"Cooperation… or annihilation?"

Daniel's voice rang out clearly and steadily from within the encirclement of more than two hundred thousand Knowledge Daniels.

It was neither raised nor strained. Even surrounded by overwhelming hostility, his tone carried an unshakable calm.

"What do you think," he continued, "which one I'll choose?"

Knowledge Daniel's expression did not change in the slightest. He simply regarded Daniel in silence, as if waiting for an answer that had already been decided long ago.

"So," he finally said, "you've made your choice."

His gaze sharpened.

"Then—die."

The moment the final word fell, two hundred thousand avatars moved at once.

Two hundred thousand black sword lights erupted simultaneously.

Two hundred thousand white pen strokes—each capable of rewriting reality itself—descended together.

In a single instant, the entire source of the Time River was drowned beneath an ocean of destruction and rewritten causality.

"Fight!"

Daniel uttered only one word.

Behind him, more than twenty thousand avatars surged forward, charging straight into the torrent of annihilation.

There were no tactics.

No formations.

No clever maneuvers.

This was a collision of raw power and numbers—an utterly unequal clash.

One of Daniel's avatars had just raised the [Time Sword], barely blocking the destructive blade in front of him, when three white knowledge quills slashed across his flank. His existence was rewritten on the spot, his body collapsing into the most primitive particles before vanishing entirely.

Another avatar evaded two incoming strikes, only to be instantly locked onto by seven or eight Knowledge Daniels from behind.

Sword and pen fell together.

Along with the space he occupied, he was completely erased.

The battlefield became a slaughterhouse.

Daniel's avatars were annihilated at a terrifying rate—thousands per second, disappearing one after another like sparks extinguished in a storm.

"Give up."

Knowledge Daniel's main body stood outside the chaos, watching with icy indifference.

"You don't even deserve to make me personally intervene."

"Your avatars will be exhausted very soon. When that happens—what exactly will you use to resist me?"

Daniel did not respond.

Instead, a look of excitement crept onto his face.

As the battle escalated, massive spatial fractures spread outward like spiderwebs. Behind each裂痕 were flickering visions of countless universes being born and destroyed in rapid succession.

"It's useless," Knowledge Daniel continued calmly.

"In the face of absolute numbers, all your struggles only hasten your demise."

"You know this better than anyone. You and I are fundamentally the same person."

"Your combat style. Your skills. Your habits."

"I understand them all completely."

"But my power—my realm—has already surpassed yours."

It seemed that Knowledge Daniel had finally lost the last of his patience.

For the first time since the battle began, his true body moved.

With a single step, he crossed immeasurable distance and appeared directly in front of Daniel.

The black [Destruction Blade] and the white knowledge quill intertwined as they descended together.

Daniel raised the [Time Sword] to block.

But in the next instant, an irresistible force slammed into him.

His arm felt as though it were about to shatter. His entire body was hurled backward, completely out of control.

Yet—

At the exact moment he collided with the space behind him, that space suddenly collapsed inward, forming a vast, pitch-black void.

It was not a spatial fracture.

It was a door.

Daniel's figure was swallowed instantly, vanishing without a trace.

The battlefield froze.

For a brief, surreal instant, absolute silence fell over the source of time.

All two hundred thousand Knowledge Daniel avatars halted simultaneously, their gazes converging on the location of their main body.

Knowledge Daniel stood before the door, which was already beginning to close.

For the first time, an expression appeared on his face that lay outside his calculations.

He did not give chase.

He simply stared at the vanishing doorway—at the place where Daniel had disappeared.

He could sense it clearly.

Daniel's presence had completely vanished from this spacetime dimension.

"Teleportation…?"

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Who," he murmured, "has the ability to open an untraceable door at the source of the Time River—right in front of me?"

Knowledge Daniel raised his hand, as if intending to touch the fading doorway.

But his fingers stopped in midair.

The door closed.

And it was gone.

On the other side—

Daniel passed through a corridor of kaleidoscopic light. When he finally stabilized himself, the scenery before him had changed entirely.

No longer was it the collapsing, chaotic void of the Time River's source.

Instead, he stood within a brand-new domain, bathed in gentle, nurturing radiance.

"Lord Crossbridge! Are you all right?"

Kartora and the others rushed forward, concern etched clearly across their faces.

Daniel nodded lightly. At the same time, his mind power expanded outward—and he immediately noticed something extraordinary.

All the gods were here.

But their auras were completely different from when they had left.

This was no superficial change.

It was a qualitative transformation.

Within every one of them surged a power that felt both familiar and strangely alien.

Daniel's eyes widened slightly.

"You've all… stepped into the Inner God level?"

"We succeeded."

Kartora nodded, a faint smile on her lips.

"The seeds you gave us, and the ritual array embedded within them—once we entered this new domain, all of us successfully ascended to the Inner God realm."

Daniel nodded slowly.

He was just about to speak when—

Inner God Aurelia stepped forward through the crowd.

She stopped directly in front of Daniel.

The scrutiny and cool detachment that had once defined her gaze were gone.

In their place was something far deeper.

Reverence.

She lowered herself onto one knee, bowing her head—the pride of an Inner God cast aside without hesitation.

"Lord Crossbridge," she said solemnly.

"From this day forward, I, Aurelia, am willing to become your subordinate and serve under you."

The moment froze.

All the gods were stunned.

No one had expected that, at this critical juncture, Aurelia would be the first to kneel.

Yet before Daniel could respond—

The entire space suddenly began to shake violently.

Kartora's expression changed instantly, worry flashing through her eyes.

"He's here."

In the next instant, space was forcibly torn open.

One figure emerged.

Then ten.

Then hundreds.

Then thousands.

Countless black silhouettes poured forth from the裂口.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of thousands of Knowledge Daniel avatars surrounded the entire New Life domain.

What plunged the gods into despair was not merely their number—

But the fact that every single one of them radiated Inner God-level aura.

"Found you."

Knowledge Daniel's true body slowly stepped out from the mass of avatars, his gaze locking onto Daniel.

"So it was them who brought you here."

"Fine. That saves me the trouble of hunting you down one by one."

"Today—right here—I'll wipe all of you out in one go."

Faer looked at the vast sea of Inner God-level enemies, then glanced at his own side.

Including Daniel, they numbered only a few dozen combatants.

A bitter smile appeared on his face.

"So… this is how it ends."

"Still, being able to fight alongside Lord Crossbridge—"

"That alone makes it worthwhile."

All the gods understood.

Unless a miracle occurred, this battle was unwinnable.

Yet Daniel's expression remained eerily calm.

He looked into the void ahead and murmured softly, as if speaking to something unseen.

"Supreme Will… or perhaps the system."

"I imagine you've been arranging things for a very long time—for this exact moment."

"Now," he said quietly, "it's your turn to act."

In the next instant—

A line of text appeared before his eyes.

Visible only to him.

[Detection complete: The Final War is about to begin. Conditions for ultimate ascension have been met.]

[Do you accept the Final Ascension Quest of the Human Race?]

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