He kept walking.
The void around him stretched endlessly, devouring even the glow of lower-ranked cards.
No more flickers of E or D. No glints of A-ranks pulsing in clusters.
It was just… space.
Wide. Dark. Silent.
Like the bones of the universe itself.
He didn't know how long he'd been walking. There was no sun. No time.
But it felt like hours.
Maybe half a day.
Maybe more.
Still—he pressed on.
Something inside him pulled forward. And then—
He saw it.
Far away.
Two lights.
Close to each other, like twin stars in orbit.
One was pitch black. Deeper than night. The kind of black that swallowed even the void.
The other—pure white. Radiant. Blinding. Almost divine.
They weren't just glowing. They were shining.
Like they were waiting for someone worthy.
As he stepped closer, he saw it—
⬛〚EXTRACTION [S] 〛Colour: Abyssal black, lined with flickering violet cracks like fractures in reality.
Passive Abilities:–
Vital Signature Sense: Detect structural or energetic weaknesses in living or non-living targets.
Adaptation Core: Absorb traits of extracted material or ability (requires focus).
Active Skills:–
Extraction Beam: Isolate and rip out components—organic, mechanical, energetic.
Mimic Cell: Gain 80% functions of anything extracted.
Deconstruct Field: Temporarily collapse surrounding materials into raw elements.
Hidden Trait:– [LOCKED – Requires Biological Sync]
"To take is to understand. To extract is to become."
And next to it—Larger. Higher. Brighter than anything he had seen so far—
⬜〚UNIVERSA: THE CELESTIAL MERCHANT [SS] 〛
Colour: Luminous white, ringed with golden orbitals and violet stardust.
Passive Abilities:–
Worldlink Awareness: Detect market-level energy flows across galaxies.
Celestial Ledger: Every transaction—across space or dimension—is automatically recorded and assessed.
Active Features:–
Omni-Vault: Gain access to a scalable inventory space linked to multi-dimensional repositories.
Marketplace Sync: Unlock items from different universes and timelines—available based on your influence and tier.
Merchant Seal: Form trade pacts with entities, factions, or systems—across existence.
Hidden Trait:– [LOCKED – Requires System Evolution Level 4]
"All things have a price. Even gods."
His eyes widened.
The card towered nearly twice the height of the S-rank beside it.
Its white glow spread outward like it wanted to illuminate everything it touched.
"Whoah—"
His breath hitched as he looked up at it.
"It's… double the size of lord of coins..."
And yet, they stood together.
Opposites.
Black and White. Extraction and Trade. Destruction and Access.
He stepped closer. Their auras didn't repel him.
They welcomed him.
And deep within his chest—he felt it.
He was getting close now.
To something that wasn't just power.
But identity.
He stepped forward slowly.
The white light bathed his face.
Soft. Weightless. But endless.
Unlike the S-rank card beside it—this didn't feel like a card anymore.
It felt like a presence.
Like a window to something far beyond this void.
A portal to a network not made for mortals.
The rings of light around it spun slowly—like moons orbiting a celestial engine.
Every few seconds, the glow flickered with hints of unfamiliar symbols: currencies, runes, languages,
and artifacts… from worlds he didn't even know existed.
It wasn't just tall.
It felt wide.
Like the space around it kept stretching the closer he looked.
A low chime pulsed through his spine.
The system stirred.
[ You stand before a Supra-Sovereign Card. ]
[ Rank: SS — 'Universa' ]
[ Such cards do not merely grant power—they offer systems within systems. ]
[ UNIVERSA is not a spell. Not a weapon. It is an interdimensional construct—a living storehouse connected to celestial trade lines, forgotten realms, and infinite vaults. ]
[ What it offers cannot be listed. Its inventory shifts with your evolution. It grows with you. Challenges you. Changes the way you exist. ]
[ Few ever see an SS-rank. ]
[ Fewer still are seen back. ]
[ And now… it watches you. ]
The glow pulsed—just once.
Not to intimidate.
But like a merchant lighting a lamp… ready for business.
He blinked.
Speechless.
Two titans stood before him.
One built to take.
The other built to offer.
And both… were waiting.
~
He took a breath.
Calm. Cold. Absolute.
"Follow me."
〚EXTRACTION [S]〛
The black monolith stirred first.
No resistance. No questions. Just a deep vibration—like the awakening of a buried god.
It slipped behind him in silence.
Not as a servant…
—but as a weapon awaiting purpose.
〚UNIVERSA: THE CELESTIAL MERCHANT [SS]〛
That one didn't move.
It flared.
Not in rage—but in judgment.
The glowing white titan flared so brightly the entire void dimmed in contrast.
Rotating rings pulsed with celestial inscriptions.
A voice followed—elegant, proud, and scornful:
UNIVERSA:
"You are not yet worthy of commerce beyond mortality."
"I trade with kings. With realities. With gods."
"You have no credit in my halls. No name on any ledger."
"Attempting to command me will cost you."
