Beyond the Bloodline

Chapter 432: Rumours of a Relic

In the border region between the two Multi-Universal Empires that’d been chosen to bear the brunt of the coming wrath of an Eternal, Jamie created a massive, universe-sized dimension that was essentially a replica of the alternate dimensional space where Adam had stored Angela’s body.

He’d then had his and Akari’s subordinates surround the dimension’s entry portal, scanning the surrounding area as if they were searching for something specific.

Jamie sealed the portal using the power of his strongest Dictum so that no one below the Ultimate Realm could enter it, then left for the Dark Multiverse ruled by the Aggressors to retrieve something before returning to his own Multiverse.

After that, he headed back to the trap dimension’s region and entered one of the flagships from Akari’s Empire, where the Shrine Priestess herself was present.

Jamie had informed her that Angela was awake and was planning to transform her sister into an Immortal, an action that’d alert the Eternals of Life and Death and would inevitably draw the Eternal of Death to that location, with the resulting battle being what’d cause the collateral damage to the two nearby Multi-Universal Empires and erase all those from foreign territories who came to spy on whatever he and Akari were planning around the area.

Still, Jamie felt that simply knowing about his and Akari’s actions in that area wouldn’t be enough to draw out the targets they wanted, so he decided to add something else to the plan.

"Let them think that we’re searching for a relic of the Previous Era."

"That’s a very dangerous lure to use, Westley," was Akari’s response to his statement.

She was worried that they might end up drawing in more fish than they could handle, specifically existences at the Ultimate Realm.

Items from the Previous Era all possessed absurd levels of power.

To begin with, every one of those items had been strong enough to survive the void before the Cosmos was birthed anew following the destruction of the last iteration of the Cosmos.

One example was Jamie’s Sword of Dimensional Severance, the Galaxy Sword.

It didn’t matter how higher-dimensional the target was, since it could strike all of the target across however many dimensions it occupied, including dimensions Jamie couldn’t orient his existence in or couldn’t perceive at all.

Every slash was practically a guaranteed hit, no matter how powerful the target might be.

Even non-Rule Breaker items from the Previous Era all possessed absurd powers, one example being the item that became the core of the original Destruction Supreme’s Annihilation Catalyst.

Jamie had said before that the improper disposal of an item from the Previous Era was what allowed the Destruction Supreme to create the Annihilation Catalyst, and was likely the reason it could even sprout a new consciousness from the vestige left behind and become a complete ’existence’ on its own.

The one who’d improperly disposed of that item was the same Progenitor Jamie and Angela had gone to meet in Continuum H-0, Adam.

Something the man had considered useless and discarded at random just happened to synergise well with the Destruction Supreme’s Dictum, and it was what they’d used to create the Annihilation Catalyst that was now the Neo-Extinction Legion’s leader.

So if word got out that another similar item had been discovered, they might end up drawing in far more than just their intended targets.

Jamie understood that danger, but he still went ahead with the plan because it was one that would guarantee their targets showed up.

Not merely Supremes and Grand Supremes, but Integration Realms and Zenith Havens like themselves.

Those kinds had lived for so long and valued their lives so highly that the majority rarely moved unless it concerned something of great importance or immense value like this.

Akari handled most of the information dissemination. Her spies within enemy territories let this detail slip into the right channels, the ones that would ensure the information reached the ruling powers of these vast domains, starting with the two flanking the trap dimension.

Those two in particular sent out their powerhouses to the region as quickly as possible, to gather as much information on Jamie and Akari’s fleets surrounding the dimension gate as they could and report back to their capitals.

Their plan worked, and soon, many existences began to gather in the region, with several beings on their level hiding within the folds of space to observe from a distance.

Jamie and Akari acted as if they hadn’t noticed and continued waiting for the seal on the entrance portal that Jamie had created to slowly crack open.

"Look at them, all like moths to a flame because of rumours about an item that isn’t even there," Akari said, shaking her head silently.

But as she spoke, Jamie replied with something that made her snap her gaze toward him in shock.

"Who said there isn’t an item from the Previous Era inside there?"

|...you goddamn lunatic!!|

Akari’s loud voice echoed throughout the entire ship, prompting several of her subordinates to rush in immediately with weapons drawn, thinking something serious had happened.

