CHAPTER 1644  KNOWLEDGE?

It was a vast, silent, and dark place. An infinite void stretching beyond comprehension. Nux, who continued to drift along the 'space', slowly opened his eyes. Seeing the dark space around him, his first thought was simple, 'Was I back into the Black Space?' It was a logical thought, after all, this wasn't the first time he had seen a vision similar to this. However, soon, he shook his head as the realization kicked in.

Despite being awfully similar, Nux knew he wasn't inside the Black Space. Not only had the Black Space changed and evolved into something much different than what he was currently seeing, but even in its earliest form, when the Black Space looked similar, something was different. The Black Space was real. It actually existed inside his Body. And this…

Nux didn't take long to realize that he was currently deep inside his consciousness. His brain was shut off because it was unable to absorb all the knowledge that was injected into it, however, this didn't mean his brain couldn't absorb the knowledge. It succeeded, and even though Nux could feel that quite a bit of information was lost simply because his brain didn't have the capability to hold it, Nux knew that what was left wasn't something he could dismiss either. Zenith Flow was at play here. Nux had trained his body to the point where it could function even without his brain, his instincts, his consciousness, everything worked together to make sure he got the most advantage out of everything. And this was just one of those incidents. While he was out cold because his brain and body had shut off, his consciousness was showing him the simplest version of the knowledge that was instilled into him. And as if it were understood that he was prepared, it started. In that emptiness, something began to stir, A ripple in the void, a cosmic hum. Nux could feel it. He could feel the beginning of everything. He could sense different forces, different energies at play here, and because of his pre-existing knowledge, he did recognize one of those forces.

The Force of Genesis. No, it was not the unrefined, weak force of Genesis he and Felberta had control over, it was something… much purer, much stronger and much more complicated.

The force of Genesis moved, the primordial spark that gave shape to the void. Nux watched as a swirl of energy gathered in the emptiness, slowly uniting into dust, gas, and molten rock. Yes, a Planet was being formed. At first, it was a chaotic mess, a swirling vortex of raw, untamed energy. But even in this chaos, everything seemed to be guided by another strange energy that was interconnected with the Force of Genesis, Nux didn't know what this energy was, but he did know what it was doing. It shaped and tempered Creation, ensuring that the forming planet took a precise shape, that its molten core would cool in time, and that its surface would become stable enough to support life.

Mountains erupted from the ground, volcanoes spewed fire, and oceans pooled into the planet's growing basins. The tectonic plates shifted beneath the surface, driven by forces both physical and magical. In this phase, Nux saw the Force of Genesis in its strongest form. But at the same time, Nux also saw how the Force of Genesis alone was useless. Other Forces intervened with it were just as important. Without them, the Force of Genesis could have spun the planet into endless Chaos. Once the planet's physical structure was formed, the next phase began. This time another Energy became more prominent, and Nux recognized this Energy as well. The Force of Life. Life stirred beneath the surface, a gentle but unrelenting force. Nux watched as the first stirrings of life bubbled up in the oceans, simple, microscopic organisms, driven by the will to grow and adapt. Over time, these organisms multiplied, evolving into more complex forms. Plants stretched toward the sun, and creatures crawled from the water to the land. Life, guided by the Energy of Genesis, flourished, covering the planet with yellow forests, vast seas teeming with creatures, and beasts roaming across the lands.

And just like the Force of Genesis, the Force of Life didn't work alone either. Nux saw that it was powered by other forces as well. The warmth of the sun, bathing the planet in life-giving energy. The creatures of the world grew toward the sun, plants creating energy to maintain themselves through the energy of the sun, animals hunting in the light of day. These different forces represented growth, enlightenment, flourishing. All these important forces were at play here, yet Nux still couldn't identify any of them. Still, keeping his calm, Nux continued to watch. He didn't know how long had passed, neither did he care. He knew that since he was inside his subconscious, he would be awake the instant his body recovered or if his wives needed him. Therefore, he continued patiently. The day turned to night, Darkness descended. Yet another force became prevalent, but once again, Nux couldn't identify it but he was already getting used to this feeling of 'unknown'. What Nux could feel was that this Energy was somehow related to Night. Temporarily, Nux named this force the Force of Darkness. At the same time, he also realized that the Force of Darkness was not the enemy of Genesis, Life, or Light. It was simply a counterpart. An Essential. It was in the dark that creatures rested, that plants conserved energy, and that secrets were hidden. Darkness was the force of mystery, of introspection, of the unknown possibilities that lay, just out of reach.

As Nux continued to understand everything, the other forces at work continued to do what they were supposed to, life continued, time passed.

