Very swiftly,

  Weber returned to the front lines, continuing to command the Nova forces in the war against Westland. The First World War gradually escalated into a dire state.

  On another front, Valerie, after gaining entry into the House of Lords, gradually secured access to more classified information, some pertaining to the nation, others concerning the very nature of the world itself.

  Although at times, due to limitations in authority and status, she couldn't grasp the complete, overarching picture, this presented no real obstacle for her. Uncovering the truth proved to be effortless.

  As the revelations she unearthed involved increasingly greater causal linkages, Valerie's innate abilities advanced at an accelerating rate, until she unexpectedly stumbled upon a deleted historical entry.

  "Burlington, the downfall of the Firenze Empire?"

  Valerie felt a surge of confusion.

  Hadn't the Firenze Empire been historically recorded as destroyed a millennium ago?

  The Hermitage Society, intending to fabricate world history, had contacted the high-ranking officials of various nations two centuries prior. Without such coordination, they could never have successfully altered the histories and legends of every nation.

  This was a matter of the highest secrecy, known only to a select few within the Nova Federation. Valerie currently lacked the clearance, but the Federation's elaborate secrecy protocols proved entirely meaningless to her.

  The day she opened the sealed archives, her entire worldview experienced its most intense shock to date. She learned the world's profound secret.

  The Hermitage Society.

  The Legend of Firenze.

  The Burlington Incident revisited.

  Words shimmering like a waking vision—Hermitage Society, Firenze legend, Burlington incident revisited—danced vividly before her eyes. The grand epic spanning a thousand years unfolded, recounting its mythical splendor.

  The Throne of Firenze.

  The Twelve Knights of the Empire.

  The crimson spear that pierced the False-God.

  So that was the reality.

  This world was significantly more extraordinary than she had ever imagined. Valerie finally grasped why the Hermitage Society had found it necessary to fabricate this world's history.

  The justification was entirely sufficient.

  The world could not withstand the anguish of the Burlington incident recurring.

  It took a considerable time for Valerie’s emotions to settle. Having absorbed the world's core truth, her abilities instantly increased dramatically, propelling her into an entirely new echelon.

  Tier 3!

  She could vaguely sense that the final stage was not far distant. However, an intense sensation of profound unease settled upon her heart.

  If she continued to pursue the world's absolute truth, that burden of reality might prove too much for her to carry. After a brief moment of hesitation, Valerie continued to read the confidential files.

  Another crucial confidential document caught her attention.

  This was a time-stamped technical report, completely redacted, concerning the research findings on a time machine, authored by one Patrick.

  "Patrick."

  Valerie paused in thought.

  This technical report had been blocked not by the Nova Federation's command, but at the explicit insistence of the Hermitage Society, ultimately rendering Patrick a figure of derision within the scientific community.

  The peculiar aspect was this:

  Patrick inexplicably offered no subsequent clarification, acting as if his previously published claims regarding the time machine were nothing more than a ploy to gain attention.

  However,

  The time machine was genuine!

  Valerie accepted this only after her true intuition confirmed it. She then decisively resolved to travel to the Goliath Royal Academy of Sciences, making Patrick her immediate target.

  Tzzz—

  Flashes of light danced across the time machine's operational platform.

  Patrick, adjusting his glasses, manipulated parameters on the control panel. He was attempting his utmost to journey to the furthest possible point in the future. If he held any lingering desire,

  It was to witness the conclusion of this world—whether the distant end of time still contained glimmering stars, or if the universe's final state would be collapse or hot quiescence.

  This represented the ultimate spectacle a scientist could aspire to observe.

  It had to be a profound, soul-stirring experience.

  "Dr. Patrick, I hope I am not causing a disturbance."

  A knock sounded.

  Valerie pushed open the door and was instantly drawn to the dazzling flashes of light. She sensed an incredibly potent energy—a force capable of warping the very fabric of time.

  A time machine!

  Patrick, however, seemed to have anticipated her arrival. He focused intently on refining the parameters: a thousand years? Ten thousand years? A hundred thousand years?

  Even ten billion years?

  Insufficient.

  Far from it.

  As he tried to dial the time setting to an incredibly vast extent, he distractedly addressed Valerie, "Councillor Valerie? I know your intentions. I possess only one piece of advice."

  Valerie felt no surprise.

  She wasn't shocked that a time traveler would possess such foresight.

  "Please, share it."

  "The ultimate truth of the world will be too heavy for you to bear. You lack the necessary enlightenment to accept the entirety of it. But if you insist on proceeding to the future, I shall not refuse you."

  After a moment of contemplation,

  Valerie remained resolute.

  "Doctor, I must witness the future of this world. A madman has ignited a war capable of destroying the entire globe. I cannot simply stand aside."

  "Very well, please step onto the platform."

  Valerie was too deeply entangled with that entity. Patrick was disinclined to offer further comment. In truth, he had become indifferent to most outcomes now.

  "My deepest gratitude!"

  Valerie passed through the flashing lights and stepped onto the platform. Patrick adjusted the time setting to one and a half years hence. His hand paused momentarily before engaging the activation sequence.

