Though shocked to see the Overgods of the four Edicts bowing towards him, Ace's poker face was perfect. His expression was the picture of total indifference. He didn't say a word; he simply stared at them, waiting for them to speak.
Understanding what Ace wanted, the Overgod of Destruction was the first to speak up. He explained that they had come to express their apology and ask for forgiveness in the hope that they could find a way to live in harmony from here on out.
Whether it was Ace or any of the Overgods that stood on his side, they were all once again shocked by the Overgod of Destruction's words.
As previously mentioned, they were all aware of the power the four Overgods were capable of when working together; as such, it was impossible that they were acting from a place of fear, or at least they weren't scared of Ace directly. Still, that only served to add to their confusion, as no matter how they looked at it, they couldn't find another reason for them to be willing to give up their advantage to accomplish the goal they all wanted so desperately.
Ace stared into the eyes of the Overgod of Destruction for a long time without speaking. Ultimately, it was his master, Aiden, who gave voice to the curiosity of himself and the other Overgods on their side.
The Overgod didn't respond immediately; in fact, with his [Observation Haki], Ace could sense trace amounts of hesitation that the Overgod tried to hide. Eventually, though, the Overgod answered by once again apologising and expressing that he wasn't at liberty to say.
His words sent wave after wave of shock through the bodies of the Overgods as they wrapped their minds around the implications of his words.
Had he simply said he didn't want to say, although they still would've been confused, they would've understood that they didn't want to give away a potential weakness, but for him to say that he wasn't at liberty to say…
The only thing that they, as Overgods, weren't permitted to speak lightly on were matters directly related to Heaven. Still, it was a revelation that only left them with more questions than answers, and unfortunately, it didn't appear that there was a way for them to get to the bottom of the matter.
It was then that the Overgod of Fate said that they were aware that their actions had been a little overboard, and they were willing to pay a price to make up for their prior actions. He explained that as long as Ace were to agree to let the past be the past, each of them would be willing to give up a portion of their faith as a blessing for Ace's unborn child.
For what felt like the hundredth time, the Overgods that stood on Ace's side were astounded. The Blessing of an Overgod was an ability of all Overgods that had condensed their Overgod bodies, which allowed them to transform their faith into talent for a selected individual – it was similar to the blessing of Heaven but on a weaker scale. Even so, it was enough to turn the average individual into a Supreme Genius on the level of Killian. For all four Overgods to be willing to bless Ace's child… one could only imagine the future of such a child.
Their talents were bound to be far from ordinary just by virtue of who their parents were – both Ace and Amira had talents that had never been seen before in the universe, and as soulmates, their child would perfectly inherit both their talents. For such a child to then be blessed by four Overgods…
Everyone viewed the notion of surpassing Ace as an impossible feat, but now… it may not be impossible after all.
Still, it had to be remembered that although they were all incredibly powerful existences, they were still incomparable to heaven. Although Overgods were capable of blessing others, it came at a price – the faith used in the blessing would be lost for good. They would effectively be permanently weakening themselves.
Should they go through with this, they would never be able to pose a threat to Ace and his loved ones ever again.
Even so, Ace didn't care. He was perceptive enough to understand the hidden meanings behind their gestures; he just didn't care. They had been the ones to target him time after time; they even went so far as to threaten his family and friends, and now, for whatever reason, they wanted to be let off the hook? How could things be so simple?
Ace, who hadn't said a word since he arrived on the scene, finally opened his mouth. All he said was one word, but it was more than enough to display his stance on the matter – he simply told them to scram!
Hearing that, the eyes of the four Overgods narrowed as their anger flared. They had come hat in hand, and although they knew that their chances of success were slim, being treated with such disregard was enough to provoke the anger in each and every one of them. They were Overgods and should be treated as such.
In an instant, the humility and reserved emotions they felt vanished. Their backs straightened as they met Ace's gaze with cold indifference. In unison, they told Ace that they hoped he wouldn't regret his actions today before vanishing, not giving Ace a chance to respond.
As for Aiden and the other Overgods, they knew Ace better than most. The moment Ace voiced his response, their respective expressions showed no surprise, just helplessness.
Even so, Orloff couldn't help but ask if Ace wasn't even a little tempted. By now, he knew that there was nothing Ace wouldn't do for those he loved and that intense need to provide and protect would inevitably multiply for his child.
In response, Ace merely said that no child of his would need a blessing from anyone else to thrive.
It was a short and curt response, but it directly voiced the confidence he had in his child and the combined bloodline between him and Amira.
After sending the others off, Ace went back to studying the changes to his personal dimension after willing it to absorb the energy stored in the Overgod Sparks of the Lightning and Earth Overgods. And he had to say, he was pleasantly surprised by what he found.
Although it still appeared to be some distance away from what he believed to be maturity, it was five times purer, which also meant that his own divine essence was five times as powerful as before, meaning, even without receiving the boost of his Divine Ability, his divine essence had reached the same level of power as a normal Overgod.
Although he already knew it would be far weaker than the fused divine power of the Overgods of the four Edicts, he knew that this was just the start for him.
The next point he noted was that as it stood, when using his comprehension of the Rules of Time to alter the flow of time, he could slow the speed of time in his personal dimension ten times over, making it so that instead of ten thousand years, he actually had a hundred thousand years.
With that settled, Ace immediately retreated into seclusion. As he did, he considered his options. He had already deduced that the final Law of the Rules of Time was none other than Temporal Reversal. Still, it was by far the hardest of them all.
Before choosing to focus on comprehending the spatial and temporal concepts of his glaivesmanship, Ace had spent over 100 years trying to get started, but it was just too hard. Even now, after his perception had risen to heights that others couldn't even imagine, he still had no idea how to begin. Because of that, he decided to continue laying the foundation for when he began in the future by further comprehending concepts of Space and Time for his glaivesmanship.
Ace wasn't the only one focusing on his training; all his friends and family were, but that all came to a change when a terrifying disturbance erupted inside Ace's personal dimension.
Sensing the warping of the space in his personal dimension, Ace's eyes snapped open as he looked towards the source of the fluctuations that would threaten that of even an Overgod-level powerhouse.
Seeing Linley so engrossed in his sudden enlightenment that he didn't even realise that he had almost killed his own family, Ace immediately took action, wrapping his draconian rival in his energy and teleporting him into chaotic space.
It was then, though, that Ace's eyes widened in surprise as he, along with everyone in the universe, heard the sounds of Heaven's chimes ringing directly in their soul, signifying the founding of a new Law.
------------------------------------------
Please check out and support my new novel - A Tale of Pride!
-------------------------------------------
Story Complete!
Currently 8 chapters ahead!
Head over to the P atreon if you wish to read to the end uninterrupted!
P.atreon.com/AceInCoilingDragon