The Dawn of the New World

"-So prepare yourself."

*Pit*

The moment he finished speaking a raindrop landed right on the tip of Hao Xuan's nose.

'Huh?'

Looking up he could see the black clouds gathering below the several kilometer wide tear in the sky. And as if waiting for just such a moment the clouds burst open and the loud pitter-patter of the heavy rain filled the atmosphere.

The heavy downpour made Hao Xuan feel like he was standing under a shower. For a moment he couldn't help but close his eyes to enjoy the feeling.

His lips cracked in a genial smile while he recalled the sensation.

"You know, I used to love standing in the rain. It feels so freeing, washing away all the dirt and muck that we've picked up along the way. It used to rain every other day there and I would sit under this old tree by my house and try to catch the raindrops falling down from the leaves."

Hao Xuan could clearly recall the moment he was talking about as it began playing out in front of him. He even remembered the cold raindrops rolling down his arms making him giggle.

But then he suddenly paused as his forehead creased up in confusion, "No, we never had a tree in the house on earth. I...those were the memories from one of the other lives I lived through, aren't they? Damnit, how could I confuse the two?"

When he opened his eyes again there was more anger in them than any other emotion. He felt robbed for some reason, deceived by his own mind.

"Ah, that's really fucked up isn't it?"

Hao Xuan rubbed his forehead feeling the migraine coming back, "If I can't trust my own memories then what can I trust?"

He was mostly talking to himself but the synapse was diligently listening and digesting everything he had to say. It didn't even make a move and allowed him to continue reminiscing because that's what it wanted in the end, to understand him on a deeper level because he was the first human that it had ever seen in person.

But now that his mood had been soured no good memories came to mind-

*Sigh*

-In fact, only the bad ones did.

"Still quite a bit of deja vu though, isn't it? I met Ba'al in much a similar situation and then the following fight with the Puer. It was in the same kind of pit and even the weather, what a strange coincidence."

"It might not have been that long ago in real time but for me, that feels like ages past. It doesn't even feel like that was me. I wonder why that is..." he muttered to himself. (Those events took place around CH 583 and 591 leading up to 610+)

Looking back at the synapse Hao Xuan could see it studying him. It had let him go on because it wanted to know more about him so that maybe it would help it the next time it tried to take control of him.

'Too bad that's not going to happen.'

He wasn't planning on pulling back any punches. This was not a fight but an extermination.

"Assault of the Mad God!"

Although it had been activated in full force Hao Xuan could not really feel a difference. He examined his arms which were a shade darker but the previous effect of his muscles doubling and arms expanding in size was nowhere to be seen.

There was just a numbing feeling in his bones as if there were hundreds of bees flying inside them.

"Seems I can't physically get any stronger. This is the absolute limit that my body can handle without imploding. Is that a good thing or bad?"

Flexing all his muscles Hao Xuan locked onto the synapse. For good or bad, this was it. His hands were still folded into fists and bound by the metal he had twisted around them.

Without making any flashy movements he sprinted forward. This was not a special technique, no Qi was utilized for this whatsoever. The only strength came from his body which just happened to be almost 50 times stronger than an average Spiritual Realm Expert.

And this kind of strength, was nothing to scoff at.

The basin was a kilometer in radius and when Hao Xuan pushed against the ground it created another hole that was 20 meters deep.

There was no sound, just a straight line of empty space where even the raindrops were missing from.

One second the Synapse creature was looking at Hao Xuan and the next second its vision blurred right before it heard the explosion.

*BOOOOOM*

A sonic boom reverberated back and forth a moment later as Hao Xuan appeared in the creature's place while it was smashed tens of meters into the ground.

Hao Xuan pushed against the surface of the black pool and backflipped onto the semi-solid ground.

"Not bad."