The planet matured, the first of the intelligent life began to rise. These beings were curious, ambitious and… were born with endless potential. Potential that far surpassed all other beings that had appeared in this World before. Yes. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

These were the Progenitors. They started out weak, much weaker than most organisms living in this World. However, They adapted. They began to explore the deeper mysteries of existence, and it was then that Nux saw the formation of the Cultivation Bridge. A gift to Life from the very World itself. A Path that allowed those beings to ascend beyond their natural limits, tapping into the planet's latent energy. Once again, another Force out of all the Forces present stood out and became much more prevalent than before. And once again, Nux had no clue what this force was. Helplessly watching everything play out was the only thing he could do. Time passed, Nux saw the Progenitors grow, from beings who got tired just after walking a few hundred kilometres, to beings who could topple mountains with a mere flick of their finger. Then, the Progenitors started multiplying, once again, the Force of Life came into play, more and more cultivators were born. These cultivators were the manifestation of the World's Will,

A Will to produce beings capable of reaching the heavens, of transcending mortality.

A Will to produce beings strong enough to protect it. As cultivation spread, powerful clans and sects began to emerge. Nux saw them rise, their influence growing as they mastered various Laws and formed alliances, their power shaping the political and spiritual landscape of the world. These clans grew into empires, ruled by cultivators who had ascended to unimaginable heights.

Once again, he saw all those forces playing their part here, rewarding those who mastered their own energies and laws. These empires flourished, their cities gleaming like beacons of light. But alongside their rise, Nux felt the presence of another unknown force strengthening and something changed. As quickly as these empires rose, Nux saw them fall. Empires that had once been the pinnacle of power crumbled under the weight of their own ambition. This time, Nux recognized this Force. It was similar to Devour. It was a much purer, rawer version. The Force of Destruction. Destruction came into play, tearing down what had once been invincible. And just like other forces before, it wasn't alone. It came together with other forces that influenced the beings' minds. Nux saw betrayals, wars, and the relentless march of time eating away at these great powers. The Progenitors who were supposed to grow together, fought against each other. The Will of the World tried to stop them, giving them various signs and warnings to stop, but with their emotions overtaking them, the Progenitors didn't listen. The Wars continued, becoming much crueller as time passed, more and more energies were activated, Nux recognized two of these energies, the Force of Darkness and the Force of Destruction. This time, he also recognized another energy. It was the Force of Death. Together with other Energies he couldn't identify, these energies continued to become more and more prominent, And finally, The Age of Progenitors was over. Most Progenitors died in the Battle. The Surviving Progenitors had injuries that made them too weak to even resist their own people. In the end, the Progenitors couldn't survive. And as if that wasn't enough, Nux saw another unknown energy becoming prominent, and as it did, The Space cracked. And suddenly, new races, completely unknown to the beings of this world appeared. Nux recognized a few of them, The Hornari, the Serpenthri, even that living rock and a few races he saw in the Association were here. Nux understood this was the force of the Association. It was only then did he realize it, What he was watching, It was nothing more than the 'memories' of the world he had devoured, memories not from the perspective of any being, but from the perspective of the very world. It was an experience far different than anyone could imagine and Nux knew full well that he wasn't even experiencing it to the fullest amount. After all, even now, he understood that all of this was an extremely simplified version his subconscious had created so that his mind wouldn't be overloaded. As he realized all this, Nux continued watching. He didn't know how many years had passed, but from his experience in the Illusion, he could tell that the number must be in ten thousands. Anyways, as the forces from the Association came in, they quickly subdued the beings of this world, the World trembled in fear, however, luckily, the Association wasn't here to devour. The Powerhouses of this world gave in and the World was assimilated into the Association. Tens of thousands of years passed by, the world saw the rise and fall of many beings, clans, and forces, there were times when some cultivators even confronted the beings of the Association, but of course, they were quickly suppressed. Nux saw how all the phases repeated themselves throughout history. Different energies became prominent at different points in time before returning to normal and letting another energy take over. It was a cycle. A cycle where all these energies worked together to maintain the entire world. And Nux realized that this cycle was coming to its end. Once again, the Force of Destruction became Prominent. And this time, it was much stronger than all the times before combined. The Space of the world cracked and a being with thousands of other beings following behind him entered the world. As if sensing its doom, the World tried to resist, it trembled and called for help, alerting all the beings close to it, telling them to prepare. However, it was pointless. Nux saw how the being descended to the world. With one look, he recognized who this being was. It was Zalang, the weird-looking guy he just killed. Zalang's forces quickly attacked the netizens of this world, in the end, the netizens were too weak to survive. Zalang took over it all. In the end, the World's Core was forced to show itself. Zalang grabbed the Core, and with his most trusted subordinates guarding him, he started devouring the World's Core. The World trembled, The Law of Destruction became much much stronger than ever before, cracks appeared all over the Core and the World itself, And then, *BOOOOOOM* The World was devoured by the Universe. And suddenly, Nux's vision turned Black.