Within the frozen galaxy, a clear voice rang out:

"What are you?" Arlo was dumbfounded. He felt as if his voice was passing through space and time to reach the universe's boundaries.

Under the stare of this world encompassing golden eyes, Arlo felt himself to be miniscule which shocked him greatly. Ever since he awakened a few hours ago, he felt this innate pride in his bones, one he couldn't ignore. This pride made him almost subconsciously disdain every sentient being in the mortal plane.

However, subjected to the sight of this unknown being, that pride receded as if it was afraid to show itself. It was almost like a prideful lion retreating under the stare of a mighty dragon.

What further shocked Arlo was that he could feel the world around him was frozen. Even the almighty heaven tribulation did not escape this state. Also, no matter how he called Old Bro, he didn't receive any reply. Wasn't Old Bro supposed to be the strongest divine weapon in the realm of the gods?

[Boy...]

A divinely soft and beautiful voice reverberated inside Arlo's mind. When this voice entered his mind, Arlo felt his pent-up emotions disappear as if a smoke. His mind had never been so clear before.

[ I don't have much time before the others notice my presence.]

A confused look appeared on Arlo's young face, but the beautiful voice continued, unconcerned.

[With the way you are right now, there is no way you can continue to live, at least not in this plane. But I have a solution.]

Arlo's eyes shone, but that didn't last long before it died, and a guarded light took its place.

[Merge with me! That is the only way for you to survive.]

Arlo unconsciously retreated when he heard that, but underneath those universal eyes, there was nowhere for him to escape.

He couldn't help but think the eyes had come to possess him. Of course, he knew that even with his lightning immunity, he couldn't continue his normal life unless he followed Old Bro's advice. But he wasn't willing.

Now he could only grasp at straws.

As if reading Arlo's mind, the soft voice resounded once again:

[Don't worry. It is not as you fear. You and I will become one. Of course, you will still be in control of your body. You can see it as some symbiotic relationship. With me merging with you, my freedom would no longer be restricted, and you would be able to use my powers.]

The ends of her words contained a trace of enticement, but Arlo didn't call for it.

"Who are you?"Arlo asked for the second time.

[...That I cannot tell you. We don't have much time. I will give you five seconds to decide. Just know you will never receive this opportunity again.]

Arlo gritted his teeth. He could feel the boundless power within those eyes. He didn't doubt that those eyes were capable of stealing his body from him, yet they didn't and had instead, asked for his cooperation.

Not to mention that he wasn't willing to discard his normal life. He wanted to spend more time with his father, mother, Scarlett, and his friends. When his thoughts reached here, Arlo quickly asked a question in the third second.

"Can you help me revive them?" His tone sounded more like a request than a question.

The golden eyes shifted to the two heads that had appeared in Arlo's hands.

[Hmm...]

After only a second of thought, it replied:

[I can save one. Nothing more.]

Rather than feeling happy, Arlo only looked remorseful.

"Why?" He could tell that if this existence was willing, there was nothing it wouldn't be able to accomplish.

[I told you, my freedom is restricted. You only have a second more. Decide!] The voice hurriedly spoke.

Looking at Khan's head, Arlo used his mana to remove the blood stains on it, and as a sad tear fell on his face, he spoke with a trembling voice:

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"I am sorry."

Seeing that Arlo had made his decision, the golden eyes acted.

[What I am about to do is supposed to be impossible. It is something that goes against the natural order, but your existence has made it achievable.]

The universal golden eyes shone with a golden light.

Arlo quickly sent Khan's head back into Seraphina's mental world as he planned to bury it. Evangeline head, in his other hand, suddenly shone with a golden glow before shooting out of his grasp and into the sky.

In but a split second, new flesh formed beneath the cut neck, and soon after, a whole body shining with the light of life appeared before him.

Arlo's heart sped faster, as tears streaked down his face. He was just about to charge at Evangeline's naked body when the golden eyes in the skies suddenly turned into a golden light that shot towards him, and before Arlo could even react, it entered his body.

[The merging process does not come without sacrifice!]

"What?" Arlo's expression changed. The voice didn't mention anything like this in their agreement.

[For you to gain, you need to lose. That is the natural law. While there is nothing that could compare with me in the boundless cosmos, you still need to pay a price.]

Arlo suddenly felt a feeling of weakness overcome him as he fell from the skies.

[ First, you are stripped of your status as a god!]

