Sol felt like he was in a dream.
His consciousness was slowly sinking in the abyss of his mind. A world full of water and darnkess where not even a speck of light could be seen.
The moment his body has been plunged into the dragon blood pool, it begin to boil as his body is destroyed and reconstructed.
This process had already begun the moment Sol accepted the power of Isis and like Tiamat thought, the two processes amplified each other in a perfect synergy.
Like a sword being hammered by a talented smith, Sol body was undergoing world shaking change that would make even Tiamat open her eyes wide if she could truly understand what was happening.
But the changes that were happening weren’t only skin deep. His very essence was changing. So much that it was becoming hard to say if he was truly still a dragon hybrid.
A dragon that was unlike any dragon.
A dragon that had the power of a phoenix and that of a human.
Even as he sank deeper in the dark and seemingly endless sea, Sol who was feeling faint, thought about humans and what was their power.
The only race who was not born with the ability to use mana from birth.
The only race that could harness power from other races as long as they had enough capacity.
A human who obtained enough power from a contract would see his body change and adjust to fit the power better thereby fundamentally changing what he was initially.
In a way, humans were the weakest race but they were also the most absolute race for the simple reason that the body of every human housed an infinite amount of possibility.
For humans, the path they had to follow was clear.
It was one of omnipotence.
But was it truly enough? No matter how talented a human was, the number of contracts they could form was ultimately limited. Even Sol, who had the highest CP in human history had a limit to the amount of contract he could hold.
Sol then thought about Dimensional mage.
Such beings were the closest thing to a god in their own dimension. They had power that could even overwrite the authority of the Goddesses when inside of it. The same way Tiamat could isolate her everything from their sights at will.
But even there, there was a limit. The limit of dimensional mages lay mainly in what kind of dimension they had. The special attribute of their dimensions determined their authority.
But this was where something different appeared. While the authority was limited, Dimensional mages had the ability to be near-omniscient in their own dimensions.
It was a very limited form of omniscience. A power that could not be fully utilized because of the limit of their mortal mind. But no matter what, the truth of the matter was that.
All dimensional mages could mainly follow the path of Omniscience.
Slowly, where once only darkness could be found, light began to gather.
Sol did not know this. His mind was busy wandering as he realized all the truth that mattered to him.
Who he was. What were his limits, and where did his goals lay?
He was a dimensional mage. A mage whose dimension had limit different from the rest.
Sol remembered the words of his Other Self.
A Sol from a world that did not exist anymore.
A Sol from a world that should have never existed in the first place.
The Reverse world.
The mirro dimension as he once called it.
A place where all rules and concepts were inverted.
His dimension had theoretically had no limit be it in size or abilities since it was a full copy of the universe they lived in.
Didn’t this mean that as the master of said dimension his power should also have no limit?
*Thump*
His heart that had become as still as a calm lake begin to beat once again.
*Thump* *Thump*
The eternal silence of the deep sea seemed now filled with sounds.
*Thump* *Thump* *Thump*
The inner world of Sol itself seemed to shake as the realization of Who he was and What were his limits finally settled in his mind.
But then, what was his goal?
Why did he fight so much, tooth and nail?
To survive?
It wasn’t wrong. You had to live in order to enjoy life. In this fucked up world, Survival was always the main goal to strive for.
Then did he just want to survive?
This was wrong. Survival alone was not enough.
He didn’t just want to survive like a pitiful dog. He wanted something more.
Then, was his goal to protect his loved ones?
Once again this wasn’t wrong. Despite his desire to survive, Sol was ready to give away his life to protect those he loved.
But…Was it truly the only reason he wanted power?
Then the answer was no.
In the end, it all came to this.
The first time he vowed to become stronger.
Back then when he could do nothing more than beg the goddesses to forgive and keep the life of Camelia.
What was nothing more than a game for them was a matter of life and death for him.
The humiliation and the pain he felt at the realization that he was nothing more than a chess piece bound to the whims of superior beings he couldn’t even come close to was something he would never forget.
But even then, he never thought of surpassing them.
How could he? Sol was someone very rational. Overly so in time. How could he even imagine reaching a level where he could face Beings that were so powerful that he couldn’t even look at their bare face without risking his sanity?
But then…
Everything changed after he meet Tiamat.
The Dragon Empress. One of the few False gods in existence in this world.
The goddesses, despite how almighty they looked could do nothing against her.
No matter how angry they were, they could only silently accept her tantrums.
Why?
Because she was strong.
Because she could challenge them.
Because she had long since transcended the boundary and reached the horizon.
A dazzling being. A mighty being.
Someone worthy of respect. Someone he admired.
And that person said,
“Goddesses are nothing more than that.”
Indeed.
For all their power, Goddesses were neither completely omniscient nor omnipotent. Much less omnipresent.
In the grand scheme of things, they were simply powerful beings. Not unreachable entities.
Sol wanted to become strong.
Not just for survival.
Not just to protect his loved one.
But first and foremost for himself.
For his own happiness. For his own joy. For his own goals.
Because he was a Selfish prince rather than a hero.
*Bang*
Sol felt his back hit the bottom of the sea in his mind.
He was honestly surprised since it thought it was a bottomless sea but nothing was infinite in this world.
Looking down at the door, Sol instinctively knew.
This wasn’t just any door.
*Thump* *Thump* *Thump*
His heart keeps beating erratically. His breathing was shallow and his mind blurry.
As if everything that mattered in existence was that gate. The only obstacle between him and greater power.
This was why…
Gathering all his strength…
Sol pushed the gate.
At the same moment…The exterior world was plunged into the flame of War.
