Laws were a funny thing.

To Dorian, who saw himself as a native of Earth, it had been almost inconceivable that he could focus on or think about something, and by doing so, open up his senses to an entire Law that governed reality.

Logically, something like that made no sense. At least, not on Earth.

Yet here, in the mysterious 30,000 Worlds, the impossible happened on a daily basis.

Sitting atop the shoulder and outstretched arm of an enormous Giant was a large clump of ice. This ice gleamed with light, as if something mysterious was taking place within it.

Around this clump of ice, the world was still and cool. The huge waterfall of ice nearby moved in a strict area, never flowing outward unless something else interfered with it.

Down below, Grakons could occasionally be seen patrolling the outer area, but none of them would ever come close to the towering, frozen Giant.

Abruptly…

This clump of ice began to crack.

Bit and pieces of it trembled as a network of cracks spread out, shattering into nothingness. The air around the ice suddenly was cast a flurry as a wave of energy blasted forward.

BOOM

The clump of ice fully disintegrated, revealing a demonic figure.

Dorian, in his Balance Demon form.

"Laws Progress.

" He spoke the words out loud, his voice hoarse as he blinked. He rubbed at his shoulders and arms, flicking off chunks of ice.

-

Laws Progress

-

Virtuous Laws (4

/7) - ???

Demonic Laws (7

/7) - Law of Original Sin - 25%

-

He smiled.

"I'm more than halfway to the Middle Stage.

" He muttered out loud.

Hitting an understanding of roughly 40% was a big deal, though most people weren't able to track it so numerically. His control of the Law of Original Sin was split into 10 minor stages, a thing that was unique from most other Laws, something he could intrinsically sense. Every 10% he achieved, his grasp of the Origin Law grew stronger.

'My understanding of it has grown enough… it's time.' As he sensed the increased power he held, he came to a decision.

Deep within the farthest recesses of Dorian's soul, there existed something that was not part of him. Something that had been with him ever since his birth in this world. Something he had never managed to successfully remove.

Yukeli's soul fragment.

Yukeli had gone dormant long ago, after he determined it was impossible to sway Dorian or seize control of his Soul. Dorian had had multiple mental confrontations with the man, all of which ended in a draw or him coming out ahead, eventually.

However, just because Yukeli was no longer active didn't mean he was gone.

To the best of Dorian's knowledge, it was impossible for him to get rid of Yukeli's soul fragment unless he purged his own soul, ripping it to shreds and killing himself. The fragment had melded with him.

"The Law of Original Sin allows me to corrupt reality. It is an Origin Law, a Law of power that reigns over a multitude of others.

" He continued to speak out loud,

"I may not ever be able to remove Yukeli's dormant soul fragment. But what if I tear down the walls that protect it, overriding its defenses?

" This was a thought that had struck him long ago, the moment he learned of the Law of Original Sin.

It was a Law that reshaped reality itself, creating weaknesses, corrupting things.

"What if, instead of being absorbed by Yukeli like he wants…

" Dorian smiled, his eyes glowing in the cool air of the underground cavern,

"I absorb him.

"

Dorian closed his eyes.

Immediately, he focused not only on his soul… but also on the Law of Original Sin.

He felt raw energy flow into his body. This energy felt volatile and dangerous, seductive in its overwhelming strength. Power that left him feeling almost drunk, giddy on the feeling of control.

Power to change the world around him with his will alone.

He grasped ahold of that energy, seizing upon it. As he did so, a stray dot fluttered across his vision. This dot was joined by a second dot. The dots only appeared for a moment before they vanished.

"Arrrgh.

" With an understanding of 25%, the energy Dorian could muster was incredible. The air around his visibly warped, taking on a dark, evil tone.

After a few seconds, Dorian seized control fully. The huge increase in power had left him temporarily stunned at first, but his powerful soul and willpower allowed him to regain his focus.

'I'll need to be more careful in the future. Each big increase is likely to prove shocking to my soul.' He took mental note of this.

Dorian then sat down on the frozen Giant's shoulder. He closed his eyes and began to meditate, focusing on himself.

Gradually, Dorian was able to call to mind an image in his head.

In a world covered in white fog, Dorian saw a huge, massive white orb. Sparks of energy and electricity could be seen flowering in and around this orb, shooting out and then falling back in.

Dorian appeared next to this orb, looking up at it. It towered over him, standing easily 10 times his height.

He froze when he saw this.

'This is… my soul?' He was viewing his own soul from the 'outside.'

His soul was so powerful now he could do many things he couldn't have done before. He could actually examine his soul in its full form, peering into every detail.

'It's so big…' His first thought was to its sheer size. It was incredibly large and gave off a majestic, mighty feeling.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he saw something off to the left, while scanning the massive orb.

There was a smaller orb, one that was so tiny in comparison to the main orb that he had missed it at first. It was colored a dim, grey color, not matching the pure white of his soul. This orb fluttered right next to the big orb, solidly connected to it. Fully half of its surface seemed to be embedded and merged with Dorian's soul.

'Yukeli's fragment…' Dorian muttered, frowning.

Now that he consciously studied it, he could tell that this wasn't going to be easy.

'It's… merged with me already. Not fully, but part of it is definitely merged with my soul.' He couldn't just try and directly destroy it. Doing so would irreparably damage his own soul, and that was assuming he could even destroy Yukeli's fragment.

The fragment was set up in a way that it would steal energy from Dorian's main soul, allowing it to continue its existence. It was a parasite, connected to him irreparably. It only required a very small amount of energy, but it was able to take that amount freely, thanks to its condition.

'Well, my plan is still the same.' He shrugged. He was only going to try and absorb it. The fact that it had partially merged with him would make that easier.

