Barely a split-second, a streak of light shot back through the window, reattaching the device securely to Arthur's arm.
Almost immediately, the fabric of spacetime tore open, forming a Cosmic Gate that unleashed a powerful attraction force, dragging Arthur toward it.
Before he could be fully pulled in, Arthur snapped his fingers. The force vanished in an instant, and he dropped back onto the couch.
It was clear now that any attempt to separate Arthur from the Cosmic Teleporter would trigger its security measures, creating a gate to transport him to safety.
"No wonder you're so confident."
Evan remarked, leaning back into his seat as the realization sank in and Arthur merely shrugged in response.
"Anyway, Jamie. Can you help me out with the Gravity stuff while we talk?"
Arthur quickly pivoted to his current priority. Unlocking his Pseudo-Authority in Gravity was essential—it would increase his energy capacity, giving him the space for the extra energy he needed to reach Transcendence.
Evan, curious, raised a question.
"I was thinking the other Demon Queen would be better suited for this…"
He was referring to the Demon Queen of Gravitas, the one who had first identified Arthur's dormant Pseudo-Origin core.
"She could help, sure. But when it comes to Gravity, I'm better."
Jamie said, his voice brimming with absolute confidence that his expertise in Gravity surpassed even that of a Demon Queen whose main schtick was Gravity Manipulation.
Naturally, this brought a puzzled expression to Evan's face and Jamie just laughed. He then lifted his right hand and ticked down a finger for each Demon Ruler he named in succession.
"I'm better at Darkness than McEnda. Better at Destruction than Malorum. Better at Ice than Xagthor…the list goes on.
The reason why they have those titles is because those are their strongest laws. It doesn't mean they're the best at it."
He gestured toward himself, continuing.
"I, for example, am the 'Demon King of the Void', because 'Void Manipulation' is what I use to hit the hardest.
I'm not even a Demon in the first place, though."
The last part was delivered with a nonchalant shrug, as if it were the most mundane revelation in the world.
This reminded Arthur about something he'd always found odd about Jamie.
"How are you a 'Demon King' when you're not even a 'Demon'? I thought these titles were 'Race Ruler' titles and could only be given to people of a specific race…"
Arthur's understanding of the Valmone Universe's 'Race Ruler' system painted Jamie as an outright anomaly.
The explanation, however, was something he never saw coming.
Jamie raised his hands, conjuring an array of sigils radiating immense Authority and potent law energy. As each sigil lit up, he named the corresponding race.
"I can be a 'Demon King', 'Angel King', 'Dragon King', 'Vampire King', 'Human King' or 'whatever King' is out there.
I'm the only exception to the race modifiers because I'm the one who put those modifiers in the first place."
Arthur and Evan's eyes widened in shock at his words. Jamie grinned, his next declaration cementing his claim.
"I'm the one who brought the 'Race Ruler' system to this Universe, after all."
The Valmone Universe must have adopted the titling system at some point—and that point was when Jamie's real body first visited this Universe millions of years ago.
Back then, the current Race Emperors (except Kaylatheurge) hadn't even been born.
This system had originated in Jamie's home Universe, Zanerth, and he had brought it with him when he arrived.
"The only reason why I'm on the Demons' side is because most of my friends are there."
It was for such a simple reason that the Demon Race of Valmone had a Cosmic Being on their side.
"Damn…that's a deeper lore drop than I expected."
"I know, right?"
Evan and Arthur chimed in one after the other, their voices tinged with amazement and Jamie chuckled at their reactions, clearly amused.
The revelation that Jamie wasn't a Demon despite being one of their Kings naturally raised the question of what exactly he was. Arthur didn't hesitate to ask, and Jamie responded candidly.
"Over a billion years ago, a Crazy Bitch—I mean, Witch, thought it was a good idea to infuse the Vampire Bloodline into an Ancient Breed Werewolf.
