In this starry expanse, before a golden tree dwarfing even the sun itself, a handful of scattered colors appeared utterly insignificant.
These specks of color were like random flecks of starlight—normally fleeting, soon to vanish without a trace.
Yet, stubbornly, defiantly, they endured.
Their unbreakable resolve stemmed from just one person—from a rallying cry uttered by a single voice:
[KAMEN... RIDER?]
To Shuhu, that phrase was utterly incomprehensible.
Neither its literal meaning nor its deeper implications offered any clarity. What exactly did this name or occupation represent?
Even the boundless wisdom of the Heaven of Eternal Bliss failed to yield a definitive answer.
At best, all Shuhu could glean from the minds of certain Denizens of the Abundance was a popular account on Galaxy Net.
Nothing more.
Even though Shuhu had already been blessed by YAOSHI and attained profound insight into the Path of ABUNDANCE, it remained utterly baffled.
This phrase did not point to a specific existence, as an AEON would.
Nor did it denote a clear goal, like Shuhu's pursuit of eternal paradise.
Logically, such a thing shouldn't have been worth the fanatical devotion it inspired.
Yet why…
Why, you creatures of the Xianzhou, do you fight with such ferocity for nothing more than a mere slogan?
Shuhu could sense fragments of itself burning, being purged from existence.
These tiny specks, incomparable to the golden splendor blanketing the stars, somehow resisted its corruption.
A colossal white fox bared its fangs, its bladed tails slicing the encroaching tendrils into ribbons.
Warriors clad in stone armor, burning with azure fire, advanced fearlessly, without a hint of hesitation.
Only the platinum-burning HUNT construct, wielding countless arms, reassured Shuhu of its own immense power.
If not for the Flame-Lord, Shuhu would have had no way of comprehending the beings it now faced.
All of this chaos arose because of one individual:
Abeing Shuhu struggled the hardest to understand—the first opponent it had faced upon awakening in this battlefield.
The power of an entire realm he wielded was precisely what Shuhu craved.
With that power, it could finally complete the Heaven of Eternal Bliss, gifting paradise to all beings across the cosmos.
Yet, it was his strange battle cry that perplexed Shuhu the most.
But none of that mattered now.
[IF IT'S WAR YOU DESIRE, THEN WAR IT IS!]
In an instant, Shuhu summoned the entirety of its power, attempting to imprison Sora in a collapsing spatial prison.
This marked the first time since transforming into the colossal tree that Shuhu unleashed its full strength.
The gravity waves in the vicinity warped violently, distorting the very flow of time itself. Seconds experienced by Sora inside could equate to centuries on the outside.
SHUHU'S DIVINE ART...
AN INSTANT BECOMES TEN THOUSAND AGES.
Even the mightiest Denizens of the Abundance succumbed to the influence of time.
Time was perhaps the most formidable, enigmatic force in the cosmos.
By blending the laws of physics with its own Path, Shuhu could manipulate time to a limited degree. Although it couldn't directly affect an individual, warping the flow of time through gravitational entanglement was entirely within its grasp.
Shuhu was confident that this was more than enough to halt Sora's advance.
[I'VE FACED TENG XIAO BEFORE—YOUR HUNT-ALIGNED EMANATORS NO LONGER IMPRESS ME.]
Though Emanators were powerful, compared to Shuhu now, they were pitifully limited by their mortal flesh. Shuhu, having transcended the constraints of physical form in pursuit of immortality, viewed such beings as inferior.
No matter how overwhelming their might, they were insignificant before such raw manipulation of cosmic forces.
Meanwhile, aboard the Xianzhou Cangyan, astonishment erupted as observers detected the anomaly.
"The gravitational distortion in that region is hundreds—no, thousands of times stronger than normal. That means…"
A chill ran down the analyst's spine as he finished his calculation.
"The scene we're witnessing might actually be several minutes old."
The crew of the Cangyan froze in shock.
"What?! How could something like that happen?"
"Is there a way to neutralize this?"
