Chapter 2237: Enraged Saaruk Realizing he could no longer overpower Yuan, Saaruk abruptly withdrew, putting distance between them, as if he’d lost all intention of continuing the fight. "Where the hell do you think you’re going?!" Yuan shouted as Saaruk pulled farther away. "Don’t tell me you’re running! A god fleeing from a mere mortal?! That’s hilarious!" Yuan didn’t bother giving chase. He knew that if Saaruk truly intended to flee, there was no way he could catch him. "Running away? This Mighty Saaruk?" Saaruk sneered in disdain at the thought of running away. "Even if this Mighty Saaruk has to suffer a little, this Mighty Saaruk will make sure you die here today!" Suddenly, Saaruk’s Eternal Essence skyrocketed, instantly surpassing Yuan’s Eternal Essence. ’What the hell?! Don’t tell me he hasn’t been using his full strength this entire time?!’ Yuan exclaimed inwardly after seeing Saaruk’s aura suddenly become nearly twice as strong as before. Unbeknownst to Yuan, Saaruk had been using his full strength before. Although the Absolute Power’s restrictions bound the Eternals’ prowess within its vicinity, they could temporarily exceed those limits as long as they were at the edge of the power’s influence, where it was the weakest. Moreover, they had to pay a tremendous cost. "Bear witness, mortal ant! This is Mighty Saaruk unleashing twenty percent of his true power!" he roared with manic laughter, hurling an attack that was twice as devastating as before. "Twenty percent?! What nonsense is that?! What about the Absolute Power?!" Yuan exclaimed as he channeled as much Eternal Essence as he could muster to block the incoming strike. "Argh!" Moments after unleashing his attack, Saaruk suddenly screamed in agony, as though an unseen force were ravaging him, inflicting far greater pain than anything Yuan’s blows had caused. Then, without waiting around to see the outcome, Saaruk immediately turned tail and fled, racing in a direction that took him farther and farther from the Nine Heavens until he was no longer within its vicinity. Had he hesitated even a second longer, his ethereal form would have been annihilated by the unseen force. Though it wouldn’t have killed him outright, the damage would have weakened his Eternal Essence, requiring trillions of years to recover. However, that wasn’t to say Saaruk escaped unscathed. By daring to defy the Absolute Power and drawing upon strength beyond what was permitted, he’d forfeited roughly ten percent of his total strength. It was a heavy price, enough to drop his standing among the Eternals and cast him out of the top twenty. After escaping and returning to his true body somewhere in the endless void, Saaruk unleashed a deafening roar of fury so powerful that it vaporized every star within hundreds of light-years, erasing entire constellations in an instant. "THAT DAMN MORTAL ANT! HOW DARE HE HUMILIATE THIS MIGHTY SAARUK IN SUCH A MANNER?!" Saaruk caused such a disturbance within the void that it attracted the attention of other nearby Eternals, and when they saw that he had weakened, they wasted no time questioning him. "Saaruk, what happened to your Eternal Essence? It’s so much weaker than before!" "Who did you fight this time?" "Can you even call yourself mighty now that you’re this weak?" Of course, they also didn’t hesitate to mock him. Saaruk ignored the other Eternals, refusing to entertain them. If they ever discovered that a mere mortal had reduced him to such a pitiful state, he would be mocked and scorned until the end of time. Fortunately for him, Shiva had left before she witnessed everything, and he was sure that Yuan had perished from his final strike. "..." "What is this ruckus you’ve caused in my domain, Saaruk?" Suddenly, another voice called out to him. Saaruk’s body tensed up slightly after hearing this voice. "No reason at all..." he responded, as the voice belonged to an Eternal that he couldn’t afford to ignore. "So you destroyed all those resources for nothing? Is that what you’re telling me?" The voice returned, its tone colder than the void itself and dripping with restrained fury. To the Eternals, all of existence was nothing more than a reservoir of resources, something to be refined into essence and consumed for power. Of course, this included the stars Saaruk had destroyed in his fury. "Saaruk offers his apology..." Not only did he lower his head in apology, but before this Eternal, Saaruk didn’t even dare refer to himself as ’the Mighty Saaruk’, a title he proclaimed with pride before all others. As for the other Eternals, they left the moment they noticed the presence of this Eternal. After a silence that seemed to stretch across the stars, the voice returned, its tone no longer angry, but tinged with curiosity. "Your condition... It was caused by the Absolute Power, wasn’t it?" "T-That’s—!" Saaruk hesitated to answer. "So, even you seek to covet that power for yourself now? Tell me—what for? To defy me?" the voice said, its tone cold and razor-sharp, like judgment itself. "No! That’s not it! Saaruk swears upon his essence!" "In that case, you won’t mind sharing with me your memories, will you?" Saaruk fell silent. Of all beings in existence, this was the one he most dreaded discovering his humiliation. Unfortunately, he could not refuse, as it would result in humiliation far worse than what Yuan had inflicted upon him. "Go ahead," he said in defeat. In the next moment, a light flickered in the far reaches of the void—first like a distant star, then rapidly expanding, its brilliance devouring the darkness itself. Within moments, the star reached him, and as it got close enough to see, it revealed itself to be the end of a single glowing string. The moment it touched Saaruk, it latched onto his body like a divine tether. Several minutes later, the voice returned, its tone laced with amusement and intrigue. "A mortal who not only wields our power but could even refine the essence of the void? How fascinating... how utterly unprecedented!" "..." Saaruk was dumbfounded by the Eternal’s reaction; never before had he witnessed them display such excitement. However, he was also nervous, as he had already slain the very being that had stirred such a reaction.