Over 1,000 fist energies were close to reaching him. It was an amalgamation of several of Typhon’s Supreme Techniques. Even though he was close to dying, he felt s if he could gain inspiration from the sight.

Singularity.

All of his Supreme Techniques were pushed to their limits alongside his Imperial Armament. He didn’t hope to break out of this encirclement or to win. He only needed to survive. He poured everything into Singularity down to the last drop of Aura. The weight of his existence helped him break through ten of the fist energies, but he felt he was reaching his limit. By the 20th, he could no longer go on. The remaining hundreds of fist energies closed in on him faster than light by shortening the distance between him and them, bending space. Liam teleported away in a flash.

He reappeared outside of Elean territory as he wanted. He continued to teleport away before masking his presence by removing himself from the Convergence’s universe and entering a tiny part of the Endless Sea. He couldn’t risk having another Emperor arrive and kill him while he was weakened. Liam perceived his surroundings. The slightly golden Endless Sea surrounded him. In front of him, an infinite void… Floated?

How can something infinite seem so limited?

It felt as if he could see the boundaries of the Convergence’s universe, even though it was supposed to be infinite. Liam’s mind was strained. Even though he knew he was seeing something he shouldn’t, he pressured his Perception to find an answer. Endless voices spoke to him.

[Infinity is meaningless.]

[No matter if they are uncountable or countable.]

[It is all the same.]

[An uncountably infinite number of incalculably infinite universes is just an empty string of words.]

[We can limit infinity. Move it as we please. An infinite universe looks as small as an infinitesimal dot.]

[That is what it means to be transcendental.]

[That is what it means to be “real.”]

Once again, the topic of the difference between reality and fiction came up.

Can you explain it better?

Ulvir also spoke.

[It is exactly as you think. It is the same gap between yourself and characters from an ordinary book. No matter how many superlatives the author uses or how powerful the characters are, they are just that. Characters. Fictional, insignificant characters.]

The Chaos beings agreed.

[To the First Star and us, what you are living is a mere story.]

[No matter how much your stats grow or how powerful your Skills get, you will never get any closer to reaching us.]

[Even if your stats’ values reached infinity, the distance would not decrease.]

[It is the inherent limitation of a fictional construct.]

[That is why you must shed your mortal shell as soon as possible.]

Even if I go ahead and die, there’s no guarantee that the First Star won’t just overpower me and extinguish me, right?

[Indeed.]

[But an extremely small chance is better than no chance at all.]

Levels, Skills, stats, Supreme Techniques, Titles. Everything was pointless from the perspective of the higher beings. Even if Liam became infinitely powerful, so what? He wouldn’t be able to escape the boundaries of his story, just like a character from a novel could not become a real person, no matter their characteristics. Chaos and Order were all that mattered. They were the only real concepts in the story that the First Star had created. The only things that could allow a character to transcend their story.

No. I’m wrong. They can’t allow characters to transcend. I was never a pure character to begin with.

Liam looked at the paradoxical sight in front of him. He could see the entirety of an infinite universe. Even though he had just left the Convergence altogether, humanity continued inside. Running away wouldn’t change anything. He closed his eyes and restrained his perception.

This is still at a much higher level than I can handle. I should just focus on recovering and fighting against Typhon again.

There was no need to fiddle with infinity for now. He was still too far away from it. Liam’s thoughts turned to the fight itself as he carefully considered his Skills. The way Typhon’s fist energies had multiplied hadn’t gone unnoticed. It was a Supreme Technique that focused on altering the nature of an attack, not on purely offensive or defensive purposes. Simply put, it was a utility Supreme Technique. Liam felt like he had a Skill that could serve a similar purpose.

Limitlessness.

It was a simple Passive Skill, in concept. It removed the limitations inherent to movements and other Skills. That was all.

Maybe I’ve been thinking too little of it.

Time passed by as Liam rested and hid in a corner of the Endless Sea. Once he recovered, he entered the Convergence once more. He wanted to test out a theory. He readied himself.

Move without limitations. Attack without limitations. Most importantly, try to mimic Typhon.

He teleported into Elean territory at the same time that he activated Singularity.

What if Singularity wasn’t just one attack?

It was a contradictory and illogical notion. Singularity revolved around concentrating everything he was into a single point. It had become a Supreme Technique by following this notion. However, Liam was now attempting to change its very nature. No, it would be more accurate to say that he was trying to remove Singularity’s “limitation.” He wouldn’t try to alter Singularity’s nature; instead, he would try to “multiply” its effects through Limitlessness, just like Typhon had multiplied his fist energies.

Liam’s Supreme Technique pierced towards the very core of the Elean zones. An onslaught of fist energies was already on its way as the Elean Emperor bent space and approached. The moment Singularity made contact with the first fist energy, Liam realized it.

I failed this time.

He wouldn’t succeed.

As such, he simply left, recovered in the Endless Sea, and came right back. This pattern repeated itself over and over. Time passed by quickly as Liam attacked several times an hour, spending everything each time. He could feel Typhon’s frustration building up, but the Minotaur never once let it affect him to the point of making a mistake. There was no room to exploit the enemy’s feelings. Typhon was too experienced to fall for such a cheap tactic.

It happened on the 15th day.

[Limitlessness has allowed for the creation of a Supreme Technique!]

[You have created a Supreme Technique!!!]

Liam’s Singularity split. It became two and then four. It was his current limit. His might had effectively quadrupled. Once Liam expanded back into himself, he attempted to push himself further.

Black Hole.

The ultimate defensive technique he had envisioned. A power that concentrated and devoured enemy attacks. He needed it to reach the level of a Supreme Technique if he wanted to beat Typhon. However, the fist energies stopped coming at his tired figure. A furious voice reached him.

“Unbelievable. You enter my territory, kill my kind, and use me for training? Did you think I would just keep mindlessly attacking you until you grew powerful enough to defeat me?”

Liam could hear Typhon gritting his teeth before he stopped and slowly lowered his body. Liam readied himself, but an attack never came.

The Minotaur sat down and floated in the void. Liam winced.

Fuck.

Typhon had put the fight at a standstill, overcoming his desire to kill Liam.

I have no way to damage him.

Typhon’s defensive Supreme Techniques were more powerful than Singularity. By choosing not to attack, the enemy had not only halted Liam’s development, but also effectively protected his territory at the same time. Liam wouldn’t be able to damage any Elean while Typhon remained alive, but he couldn’t damage Typhon himself.

The battle entered a lull. There was nothing else Liam could do. If Typhon only defended, he had no hope of defeating the Elean Empire.

Liam was crippled in one move.