Michael's progress continued unabated during his time at the light tower. He made his breakthrough the mid-emperor-realm as well as the mid-solid-soul-realm. His foundation was strong and after sufficient time, he had naturally grown his power. Another important improvement was that he had completed his disorientation technique. While he could not affect someone with a too powerful soul, but at comparable soul energy, it was almost unstoppable.
Michael's breakthrough had also prepared him for the upcoming war. The war was supposed to start by the time Michael turned 16. Michael wanted to reach the late-emperor-realm and late-solid-soul-realm before the war began so that he could hold his own against a peak-stage-saint. While it would be very difficult even with his perception to defeat a peak-stage-saint, it would be sufficient to not die instantly. That would give him a higher chance of survival.
Michael's progress in the laws had again slowed down by a lot. Karslon had specifically asked the god-beast tribe and had managed to obtain a spot for Michael in the special site that allowed cultivators without a perfect body or soul to sense the laws. In return, he had to give up quite a lot of his accumulated treasure.
This was an extremely generous act! The value of resources Karslon had agreed to give away was more than the worth of entire Rageberg family several times over!
Michael had truly been touched by this act of kindness. He had not thought that Karslon would do so much for him. This caused him to truly view Karslon as a benefactor, someone who became extremely important to him. Karslon, on the other hand, had gone all out in the hope that whoever was out there watching Michael would also take note of himself and not get needlessly angry. He wanted to give Michael his best grooming so that whatever the great otherworldly being had planned could happen smoothly.
If Michael was to know the reason, he would have laughed at Karslon's foolishness! While he did contact an extremely powerful being for his time travel, it was not like the being was interested in him. It had been a simple transaction and Michael did not have any kind of otherworldly backing.
But while Michael thought so, little did he know that things were happening exactly as Karslon was suspecting!!!
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Billions of miles away from the plane of Aterna, in an extremely chaotic region of the law ocean - there was a vacuum floating around like a bubble. The region was devoid of all laws as if the laws had been pushed apart! The surrounding space was so chaotic that even the experts at the immortal body and soul stage would disintegrate within a fraction of a second. Even experts at the upper transformation stage would find it hard to reach this place.
At the centre of the vacuum, a figure of a beautiful woman could be seen. The figure was beautiful beyond words. Her face was perfect as was her body. She seemed to give divine light as if she was a goddess! It gave a feeling of majesty and purity. It was as if she was something extremely holy which mortals should not lay their eyes on. Her appearance could not be described by mere words and if any mortal was to see her completely, they would disintegrate in body and soul.
At the top of her head, four small golden dots seemed to be rotating around as if she was wearing a crown. The feeling these motes of light gave was one of boundless energy. It was as if entire stars had been contained in those small dots!
In her hand, she had a silver ball shimmering with the aura of immortality. This aura was not coming from a law essence - no. It was the culmination of all the luck and the essence of an entire plane. It was as if a powerful plane had taken its soul out!
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If Michael could see this ball of light, he would have recognized it instantly. It was exactly his immortal origin! The same that he had traded for a second chance!
The woman seemed to gaze through space and time, her gaze landing at a young boy of about 15 years of age. The boy was of the human race and was quite handsome. His facial features were well cut and his body was gaining muscle mass. His sea green eyes seemed to shine with intelligence and cunning as he fought against an older boy. The boys seemed to be sparring.
While it might not be visible to others, the woman could see - deep inside the sea-green eyes of the boy was a terrifying amount of willpower that was enough to fill up an ocean. It was extremely condensed and gave the feeling of boundlessness. This boy was naturally Michael Rageberg!
As she was observing the boy, the entire law ocean around her started to shake! Her eyes flicked as she looked in a different direction. There, a young man seemed to be making his way towards her vacuum. Each of his steps shook all creation! The law ocean was churning as if it could not hold the existence of the man!
He was devilishly handsome. His facial features could make any maiden go crazy. His eyes seemed to contain an entire world. But, if one looked closely, one would see death, destruction and conquest in his eyes! If a mortal was to mistakenly see those eyes, their souls would be sucked out to be forever trapped in this world of death.
He too had four dots of light around his head circling like satellites. But his dots were red. Each dot gave the feeling of a sea of blood! His aura was brutal and bloodthirsty - capable of shaking everything around him.
As the man made his way to the bubble, he stood many miles away from the woman. Their aura was like endless infinity suppressing the entire law ocean around them!
It must be remembered that at the law body and soul, one could barely travel in the law ocean. To actually affect the law ocean with one's aura was unthinkable for those in Aterna!
The man looked at the woman for a while before speaking:
> The preparations for the operation are beginning. The next batch of candidates is already being prepared. You too should start making your preparations.
The woman seemed to ponder for a while before speaking:
> How long before the operation begins?
>
> 20,000 years.
Both of them turned silent at this point. The woman simply nodded before turning her head back to the direction of the young boy. The man seemed to notice this as he too traced the woman's gaze. He could see a dying plane - extremely weak. The plane could barely be called a secondary plane. There, he could see a boy sparring with another boy. Initially, he was confused as to why the being in front of him would be interested in a common kid in the entire law ocean. But then, he noticed the boy's eyes. He peered through his body and soul to arrive at his conscient.
> Eh! Hmm. What a powerful will. There are also some cracks in his conscient. Who is this kid? For him to be alive makes no sense! A cracked conscient is supposed to dissolve. How can he have such a terrifying will?
>
> He was tortured by your follower's techniques. Can you guess how long he endured? A full million years! Even with a cracked conscient. His willpower kept on increasing throughout the time. He is pretty monstrous as it is. I am actually looking forward to his growth!
>
> Hmm. He is indeed worth grooming. The 26 dominions need someone like him. I will see what I can do. Healing a conscient is not easy. But, it is not impossible either. I want to see what he will become!
>
> You should not get too involved. He hates you to the core.
>
> Hmm. He rightly hates me. But he will understand when the time comes. Since he is practising the Styx Incarnation Scripture, he can be considered my student. I will see how to heal his conscient. Keep an eye on him. Make sure he does not die.
>
> What is with you giving me all these instructions? I saw him first! He will be under my wing. Don't try to steal him!
>
> Grow up! I will help him once. The rest is up to him. Let's see if he can grow enough by the time we put our plans into motion.
Saying so, the man left without looking back. The woman looked at him once before looking back at the boy far away. Anticipation could be seen in her eyes.
How their fates would intertwine? Only time will tell.