[I am become death, the destroyer of… worlds? Hmm, no, not yet. Beasts?] I spoke to myself, trying to remember the famous quote. It had been so long since I left Earth… About a decade already.
As I flew above the landscape, pushing a glowing air dome in front of me, I began to wonder how close I was to becoming equal to an atomic bomb in destructive potential.
Was I close? Equal? Or had I perhaps already surpassed it?
A nuclear explosion would destroy everything in its vicinity and release its destructive potential all at once, while I could just keep going and going… The two couldn’t really be compared, not that I could compare them even if I wanted. The exact power of the strongest Earth weapon was kept secret for obvious reasons. Why flaunt your power for all to see, when mystery was so much more exciting?
The knowledge of the existence of world-enders alone was enough of a threat to keep the nations in check. Most of the time.
However, unlike the cold, unfeeling nature of modern weapons, I had my own autonomy. I could move and do as I pleased, independent of any rulers or laws of the world.
Nobody could stop me, and as I moved across the landscape, beasts and monsters turned into pink mist, their souls absorbed into me. There weren’t enough high-ranking ones, so I took everything.
I cleared the land, glassing the sand as I spewed forth a wide area magic. Decades, perhaps even centuries of accumulation went to feed my growing hunger for power. Every living being, with the sole exception of humans, was wiped out. The place was truly turning into a wasteland after I was done with it. But I had no choice. The Lower Plane was a world of death. Those unable to advance were just waiting for a slow death, prolonging their suffering. I knew I had to leave eventually, and for that, I was ready to do anything.
I was rushing around at maximum speed, only spending fractions of a second to kill, leaving the beast no chance of retaliation. They didn’t even know how they died before it was all over.
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[Magnificent. Thener, you have outdone yourself.]
I stared, looking at the designs of my new weapon. Thener held back as the remnants of my most recent advancement could still be felt from my body, the excess power leaking into my Aura. It took more time than expected to collect the Souls, but the results were well worth it. I stood at a solid Level Five of the Spirit Realm.
I felt invincible.
“Thank you, I’m glad you like it, Master Gerald. I spent a lot of time and effort designing the blades. We have enough material for one try only, so please, if you need more time to prepare...”
[No.] I shook my head and rolled up the scroll. [I never felt better and more ready. No reason to delay. Let’s begin!]
“Yes, Master!”
After my breakthrough to a higher stage, I had a dozen Souls left over in case I needed more energy. No matter how high the requirements, I was absolutely ready. Nothing would stop me from forging a legendary weapon.
Eden, Calla, Bram, and Thener gathered around a mountain of material. The ground beneath the pile of metal and rocks was flattened perfectly, not letting even a speck of debris pollute the ingredients.
During the year of preparation, extra Dreadstone bricks were created since the little we had on hand was nowhere near enough. The open pit mine hole was truly gigantic. The deeper we went the more rich the ore, so as we dug, it got easier to find the good stuff.
Stolen story; please report.
Apart from the massive hole, there was also a mountain of refuse. The worthless Dreadstone-less rock.
I reached the bottom of the pile, most of it a shade of gray as the materials were pre-mixed, and placed my hands on my hips with a smile.
“We’ll leave the smelting process to your more capable hands, Master.” Thener said and bowed. “We wish you luck.”
I gave a nod and gestured for them to move back. I then reverted to my true form from the human disguise I was wearing and then grew to about fifty meters tall. An isolation barrier formed around me, preventing outside influence from disrupting the process, and then reached down, grabbing the pile of raw materials with Telekinesis, and held it between my palms in another spherical barrier.
Then, I reached into my Sea of Consciousness and crushed a Soul.
[Ready? Ignition.]
Energy swelled within me, the raw Qi ready to burst. I took over the wild energy, directing it through my palms and then into the sphere. Flames burst into being inside it, the metals glowing a blinding white from heat, but that was nowhere near enough. I channeled more Qi into the ball of flames, compressing it to bring up the heat.
I crushed another Soul, adding its power to the mix. It was still not enough, the Celestial Metal remaining solid even as the other two began to melt. I was heating up a truly gigantic space, a sphere more than ten meters across, and I had to make it ten times hotter than the surface of the sun.
Another Soul was consumed by the flames, the plasma inside the barrier roaring like an inferno. The pressures began to rise, pushing against the conjured barrier, threatening to explode. I held it firmly in place as I added another Soul to the mix.
The light coming off the sphere was already like the sun, filling the Ashen Wastes with a painfully white light. The ground around me began to smolder and glow from the light alone, so I added another barrier around the first, containing the blaze. The Celestial Metal was still solid.
I huffed, feeling the power pushing against the barrier, and decided I needed more. Another Soul was added, and then another, and then another.
Seven Souls were already feeding the flames, yet the damn metal barely just began to soften. The sphere began releasing ominous creaks and I intensified my mental grip over it. In fact, I squeezed it tighter, making it smaller. The pressure inside skyrocketed, the Ferrite and Dreadstone already boiling from the heat.
[Come on, you piece of shit. Melt already!] I added another three Souls and that was finally enough for the atomic bonds in the Celestial Metal to loosen and fall apart. The pressure inside was keeping it in a solid state for longer than necessary, but I couldn’t drop it without letting the energy escape at the same time.
The outside barrier melted, and the cooler air of the Lower Plane rushed in.
[Thener! Now’s your turn.] I called.
“Yes!” The man shouted and flew into the sky. He stopped beside me, beside my right shoulder, and I felt him gathering his minuscule amount of Qi. “Follow my lead, Master Gerald. I will not be able to hold out for long!”
I could already see him sweating from just the heat that leaked through the layers of barriers. His energy reached into the blazing sphere, and I felt it begin to shape the molten metal.
With his Intent as a guide, I reached inside and took hold of the metal directly.
“Expand!” Thener shouted and I forced the barrier to gradually double in diameter. The liquid inside became more viscous, allowing itself to be shaped by my mind. The materials mixed and combined, forming an alloy.
“Expand!”
I expanded the sphere again, letting the insides cool and the pressure drop. The material became like putty or soft clay. Thener began shaping the material, stretching and elongating it into the shape of a battleaxe. He had nowhere near enough power for it, that’s why I let my energy follow his and provide stability and support.
The colossal mass of glowing material was rapidly taking shape, becoming more and more like the designs on the paper. Two blades stretched outward from a molten blob, like gargantuan meat cleavers, and a long shaft formed between them, giving the weapon the elegance it deserved.
“Now hold it there and slowly cool it down. Just 1% per minute. Let the internal structure reorient itself.”
I did as Thener suggested and let the final form of my weapon cool. Just before doing that though, I imprinted the shape of a diamond into the bottom of the handle, forever marking it as mine.
After the cooling process went on for about ten minutes, and the material started to solidify, Thener spoke again.
“Alright, now rapidly drop the temperature by 50% and then let it cool naturally the rest of the way. That way the material properties will be at their peak.”
[I trust you.] I said and released the barriers, draining the heat out and cooling the blades as fast as I could. I then let them rest for the rest of the way, still holding my newest creation tightly in my Telekinetic grasp.
As the battleaxe cooled and its true shape and color came to life, I couldn’t help but crack a grin.
[Aw, yeah… This is awesome.]