( The celestial realm )
Max had a lot of expectations when ascending to the celestial realm.
Deep down he felt excited to ascend to this realm of warrior's where only the finest individuals in the history of the universe gathered.
Although he had no idea as to how this celestial realm should be, he expected it to be a realm that transcended what the mortal world could offer, which is why he was slightly surprised when he ascended to the celestial realm and found himself standing on a steep mountain peak, surrounded by clouds and several other mountain peaks.
The air was rich in mana, divine essence and karmic essence as just by breathing the air of the celestial realm he felt every cell in his body becoming supercharged as the purest quality of mana flowed through his veins with an abundant supply to go around.
" Welcome-" A familiar voice said as Max turned and found a smiling Rudra standing nearby as Max went forward and gave his brother a hug.
For a solid 10 seconds the two brothers embraced each other as Max squeezed Rudra's back as hard as he could, displaying just how much he missed him.
For a moment, Rudra's eyes widened in disbelief as although his ribs did not crack, he genuinely felt difficulty in breathing as Max's raw power astonished him.
" Wow…. You've grown stronger" Rudra said as he patted Max on the shoulder as he realized that for the first time ever, the two brothers had finally reached a parity in their tier.
Before today, Rudra had always been a tier ahead of Max and had held the upper hand in strength, however, that was no longer the case.
Although the two did not duel formally, there was no question about the fact that the current Max was stronger than the current Rudra as the younger brother had finally surpassed the old.
" I'm ready to face the perfect warrior as soon as you give me the signal brother, I've prepared diligently for this fight and am now awaiting your instructions" Max said as Rudra nodded his head and smiled.
" Come here, I'll show you something cool-" Rudra said as he took Max to the edge of his cliff and told him to ponder beneath.
At first all that Max could see was the dense layer of clouds that blocked his vision, however, soon he was able to see the Rajput Capital and the controlled universe.
He could clearly see Kartikeya sitting on the throne of the Supreme Lord and if he focused just a bit more he could even hear every word that he spoke.
" No- we must not let the news that uncle Max has ascended break out anytime soon.
We must maintain the lie for as long as possible" Kartikeya seemed to be saying as he conversed with Jake about the future course of action.
" Wow…. I can see and hear everything. I just have to envision as to whom I want to observe or what place I wish to see and I'm able to observe it with ease" Max said as Rudra introduced him to one of the most important features of the celestial realm, a feature that allowed him to keep an eye on his family.
" I know how prepared you are Max, I've been watching you closely.
I know every move you've picked up from the universal warehouse and I've observed every last one of your training sessions within the ultimate leveling pagoda.
I have a complete grasp of your fighting style, but guess what? So does the perfect warrior" Rudra said as Max's eye widened in disbelief.
" It took me a while to figure it out, however, I now understand the reason behind why none of us are able to defeat the perfect warrior....." Rudra said as he began pacing around Max's cliff grinding his teeth as he spoke.
" He's been observing us from the start…. He's seen us grow, he's seen our every move, he knows exactly what's our weakness and what we are capable of.
We have no hidden cards when facing him.
We have no technique under our arsenal that he can't reproduce.
Just like I've been observing you, I'm sure he has been as well.
I think it's safe to assume that he knows your fighting style better than you know it yourself" Rudra said as he crippled Max's expectations to make short work of the perfect warrior once he ascended.
" So what do we do then? How do we defeat a warrior that knows all our secrets?" Max asked, his voice shaking as he understood the difficulty of facing a strong opponent whom he knew nothing about whereas the opponent knew everything about him.
The perfect warrior was an individual who quite literally invented stat maximization.
He was a master of all the elements and a master of every technique ever invented.
He was also a mentality monster who had honed his senses after a millennia of fighting only the strongest that the universe had to offer and to top it all off he was also an individual who had the knowledge about all of his opponents moves and fighting style because he had been observing them forever.
He was perfect in every sense.
" When I first ascended here, I could never understand the reason behind why I was losing my battles against him so comprehensively?
Of Course there was a gap between our strength, but that could not be the reason behind why I could not even land a single blow?
I never understood it till my fourth attempt which is still early considering most other celestials don't realize it till date, that the perfect warrior knows us better than we know ourselves.
Defeating him is like defying fate, however, let me assure you it's not impossible" Rudra said as he showed Max a rare maniacal smile that he only showed when his brain cooked some serious plan.
" He might know everything about you, Max, but your brother is still a better strategist than he is.
With my help, you will beat him first try!" Rudra said as Max could feel the passion behind his words which made even his blood pump faster.
