My attributes are increasing infinitely Chapter 433: Meeting Erebus again

Ethan's primary form stepped into the Negative Plane.

Amid the tangled layers of void where space folded upon itself, a presence awakened.

The Presence.

It served as the Negative Plane's defense mechanism, an aware natural power charged with eliminating intruders. Devoid of any facial features, it manifested as an immense, overshadowing awareness that saturated the gloom.

The instant Ethan's feet met the emptiness, the Presence detected the disturbance.

To this enforcer, Ethan represented a persistent affliction. A pest that had slipped free from its grasp on a prior occasion.

"Vermin," a thunderous voice echoed, shaking Ethan down to his bones. This wasn't mere noise; it formed a mental barrage that ripped at the essence of his spirit.

"How dare you invade my territory once more?"

The Presence offered no pause for a reply. Motives held no interest for it.

Instead, it extended the force of Erasure.

A surge of total oblivion surged at Ethan, crafted to obliterate his existence across time, his material form, and his recollections from the weave of existence.

Yet Ethan had no patience for such confrontations.

He grew weary of the relentless chase, the perpetual nipping at his trail.

"Quiet," Ethan murmured softly.

From the emptiness, he summoned the Sword of Infinity.

The weapon vibrated with an illumination forbidden in this realm.

As the Erasure wave advanced relentlessly, Ethan executed a lone, sweeping horizontal strike with the blade.

"Extinction," he declared.

The collision unfolded without a sound, yet it proved total.

A Grade 2 Absolute Continuum potency burst from the sword.

This transcended a mere corporeal blow; it imposed a core revision upon the surrounding principles.

The might advanced like an inexorable flood, clashing with the Presence's Erasure and devouring it entirely.

The Presence lacked even the moment to cry out.

The extinction energy struck at the heart of its awareness, dismantling the enforcer so completely that the very idea of its "demise" vanished.

In one instant, a divine-like force dominated this pocket of reality.

The next brought only Ethan and the lingering sparks of disorder.

The void attempted to mend its wounds.

The Presence initiated a gradual, torturous revival, weakly drawing from the boundless disorder of the hidden layer to rebuild its fractured core.

However, the harm ran far too profound.

For the present, the enforcer had vanished.

No quakes occurred.

No stellar blasts erupted.

No warnings blared.

The shift happened with such speed and the force wielded such precision that the broader Negative Plane stayed unaware of its protector’s downfall.

Ethan settled into a cross-legged position at the heart of the hushed emptiness.

He turned his gaze inward, examining the terrain of his inner strength.

Within him sprawled an endless ocean of entropy.

Previously, he had deployed a fragment of it as an explosive trigger to aid his flight.

Consequently, the remaining power fell under an unconscious restraint.

This served as a protective measure.

His form had confined the ocean of entropy to shield him from internal dissolution until he stood prepared.

He commenced his cultivation.

As Ethan sank into profound meditation, his battle-tempered cells stirred to life.

They throbbed with a hungry cadence, gnawing at the seal's boundaries.

The "lock" consisted of an intricate mesh of his foundational power, functioning as a barrier containing a vast sea.

With each inhalation, Ethan channeled his attention to the seal, gradually weakening its hold.

[Current State: Cells absorbing external entropy.

Target: Unlocking the internal Sea of Entropy.

Time Required: 10 days of continuous synchronization.]

Day after day, the strain in the surrounding void intensified.

His physique transformed into a singularity, pulling in the scattered entropy from the Negative Plane to power the shattering of his inner bindings.

By the third day, his flesh acquired a gleaming, ebony metallic luster.

On the seventh day, the region spanning a hundred miles around him twisted, curving inward toward his vital core.

At the tenth day's close, the last thread of the seal broke free.

The inner ocean of entropy unleashed itself.

It posed no danger now.

It had merged with his being.

His cells drew the power straight from its depths, igniting a swift, noiseless transformation.

His skeleton grew denser than collapsed suns.

He transcended the role of mere outsider in the shadows.

He ascended to its pinnacle.

Ethan rose to his feet, his advancement now propelled by his personal ocean of entropy. No further need bound him to this place.

He readied himself to rip open a portal to the positive plane, aiming to retreat to the Space Cube's secure confines.

Abruptly, a repulsive, recognizable presence fixed upon him.

It felt icy and timeless.

Ethan refrained from spinning around at once.

He recognized that aura.

He sensed that pressure.