If everyone's temporal frame differed, coordinating battle tactics would quickly become impossible. And on a battlefield, poor coordination spelled inevitable defeat.
"Well…"
The analyst grimaced. Eliminating distortion caused by gravitational waves could only happen in two ways:
Either they waited until time naturally stabilized—an indefinite, impractical solution—or they created an even greater gravitational disturbance to overwrite the existing one.
Yet, in cosmic terms, such a stronger distortion had a single, terrifying name:
A black hole.
True, a black hole could instantly erase all local distortions—but it would also doom everyone present.
The result would be catastrophic—inflicting minimal harm on the enemy, but total annihilation on themselves.
"How the hell does Shuhu wield power on this scale?!"
Even Shuhu risked inadvertently creating a black hole and destroying itself. Yet it successfully forged a domain where time slowed to a crawl.
With this ability alone, Shuhu had essentially become unrivaled in the universe.
[NO MATTER HOW POWERFUL YOU MAY BE, ESCAPE FROM SUCH A DOMAIN IS IMPOSSIBLE.]
Shuhu gazed coldly at Sora, now imprisoned in temporal quicksand.
One second stretched into hours.
Even if Sora tried to flee, his movements would slow to a snail's crawl.
With ample time to spare, Shuhu could calmly devise countless countermeasures.
"You still had a trick like this hidden up your sleeve, huh?"
Even Sora hadn't anticipated Shuhu's manipulation of physics to this extent.
But he wasn't out of options.
He twisted the HUNT Lockseed, and countless rays of light gathered around his fist.
[A GAUNTLET?]
When the brilliance subsided, an object gleaming with the splendor of the galaxy appeared in Sora's hand—a shining gauntlet.
What was this fool thinking? Did he truly believe a mere gauntlet could free him from this temporal trap?
Shuhu was baffled. It saw no conceivable connection between a gauntlet and a black hole.
Yet Shuhu couldn't possibly understand, because the world where gauntlets and black holes intertwined wasn't this one.
Sora had no intention of explaining, either. As he gazed at the gauntlet, memories surfaced—memories of a certain muscle-headed idiot.
"Never thought we'd still be fighting side by side at a moment like this."
This was the power unlocked through Gaim's Great Shogun form.
It allowed Sora to wield weapons he'd used before, gaining access to their unique abilities.
"Strength enough to shatter galaxies—ignite my soul!"
"STRENGTH ENOUGH TO SHATTER GALAXIES—IGNITE MY SOUL!"
Fierce flames roared to life around Sora, surging into the gauntlet, intensifying its radiance.
"I'VE LONG SINCE BECOME UNBEATABLE!"
BOOOOM!
Rather than retreating through the Helheim Forest, Sora drove his fist directly into the barrier holding him captive.
At the point of impact, a tiny black hole bloomed silently amidst the galaxy.
Everything nearby—Shuhu's writhing tendrils, drifting meteorites, even the warped gravitational currents—began spiraling inexorably into its hungry maw.
Only Sora stood firm, cape whipping sharply behind him in the gravitational pull. Rather than being drawn in, the black hole's emergence shattered Shuhu's trap around him.
Those watching from afar quickly took notice.
Feng Liqi had initially planned to intervene, possessing a method of generating black holes herself.
Long ago, the Sui Emperor had assembled all the Heliobi to forge a star—a star whose collapse could birth a black hole. With her strength, Xi's, and the gathered Heliobi, Feng Liqi was confident she could nullify Shuhu's technique.
Yet just as she prepared to act, an urgent message from the Cangyan halted her mid-motion.
"Wait, General! Something's changed!"
Everyone turned back towards the gravitational anomaly. To their astonishment, the distorted scene was now accelerating, as if someone had pressed fast-forward.
They witnessed Sora trapped within Shuhu's grip, saw the punch that summoned the black hole—and finally watched as Sora closed the rift, the gauntlet dissolving back into glittering particles.
Feng Liqi realized she'd worried for nothing.
