The divine annihilation technique descended.

Holy fire structured by absolute order, purification amplified by celestial authority, power that transcended what mortal practitioners could comprehend or resist.

Rey watched it approach with vision blurred by pain and despair, his mind nearly accepting the inevitable.

’Will this be the end?’

He knew within himself that he could not accept such an outcome.

And so—

VWUUUUSH!!! 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The Divine-grade armor blazed with light that exceeded even the Angel’s assault.

It was not divine radiance.

Neither was it holy purification.

It was... something older, darker, more fundamental than the distinction between Aether and Nether...

...Order and Chaos...

... life and death.

The armor wasn’t just responding to damage anymore.

It was resonating with Rey’s soul itself.

With his deepest desire—the fundamental truth that had driven him since H’Trae’s destruction, through slavery in the Labyrinth, across his reincarnation into this realm of gods and monsters.

’I refuse to be weak.’

’I refuse to accept limitations others impose.’

’I WILL transcend. I WILL survive. I WILL become strong enough that NO ONE can ever destroy what I protect again.’

That will pushed him to the next stage of evolution.

The armor shattered.

Not from damage—from transformation.

Like a chrysalis breaking apart to reveal something beautiful from within its depths.

Divine-grade material dissolved into pure Ether, flowing through Rey’s body and soul with intensity that made his earlier pain seem trivial. Every cell screamed as mystical energy restructured him at fundamental levels, rewriting the boundaries of what his existence could sustain.

And in that moment of absolute agony and transcendent clarity, Rey understood.

The armor had never been just protective equipment.

It was a catalyst.

Arranged by Lucifer, positioned by Ater, designed specifically to help whoever fulfilled the prophecy achieve a breakthrough that would otherwise require centuries of accumulation.

It was key to unlocking Ethereal Conception!

BOOOOOOM!!!

Reality fractured around Rey as power erupted from his core—not Chaos Art, not Spirit Art, but something that transcended categorization into normal Ancient Majik frameworks.

"FORGE OF CREATION!"

The corrupted cathedral vanished.

Not destroyed—replaced.

Space itself was restructed as Rey’s Ethereal Conception manifested for the first time, imposing his will upon reality with authority that made the Angel’s earlier techniques seem like child’s play.

A new landscape emerged—a vast workshop existing in impossible dimensions, its boundaries extending beyond what normal perception could process.

Forges burned with flames that weren’t fire, anvils constructed from conceptual material rather than metal, weapons hanging in neat rows that stretched toward infinity.

This was Rey’s inner world made manifest.

His Soul Armory—manifesting the unique ability from H’Trae that had allowed him to store and modify Skills—transformed through Ethereal Conception into something that transcended such limitations.

Here, in this space, he was absolute.

The Angel stared in shock, his Joint Art technique dispersing harmlessly as it entered the Forge’s boundary.

"Impossible," he whispered, his confidence shattering for the first time. "Ethereal Conception... only Archangels and Archdukes... how can a mortal—"

Rey stood, his injuries healing as the Forge’s ambient energy responded to his will.

The broken ribs mended, the consciousness damage from Soul Art reversed itself, even his depleted Ether reserves refilled at accelerated rates.

"You asked what I am," Rey stated, his voice carrying harmonics that hadn’t existed before awakening. "I’m someone who refuses to accept limitations."

He gestured, and the landscape responded.

Weapons materialized from nothing—swords, spears, axes, bows, artifacts that represented abilities that Rey had possessed in H’Trae.

All of them recreated and crystalized in the forms of weapons through his memory and his will made manifest through Ethereal Conception.

Each one carried the unique and powerful Skill that had empowered it in his previous life.

The Blade of Absolute Severance appeared in his right hand—a katana whose edge could cut through anything given sufficient power behind the strike.

In H’Trae, it had been SS Tier Skill.

Here, transformed through Ethereal Conception, it operated as an extension of Rey’s will itself.

"This is impossible," the Angel repeated, his professional composure finally cracking into genuine fear. "You’re mortal. Barely adult by Nephilim standards. Ethereal Conceptions require centuries of mastery, divine blessing or pact with Ancients themselves—"

"Then I’m an exception," Rey interrupted coldly.

He attacked.

Not with techniques—with conceptual authority that Ethereal Conception granted within his domain.

Weapons materialized around the Angel from every direction simultaneously.

Swords, spears, arrows, chains.

They were seemingly infinite in quality and quantity.

The Angel defended desperately, his Order Art techniques creating barriers that blocked most of the assault.

But the weapons kept coming, reforming instantly when destroyed, attacking from angles that shouldn’t exist within normal three-dimensional space.

"Impossible!" the Angel screamed, his composure completely shattered now. "This violates fundamental principles! Ethereal Conceptions require divine blessing or centuries of accumulated power! You’re barely out of adolescence!"

Rey smiled coldly, the expression carrying weight that transcended his apparent age.

"I died once already," he stated with terrible calm. "I’ve experienced complete obliteration and returned. Did you really think normal rules would constrain someone who’s already transcended death itself?"

He gestured, and the Forge responded to his will.

Weapons multiplied exponentially.

They weren’t mere copies, but variations, combinations, evolutions that blended different Skills into hybrid forms that shouldn’t exist.

A sword carrying both [Absolute Severance] and [Dimensional Slash] properties, capable of cutting through the concept of space itself.

