Cosmic Ruler - Chapter 504

Chapter 504: Fate XXIII
Aiden exhaled slowly, his golden eyes locked onto the final gate.

The Eleventh Trial had tried to force him into a predetermined fate. It had offered him paths laid out before him—godhood, eternal wandering, or the unknown.

But he had rejected them all.

I don’t follow paths.

I create them.

And now, only one obstacle remained.

The Twelfth Gate stood before him, unlike anything he had seen so far.

It was not made of stone, crystal, or divine light.

It was pure darkness.

A swirling, living void—a gate that led into nothingness.

Aiden narrowed his eyes.

No trial has been easy, but this… this feels different.

A voice rumbled from the abyss.

“You have climbed higher than any before you.”

“You have defied fate, conquered yourself, and chosen your own destiny.”

“But one question remains.”

The dark gate pulsed.

“Are you strong enough to stand at the top?”

Aiden smirked.

“Let’s find out.”

He stepped forward.

And the moment his foot touched the threshold—

—𝘞𝘏𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘔—!

Final Trial—Aiden vs. The Last Guardian

Aiden blinked.

He was no longer on the Divine Ladder.

He stood in a place without sky, without ground, without time.

Just a void of endless black.

And in front of him—

A figure slowly took shape.

Aiden’s breath caught.

It was a man in black armor.

Tall. Towering. Wrapped in a cloak of shifting darkness.

But what caught Aiden’s attention—

Was his face.

“What…?”

The figure stepped forward.

And Aiden saw himself.

But not a reflection.

Not an illusion.

This version of him was different.

He had no light. No warmth.

His golden eyes had turned black.

Aiden gritted his teeth.

“Who the hell are you?”

The dark Aiden smirked.

“I am what you could become.”

“The version of you that did not hesitate. That took every risk. That discarded weakness and became absolute.”

Aiden felt the weight of those words.

This wasn’t just a copy.

This was a version of him that embraced every brutal choice, every ruthless decision.

The version of him that never doubted. Never wavered. Never cared.

The dark Aiden lifted his sword.

“There is only one truth at the top.”

“Only one of us can stand there.”

Aiden smirked, raising his own sword.

“Then I’ll put you down myself.”

—𝘉𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘔—!

The void shook violently as Aiden and his darkest self clashed, their golden and black auras exploding upon impact.

Aiden’s golden sword met the dark Aiden’s obsidian blade, sending shockwaves rippling through the endless abyss around them.

Their eyes locked.

Both of them grinned.

“Come on,” the dark Aiden smirked. “If you can’t kill me, you don’t deserve to stand at the top.”

Aiden snorted.

“If I were the type to think like you, I wouldn’t be here in the first place.”

—𝘍𝘞𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘚𝘏—!

They moved at the same time.

Aiden’s golden flames surged, clashing against his counterpart’s pure darkness.

Their blades flashed.

—𝘊𝘙𝘈𝘊𝘒—!

Aiden parried a strike, spinning mid-air and delivering a devastating kick to his opponent’s side.

The dark Aiden slid back—but barely flinched.

He simply grinned.

“Not bad.”

—𝘉𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘔—!

Before Aiden could react, his dark self counterattacked, launching a wave of abyssal energy that ripped apart the void.

Aiden barely dodged, flipping backward and landing on thin air.

But the dark Aiden was already there.

—𝘚𝘏𝘈𝘈𝘈𝘒—!

Aiden blocked the next strike at the last second, but the sheer impact sent cracks through his bones.

His dark self was stronger than anything he had ever faced.

And worse—

He fights exactly like me.

Aiden had fought countless enemies. Monsters. Gods. Cultivators. Rulers of entire realms.

But none of them had been his equal.

This was different.

This wasn’t just a fight.

This was a duel between two versions of himself.

Aiden gritted his teeth.

So how do I beat myself?

The dark Aiden tilted his head.

“You’re hesitating.”

He raised his obsidian sword, pointing it at Aiden’s chest.

“That’s why you’ll lose.”

Aiden’s mind raced.

If he’s exactly like me…

If he has all my strength, skill, and battle instincts…

Then the only way to win is—

His golden aura surged.

And he grinned.

“Alright.”

The dark Aiden blinked.

Aiden dropped his sword.

And raised his bare fists.

“Let’s do this the fun way.”

—𝘊𝘙𝘈𝘊𝘒—!

The dark Aiden’s smirk disappeared.

“What?”

Aiden charged.

He didn’t use his sword.

He didn’t use his flames.

He didn’t use any of his cultivation techniques.

He abandoned everything.

And fought like he did before he ever had power.

The dark Aiden reacted instantly, swinging his blade—

But Aiden was already inside his guard.

—𝘉𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘔—!

A punch to the jaw.

A knee to the ribs.

A devastating elbow to the temple.

The dark Aiden staggered back, confusion flashing in his black eyes.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Aiden grinned.

“Beating you in a way you never expected.”

—𝘊𝘙𝘈𝘊𝘒—!

The dark Aiden lunged again, but his movements were less perfect now.

Less controlled.

Because Aiden had done the one thing he never did in a fight.

He changed the rules.

He forced his opponent to adapt.

And his dark self—who believed in absolute power, in perfect control—couldn’t keep up.

Aiden saw the opening.

He took it.

—𝘉𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘔—!

A final punch to the heart.

The dark Aiden froze.

Then—he laughed.

“Damn it.”

His body began to fade, turning into golden embers.

His black eyes met Aiden’s one last time.

“Fine.”

“You win.”

Aiden watched as his dark self disappeared.

The void collapsed.

And then—

—𝘉𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘔—!

The Twelfth Gate shattered.

Final Trial—Completed.

Aiden opened his eyes.

He was standing at the top of the Divine Ladder.

Everything was silent.

There was nothing left to climb.

No more trials.

No more obstacles.

Aiden had won.

Then—

A voice echoed through the heavens.

“You have ascended.”

“You have surpassed all limits.”

“Now… take your place among the divine.”

Aiden smirked.

“I already told you.”

He raised his fist.

And punched the sky.

—𝘊𝘙𝘈𝘊𝘒—!

The Divine Ladder shattered.

And Aiden walked forward—into the unknown.

The Divine Ladder crumbled behind Aiden as he stepped forward, leaving behind the trials, the challenges, and the expectations of gods and mortals alike.

The final gate had been shattered.

The path ahead? Unknown.

And that was exactly how he wanted it.

Aiden looked around.

The world before him was nothing like the realms he had known.

The sky was an endless expanse of shifting light, neither day nor night. The ground beneath him was not solid, nor liquid, nor energy. It was simply existence.

Aiden smirked.

“Well… this is new.”