Saga Ring asked with a strange expression, "You're afraid of him? Surely not! Noa's strength isn't bad, but it's hardly enough to make you afraid!"
Lucifer shook his head. "Afraid my ass! Everyone here is at Peak Mythic, who's afraid of whom? But that hypocritical do-gooder picks a fight with me every single day. It's so annoying! It gets in the way of me looking for a chance at transcendence. Fighting him is a dead even 50-50 split; win or lose, I'll end up hurting myself. How am I supposed to find an opening then?"
Saga spoke into empty space, "Hear that? If you really drag him into this, I won't be the only one looking to wipe you out!"
Space rippled for a moment, and Noa appeared. "If I don't drag him in, do you think he can escape the notice of the Cosmic Consciousness? You underestimate the Cosmic Consciousness far too much."
Saga held back Lucifer, who was about to start a fight. "He will inherit my Will of Miracle. With that cover, the Cosmic Consciousness will only assume he's continuing my legacy to keep the universe safe and stable. Only we know whether it will actually turn out that way."
Lucifer said, "If you want to play the saint, don't drag him into it. Back when we all fought the Evil God together, we were friends. Don't force us to pull out all the stops against you. Is the distinction between justice and evil really that important? You can go be your goody-two-shoes, but don't get in our way. Otherwise? You're dead meat! Collective interests are non-negotiable."
Noa burst out as well, "Who the hell wants it to be like this?! Legend completely became a part of the Cosmic Consciousness, Delacion basically already was, and the other three members of the Dark Trio have fallen. You, Saga, are half-dead while keeping your strength completely intact—that just leaves me and Lucifer!"
"One black, one white—if I don't do something, would you and I still be like this? Look at what happened to all eight of our old companions; each one's fate is more miserable than the last. If I don't do this, you and I are going to be finished sooner or later. The Cosmic Consciousness won't tolerate powerhouses of our level. I want to transcend just as much as you do, but until we find a method, we have no choice but to keep putting on this act. What else can we do? Tell me!"
Saga spoke up, "Since none of us want to keep living like this, this little guy might just be our hope. Since ancient times, the state of light and darkness coexisting hasn't been unheard of, but it could never be maintained long-term. He was born this way, and he's stayed completely stable. Perhaps this is our chance."
"Lucifer will seal away his power and hide himself well. Didn't you create Zagi? Noa can put on an act—acting like he's heavily wounded while chasing him across the world, holding back plenty so he doesn't actually kill him. The more miserable it looks, the better. Let's see what the Cosmic Consciousness does when both light and darkness lose the power to suppress everything."
Lucifer suggested, "Still not watertight enough. Noa can make an alter ego and slowly transfer his primary body's power out to hide it. Leave a little over half of his power in the alter ego to chase Zagi. I'll cripple myself too, scatter most of my power, give it to the little guy, and then seal myself away, never to show my face again. You, Saga, must also strip away most of your power and leave it for the little guy."
"We need to maintain a state where we can recover at any moment and watch the little guy grow. Noa, you should give a large portion too, after all, he was born by relying on us. Then we'll wait and see how the Cosmic Consciousness reacts while we observe from the shadows. In our crippled states, we won't even be worth the Cosmic Consciousness's attention."
"Let's see how it handles its next move. Without powerful strength to suppress things, Zagi alone will be enough to throw the universe into chaos. We'll slowly fade from sight and wait for an opportunity to transcend. If the Cosmic Consciousness helps someone else achieve Mythic status again, that might be our chance. The universe always needs powerhouses to keep it in check, and just relying on Legend isn't enough."
Noa thought about it. "It's a good plan. After today, I'll scatter alter egos all across the universe to mask my presence, and then hunt down Zagi until we're both battered and bruised, and hide away. I'll give my power to the little guy right now, seal it properly, and slowly nurture him."
With that, three massive streams of power concealed themselves within my body and began to nourish me. Even I hadn't noticed it—and naturally so, because when big shots of this caliber pull off covert moves, it's hardly something I could detect.
