Extra: Ascension—Until Surpassing All!
Outside the planet known as Mirror Realm—
After days of intense battle, shattered asteroids and warped gravitational fields had formed a planetary ring. A faint veil of cosmic dust now enveloped the entire planet.
Above this dust ring, two figures floated in a field of true vacuum, the terrifying power around them forcibly clearing away all matter.
Battles between gods rarely lasted days. Normally, one round of combat took years. And very few divine duels ever ended in true death—most were simple sparring matches.
But…
Aelise glanced at the crimson gash on her snow-white arm. A few golden drops of divine blood slowly trailed from the wound.
A wound—
A concept she hadn't needed to think about since becoming a god.
She turned toward Kagami Uchiha, who looked much worse. His entire body was scorched, and multiple wounds the size of bowls gaped along his limbs.
Aelise frowned deeply, watching him pant like a bellows.
"Was all this really necessary?"
"Do you even know what it means to become a god? Even the weakest races gain at least 100,000 years of life."
"You've only lived for what—how long?"
"You don't understand how rare gods are in this universe."
"After the Great Extinction, there are countless unclaimed star systems."
"You could've gone to any one of them and become its ruler, reigning over trillions of lifeforms!"
Kagami looked at her coldly.
"So what?"
"Why are you fighting me like this?!"
Aelise's emotions finally cracked. Though she had only one wound, far less than Kagami, her mental state was clearly unstable.
She clutched her arm tightly, unwilling to waste a single drop of divine blood.
"Your damn divine realm—what is it?!"
"All those effects—nullified substitutes, resurrection blocks… You actually created a field where it's real, brutal combat. Are you insane?!"
"I'm stronger than you—far stronger! Can't you feel it?!"
"If we keep going—you'll definitely die!"
…
"So what?"
Kagami tilted his head and smiled faintly, making Aelise's blood run cold.
"You're the one who picked this fight. I told you—I'd leave once my business is done. You pushed me."
"So whether I die or not doesn't matter."
"But before I die, I'll definitely kill you."
In his calm gaze, Aelise saw pure, bone-deep madness.
This guy… was serious.
He's completely insane.
Why can a lunatic like this become a god?!
Aelise gritted her teeth and clenched her divine weapon.
"You broke the rules first… You ascended within my divine domain. Then you established your realm right next to mine—that's against protocol!"
"I've never followed rules."
Kagami raised his hand. At his fingertip, terrifying black-red energy condensed to a razor-sharp point.
"Don't stall. Don't be afraid of getting hurt. If I die, so be it."
"If I die here, it just means that was all I was ever worth."
…
"Wait!!"
As that deadly beam was about to release, Aelise raised her hand, panicked.
"We can talk this out! There's no need for this!"
"Do whatever you want, however long you need!"
"But promise me this—don't hurt the nearby planetary life. If too many people die, even gods will face divine judgment."
Kagami paused, frowning.
"Why would you think I'm the kind of person who randomly massacres planets?"
"…Aren't you?"
Seriously, have you seen yourself?
Those blood-red eyes, the divinity that can slay other gods—you look like the poster child for galactic genocide.
Even the subordinates I resurrected say they've never seen anyone as terrifying as you!
At this point I'm pretty sure you wiped out an entire lower dimension, and their reality kicked you out.
"I'm not," Kagami said flatly. "My people back home can vouch for me. I'm the kindest person in my village."
…That "village" probably only has you left in it.
And "village" is such a small-scale measurement…
Aelise took a deep breath and softened her tone.
"I believe you. Can I ask—how long do you plan to stay?"
"Don't get me wrong. I don't mind personally—but if the Empire starts asking questions, I need an answer."
"If two gods remain in one divine domain for too long, they'll register us as partners and charge me double taxes! "
…
Kagami's brow furrowed.
"…Wait, gods pay taxes?"
Aelise sighed and pointed toward the endless galactic river above.
"When you first bathed in the Starlight of Life, didn't you feel your body evolve?"
Kagami nodded. He'd learned what it was called—Starlight of Life—and that it accelerated evolution. It's what made him decide to bring his homeworld here in the first place.
That moment of crossing into godhood—that was when he formed his sixth tomoe.
And after ascending, his essence transformed again.
His Sharingan now bore seven tomoe—the Seven-Seal Mangekyō—the pinnacle of what he could imagine.
"That starlight isn't free," Aelise said. "It's siphoned from the dark space by those people to nourish the main universe."
"…Those people?"
Aelise hesitated but eventually decided to explain. Better to let Kagami know—she wasn't just anyone. She had connections.
"The attendants of the Supreme God."
"They borrow His power to expand our universe."
"One of them is the Lord of Cerulean, the one I pledged allegiance to—the ruler of the Cerulean Empire."
Another new term…
Kagami had gathered intelligence over the years. He knew he was in Cerulean territory—but Supreme God?
That title alone was terrifying.
To be the god of all gods… just how powerful must that being be?
When Kagami first became a god, he truly thought he'd reached the peak of what a living being could achieve.
What kind of strength must one possess to be called the Supreme God?
Aelise noticed Kagami trembling slightly and smirked.
Afraid now, huh? Good. Remember, kid—just because you're a god doesn't mean you're untouchable.
"There are rules, even for gods," she continued. "As long as you don't go around massacring whole galaxies, they won't bother you."
"Don't get too discouraged, okay? When I first learned about them, I was crushed too. I thought being a god meant I could do whatever I wanted…"
"No."
Kagami lifted his head.
His eyes glowed even brighter.
He trembled—not from fear or despair—
But from excitement.
"Why would I be discouraged?"
"The fact that godhood isn't the end… how could that not be exhilarating?!"
"This is perfect!"
"I will reach that level—"
"And even surpass it!"
—
The stars above twinkled faintly.
As if answering his declaration.