Chapter 4: Ripple Effect

While Nel was running for his life in terror and soon lost his consciousness due to tripping and hitting his head with a tree trunk. Little did he know, his plight had set off a chain reaction felt by some of the mightiest beings in the universe.

Some of the mightiest beings in the universe felt a strange sensation, as some felt it for the first time while some felt after what it seemed an eternity.

*****

In a divine realm unknown to many, a powerful being opened its eyes with a snap, its eyes flashing with a bright light: "Fufu! I see," it said, suddenly frowning.

"After such a long time, it finally appeared. Perhaps there is someone worthy who can satisfy my thirst for battle." Its laughter echoed throughout the divine realm.

*****

In a dark corner of the universe, a pair of blazing eyes opened. They scanned a vast part of the universe before slowly closing again. But as they did, a hoarse voice sounded out: "Seems like massive changes are going to happen in the near future. But will they be good or bad? Only time will tell."

*****

On a blue planet with small patches of land, a woman dressed in extravagant clothing was leisurely sipping something in an open courtyard of an old eastern-styled place. Suddenly, she felt a strange sensation and closed her eyes for a bit and then opened them again and murmured: "Mhm! It has come into being after such a long time."

She raised her right arm and snapped her fingers, summoning two maids. "Send a message to all the commanders of the faction," she ordered.

"Master System has found a host. They should start getting ready for upcoming changes. Report any other factions' moves, especially in the shadows." With a wave of her hand, the maids left to relay her message, while she resumed sipping her drink.

*****

In the biggest star of a distant galaxy, a phoenix opened its eyes after sensing something strange. It closed its eyes once more and concentrated on the sensation, then opened them again and murmured, "Interesting! This time, I will find the host and make them my slave. Hehe." With a light chuckle, the phoenix vanished from the star and appeared on the biggest planet rotating around it. It transformed into a handsome man with golden hair and sharp, piercing eyes that few would dare to look into directly.

A blue phoenix appeared beside the golden-haired man and transformed into a shoulder-length blue-haired person whose gender was impossible to discern. The person bowed and spoke in a neutral tone: "I greet my liege."

The golden-haired man nodded and asked: "You felt it too?"

"Yes, my liege," the blue-haired person replied. "I've already ordered preparations for upcoming tribulations and instructed our people to look out for any anomalies."

"Good, good!" The golden-haired man began to speak energetically, but suddenly spewed a mouthful of blood and coughed. The blue-haired person grabbed him and supported him. "My liege, you still haven't fully recovered?"

"I still have a bit of that fucking bitch's energy in my heart remaining," the golden-haired man spat out. "But in a few years, I'll be rid of it." As he spoke, his sharp eyes were filled with hatred and cold killing intent.

The blue-haired person spoke with concern in their voice. "My liege, you should rest for the time being and leave everything to me."

"Alright!" After saying that the golden-haired man vanished, leaving the blue-haired person to speak with determination: "Rest, my liege, and regain your strength. And rest assured, the next time we meet her, I will make sure she can't escape." As the person spoke there was a cold glint in the depth of that person's eyes.

*****

A huge planet with more than 60% of its surface covered with dense forest, in a faraway galaxy's one of the solar system. On that planet's highest peak, a majestic palace stood. At that moment, a beautiful woman in her thirties rushed towards a room at the highest level. After reaching the room, without knocking she directly pushed open the doors and rushed inside.

Inside the room, a man stood naked at the far side with his hands behind his back, looking out at the vast expanse beyond the balcony. He was a supreme being and the woman hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to approach him. 

Suddenly, two gorgeous and voluptuous naked female elves appeared before the woman. Their bodies were flawless, but their eyes were cold and their movements were quick and deadly. One of the elves kicked the woman in her stomach, while the other grabbed her head and slammed it into the ground.

The woman cried out in pain, and the elves loomed over her menacingly. The elf that kicked the woman spoke to her in a soul-chilling voice: "Insolent bitch, you dare to barge into the supreme being's room without his permission. You deserve death."

But just as the elves were about to strike again, a domineering and majestic voice sounded out.

"Enough!"

The room fell silent, and all three women shuddered as they heard that voice. Suddenly the two gorgeous and voluptuous naked female elves didn't even try to cover their bodies and stood by the side bowing their heads, while the woman whose head was on the ground didn’t even try to lift it.

The man turned around and looked at the woman who had her head on the ground. Just that mare act of the man made the woman feel a chill run down her spine and felt an immense pressure all over her body as if that man's mere gaze can crush her to oblivion.

"Speak!" he spoke, his voice cold and authoritative.

The woman shuddered and struggled to compose herself but soon without lifting her head, she spoke: “Eld-Elder Nezik sent me," she said, her voice barely above a whisper was still shuddering a bit: "H-he said you must come to see him i-immediately.” 

The man considered her words for a moment, then turned back to the balcony. The woman waited, her heart pounding in her chest. Finally, he spoke: “Leave!”

The woman breathed a sigh of relief and slowly got up, keeping her head down. She stumbled out of the room and collapsed on the floor outside, gasping for air. She knew that she had narrowly escaped with her life. But she also knew that she had a duty to fulfill. She took a deep breath and forced herself to stand up and then walked away.