His eyes narrowed. The weight slammed into his mind.
Pressure built like knives behind his eyes. His skull screamed. His thoughts frayed. Something inside cracked.
His body reacted—violently.
Sweat drenched his skin. Tears blurred his vision.
Blood trickled down his lips. And even deeper, every last drop of vitality—
Everything spilled out.
Water. Strength. Suffering. Even seed. All of him was thrown forward to tame her.
But he didn't back away.
He gritted his teeth.
And faced her like she was lesser.
"I'm not here to earn value...I am the one who defines it."
CRACK—
A silent burst of pressure bent the void.
Universa shuddered—slightly.
Her glyphs slowed.
The orbiting rings stilled. The blinding white dimmed—not in surrender,—but in respect.
Slowly, she moved.
One inch at a time… she followed.
Not happily. Not entirely willing.But bound.
And so now—three followed behind him:
—The molten tower of 〚LORD OF THE COINS [S]〛
—The black blade of 〚EXTRACTION [S]〛
—The glowing titan of 〚UNIVERSA [SS]〛
Each one powerful enough to shape history.
Each one his.
[ You burn like a star before ignition… ]
[ Be warned: forced loyalty leaves scars. Even on the divine. ]
[ Still… you now wield three kings. ]
[ Shall we continue, Zero? ]
He let out a breath, quiet but firm.
His words rippled through the silence—not loud, but with conviction. Not a defence… a truth.
"Forced loyalty you say....."
"I don't force anyone… "
"It followed me because it wanted to…Or else… I don't know, I would be dead by now."
"And also… forcing someone is not in my morale."
The air around him stilled. Even the void seemed to… listen.
Behind him, Universa slowed for a breath. Her light flickered—not in resistance this time, but in something eerily close to respect.
No voice replied in his head. But for the first time—she wasn't pulling away.
Not resisting.
Just… watching.
[Your words are not registered as command… but as code.]
[Such choices shape your System Karma Path.]
[Not all power is gained through dominance.]
[Some of the strongest chains are made of respect.]
The void ahead sharpened.
There were no more cards in sight.Only silence… and the faint hum of reality thinning.
Still—Zero walked.
Hours? Days? Weeks?
Impossible to measure.There was no time here—only motion.
And then…Like a flicker at the end of a collapsing star—He saw it.
Far ahead. Not one. Not two. A cluster.
Three shapes. Not cards… but stones. HUGE. Orbiting each other like shattered moons.
Each was massive—floating in silent tension, bound by an invisible axis. Dark stone. Faint light. Echoes of something ancient.
But one…One was different.
It didn't glow. It didn't spin. It didn't move.
It just was.
Its presence was silent.
And yet—Zero's bones… recognized it.
Something deeper.
Beyond classification.
Not a card. Not stone.
Something older.
The air around it whispered in fractured tones.
Reality warped around it like unstable code.
'A System Anomaly?'
'A relic from before the System?'
Or something that even the System feared?
Zero stared at the strange formation—three colossal constructs orbiting one another in perfect synchrony. Too complex to be mere cards, too alive to be mechanisms. Glyphs flowed across their surfaces like living equations, constantly rewriting themselves. They didn't hum. They breathed.
His voice slipped out, barely audible.
"Is that… a card? Doesn't seem lik-"
That was the moment it began.
Without warning, the three structures jerked, rotated violently, pulsing with a force that seemed to bend space around them. Sharp arcs of light erupted between them—like cosmic tendrils—drawing an impossible triangular web of motion. It spun faster… and faster…
The very fabric of the void cracked.
Behind Zero, the three titanic cards—〚LORD OF THE COINS [S]〛, 〚EXTRACTION [S]〛, and
〚UNIVERSA: THE CELESTIAL MERCHANT [SS]〛—all froze midair. Silent. Watching.
Then—
A light flared from the center of the triangular structure.
Not just light—pure compression of energy, a cosmic core collapsing into ignition.
BOOOOOOMMMMM—
A gate tore open, not with sound, but with consequence.
Like reality itself had been peeled back.
The void around Zero screamed and shriveled, recoiling from the force.
Beyond the gate—
Not more endless white.
But a new plane.
A realm made of blinding dark light, perfect geometric structures, and a low hum that sounded
like existence itself holding its breath. Shapes flickered in the distance—massive, angular,
unmeasurable.
This wasn't a deeper layer.
It was beyond.
Zero had found it—
A void beyond the void.
[ SYSTEM MESSAGE: ACCESS GRANTED — DOMAIN: NULL SANCTUM ]
[ Warning: This zone exists beyond system balance. ]
[ Only those with destabilized fate may proceed. Initiator status: accepted. ]
The gate waited, pulsing like the heart of a god.
And Zero… stood at the edge of something older than law.
Just as his foot rose—Just as the radiant gate hummed with the pull of a higher dimension—Something caught his peripheral vision.
A flicker. A shimmer. A presence so silent, it felt like part of the background.
He froze. Slowly turned.
And there it was.