The result of that idea sits before you—THE Perfect Hybrid."
As he spoke, Jamie projected a concise version of his Status Board before them. A few sections were marked with question marks, which was unsurprising given the vast power gap between him and the two boys.
|Name- Jamie Westley
Race- Ancient-Breed Alpha-Hybrid
Gender- Male
Age- 3,054?
Deity Level- Undefined.
Existence Level- High-Tier Deity (Superior) [...]
Titles- THE Alpha Hybrid, Irregular, Leader of the Hybrids, 'Azure Void Paragon', Myth of Estea, Marked by the Witch of Chaos, Loved By Mana, Loved by the Night, Envoy of Balance, Ancestor of the Westley Clan, Visitor from the Beyond [...]
Class- [Error...Not Found]
Health– EX3+→♾
Energy- EX3+
Strength– EX3+
Agility– EX3+
Durability- EX3+
Intelligence- EX3+
Condition- Normal [Fragmented Power]
Magic Tiers- Space Tier 8, Gravity Tier 8, Blood Tier 8 [...].
Skills- Void Manipulation, Martial Arts (T), Language Comprehension, Energy Control, Energy Blast, Weapon Control, Aura Slash, Hexblade Dance, Triad Gun, Azure Inferno, [...].
Unique Skills- Child of Space, [...].
Authorities-???.
Ultimate Skills- Imperial Privileges, ???. |
"You've got an infinity sign too?"
The infinity symbol on Jamie's Health stat caught Evan's attention first, and upon hearing this, Jamie nodded in response.
"Yeah. It's a Cosmic Being thing.
Theoretically, our bodies are immortal; but that only applies when we aren't up against other Cosmic Beings and those with Destruction/Erasure powers."
Evan had also noticed the infinity symbol on Arthur's status board, though he had a '½' in front of it.
'It doesn't make much sense when I think about it. I mean, half of Infinity is still Infinity…'
The thought lingered as Evan's gaze shifted to the rest of Jamie's Status board. Jamie's age read "3,054?", which likely referred to how long this current body had existed.
His Deity Level was marked as Undefined, meaning he had surpassed the power limit of that Realm—just another day in the life of a Singularity.
The Tier 8 Gravity affinity confirmed that Jamie was more than capable of assisting Arthur with his dormant Pseudo-Origin core issue, which was exactly where they moved next.
As for Evan, the whole gravity business wasn't his concern, so he excused himself and made his way over to the arcades he'd "borrowed" from Jamie's penthouse.
The reason he'd gone as far as to snag them was because they housed games he hadn't seen in ages, ones from Earth V—games he missed.
Donkey Kung, Puc-Man, and Snakes Attack. He even had Snakes Attack II!
Without a second thought, Evan dove into the games, tuning out the complex gravity lingo from Arthur and Jamie.
Starting from Donkey Kung, Evan's hands gripped the joystick as the pixelated screen flickered to life. He could already hear the familiar retro tunes and see the bright yellow letters spelling out "Start."
The game was simple, but that was what he loved about it.
He guided his little pixelated hero through levels filled with barrels, jumping at just the right moments to avoid being flattened. He grinned as he dodged another near miss, his fingers tapping the buttons with a rhythmic precision.
The arcade cabinet hummed as the game counted down his lives.
With a final leap, Evan defeated the big ape boss at the end of the level, the screen flashing a victory message. He let out a satisfied breath, his score ticking higher and higher.
But he didn't stay too long on Donkey Kung—there were other games to conquer.
Next up was Puc-Man.
The cabinet lit up as Evan slid into the next game, the iconic yellow character appearing on the screen, ready to devour those dots.
He leaned in close, eyes locked on the maze, hands dancing over the joystick as he weaved Puc-Man through the tight corners, chomping down pellets and dodging the ghosts.
Minutes passed, but Evan was lost in the rhythm. Ghosts chased him through the maze, but he was quick, slipping through narrow paths and snatching up the power-ups.