Dorian vanished and then reappeared, floating right next to Yukeli's soul fragment. It was about his size, in this odd, mental-soul world he was in. He wasn't actually here in person, but rather, personified by the will of his soul, looking inward.

Slowly, Dorian reached out and laid a hand on the smaller orb.

Nothing happened.

He grinned ruefully. He didn't have a sense of touch here, he couldn't actually feel anything strange about it.

Still… from inside his soul, he could sense the aberration that was Yukeli.

'Very well.' After a few moments, he began to gather his concentration. The thronging energy within him was begging to be used, causing his heart to pulse.

His eyes flashed as he looked at the spot where the smaller orb joined up with the bigger orb.

'Absorb.' He issued the mental command with all the authority he could muster.

Immediately, the rippling energy he held within his soul blasted outward and slammed into the small orb. Dorian's vision distorted as reality began to twist, the air around him creaking. Sweat formed on his forehead as he panted in the real world, his heart pounding.

Dorian's soul trembled. Abruptly, parts of his soul began to twist.

Excruciating pain flooded through Dorian's mind as the very essence of his being felt as if it was being ripped apart.

Dorian forced his way past the agony as he stared at what was happening in his soul.

His own soul was visibly twisting, the orb's previously smooth lines vanishing.

This had caused Yukeli's orb to twist as well.

As soon as this twisting began, Dorian's soul had rushed forward, seeking to envelop and swallow Yukeli's orb. If he could sweep around and take in Yukeli's remnants, he would be able to force it to fully merge with him.

However…

As Dorian drew upon the Origin Law of Original Sin, causing Yukeli's defenses to weaken at the cost of living through agonizing pain, he found that Yukeli was still, somehow, managing to resist him.

Dorian's soul slammed against Yukeli's remnants and was rebuffed, again and again. The reality twisting powers of the Law of Original Sin were effective at weakening Yukeli's soul, but even with all of that throw against him, the man was still resisting his efforts.

'Incredible… his soul remnant is able to resist even when reality itself is turned against it.' Dorian shook his head as he relaxed his soul. Yukeli was truly a monster if even his soul fragment was this powerful.

'However…' A small smile appeared on Dorian's face.

When Yukeli's soul remnant was in the midst of being hit with his Law of Original Sin, Dorian was able to sense several changes.

Previously, the soul remnant had been like a magical wall, impenetrable despite Dorian's best efforts.

Now, however… whenever the Law of Original Sin touched it, that wall began to weaken. It wasn't currently enough, even if he went all out, for him to absorb the soul remnant. But even the strongest being in the world couldn't perfectly resist the changes of reality.

'My mastery is not even at the Middle Stage yet, let alone the Late Stage, or Completion.' A feeling of exultation filled Dorian as he realized this.

'You may resist me now, leeching onto my soul like poison… but what about then?' The thought fluttered in his mind.

Yukeli did not respond. The remnant remained dormant, refusing to do anything other than defend itself.

Dorian closed his eyes again as he once more entered meditation, his motivation to free himself of Yukeli's touch stronger than ever.

.. .. .. .. .. ..

On the Exotic World of Manuka, a peaceful desert known as the Sulabi Desert existed. This desert wasn't very large, but there was something unique about it.

In this particular desert, a large World Bridge shuttled into the ground, connecting it to a planet far away. This World Bridge normally teemed with life, one of the rare oases in the Sulabi Desert.

Right now, however, not even a single being dared to make a peep.

For there stood a man on this bridge, a man that exuded an Aura of dominance and might. An Aura that spoke to the truths of Annihilation itself.

"I can sense several of my brethren moving towards the Firstborn's location.

" Zero frowned as he rubbed his chin, looking up at the sky. His eyes were unfocused, as if he was looking past the sky to things only he could sense.

And, indeed, that was the case. Right now, he was currently tracking the locations of his Brethren. In particular, he was focused on a clump of Anomalies that were headed in the direction of the Firstborn.

Zero took a few seconds to think, trying to understand their motive.

From Zero's perspective, it could only be one of two things.

Either his fellow Anomalies were, like him, hunting the Firstborn, or they were allies and subordinates of the Firstborn returning to his aid. Given how powerful the Firstborn must be, Zero felt it likely to be the second option.

He paused for a few more seconds in thought.

Though his brethren were moving quickly, they still weren't moving anywhere near fast enough to exceed his speed. His Law of Annihilation and Angelic Class Soul Spell Matrix allowed him to rip holes in reality itself, moving at an extremely quick speed.

If he wanted to, he could arrive at the Firstborn's location more than a dozen hours before the others, going by their current speed.

"Hmm… I'll need to collect their Bloodlines anyway.

" After he finished thinking it over, he nodded slightly.

He began to step forward again, raising a hand as he prepared to rip through reality. This time, as he traveled, he modulated his pace. He didn't rush forward as fast as possible, but instead moved with purpose, slowing his pace so that he'd reach the Firstborn just a half hour before the other Anomalies, allowing him to swoop them all up one after the other.

And like that, in what seemed like no time at all…

Zero ripped through one final hole in reality, jumping forward and landing on the ground.

The powerful warrior blinked as he took in his surroundings.

Flurries of snow and wind, crackling lightning and thunder, a literal blizzard rushing in the air…

"Ah. I made it to Blizzaria.

" Zero smiled, his deep voice echoing softly in the air around him. The thronging weather was unable to touch him, an invisible forcefield blocking it off as he gathered his bearings.

Zero looked to the left and to the right, before his head slowly began to turn and look down.

"Firstborn…

" Zero's eyes flashed,

"I have found you.

"

.