ground to dust in the maelstrom of the Wings of the End.
Candela’s left arm disintegrated from within.
The time that composed this part of his body began to burn away—it was Candela’s youth... He had crossed nebulas, witnessed civilizations, and fallen into an innocent romance with a girl from the unique Illusory Butterfly Clan. He had glimpsed the boundless Crystal Sea in the 19th Cosmic Country and slain the Nirvana-rank star beast, the Progenitor of Darkness, in the Dark Star Abyss...
Now, these microcosms of time were burning away.
They reverted to something even more ancient: nothingness.
For the first time in 120,000 years, Candela felt true damage again. He roared and decisively severed his own left arm, abandoning the part of his body infiltrated by the Wings of the End. He then flared his bloodline, raising his defenses against the all-pervasive blades of light.
Time and Fate seemed about to return.
He could sense it. Three seconds left!
Just three more seconds!