Lucifer said, "I'll leave a Monster containment device for him; inside are my three strongest Battle Beasts. Noa, to make the Cosmic Consciousness believe this, the two of us are going to have to fight for our lives. Let's go!"
Saga took the device. "I won't need one. Ever since I was crippled, I haven't fought a single time; it has no idea what kind of strength I can still dish out. I'll give this device to him, and you two can give me your skills in the form of orbs of light so I can hand them over for him to learn."
The two nodded, flicked their wrists, and a black and a white orb of light appeared in Saga's hands.
"Noa, don't let your saintly complex flare up and screw us over, or you're finished," Lucifer warned.
Noa replied, "Out of the three of us, I'm the one who wants to transcend the most. Nothing will go wrong."
"Let's go throw down!" With that, Lucifer vanished, and Noa followed right after.
Looking at the things in my hand, I figured I should just have him learn everything he's supposed to. If he doesn't learn, if he doesn't get stronger, how is he ever going to touch upon the chance for transcendence? Little guy, you've got to put in the effort! Even though you're just a chess piece, you have the qualifications to become a chess player. I hope to catch sight of you on the path to transcendence. Keep it up! You're the template we're using to witness a miracle!
I adjusted my state and prepared to begin my next bout of practical combat. Right at that moment, Saga appeared.
A device appeared on my thigh like a Leg Ring, accompanied by a pair of Saga's old Arm Blades, radiating a formidable aura as they attached themselves to my wrists.
Saga said, "I have no use for these anymore; I'll give them all to you! I've also got Noa's and Lucifer's skills here for you—take them and learn when you have time. Mastering more techniques will only do you good."
"Practice on your own from now on! I have other matters to attend to and must leave. From here on out, you're on your own. These two pets are yours too; if you don't use them, just store them away in the Leg Ring. It can hold quite a few powerful monsters, though you'll have to subdue them first."
After saying all this, Saga gave one final instruction: "I've restricted your spatial channels. You won't be able to enter the territories of Legend and Delacion unless you forcefully shatter my seal."
"As for the people borrowed from him, I'll go send them back properly. Once you've completely mastered your own power, learned all the techniques, and defeated Lugiel or the God of Galactron, go journey across the universe! Only by seeing and experiencing much can you become stronger and live freely. I'm leaving now; I have my own matters to attend to. The cosmic road is long, until we meet again." With those words, he vanished.
Am I left all by myself again? So be it! At least I have the ability to protect myself now, and I can live quite well on my own. I bowed toward the spot where Saga had vanished and began my training.
In this dangerous universe, without strength, you simply can't survive.
Immediately, I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Stupid Dragon, come on! Let's keep fighting, and eat this Saga Ring of mine!" With a casual flick, I hurled a massive ring of light forward. Unsurprisingly, it was blocked once again and bounced right back at me.
Aside from combat, my days were spent studying the skills contained within the two light orbs—gifts bestowed upon me by Noa and Lucifer.
My strength was growing steadily. As the frequency of battles increased, my combat experience also grew richer, to the point where I was even pulling out the Tai Chi Chuan and Tai Chi Swordplay from my past life.
With the God of Galactron standing guard on the side, no blind fools came to disturb me, and my days passed rather comfortably.
Time slipped away quietly, and I had more or less learned all of Noa's and Lucifer's skills. Since I already possessed their innate power, learning them wasn't particularly difficult.
During this period, I took a look at the monsters inside the Leg Ring, and they were uniformly Ultimate Lower-Tier. There was Tyrant, Super Garant K.T., and another one called Heiren, who was the fastest.
I originally wanted to pull them out for some sparring, but these three treated me like an ancestral deity—they wouldn't strike back when hit, nor talk back when scolded, making it genuinely impossible for me to lay a hand on them. It wasn't until some blind monster wandered over that I finally witnessed their terrifying might.
Holy crap! An Ultimate Lower-Tier monster was wiped out in a single exchange! It was entirely too terrifying, damn it!