1 Prologue (1)

Somewhere in the middle of the universe, two deities fought over something important on an unknown planet. In this case, it was weird energy released by a portal that opened here two millennia ago, and this day's fight will decide the winner.

Leviathan, the God of water, launched an attack on the other. In response, Demiurge fired back with an offensive spell which knocked his enemy into a nearby rock. The God of Water let out an angry roar and rushed toward him again, determined to destroy him for daring to defy him.

"You dare?!" he bellowed, "I will show you not to challenge me!" He charged forward. With every step he took, the ground under him shook. Demiurge raised his hand, and a dark sphere formed above it. His opponent noticed as it grew larger. Before the deity could react, it shot toward him.

"Oh, no, you don't!" The other deity swatted it away. He charged once more, but Demiurge was ready this time and created several balls of energy that hit him in the face. A few managed to slip past the Leviathan's defenses. They exploded before hitting the rocks beneath them. He winced at the bright flashes and felt some small amounts of pain in his eyes.

"You insolent worm!" he yelled, "If I ever get my hands on you again, I swear I'll make sure you beg for forgiveness!" With that, the Leviathan turned into dust.

Demiurge sighed and looked around. He walked toward the portal, realizing that the energy within it was no longer there. It had disappeared. He looked down and saw a single black gem. Curious, he reached into his pocket and pulled it out. It glinted in the light as he examined it. As he brought it up to eye level, it reflected the blue sun's rays off his eyes. His breath caught in his throat.

"This is beautiful! With you, my cultivation will be complete! I will be one true God!"

The gem slowly absorbed the energy around it, creating a strange glow. God continued staring at the gem until it began to disappear. It took just a few minutes for it to fade away completely. When everything stopped changing, Demiurge stood still in shock. All he could do was blink in disbelief at what he had done. Finally, he regained control of his breathing.

"What's this?!"

Demiurge heard an unfamiliar voice from behind the portal. He turned slowly and stared back at the shadowy person walking out from the portal. The person kept staring at Demiurge with confused eyes.

"Hm? I destroyed the universe," he said with a tilt of their head, "so how can you exist?" The person stepped forward and reached out toward Demiurge. Demiurge took a step back nervously.

Demiurge stared at an unfamiliar person in awe. He couldn't feel the stranger's cultivation but instinctively knew the man was dangerous. It was the same feeling mortals can not feel God's energy. He held his hands up in surrender in hopes of gathering information.

"No offense meant, but why are you here?"

"I don't know," answered the other, yawning, "My universe turned into a massive black hole. When I decided to end my life, I came here." Their expression softened when they glanced back at the portal. "My job is done."

"B-but what are you?" Demiurge asked cautiously, "I haven't seen anything like you. Are you another deity? An angel? Demon? What kind of God are you?"

"I'm a god of chaos. In my universe, I existed ever since it was born... until I ended it."

He paused. Demiurge didn't know how to respond to such an answer. This man wasn't making any sense. How could a cultivator exist at the beginning of the universe?

"A god... of chaos..." Demiurge repeated carefully, trying to wrap his mind around the idea, "Is that even possible?"

The God shrugged. "Apparently. My name is Cipher."

Demiurge stared at the other and hid the gem in his storage space. However, Cipher noticed this and chuckled.

"I am not going to steal your toy. Keep it."

Demiurge blinked, still shocked by the existence of different universes. He nodded slowly in response but still seemed unsure. Cipher smiled slightly. "Don't worry about it. On second thought, I do have one request."

Demiurge tilted his head. "What would that be?"

"Take this sword," he created the sword from nothingness, shocking Demiurge. His mouth gaped open in wonder, "Use this to stab me."

Demiurge looked down at the blade, still glowing a faint golden color. He reached out for the sword but could barely handle the divine energy. It felt like a small earthquake.

'How…how did he create it…?' Demiurge thought, bewildered. He placed the sword into the palm of his hand, which sparkled brightly, causing him to flinch, and held it tightly, 'This thing doesn't even look real.' The sword gave off a soft glow. It felt almost alive, almost as if it were sentient…or maybe like a living being.

"Stab me," Cipher commanded him. Demiurge hesitated but did as ordered. The moment the sword's tip entered God's chest, the sword vanished. Demiurge gasped and dropped his own weapon in surprise.

"Thank you!" Cipher gently smiled as he started turning transparent. Soon, Demiurge began feeling incredible power coming from Cipher. However, that power kept going lower and lower.

"Thank you!" Cipher's voice echoed worldwide, only fading after God vanished completely into nothing.

"I'm sorry…." Demiurge mumbled. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he grabbed his sword.

Immediately, he felt an overwhelming urge to train and become as powerful as the God he had just met. He decided he would not call himself a god from today on, at least not until he reached at least one-tenth of the power Cipher had. "I am a god? What a joke!" Demiurge laughed bitterly. Even then, despite being a god, he felt insignificant compared to Cipher.

Meanwhile, Cipher's energy began fusing with a new universe. He slowly forgot who he was, and after thousands of years of roaming the universe, he began searching for something. Or should we say, someone! Cipher had lost his memories, and the sword, instead of killing him, just erased his body.

Now, as a being of pure energy, he instinctively searched for a host. Soon, he opened his eyes and let out his first cry. Cipher reincarnated into a human world. He was reborn in his world as a human named Gray Makoto!

After reaching the age of five, his parents noticed that he was born without spiritual roots. Even though modern medicine could heal damaged spiritual roots, poor Gray had no roots to begin with, and it was impossible to make roots from nothing. So instead of cultivating with his twin brother, Gray spent his time watching cartoons on television.

Even without spiritual roots, Gray's parents wanted to give him a normal life and a happy childhood, so he had to focus on his studies. But Gray was never content with his schoolwork. He wanted to travel through dimensions, explore and meet new people, even if it was through a TV series or comics.

"Wow, that guy can stretch?" Gray commented as he watched the anime. "Can I stretch as well?"

A seven-year-old Gray went to the kitchen and wanted to climb on the counter to see where his mother put the cereal. However, in the child's mind, he started believing that he could stretch, just like the character in the anime he watched. So Gray tried stretching out, noticing that the ground seemed further away than usual. He realized he stretched his body like it was rubber.

"This is awesome!" he exclaimed, "Maybe someday I'll grow tall and strong enough to reach the roof!"

Then, Gray fell onto the floor and cracked his head against the tile. However, his head flattened as if it was real rubber. Gray groaned in discomfort as he sat up. He shook his head, and it regained its natural form. Gray held his head in his hands while his mother ran over to see what had happened.

"Are you okay, Gray?" she asked worriedly, kneeling next to him.

Gray looked her straight in the eyes and smiled reassuringly.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be fine?!" he answered. Then he remembered what had happened and smiled. "Mom, do you think I could become a cultivator king?"

His mother tiredly sighed as she got up from her knees. She walked over to Gray and ruffled his hair playfully before shaking her head.

"Maybe, someday. Did you finish your homework?"

"Uh... On my way."