"You idiot… if you had a way out, you should've used it sooner," she grumbled aloud, though she obediently fell into formation behind him, charging toward Shuhu alongside the rest.
Shuhu sensed their determined advance but remained utterly baffled.
[ANOTHER INEXPLICABLE OUTCOME...]
By any measure, its attack should have rendered it invincible to anything beneath an AEON.
Manipulating physics itself to distort time was among the deadliest tricks in the cosmos—even the likes of Lord Ravager and the Amber Lord had no effective counters.
Yet again, its move had inexplicably failed—thwarted once more by that same man, that so-called Kamen Rider.
He must not continue. He has already become the greatest obstacle on my Path—my inner demon!
Rage consumed Shuhu, summoning countless figures into the void—its strongest assimilated warriors, empowered further by home-field advantage. Defeat should've been impossible.
The colossal tree itself trembled in fury. From its branches dangled skulls that whispered seductive lies, their murmurs enticing enough to trap an ordinary mind forever.
But none present were ordinary.
The Flame-Lord, Xi, moved like lightning, countless arms seizing enemies and crushing them into smoldering ash. Shuhu's summoned creatures died before even realizing their peril.
Meanwhile, stone-armored soldiers remained impervious, holding the line with unbreakable defenses. Behind them, Ahri swiftly healed every injury, completely negating Shuhu's attempts at overwhelming Sora with sheer numbers.
"Just focus on breaking through!" Feng Liqi's voice rang out clearly to Sora.
He responded not with words, but action.
Bursting forward like an arrow of pure silver, he tore through the battlefield unhindered, pulverizing everything in his path. Neither Shuhu's minions nor grasping tendrils could slow him in the slightest.
In desperation, Shuhu's tree-body bloomed open, closing around Sora like a carnivorous flower.
[I KILLED A HUNT EMANATOR ONCE—I CAN CERTAINLY KILL ANOTHER!]
"Empty threats mean nothing!"
If your flesh is truly that strong, then try facing a paradise born from countless souls!
A blazing golden sun erupted above Sora, embodying the blissful consciousness of every lifeform Shuhu had ever consumed. Within that radiant sphere, beings floated in perpetual ecstasy, free from sorrow and worry, convinced that no sentient mind could resist their call.
But their whispers had no hold on Sora.
"You think this can break me?"
His soul surged forth from his body, directly into that burning sun of paradise. In an instant, endless comfort enveloped him, voices whispering promises of fulfillment.
Stay here. Everything you desire—wealth, power, lovers—is yours.
Their seductive pleas echoed ceaselessly, yet Sora remained unmoved.
"That's it?"
This attempt was weaker than even Titania's!
"It's nothing but empty bliss—a balloon that pops at the slightest touch!"
Sensing imminent danger, Shuhu expelled Sora immediately, launching its paradise sun skyward at incredible speed, shrinking rapidly into the distance.
Yet in Sora's grip now appeared a blazing blade. He twisted the accelerator, and brilliant white flames burst forth, rapidly extending the sword's reach.
In an instant, the blade caught the fleeing sun.
[DAOIST!!!]
Shuhu roared, attempting one final assault on Sora's psyche—but it was futile.
With a swift twist, Sora's luminous blade cleaved the distant sun cleanly in two.
Immediately, every construct engaged against Feng Liqi and the others shattered, dissolving into drifting splinters across the void.
"What just happened?" Feng Liqi and her comrades exchanged bewildered glances, seeking out Sora—only to find he had vanished without a trace.
Yet through her resonance with the HUNT, Xi knew he remained somewhere nearby.
But as for his exact whereabouts…
Just as she searched the void, a flawless semicircle bloomed across the cosmos—cleaving Shuhu's body cleanly in two.
From the rupture, countless phantom figures poured forth like a rushing tide, streaming out in endless waves.
[NO—NO!]
The colossal golden tree dimmed in an instant.
[MY ILLUSION... MY HEaVEn OF ETErnAL BlisS...]
It lashed out with innumerable tendrils, trying to seize the escaping apparitions.
