Chapter 399: End of the trial One hundred million clones, plus the original Ethan, simultaneously released their auras. It wasn’t a shockwave. It was a physical weight that crushed the breath out of every candidate. The pressure was so immense that the weaker candidates’ bodies simply imploded, turning into clouds of red mist instantly. The stronger ones fell to their knees, their bones snapping under the gravity of a hundred million Origin Paragons. The mocking laughter was gone. In its place was a silence so heavy it felt like lead. "The Will told you I was an anomaly," Ethan said, walking through the air. The candidates in his path were pushed aside by his sheer presence. "But it didn’t tell you what that meant." "It meant that I am the end of your story." The slaughter that followed was not a battle. A battle implies that both sides have a chance to win. This was a harvest. Ethan didn’t give them a second chance. He didn’t want to hear their pleas or their excuses. He moved like a reaper through wheat. Each clone performed a single, perfect strike. One hundred million swords swung in unison. The void turned red. The "protagonists" who had survived countless trials and tribulations were erased as if they were mere ink on a page. Their "unbeatable" techniques were brushed aside like cobwebs. Ethan moved through the center of the carnage, his face expressionless. He wasn’t enjoying this. But he wasn’t feeling guilty either. They had come to kill him for a prize. They had gambled their souls. And they had lost. As each candidate died, a strand of golden light rose from their body. These were the Supreme Bloodlines. The very essence of their potential and power. Ethan waved his hand. The World Tree within him roared to life. Its roots extended out of his shadow, snaking through the void and catching every single drop of blood and every strand of light. Fifty million. Seventy million. One hundred million. The World Tree drank it all. Ethan let it drink the bloods because it had got a new talent after devouring those 5 axiom realm general it needed. It could refine positive bloodlines and could merge more bloodlines into a powerful one. Ethan asked it to compress all those 100 million bloodlines into 10000 bloodlines. He would then merge those 10000 with his omni bloodline. It was a feast unlike any in history. The tree grew at a visible rate. Its branches pierced through the layers of reality. Its leaves turned into tiny suns. Within minutes, the 100 million candidates were gone. There were no bodies. No ruins. No lingering spirits. There was only Ethan Hunt, standing in a void that had been scrubbed clean of life. The silence that followed was even louder than the screaming. Ethan stood alone. His clones dissolved back into pure energy and returned to his body. He felt a surge of power so intense it threatened to crack his own skin. His bloodline was evolving. One hundred million fragments of "destiny" merged into a single, terrifying whole. Suddenly, the cold, mechanical voice of the Will returned. It didn’t sound happy. [WORLD WIDE ANNOUNCEMENT] [The Trial of the Throne of Destiny has concluded.] [Candidate Ethan Hunt has achieved 100% authority through the elimination of all other competitors.] [You may now make your wish.] There was a pause. Then the voice changed. It became lower. More personal. Filled with a hidden threat. [But you should be careful, Ethan Hunt.] [Do not wish for something which you might not be able to enjoy.] [There are eyes watching you that can erase even an Emperor of Destiny.] Ethan narrowed his eyes. It was a blatant threat. The Will was telling him not to ask anything against the creators. Not to ask to destroy them. Or he would be killed before the wish was even granted. Ethan knew his current limits. He was strong. But he wasn’t yet ready to fight the "Absolute Continuum" beings,let alone the creators. If he asked for too much now, he would be crushed before he could grow. He thought for a moment. His mind raced through the possibilities. He needed a way to grow in secret. A way to protect himself from the prying eyes of the higher realms. "I won’t dig any further into the ’Truth’ for now," Ethan said aloud, his voice echoing in the empty void. "I know I’m no match for you guys." He looked up at the "sky" of the trial ground. "I have my wish." "I wish for you to upgrade my Space Cube to its absolute maximum potential." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎 The Space Cube was his greatest tool. It allowed him to hide from heaven’s gaze. It gave him the gift of time. By upgrading it to the max, he wasn’t just getting a "toy". He was getting a fortress that even the Will of the Eternal Domain couldn’t peer into. There was a long silence. The Will seemed to be calculating. Finally, a beam of black-and-white light descended from the highest point of reality. It hit the small cube in Ethan’s hand. The cube began to spin. It vibrated so fast it became a blur. It expanded and contracted. Its surface carved itself with runes that hadn’t been seen since the beginning of time. [Wish Granted.] But Ethan did not believe it. "Nini, give me your updates." "Master, I have now become an Origin Artifact. I can shield the prying eyes of anyone up to four realms above you. I can also accelerate the time field by one million times. But most importantly, my space can now grow infinitely. You may add Origin Worlds inside me. With every world you add, I will continue to grow stronger in direct proportion to their number and quality. You can even create a world, or a peak world, directly from reality itself. And Master, I can now forge a weapon. That weapon’s power will be equivalent to the combined weight of all the worlds contained within me." "Damn. You and I really are the same." Ethan chuckled softly. "My body can also hold an infinite number of worlds. But adding worlds into you will benefit me as well. I am the god of my own world, but inside your worlds, I can become a ruler. There is a fundamental difference." Ethan spoke calmly, as if stating an inevitable truth. He was about to enter seclusion. First, he needed to become a Progenitor. He had to completely merge with the Progenitor bloodline and seize absolute control over humanity. After that, he would begin searching for his family. He would not stop until he found every last one of them. Then, he would establish a supreme Human Empire, a single banner under which every branch of the human race would unite. And finally, he would create his own law. The Law of Infinity. Everything was already planned. Now, all that remained was execution. A white light enveloped Ethan. Boom. He vanished from the trial ground. In the next instant, Ethan returned to the world he had created inside the body of that primordial creature. "Huh? I’m back again? In my own world." He smiled faintly. "That’s not bad at all. I hope that girl is still here. She still needs to learn a few lessons." Ethan was pleased. He was now as powerful as an Origin Paragon. With the Sword of Infinity in his grasp, his true combat strength reached the Eternal Sovereign Realm. If he played his cards right, he could even stand alone against a powerful race. So a little girl from an Original Race posed no real threat to him. Ethan expanded his mental domain. He quickly sensed her presence. She had not left. At this very moment, she was torturing Ragnarok.