It was dark.
I was alone—scared.
I had tried a lot of things in my life, but nothing came close to this.
I had brought people back from the dead. I had toppled an entire army. I had fought a primordial entity.
… I had destroyed an entire race.
Still, none of those things compared to my current undertaking.
"Haaa… shall we begin?"
I was in a chrysalis, hence the darkness. I could not escape until the process was done.
What was about to happen now was simple.
The 'me' that currently existed as Jared Leonard the mortal was about to cease existing.
Instead, I would become someone else.
Something else.
'A Boundless Entity: the thirteenth Constellation.'
It was for this reason alone that I had chosen to face the 12 Constellations in their realm.
I knew there was no way to win. Instead, I utilized my Original Magic to perfectly analyze the Representations they used against me during the course of our exchange.
Original Magic to perfectly analyze the Representations they used against me during the course of our exchange.
I tried my best to drag out the fight since my plan would have a higher chance of success the more information I was able to collect.
If the Constellation knew of my plan, I highly doubted they would allow me to go along with it.
Why?
'This has long passed the domain of contemporary Magic. What I am attempting to do is impossible—at least, in theory.'
Just as there were Unwritten Laws about the Constellations, I reckoned the same applies to us mortals.
We had finite abilities, finite lifespans, and finite potential.
Everything about us was finite.
But… I was about to change all of that.
By fully analyzing and breaking down the Representations of all 12 Constellation within my Great Sage's Archives, and running it through countless permutations and the inexhaustible array of Spells and Magics that already existed in this domain, I could refine them and make them mine.
The combined power of all 12 Constellations in my grasp… that was my goal.
'Am I being greedy?' I asked myself multiple times
Every time, I arrived at the same answer.
'No!'
What I required now, more than anything else, was power.
The power to protect everyone and everything I loved.
The Constellations could not be relied on, and while it brought me no satisfaction to admit this, my allies were in the same boat.
'They're strong. But… not enough.'
None of it was enough.
That was why I had to take matters into my own hands. n.(In
'For the sake of all of those who have perished because of Legris, and those who are yet to.'
I felt heat rising in my chest.
More than anything, I wanted to break out of my chrysalis and seek Legris out, wherever he was.
But what good would that do?
He would just squirm away, the way he always did.
To really stop him, I had to be decisive.
I had to be stronger.
~VWUUUUUUUSSSSHHHHH!!!~
The process began.
The complex procedure of dissecting the Representations, breaking down their components into smaller bits, was carried out by the Archives.
I had already imbued it with a more sophisticated and complicated mechanism compared to the Great Sage's Memoir.
As such, I was confident of its ability to decipher the powers that would be mine.
It was only a matter of time.
**********
'How long has passed now?'
I had no idea.
Locked in an endless space within my shell, awaiting rebirth, I could only await the process to be complete.
To while away time, I combined my intellect with the Archives to break down the Representations.
They were all complex, intertwined in a seemingly endless loop that felt impossible to unravel.
But I wasn't ready to give up.
'Time is all I have. I won't stop until I get what I want.'
*******
More time passed, and I had long reached and surpassed my intellectual limits.
While I rested in the chrysalis, the Archives continued its analysis.
I was certain years had passed at this point.
I just wasn't sure how many.
Once I was well-rested, I was ready to resume my task of breaking down the Representations.
That was when it happened.
~INITIATING ASCENSION~
'I-it worked? It finally—!'
~VWUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMM!!!~
At that moment, I lost all rational thought.
My entire self was shattered by the inrush of information and power that I was unable to bear for even a second.
The true power of the Constellations, even though it was fed to me in small quantities, was enough to completely overwhelm me.
I wasn't arrogant or anything, but over the course of my life as Jared, I had become ridiculously powerful.
However, this kind of power was far more superior to the meager kind I had massed over my life.
It was too much.
~VWUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMM!!!~
The process continued even after my body and mind had turned into mush.
Inside the chrysalis, I was completely torn apart and broken down to allow for proper integration.
I had no idea how long this took.
All I knew was the first time I regained consciousness afterwards.
And… that was long, long, long after it began.
Eons long.
**********
"Haaa…"
Misty breath escaped my lips as I felt my new body wake. My hand stretched upward, and I felt something rip around me.
"Did it work?"
I opened my new eyes for the first time, witnessing the Great Sage's Archives.
It had expanded far beyond what existed in my previous memory.
Worlds upon worlds, and layers upon layers.
This vast reality had billions of worlds within it, and the rate kept climbing exponentially.
The most surprising part was that I could comprehend all of it.
"So this is what it feels like to be Boundless?"
Reality felt different from before.
In the past, I had to use Spells and constant Magic to harness those powers, but now they felt like a part of me.
Time. Space. Reality. Life. Death. Energy. Matter.
Existence itself.
It felt like I had become a personification of all those things.
I just knew it.
"I have become a Constellation. No… a Grand Constellation."
With that statement made, there was only one thing left to do.
"Time to kill Legris."
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