A spear infused with [Lightning Thrust] and [Inevitable Strike], ensuring it would always find its target.

A bow strung with [Void Arrows] that deleted whatever they touched from existence.

All Skills from H’Trae, now manifested as weapon properties within his Ethereal Conception.

The Angel attempted to flee—divine wings spreading as he launched himself toward the Forge’s boundary.

"Order Art, Dominion Technique, Sequence #0: Reality Exodus!"

Space itself parted before him, creating an escape route that should have allowed instantaneous departure from Rey’s domain.

But the Forge was absolute within its boundaries.

"Did you think I’d let you escape?" Rey asked quietly. "After you tried to kill me? After you called me a wretched creature and condemned me without trial?"

He gestured, and the escape route sealed.

"Prince," Rey called. "It’s time."

The Prince of Darkness, still manifested in physical form, began to dissolve—not dying but transforming.

Its essence flowed toward Rey, merging with the Forge’s power structure.

When the transformation was completed, Rey held a weapon unlike anything that had existed before.

A scythe.

Seven feet of curved blade forged from pure anti-life coherence, its edge sharp enough to cut through concepts rather than mere matter.

The handle pulsed with corruption energy refined into weapon form, and along its length ran patterns that resembled the Prince’s original draconic features.

"This is..." the Prince’s consciousness resonated through the weapon. "Master, you’ve transformed me into..."

"A tool for annihilation," Rey confirmed.

"Your Chaos Art merged with my Ethereal Conception creates a weapon that shouldn’t exist. Death given physical form."

The Angel recognized the threat immediately.

"Spirit Art, Purification Technique, Sequence #0: Divine—"

"Too slow," Rey interrupted.

Within his Forge of Creation, he controlled everything.

Distance meant nothing.

Time flowed as he willed it.

Reality bent to his absolute authority.

The scythe appeared behind the Angel without crossing the intervening space, its blade already mid-swing before defensive techniques could activate.

"Chaos Art, Hollow Technique, Sequence #0: Anti-Life Genesis!"

The Sequence #0 technique—powered by Ethereal Conception, channeled through the Prince-weapon, amplified by the Forge’s environmental bonuses—struck with force that exceeded anything Rey had previously achieved.

The Angel’s armor shattered.

His defensive barriers instantly collapsed.

As for his immortality granted by connection to the Ancients... it flickered as anti-life corruption invaded his essence.

He screamed—sound carrying frequencies that suggested he was transmitting distress signals to other Angels in the area.

Rey didn’t give him time to complete it.

"Forge of Creation: Weapon Fusion—Chains of Absolute Binding plus Blade of Inevitable End!"

Two more weapons materialized and merged, their properties combining into hybrid artifact designed for single purpose: permanent elimination of targets that shouldn’t be able to die.

The chains wrapped around the Angel’s form, binding him at a conceptual level that prevented even divine resurrection. The blade followed, sliding between ribs to pierce the core where his connection to the Ancients resided.

"This is... impossible..." the Angel gasped, divine blood—golden ichor that burned with holy light—spilling from the wound. "Mortals... cannot kill... Angels..."

"I’m not mortal anymore," Rey replied with cold finality.

"Not after awakening this."

He twisted the blade.

The Angel’s body convulsed once, twice, then dissolved into particles of light that dispersed into the Forge’s ambient energy.

Dead.

He was actually destroyed despite immortality that should have made such death impossible.

The Forge of Creation consumed his essence, integrating it into the domain’s structure to fuel future creations.

Rey stood alone in his manifested landscape, the scythe-form Prince still gripped in his hand, surrounded by thousands of weapons that represented every Skill he’d ever possessed.

He’d done it.

’I actually killed an Angel...’ He stared at everything in a daze. ’I actually awakened my Ethereal Conception.’

At this moment, Rey had transcended the boundaries that should have constrained him for decades if not centuries.

Then the price came due.

The Forge began collapsing—not from external assault but from simple unsustainability.

Rey’s Ether reserves were completely depleted, his body pushed beyond limits that even Divine-grade armor could protect, his soul strained from manifesting power he hadn’t been ready to control.

The landscape dissolved and the weapons vanished. As for The Prince, it reverted to dormant form within Rey’s soul.

Then, the Divine-grade armor—the catalyst that had enabled this impossible breakthrough—shattered completely.

Fragments of the artifact scattered across the corrupted cathedral floor, their mystical structure irreparably damaged by channeling forces they weren’t designed to contain.

Rey collapsed, blood streaming from every orifice as backlash from premature Ethereal Conception activation ravaged his body. His Ether reserves weren’t just depleted—they were damaged at fundamental level, pathways burned out by power exceeding what his current development could safely handle.

’Worth it,’ he thought through the agony. ’I killed an Angel and proved that it’s possible... It’s possible for me to climb higher!’

This erased his doubts.

Right at this moment, Rey had demonstrated that limits... were mere illusions!

His vision was fading.

Consciousness slipping away despite desperate attempts to maintain awareness.

Through dimming perception, Rey detected movement—mystical signature approaching from deeper in the corrupted cathedral.

Not a Hollow Creature.

It wasn’t an Angel either.

The shadow fell across his broken form.

And Rey’s consciousness failed completely, darkness claiming him as the unknown presence drew closer.