“Let me explain in terms you're familiar with. Do you recall the largest and smallest object humans had observed?”

Zyrus jogged up his memories before coming up with an answer. It had been too long since he studied that on the arc of Noah.

“The smallest ones are the Quarks, and the largest thing in the observable universe was Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall,”

“Indeed, it must’ve been fascinating to learn about it, Right?”

Zyrus nodded in response to that. He still distinctively remembered that humans were closer to the largest thing in the universe than the quarks if they counted in magnitude. It was a useless yet thought-provoking comparison.

“The range of 10^26 meters to 10^-35 meters is what we call the realm of order. It is because everything within that realm can be understood by most sentient beings.”

“…I’ve never thought of it that way,”

“And that is the reason why you haven’t progressed on the path of laws. Keep in mind that they’re more than just a tool to kill your enemies. Comprehending the origin of laws is the pursuit of every powerful creature across the universe,”

Zyrus felt like his horizons were broadened, in quite a literal way. It was hard to imagine something working on a universal scale.

“You should realize that the main difficulty in comprehending the laws is your imagination and willpower that could fuel those imaginations. Even if I tell you bout the realm of order, can you really imagine it?”

The answer was, of course, No.

“Take yourself as an example, how many quarks, neutrons, protons, electrons, atoms, and molecules are inside of you? Can you control them despite being close to them since the day you gained sentience? And if you can’t even control your own body, how could you influence the laws that govern the whole universe?”

A new door was blasted open for Zyrus. With his talent, the correct direction was all he needed.

What was considered Void in the realm of order? He knew that only by understanding that would he progress further on his path. As for his willpower? He didn’t need anyone’s help to train in that.

But apparently, the one opposite him had other plans.

It was as if the snake had seen right through his mind.

“Let’s conclude our short lesson here. I’m sure it’s enough for someone like you,”

Before Zyrus could thank it once again, the snake looked at him with a dangerous glint.

“However, I can’t give you the mission’s reward without a test, right? I have no intention to fight you, all you have to do is retrieve one of my scales and blood essence. Easy, right?”

“…”

For the first time in both of his lives, Zyrus didn’t dare to utter a word. The danger he felt at this moment was even greater than the time he died.

“You appear to be someone who’s fearless. That won’t do,”

The snake’s voice got higher and higher. The space around them distorted with its every word, and Zyrus felt an unfamiliar sense of dread.

‘I was never afraid of death…what exactly am I feeling then?’

He asked himself a question under the suffocating aura. Even now, he was more curious than afraid.

“They say that the ignorant are fearless, but can the ignorant walk on the path of Origins? Of course not. There are many who do not fear death, but mark my words, Zyrus Wymar…”

*Shattter*

His vision blanked for a moment before he was sent back to another place.

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“There are things that are far more harrowing than a mere death,”

A place without mana, a place without air, a place without anything.

It was a vast and empty space.

Countless stars and tiny galaxies twinkled all around him. It was the beautiful sky he used to admire before he was summoned to the sanctuary.

“And you stand in the presence of one such being,”

But as if to mock his naïve admiration of the vast universe, the snake showed him the true meaning of fear.

A true and primordial fear.

‘Can something like that exist?’

For the first time, Zyrus felt like his willpower was lacking to handle the scene in front of him.

How big was a planet? A solar system? A galaxy? A star cluster? It was easy to imagine them by using numbers, but it was a whole new thing to see them flash by with your bare eyes.

Just this experience was enough to break one’s will.

But what he saw was far more devastating.

He saw a being so colossal that it defied his understanding of the world. A black-grey snake that swallowed stars as if they were grapes hanging on a vine.

A being who swam in the universe like a fish in the water.

Zyrus got closer and closer to that being, and its size became bigger and bigger in his eyes. How did it feel to have your entire vision occupied by a single creature?

Only those who’ve experienced this sight could understand his current state of mind.

‘Authority, Name, Title…’

Zyrus realized their true meaning as he saw the creature before him. He now knew what it meant to carve your existence into the very fabric of the universe.

He who dwells in the cosmic ocean

Jörmungandr: The World Devouring Serpent.

He didn’t need any introduction, because his very source of existence was carved on the reality itself.

‘He feels more Eternal than those bastards ever did,’

Zyrus had never felt so insignificant in his entire life. The raging emotions that fueled his will, the hope of vengeance, the hope of seeing her again…everything seemed insignificant compared to the being before him.

Could he fight someone like him? He couldn’t even think of such a possibility.

He was being consumed by the laws of Jormungandr with every passing second. His source of exitance was being devoured just by looking at him.

‘I may be weak and insignificant…’

His vengeance, his pride, his love…everything was devoured in the presence of Jörmungandr.

'But even so…’

The final spark of his will refused to die down.

Zyrus didn’t want to feel the same way once again. The emptiness he felt that day, the void in his heart that made him embark on the path of laws…he had subconsciously avoided it to this day.

Even before his regression, even before he became the strongest being in the sanctuary…

He had erased the very emotions that led him on the path of Void, such was the irony.

‘I wanted to move on and create a new future…’

But now wasn’t the right time for that. Perhaps he needed to suffer more in order to temper his will.

Zyrus stopped moving towards the Jörmungandr. No, it would be more accurate to say that he had never left from his position to begin with.

The stone platform, the cave, and even the laws of devouring were erased from existence.

All that remained in the trench of the ocean was a mountain-sized scale, a blood-grey crystal, and Zyrus who was floating above them unconsciously.

…

Emotions, feelings, sentiments… one can say they’re what makes someone alive.

Joy, anger, sorrow, pride, greed, lust, pity, jealousy…. people feel myriad of emotions throughout their life.

There are those who act according to them, and there are those who are enslaved by them.

Most of the intelligent beings had a varied degree of control over their emotions. Some species were apathetic while others were too sentimental. Elves who liked peace, orcs who loved to fight, dragons who ruled in the sky and rats who lived by scavenging the land… everyone had different emotions, feelings, sentiments.

And there was one scenario everyone must have felt in their lives: What if one emotion overwhelmed the rest?

There were only two ways that situation could go.

Those who were consumed by the raging emotions, and those who moved on with the aid of time.

Innumerable factors were involved which led to either direction.

‘I went with the second option because that’s what she would have wished for…’

Zyrus stood alone on a white crystalline road. Everything looked the same as always, but he knew that his source of origin had changed.

He had realized many things after the recent encounter. Now, he knew how to walk on his path.

‘Neither the first, nor the second,’

Zyrus decided to go with neither option. He couldn’t let the void in his heart consume him, nor could he forget it and move on.

*Step*

A single step, and he was ahead of thousands of white lines around him. Just how many had failed to take this single step in their entire lives?

He realized the essence of using the power of laws.

Will.

Control.

Those who sway with the power of laws and those who truly control the said laws…there was a vast boundary that separated the two.

A boundary that was only visible once you crossed to the other side.

With a void in his heart, he had crossed that boundary with a single step.

‘Heh, is this my reward?’

Zyrus chuckled as he looked at the thousands of white lines that were resonating with his source of origin. He knew that he wasn’t far off from absorbing one of them once again.

But before that, it was time to reap the rewards from the last time.

An old martial art manual fluttered before his eyes.