Cosmic Ruler - Chapter 477

Chapter 477: War L
Aiden didn’t let his guard down. The statues surrounding them weren’t just decorations—they had shifted slightly, their hollow eyes now glowing with a faint, eerie light.

“The First Witness?” Aiden repeated, stepping forward cautiously. “An age forgotten? What do you mean?”

The obsidian sphere pulsed again, resonating with an unseen force.

“Before the heavens waged war… before the abyss clawed its way into existence… there was another cycle.”

Aiden’s team exchanged glances. Even Myne, who rarely showed hesitation, seemed wary.

“Cycle?” Dren asked, his hand resting on his dagger’s hilt. “What cycle?”

The voice resonated through the chamber, deeper this time.

“Creation. Ascension. Destruction. Rebirth. The balance has been shattered, and you stand at the center of its reckoning.”

Aiden felt something stir within him. A feeling he had experienced before—when he first glimpsed the truth behind the Akashic Records.

Nexus whispered in his mind. “Aiden… this entity is beyond my analysis. I recommend extreme caution.”

Aiden clenched his fists. “What do you want from me?”

The statues creaked, their forms shifting as if they were listening. The First Witness responded, its voice tinged with something that almost resembled curiosity.

“A question, traveler. If the cycle is broken… will you seek to restore it? Or reshape it in your image?”

A heavy silence fell over the chamber.

This wasn’t just an ancient being. This was something that had seen the rise and fall of entire eras. And now, it was looking at Aiden—not as a mere mortal, but as someone capable of deciding the fate of existence itself.

Myne’s voice was quiet but firm. “Aiden. Be careful how you answer.”

Aiden exhaled slowly.

“I don’t believe in following a script written by forces long gone.” His voice was steady. “I make my own path.”

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the First Witness spoke once more.

“Then let the test begin.”

The chamber trembled. The statues came to life. And Aiden realized—this was not just a conversation.

The statues groaned as ancient mechanisms activated, their stone forms cracking apart to reveal shimmering cores of condensed energy. Their hollow eyes flared, and in an instant, the chamber was no longer still—it was a battlefield.

“Damn it!” Dren cursed, drawing his dagger.

Aiden barely had time to react before the first statue lunged at him, its massive stone fist descending like a falling star. He twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the blow as the ground beneath him cracked from the impact.

Myne raised her hand, chanting a spell that wrapped the air around her in shimmering chains of force. “These things aren’t normal constructs! They’re absorbing the ambient energy!”

Aiden’s mind raced. The First Witness wasn’t testing his strength alone—it was testing his ability to adapt.

Fine. Then I’ll show it what I can do.

With a flick of his wrist, his Golden Sword Martial Spirit materialized, its radiant edge humming with lethal intent. At the same time, his Reaper Scythe Martial Spirit manifested in his other hand, wreathed in dark, soul-severing mist.

Dual-wielding Martial Spirits was something few could do without tearing themselves apart. But Aiden had long surpassed those limitations.

A statue lunged again. This time, Aiden met it head-on.

With a single slash from the Golden Sword, a golden arc carved through the air, severing the construct’s arm. At the same time, he swung the Reaper Scythe in an upward arc, cutting through the energy core hidden within its chest. The statue convulsed before shattering into dust.

The First Witness’s voice resonated through the chamber.

“Interesting. You wield both creation and destruction.”

Aiden barely had time to process the words before two more statues attacked in unison.

Dren and Myne engaged their own opponents. Dren’s dagger flashed, striking at weak points, but the statues were more durable than expected. Myne’s spell-weaving kept her at a distance, but even her most powerful attacks were only slowing them down.

Aiden’s mind worked rapidly. This isn’t sustainable. If the statues kept regenerating energy, they would be stuck in an endless fight.

He activated Space Rend.

A deep scar tore through reality itself as Aiden sliced through the battlefield. The energy core of another statue collapsed as space warped around it, erasing it from existence.

But that was when he noticed something strange.

The energy from the destroyed statues wasn’t dissipating. It was… converging.

A deep rumble shook the chamber.

A new figure began to form—one far larger than the others. Its core wasn’t just condensed energy. It was something else entirely.

Aiden’s eyes narrowed. “This… isn’t just a test anymore.”

The First Witness’s voice echoed, this time tinged with something far more ominous.

“Then let us see… if you are worthy.”

The final guardian fully formed before Aiden’s eyes. Unlike the previous statues, which were merely infused with condensed energy, this one radiated something far more terrifying—an overwhelming force that warped the air around it.

Its body was no longer just stone but a fusion of crystalline energy and divine metal, glowing veins of power coursing through its massive frame. Its eyes burned with a cold, calculating intelligence. This was no mindless construct. This was a true guardian, crafted to obliterate anything unworthy.

BOOM!

The guardian moved.

Aiden barely had time to raise his weapons before an invisible shockwave blasted outward, sending him skidding back. The sheer pressure of the guardian’s aura made his bones creak.

“Tch—this thing is leagues above the others.” He gritted his teeth.

Dren and Myne weren’t spared either. Dren was forced to retreat as cracks formed in the very ground beneath him, while Myne’s spell was dispersed before she could finish casting it.

“Aiden! This thing isn’t just absorbing energy—it’s devouring the entire battlefield’s laws!” Myne shouted, eyes wide.

Aiden understood immediately. The guardian wasn’t just an opponent—it was an embodiment of the Trial’s will itself. It could negate any external forces that didn’t meet its standards.

But Aiden wasn’t about to accept that.

“Fine. If laws won’t work, then I’ll break them.”

He activated Lone Traveler, Pathfinder.

The moment the authority activated, Aiden’s presence shifted. He was no longer bound by the battlefield’s restrictions. He became something outside the guardian’s understanding—an anomaly in the Trial’s rules.