Chapter 2059: Genesis Nova The barrier spell woven by Fury strengthened its defenses, and for the next series of moments, a tense battle ensued between the three Primordials and the endless horde of Existence-eating insects. Victorious Genesis was the one who took on the role of the main attacker, and the bulk of the assault fell on his lap. As he fought, he continuously grew stronger; however, these insects were adapting to their powers. Still, in the grand scheme of things, this was not a problem. Reaching the Origin Realm meant a Primordial had endless variations of their abilities, and a single punch could be utilized in an almost unlimited fashion. No matter how much the swarm adapted, the Primordials would find new ways to hurt them, but their numbers were increasing, and the sheer weight of their bodies was crushing down on the barrier. A barrier that initially stretched for thousands of miles had been reduced to a few hundred, and Victorious Genesis had to hold out one hand to support the heavens, or they would all be crushed under the weight of the swarm. This inevitably led to a gap in his assault patterns, and the behavior of the swarm transformed instantly. The Primordials had realized that while these swarms were not alive in the traditional sense, they were more like machines, and they had a series of preset programs inside them that would respond to any new changes around them. In response to the decreased mobility of Victorious Genesis, the swarm amassed upon each other in a new configuration. Insects piled upon insects, forming towering spires of writhing bodies that lashed out like living whips. These whips struck the barrier with resounding booms that killed very Old Ones inside the barrier, but because Fury was utilizing his Aura without holding back, all of the Old Ones were instantly resurrected, and it was almost as if they did not perish a moment before due to how quickly they were able to rise. The whips kept striking against the barrier until one tore through the cracks and struck Circe by the side of her stomach. These whips were comprised of millions of insects and the moment they touched the Primordials, tens of thousands of mandibles sank into her fiery essence, drawing out sparks of her eternal flame to fuel their impossible bodies. She screamed and blasted the whip with a nova of heat that erased all the swarm that had slipped into the barrier; however, the wound lingered, her light dimming fractionally. Circe had felt what it was like to be eaten by the swarm, and it was the most horrifying experience she had gone through in her life. Her psyche wanted to purge this memory from her Origin, but she kept it, knowing it was invaluable information for Eos. "We cannot hold like this," Resurrection intoned as he looked at her and saw the damage that was caused by the brief brush with the swarm, his voice a hollow echo. "They are infinite and are not. Did Serene Ascension not anticipate this danger?" Victorious Genesis snorted in disdain at the mention of Serene Ascension, and his golden eyes narrowed because he was realizing the full truth about why he was chosen, and he almost wanted to reach across time and slap the cheeky grin that would most likely be on the face of Serene Ascension. He knew the truth. Victory was a lie; there was only delay. And delay demanded sacrifice... his sacrifice. For a moment, he thought about the voice of his father and those of his family, and he smiled as he whispered in his heart, "Then I give what must be given," His massive golden wings folded inward as he channeled his Origin Force beyond the point of no return. He was already burning his Origin Force, but in this moment, he consumed it all. The power of Victorious Genesis was not mere creation; it was triumph born from genesis itself, the spark that turned nothing into everything, but at a cost that echoed through eternity. The Swarm closed in, a wall of chitin and void that blotted out the faint glow of the sanctuary. Insects the size of worlds collided with the barrier, cracking it like an eggshell. Smaller ones, swarms of beetle-like horrors with wings buzzing like thunder, slipped through fissures, devouring the air itself, turning breathable space into a choking vacuum. Victorious Genesis roared, and his body began to unravel. The golden armor he wore, which was made from metal that technically could not be broken, cracked under the aura blasting out from his core, revealing the raw Origin beneath. Inside him was a pulsing core of pure beginning that was growing bigger as it consumed everything he was and could be. He sacrificed it all. His limbs dissolved into streams of light, torso crumbling to dust motes of potential, and his wings shredded into feathers of raw power. The pain was beyond mortal comprehension, a Primordial’s essence torn asunder, every atom screaming in protest. But from that agony bloomed a devastating move that was only theoretical but had now seen the light of day... Genesis Nova. For a moment, there was a faint laughter in the air, and the voice of Victorious Genesis saying, "This is really cool," then the void ignited. The entirety of Existence had shrunken, and so the entirety of Existence simply ignited. It was nearly impossible to describe the light that emerged from the dying Victorious Genesis as a supernova of creation erupted from his disintegrating form. This light was not fire or any form of light, but was birth reversed. The Swarm caught in its radius did not die. After all this time, Victorious Genesis knew that this was not the way to stop them. At the core of his being, he was genesis, and so the swarm touched by his light were... unborn. These monstrous insects unraveled backward through their own existence. Fully formed horrors regressing to larvae, to eggs, and then to unsparked thoughts in the abyss that birthed them. Countless trillions vanished in an instant, the tide recoiling like a wave striking a cliff. The barrier mended momentarily, cracks sealing with fresh reality woven from Genesis’s sacrifice. The sanctuary breathed again, if only for a heartbeat. But Genesis was gone, reduced to a faint golden mist, an echo without form.