The Monarch

The battle between the mages came to a complete halt when they sensed something abnormal around them. The laws of the universe were calming down, mana was calm, divine mana was calm, the laws of time and space were calm—everything was settling, like the sound of the wind across a vast plain.

At the center of this tranquility, Kayden floated in absolute silence, emitting no aura whatsoever, yet everything seemed to shift toward him. Mana subtly moved in his direction as if recognizing something greater, the laws of the universe trembled slightly upon touching him, and even time itself seemed hesitant around him. There was neither light nor shadow nearby, only a void that respected him. The distant mages and gods noticed this simultaneously—it wasn't Kayden revealing himself; it was the universe bowing, as if something was profoundly wrong.

No god and no mage could perceive anything in Kayden. His aura was that of a common ninth-realm mage, his presence so minuscule that no one even remembered him. Of course, Kayden had taken some insane actions in recent moments, but the level of the battle had risen so much that no one thought of him anymore.

Kayden's aura began to grow, and with every passing moment, the universe calmed even further. It made no sense. Even the laws of chaos were being forced to lower their existence and acknowledge the new order. While everyone was focused on this, Thoth was clapping and laughing like a madman.

"What is he doing?" Hypnos asked, and all the gods turned their attention to Thoth. The confusion on their faces was completely visible.

"He's engraving his name into history," Thoth replied, answering no further questions, his attention fully locked on Kayden.

The universe's tranquility continued, and slowly, more and more mana began to gather around Kayden. At first, it was merely a normal amount for a ninth-realm mage. Then, it surpassed mortal limits as if it were nothing. Within minutes, the mana of entire universes began converging toward him. It made no sense—Kayden was summoning more mana than should even exist.

The question in everyone's mind was: Where was all this mana coming from? It simply didn't add up. Even if Kayden converted the entire arena and the universe outside, at most, he would be able to collect mana from eleven universes. Yet, within a matter of dozens of minutes, there was mana from dozens of universes.

The sheer volume of mana should have given rise to high-level mana monsters—eighth-realm mana beasts should have been appearing as if they were nothing more than common mages scattered across the universe. But there was nothing. Not even signs of space cracking under the sheer weight of so much mana.

Everything was calm.

At least, that's what common mages could feel. But some mages were special, even among tenth-realm mages—these were known as Monarchs. They were not calm at all. Quite the opposite—their hearts pounded as if this were the end of the world. It felt as if Kayden were an archangel descending to declare the end of existence, and they couldn't even explain why they felt that way.

The gods were another group of beings capable of sensing that something was terribly wrong. This tranquility was unnatural—not something that should exist naturally, nor something that could be forcibly imposed. The calmness of controlling so many laws and concepts wasn't even normal among the divine; it was something only a rare few had the talent—or the audacity—to attempt.

The calmness reached an absolute peak—there was no wind, no sound, not even the faintest vibration of space adjusting to the presence of such immense mana. Time itself seemed hesitant, unable to flow naturally, while light, once merely a witness to the battle, now stood still, with no refraction, no distortion. The laws of the universe had not just quieted; they seemed to have been erased momentarily, as if they had never existed. Mages and gods felt the deep void of this forced serenity, a silence so absolute that their own minds struggled to comprehend it.

A crown appeared atop Kayden's head. It exuded a fundamental law—but that interpretation was incorrect. It wasn't a fundamental law. In fact, it wasn't even a common law. It was, indeed, a law, yet no god or mage could recognize it.

"I am the Monarch," Kayden's voice shattered the silence. What had once been only mana and an eerily still expanse suddenly turned into absolute chaos.

The laws returned like unrestrained storms, colliding against one another in pure havoc. Time and space tangled into impossible knots, while concepts like gravity and fire emerged in distorted forms, fused with incomprehensible ideas. Some laws gained their own will; others simply ceased to exist for brief moments, making reality itself waver as if on the brink of collapse.

Mana erupted in fury, no longer flowing but roaring. It filled everything, overflowing from the void itself, compressing into unstable shapes that flickered between the real and the impossible. High-level mages felt their bodies tremble, unable to withstand that presence. Everything revolved around Kayden, as if he were the center of a newly forming universe.

"Show yourself. Your existence ends today."

Kayden's voice was like a divine decree—an absolute command given to an inferior being. There were no requests, no doubts; it was a mandatory summons.

All the mana, all the laws—everything withdrew from the absolute chaos and returned to an eerie calm. Slowly, everything gathered together—the mana, the laws—everything returned to normal, placed back in its rightful order, as if Kayden had never done anything at all.

A different soul appeared before Kayden. It was not the soul of a mortal, nor was it the soul of a god. It was something entirely different from anything these mages had ever seen in their lives. Of all the gods, only those at the absolute peak, capable of creating entire universes at will, understood the significance of this being.

"A mere mortal dares to rise against the universe?"

The voice of the universe echoed in the minds of all.