The Dawn of the New World



It was only because Jin Wang had begun the process of unsealing his true form that he managed to survive the explosion that took out the planet and everyone on it.

Even the 'Heavenly Extermination' cloud was dissipated to a great degree but it was still there and its power was not only beginning to build back up but there was also an unstable portal in its center that was trying to open up.

And it was only the highly unstable nature of that sector of space that kept it from doing so.

Mr. Hyde was the first one to speak up. He peered left and right in shock, "I thought for certain that would be the end of me...did we...win?"

To his right was Jin Wang. Only a quarter of his body including the left arm had managed to transform halfway which proved resilient enough to withstand the impact.

Even in this state, he was nearly a thousand meters in size, his flesh still bubbling and sizzling as tumorous growths were continuously born and torn apart by the remaining energies.

And somewhere behind Jin Wang was Cerberus but the Hound was barely moving at this point. Its gargantuan form was slowly drifting away since there was no more gravity left to hold it down.

Mr. Hyde turned to the left to see Hao Xuan's naked figure standing tall on a black disk.

"Boy, can you hear me? We need to quickly leave this place before the Gods come here in person," he gestured towards the portal while gliding closer to him, "That doorway is coming straight from the Heavenly City and-"

"SToOOOoop!"

Jin Wang's distorted voice echoed in his mind, 'IT'S NOT...HIM!'

Hyde's figure immediately flashed and he appeared next to Jin Wang, behind the wall of bubbling flesh where his human head was hidden.

"Are you okay- No, we need to deal with this first, what happened to him? I was behind the barrier so there wasn't much I could see."

Bright red veins bulged on the side of Jin Wang's face as he tried to get his rampaging flesh under control.

"We...were wrong! He planned all...of this!" Jin Wang muttered through gritted teeth, spewing blood and saliva by the bucket.

"I saw it...I felt...it. Your father...he merged with him...at the very last moment...merged with ALL of him...that thing...it's not Hao Xuan anymore...It's...all of them...all those souls combined into one..."

Hyde looked in Hao Xuan's direction, unable to accept what he was hearing.

"That's not possible," he said while shaking his head confidently. There could be one or two different souls in a single body but to have that many was inconceivable.

"I know...that's why he did...all this. THIS was...his plan all along. Look...with your mind's eye...and you will see..."

Mr. Hyde moved away from Jin Wang and closed his eyes, releasing countless threads of spiritual sense in the surroundings. A third eye blinked open on his forehead without any pupils. It was just a mass of swirling golden lights created by the power of his inner mind.

And when he directed its gaze at Hao Xuan's figure all he could see was a blazing white star instead. It was big...big enough to dwarf even the sun and probably even brighter. And when he looked a little closer he could see millions of faces on its surface, slowly melting and liquefying into the same homogenous mass.

He could only manage to maintain eye contact for less than a tenth of a second before it became too much to handle.

"AAAH!" he reeled from the pain, quickly closing his mind to the surroundings while putting some distance between them, "WHAT IS THAT?!"

"A soul...or an amalgamation of them. Countless...millions of them...a soul powerful enough-"

[To kill a God?]

Both Jin Wang and Mr. Hyde shuddered as a not-so-unfamiliar voice floated into their minds.

Jin Wang pulled his left arm to the side to see Hao Xuan's face looking in their direction. But it was clear that it wasn't him anymore, or JUST him at least.

His eyes were pitch black, in complete contrast to his blinding soul. He looked at them expressionlessly, his voice sounding like it used to but just different enough to be noticeable.

[Not just yet, old friend. You haven't a clue about the powers that be. Even with a soul this powerful...I cannot be confident in my abilities. That's why I need a body...and an energy source to match it. All three must match]

Mr. Hyde floated back instinctively. That might be Hao Xuan's face and voice but that manner of speaking was his father's.

"Is the boy...dead?" he asked hesitantly. 'If I am going to die then why not get some answers on the way out?'

He had accepted his end.

But to his surprise Hao Xuan chuckled lightheartedly, [Dead? Me? Anything but. I am here still...with all of them]