They weren’t wrong, but what had happened wasn’t something they needed to know, so Akari expelled them all from the control room with a wave of her hand.

Having known Jamie for millions of years and dealt with his antics more times than she cared to count, Akari was absolutely certain that if Jamie said something like that, there was definitely something dangerous inside that trap dimension.

Right at that moment, the seal Jamie had placed on the trap dimension cracked open, and an immense wave of cosmic energy poured out, crashing into the gathered fleets like a tsunami, crushing the shields of the ships at the front and nearly destroying some entire squads if their commanders hadn’t acted to protect them.

A long tear, several hundred light-years in length, split across space, widening to twice its length, and from it gushed a cosmic aura so ferocious that even the least observant eye could immediately tell that something extraordinary was inside.

Akari turned her stunned gaze toward Jamie as she sensed this, and the man just smiled before raising his hand to his watch and setting a countdown timer.

"The beacon is active," Jamie said, lowering his hand and looking at her. "We have less than 12 standard hours. No time to dawdle."

He then proceeded to telepathically order all the Zanerth-affiliated ships in the region to move into the rift, and at this, Akari just sighed before commanding her fleet to advance as well, her flagship’s superior shields cutting a path through the ferocious cosmic energy waves.

◇　◇　◇

The operatives lured from other Multi-Universal Empires also noticed the trap dimension’s portal bursting open, and they sensed the intense cosmic energy it radiated, clear signs that something extremely dangerous was inside.

Because of this, many who had been hiding revealed themselves, and after discussions that nearly erupted into arguments several times, they managed to reach an agreement with the goal of preventing their common enemies from obtaining whatever was inside the dimension.

If possible, they intended to destroy it so no one could claim it.

◇　◇　◇

The interior of the trap dimension was modelled after the alternate space in Continuum H-0, with static stars, planets, and galaxies, blending Continuum H-0’s galactic configuration with Zanerth’s.

Jamie and Akari left their fleets behind and moved ahead, heading straight for the only planetoid in the entire dimension that contained a living being, the one Angela had created for her personal use.

Akari had never met Angela before, and part of the reason she had agreed to be physically present was the opportunity to meet the famed ’Witch of Chaos.’

Upon seeing Akari, Angela only raised an eyebrow before asking,

"Why would you willingly bind your existence to Roland’s?"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Akari replied with a shrug, and hearing this, Angela silently shook her head.

Turning to Jamie, she asked, "The fools who came here are the ones you intended to lure?"

When Jamie nodded, Angela extended her left palm, and a reinforced metal box appeared above it. She grabbed the box by the handle before it could fall, her expression turning into a slight frown as she asked,

"Now then, explain this."

Jamie just chuckled, snapping his fingers to teleport the box into his hands as he said, "It’s the bait for the fish. The ’rumours’ about an item from the Previous Era being here weren’t lying after all."

Akari glanced at the black, one-square-metre box, multiple belt buckles surrounding it, her hair standing on end at the mere thought of analysing it.

’Just thinking about scanning it is already threatening? What on earth did Westley put in that box?’

Her curiosity spiked instantly, and while she wrestled with those thoughts, Angela snapped back at Jamie’s answer to her question.

"I don’t care what Era it’s from. I’m asking why you brought that thing here."

From her words, it was clear she knew something about either the contents or the source, and neither was something she could afford to ignore, especially as she was about to perform the critical process of removing Daniella’s Mercury Gem and turning her into a Deathless Immortal.

Jamie also understood why she was cautious. He sighed, placing the box on the ground and sitting on it as he spoke.

"Alright, Angela. We both know Julio is sharp. We also know she would never let her guard down against you, especially with me involved as well.

This box is a beacon, here to call up some assistance for you. A little something to give you an opening to ’work your magic’."

Jamie didn’t elaborate further, standing and grabbing the box by its handle as he turned around.

"I have no desire to get in your way. Your success is mine as well. So focus on your sister while I handle my part."

With that, he waved once and teleported away, heading back to his fleet to make preparations to evacuate them once the battle got bloody.