When his character ended up dying, Evan saw Jamie's high score of 2,999,999 and his eyes narrowed.
'Challenge Accepted.'
He started a new game and moved his fingers as fast as he could without breaking the machine, navigating Puc-Man through even tighter spots. One by one, he cleared the levels.
The tension in the air grew thicker with every dot he devoured, the ghosts growing faster, more aggressive.
And then it happened.
Evan's score ticked past the 2,999,999 mark, and the screen flashed in neon:
NEW HIGH SCORE: 3,000,001!
His fist shot into the air in triumph, ready to throw out a victory pose, arms wide in a gesture of pure elation.
But just as he was about to celebrate, the room around him suddenly shifted—gravity twisted and flipped.
Everything in the room began to defy the natural laws of physics. The arcade machine, with its glowing screen still flashing his victory, started to rise into the air, followed by the chairs, tables, and even the wine bottles on the tables.
Evan felt his feet leave the ground as his body floated upwards, weightless.
"Wha—?!"
His hands scrambled to grab something, anything, but the sudden inversion threw him completely off balance. He could only watch in dismay as his Puc-Man character was engulfed by the chasing ghosts and promptly "died," his game abruptly ending in defeat.
Snapping his gaze to the side, he saw Jamie floating upside-down as well, looking unfazed. Jamie silently pointed at the source of the gravity anomaly and the only person unaffected by it—Arthur.
"Oh…
Gravity's cool. Too bad my affinity for it is shit."
Evan muttered, trying to steady himself in the strange weightless environment. Hearing him, Jamie turned to him with a raised eyebrow.
"I think your perception may be a bit skewed, Evan. Your affinity for Gravity isn't 'shit,' it's 'average.'"
"Average?"
Evan blinked, confused and his reaction confirmed Jamie's conjecture.
"I'm sure your main affinities are so high that anything that isn't remotely close to that level feels 'shit' to you. But I assure you, it isn't."
Evan's affinity for the elements he frequently used was well above average, with his main elements—Fire, Ice, and Lightning—being ridiculously strong.
Because of this, his perception of what was average had become distorted, making anything at that level seem weak to him.
"Also, your ice affinity seems artificial. Maybe you can gain an artificial gravity affinity in the same way. Dunno how you did it, though."
Leaving aside Jamie finding out about his artificial affinity, Evan contemplated the method he had used to acquire it.
'If I Mimic Harbinger of Gravity... but no way Vaeri is just gonna stand there and make eye contact with me for three seconds...
This means I'll have to use the Gazebind Aegis on her.'
The thought sparked a new plan in his mind, but it wasn't something he could act on immediately.
Speaking of Gazebind, Evan pulled up the shield's description and focused on the tragic tale of the Gorgon Queen who created it.
|…
There was a Gorgon 'Race Queen' on Planet Aidos with Amber eyes so captivating they seemed to pull people in.
She desired for all to admire her eyes, but most turned away, either attacking her or escaping her presence.
Driven by her longing, she created an Artifact to protect herself from their attacks, compelling all who gazed upon her to 'admire' her eyes, even if it was against their will.
By the time she was slain by the 'Demon King of Destruction' during the 'Great Valmone War', billions of souls had already been turned to stone by her beautiful, enchanting Mystic Eyes of Petrification.
…|
'The Demon King of Destruction… it's probably that Malorum guy from earlier, right?'
The thought echoed through his mind, but before he could dive deeper into it, Jamie's voice reached his ears, though the words were directed at Arthur.
"Seems like you're okay now. So, can you return the gravity to normal?"
Arthur tapped into the power of his new Pseudo-Authority, causing the room's gravity to invert.
This time, however, the speed was much faster, so he had to stop time to prevent things from crashing to the floor.
After a bit of fine-tuning, he synced the room's gravity with the planet's and resumed the flow of time, letting everything fall back into place normally.