Erebus.

The ancient darkness had tracked him down yet again.

But the dread from their past clashes had evaporated.

Ethan pivoted gradually, his gaze now radiating a subtle, chaotic glow.

He regarded Erebus, perceiving beyond the surface shadow.

He discerned the fundamental nature.

Ethan's eyes expanded in surprise.

He observed the churning mists of entropy inside Erebus, as anticipated.

Yet far below that veil, concealed at the entity's central essence, lay a boundless, radiant pool of Origin Energy.

It shone with purity and vitality, fully balanced.

Still, it remained imprisoned by a barrier far more intricate than the one Ethan had recently overcome.

"You're no native of this realm," Ethan reflected aloud, his tone steady.

"A flawless entity from the Neutral Plane, exiled to the cosmos's refuse pile."

Erebus halted several steps distant, a slender, chilling grin curling his mouth.

In that instant, he resembled no beast.

He evoked a deposed sovereign.

"You possess sharp perception," Erebus remarked.

His tone grated like clashing rocks.

"I recognize I can't overcome you at this point. Your transformation has elevated you out of my grasp. Yet I come not for battle."

Ethan stayed quiet, his palm hovering close to the Sword of Infinity's grip.

"I exist as a captive in this domain," Erebus pressed on.

"Banished and bound. But you hold the capability to reverse this fate."

"Should you aid in freeing my energy sea, I'll offer what you crave most."

"Information. Authentic insights into the Apocalypse Race and the authentic essence of the Neutral Plane."

Ethan's face remained impassive, though his thoughts surged.

The Apocalypse Race loomed as a menace over all he valued.

"Share the details upfront," Ethan replied offhandedly.

"If they're valuable enough to justify breaking your origin energy's seal, I'll weigh it."

"Otherwise, you'll decay here alone."

Erebus showed no delay.

He understood truth formed his sole bargaining tool.

He advanced nearer, positioning himself by Ethan's side until he could murmur directly.

For the following hour, the void echoed solely with the steady, hushed flow of Erebus's words.

He detailed the Neutral Plane's structure.

He described the "End-Timers."

The elite figures of the Apocalypse Race who regarded whole worlds as fodder for their rise.

He revealed their physiology, vulnerabilities, and ongoing path.

As the revelations poured forth, Ethan's stance shifted.

His jaw clenched.

Images of Zara filled his mind.

The Apocalypse Race's "harvesting" techniques proved horrific.

Per Erebus, their proximity exceeded Ethan's wildest fears.

When Erebus concluded, a profound weight pressed upon Ethan.

He stared into the obscurity, burdened by the threat's immense scope.

"Does this suffice?" Erebus inquired, his gaze alight with frantic anticipation.

Ethan offered no words.

He extended his arm and laid his palm atop Erebus's crown.

Shutting his eyes, he dispatched a tendril of his freshly advanced energy toward the barrier encasing the shadow's origin power.

The instant his energy grazed the seal, an icy tremor coursed through Ethan.

[Master, stop!] The system's alert pierced his thoughts, keener and more insistent than any before.

[You must not proceed. This seal stems from no ordinary force. It bears the mark of a Grade 4 Absolute Continuum entity.]

[Tampering invites instant detection of your essence by the creator.]

[You'll broadcast your position to a power capable of annihilating this whole region with a mere whim.]

Ethan halted abruptly.

He withdrew his hand as though scorched.

Erebus's eyes bulged, his expression blending astonishment and despair.

"Why halt now? You were so close!"

Ethan regarded him with a blend of compassion and irritation.

"You bear a formidable, grudge-holding foe, Erebus."

"You omitted that your banisher ranks as a Grade 4 entity."

Erebus inhaled sharply, reeling backward.

"How... how could you know the Grade? I never revealed that..."

"That's irrelevant to you," Ethan retorted sharply.

He studied the shadow figure, assessing his choices.

Despite the peril, Erebus's disclosures proved priceless.

Owing a "perfected being" created a potent advantage.

"I won't free you," Ethan stated.

"I'm not courting a Grade 4 adversary. Not at this stage."

"Yet I won't abandon you here."

Ethan gestured, parting a gateway to his personal realm.

The secluded space he had nurtured.

"Reside within my domain," Ethan proposed.

"It evades detection from this plane's perceptions."

"If you seek escape from this abyss and survival, enter."

"But any treachery, and I'll allow the entropy to devour you gradually."