Just as the woman with her head on the ground heard it she slowly got up while keeping her head still down, and slowly walked backward trying not to make any noise. As she got out of the room and closed the door she slumped on the ground as her legs gave in and she was sweating all over. But she soon collected herself, took a deep breath, stood up, and went to do her work.

In the room, the man broke the silence by uttering a single word like before: "Clothes." Instantly, the two elves present sprang into action, helping the man dress in a luxurious suit. In a matter of minutes, he was fully dressed and walked out of the room, leaving the naked elves behind.

He soon arrived at a door, which he pushed open before entering the room. The sparsely decorated room contained only a table, two chairs, a bed, and a cupboard at the side. In the open courtyard outside, a person with short white hair sat on a stone near a pond. A man and a woman stood quietly nearby.

The man had a curved horn on his head, short reddish hair, a well-built body, and wore a tight-fitting combat suit with a mask covering the lower half of his face while his eyes were red pupils that of a reptile’s. The woman had shoulder-length black hair with feline ears, and heterochromatic eyes with one being purple while the other yellow, and was also dressed in a similar tight-fitting combat suit. Her face was not covered and was rather unremarkable.

The man approached the person sitting on the stone, and the man and the woman standing nearby moved away, knelt on one knee, and said: "We greet his majesty."

The man reached behind the person sitting on the rock and spoke: "Did you call me because of that strange sensation?"

The person replied in a hoarse but domineering tone: "Yes."

The person turned to face the man in the luxurious suit, revealing to be an old man in his seventies with eyes that shone with wisdom. Despite his age, instead of the vicissitudes of old age, his eyes still had the shine of a young man’s. The old man looked at the kneeling man and woman and gestured for them to leave. Both vanished from the spot they were kneeling in an instant.

The old man then went to a nearby tree and sat on the chair beneath it, motioning for the luxuriously suited man to sit in the chair opposite him. The old man began speaking, "You are one of only four beings born in the past seventy thousand years to reach your current level, so you may not know what that sensation signifies."

He paused and flipped a glass on the table, lifted the jug before him and filled it with a slightly golden glowing liquid, and took a sip while the man opposite him sat silently, listening.

The old man slightly reclined on the chair and continued: "As a system user yourself, you know there are many types of systems in the world, such as the ‘Magic System’ and the ‘Warrior System’. But there are also special systems like my ‘Knowledge System’ and your ‘Overlord System’. However, there is one more type of system known as the ‘Master System’. It has only appeared four times in history, with the last time being a hundred thousand years ago. The owner of that system almost single-handedly conquered all the top factions before disappearing without a trace. The sensation you felt is the sign that the Master System once again has come into being with a new host."

The man's expression changed for the first time, and he frowned: "What's so special about this 'Master System'?"

The old man took another sip and said: "The ‘Master System’ is different from other systems. It can be absorbed to evolve your system and make it much stronger. However, if the Master System's host is of the same rank as you, it can also do the same to you. Unlike our system, which can only absorb the Master System to upgrade itself, the Master System can absorb any and all systems to make its host grow stronger. That's how its last host reached her position a hundred thousand years ago."

The luxuriously suited man raised an eyebrow, intrigued, but still asked in a doubtful tone:  "How’s that possible?”

The old man shook his head and said: “That’s something I have no answer for. But, when the third host of the Master System was on a quest to defeat all the mightiest beings. In a battle with the powerful faction of that period, the “Blue Brigade”, the third host thought they had won and started to absorb the leader's system. But the Blue Brigade's leader still had one final move left and sacrificed half her life to use her special skill 'Blue Burst Bolt.' Just as she did, the third host lost control, and instead, the Blue Brigade's leader absorbed the Master System."

The luxuriously suited man's eyes widened in disbelief: "But how is that possible? A system is linked with both the physical body and the soul, and not even the “Soul Monarch” can take someone else’s system."

The old man shrugged: "That's something I have no answer for. But everyone, and I mean everyone the voice that spoke after the absorption finished that someone had absorbed the Master System and had begun their journey to becoming 'THE' supreme being."

“But as the blue brigade’s leader had just absorbed the master system and was not used to it, she was overwhelmed by the rest of the beings and soon got killed. But soon another battle started as to who will now absorb the system from the leader’s corpse. After some more of the strong being died they all came to a tacit agreement and one of the stronger ones among them was chosen to absorb the system. But, sigh, it was not possible.” The old man finished speaking and looked at the luxuriously suited man.

The luxuriously suited man thought for a bit and slowly spoke: "So, if I understand correctly, the only way to absorb the Master System is to be the original host or someone who has already absorbed it? And we much start the preparation right now for when the new host is found we could get our hands on it as soon as possible while being wary of the other faction's leaders, as well as any other beings who want to do the same thing. And once we have the host, I must absorb the system while making sure no one knows about it.”

The old man smiled and replied in a proud tone: “I knew you will understand my meaning without explicitly telling you. I really am proud to be your father as well as your teacher.”

Soon the old man and the luxuriously suited man started to make plans, as to how well they achieve their goals.

While all the factions in the universe and mighty beings were making plans for the upcoming troubled time, the new host of the ‘Master System’ was slowly regaining conciseness after a long time.