Chapter 207: The Lord of Nightmares
"Kalpa."
Akasha stepped away from the balcony’s edge, turning to face the petite woman standing a few paces behind.
Her hair, shimmering in seven colors, swayed gently in the thin void breeze as her pure white eyes met his.
His voice was calm and unhurried as he spoke.
"Return to Kalpa and meet with Harlan."
He walked the remaining steps that separated them and lifted one hand, tapping two fingers lightly against her forehead.
"Once you do, have him set up this formation for me... and also tell him that I will be appearing not long from now."
Through the connection that bound them, a precise stream of knowledge flowed into her mind without resistance—the complete method for constructing the formation that linked external barriers directly to his Divine Domain.
Every detail of structure, sequencing, and activation settled into place as if she had always known it.
Kalpa’s eyes narrowed for just a moment as she processed the information, then she gave a calm, deliberate nod.
"I’ll be back as soon as I can."
Akasha gave a simple nod. "When you return, we’ll turn our attention to the troubles of the two worlds teetering on the edge of collapse."
Without another word, she disappeared, leaving behind only a stillness that seemed to swallow the space where she had stood.
Seeing her leave, Akasha stepped off the balcony and rose into the open air above Dream Land.
Luna and Yume already understood what he was planning, and knowing he’d return soon, they didn’t bother to follow him.
As he soared through the air, he tapped into the authority he possessed over dreams, molding them to his will.
Now that Dream Land had crossed into the waking world and encompassed everything within his Domain, he could effortlessly dream anything into existence without needing to send word to his True Self.
HUMMMMM!!!!!
In an instant, soft white and pale purple clouds gathered high above the central plateaus, drawing together under his will until they formed a simple but massive floating castle of pure condensed vapor.
He regarded the finished construct with a quiet nod of satisfaction. It was not meant to be some fancy artifact at all; he only wanted something unique.
"Well, now... everyone will have a designated space for skill creation."
HUMMMMM!!!!!
As soon as the words slipped from his lips, Dream Land responded with a deep, rolling rumble that seemed to come from its very core.
The once dormant Skill Creation ability he had gained long ago stirred to life, surging forward and merging completely with the grand, newly formed castle of clouds.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he soared ahead, slipping through an open archway draped in soft, drifting mist.
From the outside, the castle had loomed with grand and awe-inspiring scale, yet inside it revealed only a single, bare chamber formed entirely of pale, weightless cloud.
At the very center of the room sat a single, unassuming zafu, resting in quiet stillness.
"Now that I think about it," he muttered as he lowered himself onto it, "this function is far more absurd than I first realized."
From what he understood now, skills—though not exactly uncommon in general—were incredibly rare at their highest ranks.
They weren’t something one painstakingly built over countless years or through elaborate steps.
No, skills were formed through Divinity itself, meaning that, in theory, anyone could create them.
The catch, however, was that they demanded the same amount of Divinity to forge as constructs of the same rank.
For instance, even the weakest Divine Ranked skill required a staggering 5 million Divinity—an unfathomable amount for any ordinary cultivator to pour into a single ability.
Yet, even so, they stood apart when compared to innate powers, simply because a skill could be anything one imagined, unbound by any inherent limitations.
For the creators, grasping a skill came instantly, while those who learned it only had to practice to improve and advance their mastery steadily.
The ability he gained from his Divine Domain was extraordinary—it let him and the other members of the pantheon create skills freely at the Divine Rank, without any cost whatsoever....
And... everything Akasha had done in the past few hours, including finishing the Hub of Knowledge, had been for a single purpose: to ready himself for a war.
Although calling it a war might be misleading—it would be so one-sided that it might hardly seem significant at all.
As soon as he settled onto the zafu, a status window materialized before him.
[What skill do you wish to create?]
Seeing this... he wasted no time and began to shape the skill with deliberate care.
What he sought was a mark—an unshakable brand he could leave on anyone once certain conditions were fulfilled.
Just catching a glimpse of them would be enough.
Learning their real name, or even just their title, would work just as well. Even the smallest sign of favor toward him would be all it took to open the door.
Once the mark settled into place, the target would be designated for complete extinction.
When he finally brought their life to an end, it would be total and irreversible.
No artifact, no power, no outside influence could ever bring them back. It would be the kind of ending that left no room for doubt or second chances—final in every imaginable way.
HUMMMMMM!!!!
The moment he finished, a deep surge of pure divinity rolled through the walls of cloud, the entire structure vibrating as the Skill Creation function strained to realize the concept he had envisioned.
Light flashed through the pale interior, casting fleeting shadows along the walls. Moments later, a crisp notification materialized before his eyes:
[Skill Creation Result — Partially Achieved]
[Absolute extinction that prevents all forms of revival requires complete comprehension of the following Authorities: Death, Annihilation, Samsara, Oblivion, and Endings.
Until those Authorities are fully understood, the skill will function only at a reduced capacity.]
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"That’s not so surprising, I guess," Akasha muttered with an arched brow.
He understood that Authorities represented an entirely different realm of power, and he knew that true Death could only be achieved by comprehending the exact listed Authorities.
"I truly wonder who the hell created this verse... everything feels so free," he muttered again, shaking his head.
There were certain things he couldn’t wrap his head around—Divinity and Supreme Divinity being two major ones.
They were power sources that literally allowed someone to do anything they could imagine.
Then there were the Authorities, essentially the laws of Pantheos, yet far more profound than mere laws.
From what he could tell, these Authorities encompassed Laws, Concepts, and even things beyond what one might encounter in typical fantasy novels.
As the thoughts swirled in his mind, a second status window appeared beneath the first, presenting the skill in clean detail.
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[Mark of Absolute Extinction (Divine) - A specialized mark that can be placed upon any target the user can see, whose name or title is known, or who harbors even the slightest favorability toward the user.
Once marked, the target is designated for extinction. Upon the user’s successful kill, the marked being suffers death.
Current Limitation: Because the required Authorities remain incomplete, certain revival methods (Revival through Authorities) will still succeed.]
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Akasha studied the description in silence, the crimson points of his eyes catching and reflecting the soft glow of the status windows.
"This will do for now," he said as he rose to his feet. "I’m certain none of the beings in this Minor Existence possess any Authorities."
He was, in fact, completely confident of this—unless someone had some cheat, Authorities could only be comprehended within a specific realm housed in the Main Hub of Existence.
The Divine Realm.