"Yes."
Zoran nodded, stepping forward to stand directly in front of Master Wyatt.
Though he had essentially just done Master Wyatt a massive favor by wiping out Logan's fleet, he hadn't forgotten his word. He had promised to dismantle the endless cycle of reincarnation plaguing this world, and he fully intended to keep it.
"Regarding the infinite reincarnation of this world, I've come up with a potential solution. However, it still requires testing."
"Oh?" Master Wyatt's eyes lit up with renewed hope. "What kind of solution?"
"The reason this universe is locked in a cycle is to passively maintain absolute balance. First one faction grows strong, then the other rises to match it. The tides turn, waxing and waning, purely to prevent any single faction from achieving total dominance."
"Spot on!" Master Wyatt nodded repeatedly. As someone whose entire life's philosophy was dedicated to preserving universal equilibrium, he understood this dynamic better than anyone.
"However, even if you hadn't brought it up, I've long been aware of this," Master Wyatt sighed.
Zoran shook his head. "The difference is that over the course of countless cycles, this world has accumulated a massive web of karmic cause and effect. It is this very karma that continuously drives the wheel of reincarnation forward."
Zoran's gaze was piercing as he spoke of karma. As an outsider, he could see certain truths far more clearly than those native to this reality.
The various races of this universe harbored deep-seated, generational feuds, completely entangled with one another. But more importantly, under the laws governing this world, true powerhouses never actually perished. Even in death, they were simply tossed right back into the cycle.
Take Zoran himself, for instance. If he were to die here, it was highly probable that he would manifest anew in the next hundred thousand years. After all, he had already fully integrated with this universe's Hetero-Energy.
It was the culmination of these small, recurring variables that bound this world into a cyclical paradox.
Look at Kino and Thales; they were already Ultra Beast warriors a hundred thousand years ago. Now, they were right back aboard the Black Tortoise, about to embark on the exact same journey all over again. Over and over, an endless loop. Just thinking about it was exhausting.
Of course, since they had lost the vast majority of their memories, they probably didn't see it that way.
Zoran fell into deep thought before continuing, "I'm wondering... if we sever the underlying karma of these conflicts, could we completely break this cycle once and for all?"
Opposite him, Master Wyatt felt a profound jolt in his chest. It wasn't because he possessed some unique insight into karma, but rather because he was deeply moved by the man standing before him.
A mere twenty-four hours ago, they were total strangers, hailing from entirely different worlds. Zoran had approached him to ask a single question, which resulted in a simple transaction.
Truth be told, Master Wyatt didn't feel he had given up anything of real value; he had merely provided a basic, surface-level explanation regarding the true nature of Hetero-Energy. Yet with that knowledge, Zoran had ascended to the heavens in a single bound.
We are talking about the Nebula Body tier here. It was a level of power Master Wyatt could barely fathom. Zoran could have easily washed his hands of this world and walked away, and no one could have stopped him even if they tried.
Yet here he was, genuinely standing on the bridge discussing the logistics of breaking their eternal cycle.
Are all outsiders from different universes... this fiercely honorable?
Master Wyatt had honestly assumed Zoran had left for good after vanishing into space. He never expected the man to appear before him once more. Deeply moved, he couldn't help but sigh, "It seems you were intentionally waiting here for us."
"Waiting for you?" Zoran blinked in brief surprise. "Not exactly. This was pure coincidence."
"It's definitely not a coincidence!" Thales, who had been quietly eavesdropping, suddenly interjected. "Lisa was totally slacking off! To save the Black Tortoise's fuel reserves, she piggybacked and smuggled us into Uncle's wormhole!"
Thales wasted no time snitching on the AI.
"Little fatty, if you don't have anything constructive to say, no one will mistake you for a mute," Lisa warned in a low, monotone hiss.
"Hey, Thales, is your loyalty seriously shifting sides already?" Kino muttered under his breath.
"Shifting sides? How?" Thales arched his highly comedic eyebrows. "This Uncle is literally our lifesaver!"
Watching the two bicker, Zoran chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. It was a completely trivial matter to him. Tearing open a wormhole to traverse parallel universes required virtually zero effort on his part. If anything, he found Thales quite sharp. The kid was like a piece of chewing gum, help him once, and he'd stick right to you.
Though, it wasn't an unpleasant trait.
"In any case, a deal is a deal," Zoran said, turning back to Master Wyatt. "When it comes to my promises, I've never been in the habit of breaking them."
"Furthermore, what I seek does not conflict with your goals in the slightest," he added calmly.
The sub-space corridor was rapidly drawing to a close as a brilliant dawn materialized ahead of them. They were about to reach the destination of this leg of the journey: the Second Parallel Universe.
Zoran looked toward the encroaching light. "I've decided to use the Second Parallel Universe as my testing ground to see if my theory holds water."
Master Wyatt nodded slowly. To be fair, he roughly grasped what Zoran was getting at. The reincarnation cycle was thoroughly choked with the karmic entanglements of long-dead powerhouses who constantly re-entered the loop fueled by lingering obsessions. Because of this, the world's cyclical energy only grew heavier with each iteration.
However, Master Wyatt was incredibly curious to see exactly how Zoran planned to untangle a web of fate that complex.
"I shall look forward to it," Master Wyatt said.
"However," Zoran's tone suddenly shifted. "Before we get to that, I need you to do me a small favor."
"Name it," Master Wyatt replied earnestly. If he could genuinely be of assistance to Zoran, he was more than willing. After all, outside of a certain powerhouse currently in the Third Parallel Universe who had "crippled his own cultivation," exceedingly reasonable Nebula Body masters were a rare breed.
"Excellent," Zoran said, highly satisfied. "I need you... to hit me with Primordial Void Annihilation."
He spoke each word deliberately, his voice carrying immense weight.
Master Wyatt froze entirely on the spot.
Even with a hundred thousand years of life experience under his belt, his mind drew a complete blank. Never in his wildest dreams did he think a day would come where a supreme powerhouse would stand right in front of him and say, 'Hey, trap me in your inescapable alternate dimension.'
For a moment, Master Wyatt genuinely thought his ears were playing tricks on him. He asked, utterly unconvinced, "Are you truly serious?"
That was Primordial Void Annihilation! His ultimate, absolute trump card, a technique designed for total, indefinite quarantine.
"Once Primordial Void Annihilation is unleashed, even I don't know of a definitive way to guarantee an escape," he explained hurriedly. "Let alone you, even I will be forcibly sealed away inside the Primordial Void..."
Master Wyatt's underlying message was crystal clear: If you want to play around, leave me out of it.
The corners of Zoran's mouth curled into a leisurely smile. "Do I look like I'm joking with you?"
"I simply want to verify something, nothing more."
Master Wyatt's Primordial Void Annihilation created an isolated pocket dimension. If one were to expand the concept of that alternate space to its absolute limit, it wouldn't be all that different from the foundational concept of a universe. Both utilized immense Hetero-Energy to forge a self-contained, binding reality.
In other words, breaking out of this universe and breaking out of Master Wyatt's Primordial Void were fundamentally identical at a structural level.
Zoran always prioritized caution. Having integrated with Hetero-Energy and technically becoming a temporary resident of this universe, this was a variable he absolutely had to test.
Master Wyatt could deduce a fraction of his intent, but he remained completely blind to Zoran's ultimate motivations. He fell silent for a long time before finally opening his mouth.
"What are your odds of success?"
Zoran let out an effortless, tranquil laugh. "Ninety-eight percent."
"And what about me?" Master Wyatt finally asked the burning question.
"Exactly the same. Ninety-eight percent."
————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my p-atre-on: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]