Chapter 2010 The Shattering Multiverse "Alright, fuck it!" BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM Nux finally lost his mind and released his Aura. The weight of the Universe fell on the world he was in, and everything around him trembled. The air turned so heavy that it became visible, blurring the vision. Cracks started appearing all over the place, Yes, all over the place. The Ground, the Sky, the Air… It wasn't just the world that was collapsing under the weight of Nux's Aura, the very reality seemed to be in danger. The Temple was alerted. [Trial Fo#!#@ @#$$#] A strange, red screen appeared in front of Nux, making him frown. Then suddenly, as if one was not enough. [Trial Fo#!#@ @#$$#] [Trial Fo#!#@ @#$$#] Tens of similar screens appeared right in front of his face as if telling him to stop, and he did. Nux was here to learn, not to destroy everything. There were still three more Trials he had to clear. He still wanted to learn more about Time and the Temple of Time itself, But… The damage was already done. Even when he was no longer releasing his Aura or even opposing the Hourglass of Undoing, the Eternity Warden wasn't back yet. Which was strange, considering the Hourglass of Undoing was glowing and buzzing nonstop, meaning that it was working. Nux could also sense that it was releasing the Time Flow energy, just that… The energy had gotten… much more… unstable. Crack Then it happened. The cracks that had appeared all over the world started widening. Nux was able to sense an external force that was trying to close them, but it was becoming more and more difficult. There were just too many cracks, and it seemed like they all had their own distinctive energies. It was a sight that made Nux curious, so he didn't extend a helping hand either. Yes, he wanted to learn more but… Doesn't this situation scream of something new? Something he could… learn from? Nux watched everything with interest. Yes, he was bored. But he would never say that out loud. Crack Crack Crack The things continued to turn to shit. The Temple tried to forcefully close those cracks, but they continued to widen. [Trial Fo#!#@ @#$$#] [Trial Fo#!#@ @#$$#] [Trial Fo#!#@ @#$$#] [Trial Fo#!#@ @#$$#] Nux was continuously spammed by those messages, until finally, something changed. [Trial Four: Updated] [Trial Four: The Shattering Multiverse] [Make Time meaningful again.] "What the…" Nux blinked. He also noticed that the force that was continuously trying to stop these cracks from opening completely had disappeared. It was almost as if the Temple had bumped all the responsibility on him. And in return, It had decided to be a little more helpful. [You have stepped into a realm that should not exist. This is the Shattering Multiverse—a place where time itself has been broken beyond recognition. Here, the past, present, and future of countless universes do not flow—they collide. Battles from long-forgotten wars rage in the distance. Cities that have yet to be built crumble into dust. The sky flickers between infinite sunsets and endless midnights. Time has lost its meaning, reality is falling apart. Repair the Time Fractures or you will be trapped in Eternal Paradox.] Another screen explaining everything that was happening appeared in front of Nux. "Wait wait wait…" Nux narrowed his eyes as he read those last words. "What do you mean by Eternal Paradox?" He questioned out loud, but there was no other answer. CRACK The largest crack around him widened, and from it came down massive landmasses. Floating islands carrying huge castles and other unfamiliar structures… The sight seemed to be defying gravity or… Well, any other Law of Physics for that matter. These huge landmasses settled on the ground, as if merging into the new lands and Nux, who saw this, widened his eyes in shock as he realized something. The Time Flow in these landmasses… It was different. And it wasn't just about the speed or the direction of the Time Flow either, it was… something entirely different. Something… otherworldly. No, that was incorrect. It wasn't just a different world. It doesn't matter how many Worlds there were in this Vast Universe, 'Time' was always constant. But since the very Time in this place was different than what Nux knew or was familiar with… He understood what these lands were… Other Universes. A different reality. Two Realities were mixing with each other. CRACK However, this was just the beginning. Another crack that was now large enough started spewing out floating islands of its own. The islands collided with the ground and settled in. And just as Nux expected, 'Time' there was different as well… It was the Third Reality. CRACK CRACK CRACK Then came the fourth, fifth, sixth… The number of realities mixed together, forming something that couldn't even be explained. Nux, who was watching everything, couldn't be more shocked. He was frozen. Unable to believe what was happening. Every Law he had comprehended, he could sense another version of the same Law somewhere in the place. Yes, all these realities had their own way of forming a Law, and all those Laws were just as strong. It was… Something unbelievable. [Make Time meaningful again.] The Trial showed the message, making him remember what he was supposed to do here, and at those words, Nux just laughed out loud. Meaningful? Tens of different realities had mixed in here and ridiculously more were forming right in front of him. Time was NOT meaningful here; even causality failed since so many different versions of Time existed here. How was he supposed to make this… meaningful? Which 'Time' was he supposed to make meaningful? The once simple red sky had become a mosaic of colors and patterns, each representing a different universe. The ground beneath him shifted, blending elements from various worlds—crystalline formations sprouted beside ancient trees, and rivers flowed with luminescent liquids. BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOM Nux heard a few loud explosions. Boundaries between different realities were collapsing and converging into a singular, chaotic existence—an existence that should not exist by any means. What's worse? CRACK CRACK CRACK This all hadn't ended. The cracks were still widening, spitting out more and more realities. Because the fabric of existence had weakened so much, more of these cracks were forming and widening. It was as if all the Universes had found a common converging point and were rushing towards it. Nux, who stood at the very center of it, gulped. For the first time in a long while, he… He was nervous. This… was not good. 'Repair the Time Fractures or you will be trapped in Eternal Paradox.' At first, he didn't understand the meaning behind these words. Heck, even now, he didn't know the exact meaning of Eternal Paradox. He, however, was able to sense danger. The place he was standing at—the Shattering Multiverse or whatever this was called—had become a point that, for some reason, had become very attractive to different realities. More and more of these realities were rushing towards it, weakening its fabric of existence and overpowering it. If the Temple's words were correct, and the number of these realities was… countless, Then this… 'process' would never stop. Rather, it would only become easier and easier, and it would eventually reach a point where more and more realities would merge with this one within seconds. Of course, normally, Nux wouldn't have cared about it. Sure? From his understanding, things would be more chaotic, Funnnn~ But… No fun. Nux was standing right here. He could feel how these realities were merging. The 'product' of these realities was dangerous. The 'Time' had already become something he could no longer mess with—Life, Death, Creation, Destruction… All the Primordial Laws, or any other Laws—they were very quickly starting to lose meaning. The weaker Laws he had had long lost their meaning. They were absolutely useless in this place. Even his Complete Law of Absolute Space, his strongest Law—while it was still strong, Nux could see that it was also… losing its meaning. Yes, This reality was nowhere near strong enough to become a focal point between so many Universes. No reality was. The reality was collapsing. If Nux didn't do anything, his Laws, his Powers—they would all become meaningless and… together with him, the Temple would fall as well. And if that happened, He wouldn't be able to return. He would be trapped here forever, until reality collapsed completely for good, creating a black hole so strong that nothing would escape, Not even him. And this time, the chances of him reviving would be… quite low. [Make Time meaningful again.] Once again, the Temple showed him the message, and Nux paused, stopping himself from falling any lower in this downward spiral. "So you think I can still fix this, huh…" He muttered out loud. "That's optimistic." Nux chuckled. He again looked around. This time, his focus fell on the mixed reality in front of him. And there… He saw it. Someone familiar. 'Ah, Father-in-law…' He grinned.