But they slipped straight through, dissolving into the universe beyond its grasp.
Though every effort was futile, Shuhu continued to wail.
Its Heaven of Eternal Bliss—its Path—had shattered in that single stroke.
Everything it had once envisioned vanished with that blade.
The vast golden tree grew visibly duller, its power steadily draining away.
With the Heaven of Eternal Bliss destroyed, the Path it had clung to for so long turned to ash in an instant.
YAOSHI sensed what had happened and merely let out a quiet sigh, offering no comment.
THEY had long foreseen this. There was no surprise in it.
After all, had Shuhu truly succeeded, how could an AEON still walk the cosmos bestowing blessings?
Such is fate.
"If this is what you call eternal bliss, how could it be shattered so easily?"
Freed from the illusion, Sora looked at Shuhu and said calmly, "In the end, it was nothing more than an empty dream."
And dreams, by their nature, are hollow.
The beings within had never attained true immortality. Once their essence was spent, their consciousness would simply vanish.
That was why Sora needed only the lightest touch to break it apart completely.
[I HAVe rOaMed tHe uNivErse for oVer tWo tHouSand seVen hunDred yeaRs, eNligHtening the peoPles of thoUsands of woRlds.]
[I have witNesSed the suFfering of alL liVing beIngs with my oWn eyEs. It was for tHat reAson that I sOught the meThod of eTerNal blIss.]
[Who would have thoUght that upon meeTing you today, fellow daoIst, my PatH would colLapse into notHing… heH.]
Shuhu's voice carried a note of melancholy—but in the next instant, it twisted into madness.
[YoUR woRdS HoLD ReASon, FeLLOw DAoisT. BuT i wILL SeTTLe THiS HERE AND NOW!]
Its dimmed body began to coil and contort.
Several shriveled ears of wheat emerged amid the writhing mass, radiating a power that chilled the soul.
This was equivalent to a strike from the AEON of ABUNDANCE.
If unleashed, the entire starfield would be swallowed into those withered grains.
Everyone present would be reduced to cosmic dust.
With its Path destroyed, Shuhu had no future left.
So it would take revenge on the one who had ruined it.
It would grind every life in this region into nothingness.
No man-made weapon in the universe could rival such force.
Only the AEON of DESTRUCTION, acting in person, might compare.
And yet Sora showed not the slightest trace of panic.
"Telling you anything was a waste of breath. If I'd known, I'd have cut you down from the start."
Had Shuhu truly not realized?
Crackle—
A thunder-wreathed greatblade cleaved down from the side, splitting Shuhu's body cleanly in two.
[THe LIghTniNg-LoRd?! Has TeNg XiAo arriVEd?!]
The familiar force stirred old memories—but when Shuhu looked again, it found countless Xianzhou flagships arrayed across the void.
Save for the Xianzhou Zhuming—left crippled in the galaxy after its engine was stolen—the other ships of the Hexafleet had all arrived.
Behind Sora, several colossal figures loomed, framing him like a leader at the head of an army.
"Shuhu, you've already lost."
Shuhu did not respond.
Its gaze slipped past Sora and fixed on a single figure.
Someone who had arrived aboard a white vessel.
Light shimmered joyfully along her wings. The power emanating from her was precisely what Shuhu had yearned for but could never obtain.
The method of eternal bliss.
Its lifelong obsession.
And reflected in her delighted eyes—
[DaMn yOu… KAMEN RIDER!]
In the next instant, the Lightning-Lord's massive blade shattered Shuhu into countless fragments.
The Flame-Lord's flames closed around those fragments and burned them to nothing.
Shuhu, Emanator of ABUNDANCE—subjugated.
And Sora, reunited at last with a long-absent friend, shared in the joy of victory.
All of it was silently observed by a certain figure, black flames smoldering across their body.
---
T/N: hehehe WAIT, ROBIN HAS THE METHOD OF ETERNAL BLISS?
anyway did the whole cappy thing and un cappy to show weakening power and all that, anyways uhhhh yeah thats it
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