Chapter 374: Eternal Domain Ethan didn’t know from where this portal came from when he needed it the most. Even if some eldritch entity was responsible for it, he would thank the entity someday, and if it was just a coincidence, then he just had to salute his luck. He closed his eyes. His head was still hurting. Though he showed a brave front infront of that girl, but her blood domain was dangerous for him. Finally, Ethan felt he had arrived some where. He opened his eyes. But before he could think anything, a voice came to his mind. [Welcome to the Eternal Domain. The world of the protagonists.] [Reality Announcement: The final protagonist is found. With this, the absolute era has began. Best of luck to win the throne of the Emperor of the destiny.] One after another notification was coming in his mind. The voice felt like a world system. As a system user, he didn’t need much time to figure out what was going on. Besides, there were also detailed information about this new world. The Eternal Domain was an origin world. But this world was different from those other orogin worlds out there. This world had Eras, where it collected protagonists, or rather the sons of destinies who had fate which couldn’t be measured. The era began with 100 million supreme protagonists. This world had their natives too. They were also supremely powerful, but the era would only begin once 100 million protagonists were gathered. And to get the title protagonist, one would have to be an anomaly. Only then would the era start. These protagonists would fight with each other, fight with the natives, complete tasks, and would gain authorities according to the level they completed their tasks. A throne would form behind them with this authority. The first person who could complete his throne would become the Emperor of the destiny. Someone could gain authorities by doing various things. But he would have to be the absolute best in what he did. Once his work became the best in the domain, he would gain authority from the Eternal Domain. And these protagonists were all between 80th dimensional beings to 99th dimensional beings. Nobody would be able to breakthrough to the Progenitor realm during this competition. Of course, they could voluntarily withdraw from the competition if they wanted, and then they would be able to breakthrough. But no emperor candidates could do it. Not only them, the natives of this world who fit this criteria could also enter this battle for the throne. And the person who became the Emperor of Destiny could gain one of their wish come true. It could be any wish. It didn’t matter how outrageous the wish would be. Ethan read the information with dull eyes. "What the fuck? I just comprehended my last percentage of the Source of Existence and this dumb world stopped that again. With my system, I wouldn’t need any external support." Though he was saying this, his mouth was watering for some reason. He couldn’t control his excitement. This was the ideal world for him. And he knew very well what he would wish for. Ethan was absolutely sure that he would win this. I mean, who could be his opponent, right? But his instinct was telling him that it wouldn’t be easy at all. "One hundred million anomalies," Ethan whispered. "If everyone is a protagonist, then no one is. Unless..." He checked his status window. His progress toward the Source of Existence was frozen at 99.1 percent. The Eternal Domain had essentially placed a lock on his transcendence, forcing him to participate in this cosmic game if he wanted that final 0.9 percent. In the Sector of Frozen Time, a woman named Serafine stood atop a mountain. She did not use a system. She was a Conceptual Singularity. "The final one has arrived," she murmured. Her power, [The Script of the Unwritten], allowed her to perceive the narrative threads of anyone she observed. To her, the world was not made of atoms, but of plot points. With a casual wave of her hand, a lake of molten mercury froze into a bridge. She did not walk because physics allowed it. She moved because the plot required her to be elsewhere. She was an anomaly who had murdered the Writer of her own universe to gain her freedom. Thousands of light years away, within the Nebula of Rebirth, a mechanical entity known as Unit 0 Prime recalibrated its logic gates. Unit 0 Prime possessed the [Logic Plague]. It did not fight with swords or spells. Instead, it rewrote the laws of physics within a localized area until its opponents ceased to be logical and dissolved into mathematical errors. "Probability of becoming Emperor: 0.0000083 percent," the machine droned. "Increasing variables through the elimination of rival anomalies is the only logical path." Then there was Kaelen the Void Walker, a ninety fifth dimensional being who had consumed his own timeline to prevent its destruction. His power, [Entropy’s Inheritance], caused anything he touched to lose its meaning. If he punched a mountain, the mountain did not break. It simply forgot how to be a mountain and collapsed into nothingness. These were the kinds of monsters Ethan was now up against. Ethan began to walk, his boots crunching against grass that felt like tempered glass. He needed to understand the Authority the system had mentioned. [System Message: Detailed Explanation of Authority Acquisition] To gain Authority, an Aspirant must achieve the Absolute Zenith in a specific field within the Eternal Domain. Nexus Events are triggered when an Aspirant performs an act that permanently alters the fabric of the Domain or surpasses the current records of the world. Ethan paused. "The absolute best?" he muttered. "If I craft a sword, it cannot just be a good sword. It has to be the best sword in a world filled with one hundred million gods." He finally grasped the scale of the challenge. This was not merely a battle of strength. It was a battle of specialization. If someone possessed a bloodline, it had to be the most potent bloodline in existence to trigger a Nexus Event. If someone built a city, it had to be the most efficient civilization ever recorded. The Eternal Domain functioned as a vast ledger, rewarding only those who shattered its records. "So," Ethan mused, a predatory glint entering his eyes, "the goal is not just to kill the others. It is to outperform them. To be more protagonist than the protagonists." The sky suddenly turned a bruised purple. The stars, which were in truth distant floating palaces, shuddered. [WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT] [A Nexus Event has been triggered] [Aspirant: Axiom Null has synchronised the law of fate with the law of time.] [Authority Granted: 0.1 percent of the Throne of Destiny] Ethan felt a ripple pass through the air. The authority did not merely transfer to Axiom Null. It manifested physically. Far in the distance, a ghostly translucent throne shimmered in the sky for a brief moment before vanishing. The race had already begun. Axiom Null, the man standing within the black hole, had just declared his intent. By perfectly aligning the laws of his immediate environment into a flawless void, he had accomplished something the Domain deemed unmatched. Ethan understood that wandering aimlessly would lead nowhere. He needed a masterpiece. In this world, Nexus Events were the true currency of power. He began listing possibilities in his mind. Weaponry. Forging a blade capable of cutting through the concept of distance. Bloodlines. Refining his own essence until it surpassed even the supreme natives to the Domain. He could create something which no one had ever seen. He could do something which had never appeared in the world before. But there was a catch. The natives of this world, the Eternal Denizens, were not mere spectators. They were beings above primordial levels, like the genesis vampire race. Such races and families were also present here too. And they had candidates too in this competition. Within the Burning Sea, a protagonist named Ignis attempted to create Cold Fire that could burn through souls, a feat that would undoubtedly trigger a Nexus Event tied to Elemental Purity. In the Clockwork City, a genius named Vera worked to engineer a virus capable of infecting the World System itself, aiming for the Authority of Information. Every action sent ripples across reality. The Absolute Era was not merely a title. It was a state of perpetual escalation. Each Nexus Event raised the standard for the next. The world itself was evolving through conflict. In that moment, Ethan understood the trap of the Absolute Era. Ethan sat under a tree. He was thinking what to do next. He wouldn’t create something just for this event which might become not useful in the future. Now that that he couldn’t become stronger through cultivation, he would create things that would make him invincible. "One hundred million anomalies," he laughed softly, the sound echoing through the silent forest. "I hope they are ready. Because I am about to turn the Eternal Domain into my personal playground."