Against The True Gods

Caine continued to laugh, his voice echoing across the frozen landscape, raw and uncontainable. His strength soared without end, an endless torrent surging within him, even though his cultivation remained strangely stagnant. The laughter spilled from him, a defiant, unhinged sound that mocked the constraints of reality itself.

He could guess why the World Will Eye had appeared in this desolate, time-frozen expanse.

There was a fundamental difference between allowing a Will to bloom and forging a True Will.

One was a relatively natural progression, the other an act of defiance—a rebellion against the very order of existence. And rebellion required a tribulation. A test imposed by the world itself.

But this wasn't just any test.

When one comprehended intent and shaped it into their own, no tribulation was necessary.

The struggle of discovering intent, of crystallizing that understanding into a personal force, was a trial in itself. The process forged resolve and clarity.

Will, however, was an entirely different force—a behemoth that demanded more. To wield a True Will was to tap into a power so profound that the mere act of comprehending and forging it wasn't sufficient. The world demanded more. It demanded proof.

"Who are you?" the World Will Eye asked, its voice resonating through the stillness.

This was the test. A deceptively simple question. Yet simplicity here was a cruel illusion.

Who truly knew themselves? Who could claim, without hesitation or doubt, that they were a complete, unbroken individual? The concept of the self was a labyrinth, obscured by fear, doubt, and the endless layers of experience. To know oneself required facing the abyss, standing on the edge of oblivion, and not flinching. To gaze into the void and see the reflection of one's essence, stripped of all illusions.

True self-awareness demanded doubt and fear. No one truly understood themselves until they met death head-on. No one achieved clarity until they questioned the very core of their existence.

To know the self didn't mean defining it with words or titles. No, the truth was simpler—and infinitely harder.

It was about acceptance.

To know oneself was to stand before the mirror and not turn away. To peer into the eyes staring back and acknowledge the truths reflected there. The flaws. The weaknesses.

The strengths. The contradictions.

Everything.

Acceptance was the key.

Caine's laughter grew louder, sharper. The absurdity of the test was almost insulting.

From the moment he had clawed his way out of his dead mother's womb, life had tempered him with an unrelenting hammer. He had been forced to look into the mirror of his soul and had never been allowed to look away.

He accepted that he was selfish, greedy, vindictive, petty, violent, and superficial.

These were not sins or regrets—they were truths, embraced without shame or inner conflict.

He also accepted that he was patient, considerate, stubborn, and caring—with the right people.

His entire path up to this moment had been a relentless confrontation with his reflection, an unending awareness of who he was and who he would never be.

From his first breath, when his newborn cries echoed in confusion against his mother's cold, lifeless body, he had understood his identity and his purpose.

He was Caine. And he would always be.

BANG!

The World Will Eye shattered, unable to withstand the terrifying purity of Caine's Will—his True Will.

Torrents of neutral qi erupted from the eye's remains, flooding into Caine's bond space.

His star devoured the energy greedily, swelling with newfound power. His True Will advanced, relentless, taking step after step, refusing to rest.

In a single bound, his True Will reached its peak. Simultaneously, his Embryonic Elemental Will Stars quaked, bottlenecks disintegrating as they ascended to the apex of the True Will stage.

Caine drifted downward, his feet touching the ground. The flow of time resumed, and his summons exploded in a burst of energy and light.

He barely noticed. With a casual wave of his hand, the avatars froze. He clenched his fist, and they shattered into dust.

Not a heartbeat passed before he whispered into the wind, "…[Nameless Call]…"

In the charred expanse of his bond space, countless eggs of flesh appeared, writhing and twisting as they underwent grotesque transformations under the influence of his new constellation.

But Caine's attention remained elsewhere.

He looked at his hands, turning them over slowly. The world around him was silent, unnaturally still. It had all ended too quickly, too abruptly.

'Qi comprehension. Intent grasping. True Will forging. I don't know what path I'm walking…' His silver eyes glowed, and the cross etched over his pupils spun slowly. '…but I'll see it to its end.'

As this thought settled in his mind, the fog around him stirred once more.

Though the World Will Eye didn't reform, its voice echoed through the stillness. "You have passed the first of four trials. Under the weight of my hammer, you forged your Will—your True Will. Congratulations."

A pause. Then the voice continued, "Now face my children, and under their flames, may you be reborn."

The white landscape trembled, then darkened. The light bled away, swallowed by an abyssal blackness.

Figures began to emerge from the foggy shadows, their forms towering and majestic.

Dragons with scales like molten gold, Phoenixes wreathed in flames, Qilins surrounded by crackling arcs of lightning,

Great Turtles hugged by chaotic world ending storms, White Tigers riding upon waves and tsunamis of blood—all the mythological titans of old took shape. Their auras were oppressive, stretching into the infinite black sky.

Caine's eyes narrowed as he scanned them.

A strange stirring pulled at his chest. He loosened his robes, glancing down at his right pectoral. A glowing formation was etched into his skin.

In an instant, he understood its purpose—Will Suppression. The formation would bind his Will, forcing him to rely solely on his physical strength.

Caine didn't flinch. With a thought, the formation shattered. He closed his robes, his expression unchanged.

'If you want me to face this with my flesh alone, then so be it.'

By now, he was no fool. The world was tempering him, shaping him for a purpose he couldn't yet fathom. Whatever the reason, he wouldn't refuse this gift.

If the path to greater strength required him to fight with his body alone, then he would do it willingly.

The previous trial had given him the most significant breakthrough of his life. He could only wonder what this trial would offer.

RUMBLE!

The darkness surged. The titans roared.

And Caine stepped forward, ready to meet them.