Rowan could as well imagine what the Narghal Tyrant would be feeling right now.
To the Narghal Tyrant, Time was linear, he had just successfully attacked Rowan twice and had won their short confrontation, and he was about to continue his attack to further push his advantage before he suddenly found himself devoid of energy, his Blood Pillar above on the verge of destruction and his Tribulation Ring about to be extinguished.
To add salt to injury, he could feel a purer source of Berserker Intent that did not come from him, but from the Mortal who had a much weaker grade of Intent, a second ago.
"What unholy madness is this?"
The first thought that occurred to him was Time Manipulation, but one that was so profound it went against all universal laws he knew should be possible inside a material universe!
The very structure of the Material Universe made it impossible for Time to be manipulated to this extent, this was what he had always known, but he could not deny the evidence he was witnessing.
'Something is very wrong here, this is most likely a Machination from an Old One, I have to flee!' The Narghal Tyrant screams internally.
He had no time to organize his thoughts before he was swallowed by darkness, and then a deep numbness like a mortal dragged into the midst of a winter storm, but he could not shiver, he could not even scream, he felt his death and the Narghal Tyrant smiled.
'No matter how unbecoming my passing got to be, at least I died in battle, but the universe… she is in mortal peril, I need to warn her, but how?...'
This was his last thought and he was no more.
The Last Narghal Tyrant, the First Berserker was now a footnote in history and it was hard to know if there was ever a record of his life and his people left behind.
The universe was too large, and time was an inexorable force, even the greatest of powers, except they could transcend the laws of the universe, would eventually fall and fade away.
Rowan dismissed his World of Ice and instead made a throne. He sat and closed his eyes as his body began to change with the fresh wave of power being bestowed from the universe… well, more like stolen from the universe. He had taken more than his allotted share after all.
A thousand miles over his head, the heavens opened and a crown made from blood and bones began to descend.
Rowan made no move as if he was not aware of the descending crown, but from his back, six Serpent heads emerged as his Ouroboros Serpent encircled his head like a crown, their glowing crystal-like horns encircled Rowan's head and it appeared so magnificent it would make a god weep.
The blackness from his throne merged with the gold and crystals, and his glory became a part of the universe.
When the descending crown reached a few hundred feet from Rowan, his Ouroboros Serpent surged forward and they tore it apart, each of them swallowing a portion of the crown amidst its fading screams filled with fear and anger.
Rowan's eyes were closed as if he was not aware of the actions of his Serpents, but as they followed his will in all things, this was clearly his will.
Rowan wanted power but he did not want a mantle, that would turn out to be a fancy way to open himself to the control and manipulation of the universe while he was still too weak to resist its power. He had been chained before, never again, not even for power.
His actions had consequences and they were not far behind, as he could feel a gaze that began to assemble slowly in this location, Rowan did not wait for whatever it was to find him, and he vanished from this place using Astrolabe.
A few moments after he departed a formless gaze settled in this area, and it did not leave.
The universe was powerful, but in some things, she was not very observant, due to her sheer size, and the fact that her attention became weakened when she was in the area where there were limited amounts of Aether.
She was involved in countless affairs all over its entire span, yet the situation here was enough to draw her attention, and like a patient hunter, she would remain here.
One of her Pillar Bearers had fallen, but this did not draw too much of her attention, as the Pillar still remained, she just needed to locate another Bearer, but she would keep watch over this place, perhaps a clue would reveal itself in time.
Nothing in existence could be as patient as a universe.
®
Rowan appeared inside the Divine Palace of Erohim, his eyes were a bit cloudy as he used his Knowledge Well to analyze the last moments before he fled and the Tribulation he had just encountered.
That gaze from the universe struck him as odd, almost like a robot, for he had felt no will inside it, almost like an emotionless camera pointing in his direction, nonetheless he thought it was important to understand how the universe worked, for it was an important player in the game.
Rowan's action was already powerful enough to draw her gaze, then he should start gathering information about this entity. He expected to be performing actions like this in the future, this meant an inevitable clash with the universe would happen.
His eyes cleared up and the Ouroboros Serpents escaped from his body making a throne, their bodies were a bit different, appearing more like constructs than flesh. Rowan had indeed harvested a lot of power from this last Tribulation and it showed.
He looked at his Serpents and frowned a little, he could feel that although his Ouroboros Serpents were very comfortable and filled to the brim with power, their bodies were becoming a bit too potent for their realm, and it was making them a bit irritable.
No Ouroboros Serpent in all of time were as powerful as they were at the Rift State, and there was a certain abnormality that began to brew inside them that he was beginning to take note of.