Sounds of explosion boomed within Arlo's body as he coughed blood again and again. All his cores had been destroyed, except for one; the central core which was thrice as huge as the normal cores.

Arlo's eyes dimmed and his face became pale. The sense of loss he felt almost sent his mind into oblivion, but that wasn't all.

[Except for the summons on your right hand, I shall strip you of your other summons!]

"No..." Arlo screamed in refusal only for him to cough up more blood. His aura plummeted.

[Oh!] A sound of astonishment filled his mind.

[To think you would summon the contactor of Aether, that makes things a bit difficult.]

After a short while, the voice seemed resigned.

[I shall only collect the summons on your left hand.]

Immediately after, Arlo saw the four seals on his left upper arm disappear, and he felt an innate connection he had not felt before, severed. A sense of loss that was no lower than when his cores were destroyed overwhelmed him.

Arlo finally broke down.

Aside from Anita, Kira, Kong, and the unawakened seal on his right arm, the bigger seal at the back of his neck remained. If someone ever asked who Arlo felt the closest with, he would not hesitate to say his parents. But after them, not even Scarlett and Evangeline came close to the kinship he felt with Anita. He didn't see her as a summon or a servant. To Arlo, she was his friend and partner.

Now, four such potential partners had been lost. Just like that.

Just when Arlo felt like his world was crumbling down, that once mesmerizing but now hateful voice resounded within his mind.

[Hmm, that is not enough. It is not even close...]

A breath later, the voice continued:

[I will also collect your innate talent for space and strip you of your affinity with it. From now henceforth, you shall only wield the power of time.]

Once again, Arlo felt as if he lost something very important to him, but he was too weak to even dwell on it.

[Still not enough...]

A light of hatred flashed within Arlo's dim eyes.

The voice continued with a hint of hesitation.

[Seems I will also have to sacrifice that artifact...] It sounded unwilling.

Arlo took a moment to register the words he just heard. Arlo didn't where the sudden strength came from, but he made every effort to open his mouth:

"DON'T YOU DARE!"

Arlo felt mixed feelings towards Old Bro. Truth be told, aside from his parents, Old Bro's position in his heart was almost on the same level as Anita's. After all, he had been with him ever since he was born. It was just that, since he entered this world and went through a lot of trials, he felt angry with the artifact spirit because it had never really remarkably helped him. However, he now understood that it wasn't that Old Bro refused to help him, but that he couldn't.

The soft voice also seemed to hesitate using the greatest treasure in the realm of the gods. Doing that would leave traces of itself. Not to mention that the karma it would invite wasn't one she was willing to bear. About two breaths later, the voice echoed within his mind.

[Are you sure? If you don't sacrifice it, the merging process will be slow.]

"I refuse!] Arlo didn't even take an instant to reply.

[Okay...]

Arlo unconsciously relaxed. A look of relief shone on his weary face when...

[One more thing.]

Arlo's youthful face distorted. Such a reaction was unbecoming of a child his age, of course, that was regarding a normal child. Arlo was born a deity. Unfortunately, that was now a thing of the past.

[For saving that girl, I will take your cultivation.]

"What?"

Before Arlo knew it, the massive core located at his navel suddenly changed from bright yellow to pure black.

"@#$$##!" Once again, Arlo cursed the second time in his life, and that too within less than five minutes.

As Arlo started feeling as if he had made the greatest mistake in his life, a golden screen appeared before him, as a series of messages flashed before him.

Fusion process with ???????: 0.01%

Time for complete Fusion: Five years.

Note: The user will be forced to sleep within this period.

Forced sleep will begin in 10

9

8

As Arlo watched the countdown before him, despite not knowing what or how the screen appeared, he understood the gist of what was happening to him.

7

'Arianne, Joe, and the others should be safe.'

6

'Unfortunately, I wasn't able to summon the pitch-black snake from Seraphina's mental world back for Joe. Well, he will just have to wait.'

'Thank goodness. Master is alive. Just for that, this decision was worth it. Not to mention, with this, I won't be targeted by the heavenly tribulation any longer.'

3

'I will miss Dad and mum. I wish I could spend more time with them.'

2

Golden light burst out from Arlo's body.

1

As Arlo uncontrollably closed his eyes, he had one more thought.

'I hope Scarlett and Rebecca are alive!'

0

Arlo's eyes closed at the same time that the golden light erupting from him encased him in golden ice.

Only then did the frozen galaxy return to normal.