  Perhaps she was unaware, but she had chosen a divergent path.

  "Goodbye, Councillor Valerie."

  Tzzz—

  A bright flash erupted.

  Valerie was sent into the future.

  Then,

  Patrick readjusted the parameters. He set the target destination to the infinitely distant future, then stepped onto the platform himself. Another flash of light.

  Patrick vanished without a trace.

  Simultaneously,

  The reserve time energy stored within the time machine was instantly depleted. He left no residual temporal energy, nor did he establish a time shield outside the laboratory, as he had done previously.

  That precaution was now irrelevant.

  Within the river of time, Patrick flowed downstream. The surging, turbulent current of temporality rushed past. He pressed onward, undeterred, with a resolute determination toward oblivion.

  After an immeasurable duration,

  A figure materialized in the desolate cosmos. Patrick had finally reached the terminus of time. All that remained for him to witness was the silent desolation of shattered celestial bodies.

  A few lingering stars flickered with faint light. Galaxies dimmed. The world was a ravaged scene of destruction everywhere. All civilizations had met their end.

  For unknown reasons, a colossal, profound halo appeared in the distant sky, resembling a massive void in the universe—majestically magnificent.

  "Is this… the absolute termination of time?"

  A look of satisfaction crossed Patrick's face, which then smoothed into utter placidity. His eyes were swiftly overtaken by pure indifference. The very concept of Time solidified completely in that instant.

  "!!!"

  The fully recovered conceptual deity of Time sensed that something was terribly wrong. It suddenly snapped its head around, gazing into the depths of the cosmos, only to see a colossal hand, seemingly formed from the profound remnants of extinguished stars and the fabric of the universe itself, reaching out.

  It looked again.

  The conceptual deity of Time was already as insignificant as an ant held in the palm of that hand. The deity of Time finally understood the terrifying reality: no, they had all been mistaken. Feigning demise was utterly futile against that Daemon.

  The power of Conceptual Counter-Creation swept through.

  The conceptual deity of Time.

  Annihilated.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  ...

  【Ability Acquired: Concept · Time】

  ——

  【Ability: Concept · Time】

  【Level: LV1】

  【Description: A high-order concept that governs the flow of time.】

  ——

  Following the acquisition of Death and Fantasy, Mei now possessed the high-order concept of Time. With Eternity already integrated, Time offered little supplementary utility for her current state.

  However,

  Mei could now advance further toward the realm of All Concepts.

  Time raced onward.

  The year 1900.

  The First World War had raged for five grueling years. The flames of conflict showed no sign of abating. The United Kingdom of Westland teetered on the brink of collapse, and the Nova Federation faced a severe internal crisis.

  Nation after nation was utterly destroyed in the inferno of the war.

  Countless people were rendered homeless.

  Half the world was reduced to smoking ruins.

  Valerie stood amidst charred, desolate wreckage. All she perceived were ruins. This was not an unfamiliar battleground; it was a city within the Nova Federation itself.

  Finally,

  The flames of war had successfully infiltrated the Nova Federation's core territories.

  Weber fundamentally cared nothing for the Nova Federation's survival. He desired only perpetual war. The more chaotic and intense the conflict in this world became, the greater his own power amplified.

  Valerie’s face was ashen with despair.

  "Weber!!!"

  It was exactly as she had feared. Such reckless command over the military and conduct of war was simply driving the entire Nova Federation into the abyss.

  One point remained slightly unclear to Valerie.

  Patrick hadn't intended for her to return this time. Inability to return to her original timeline meant she had effectively vanished in 1895.

  She reappeared suddenly in 1900.

  This was an irreversible, one-way journey. Valerie felt as if she had jumped to 1900 in an instant, but five genuine years had elapsed in the real world.

  Therefore,

  At this precise moment, only one version of her existed—the one who had just made the jump.

  Boom!

  Suddenly,

  The ground violently convulsed.

  It felt as though the entire continent was about to be wrenched apart. A massive fissure split the land in two, forming a bottomless chasm.

  Boom!

  Huge plumes of dust rocketed into the sky, merging with the gloomy atmosphere to form a thunderous storm cloud, occasionally illuminated by brilliant, roaring lightning.

  Valerie was gripped by terror.

  "What is happening?!"

  This scale of destructive force was highly anomalous!

  Upon the ruins,

  Drip, drip, drip—

  Fresh blood trickled down his arm onto the ground. Weber looked incredibly disheveled; his right arm was twisted at an unnatural, grotesque angle.

  His injuries were so catastrophic he could barely remain standing.

  His left eye was completely sightless, a steady trail of blood flowing from beneath the tightly shut lid.

  "The gap is even greater than I had anticipated."

  Weber gasped, swaying precariously. He stared at the hazy figure ahead, which emerged from the rising dust, completely untouched.

  Not a single speck of impurity marred her form.

  "Hoo—"

  His breathing grew heavier and heavier.

  Weber's vision was entirely stained red by blood.

  Leveraging the opportunity presented by the World War, his psychic power had been elevated to an unprecedented level of strength. He had genuinely believed this power would suffice to contend with that entity.

  He had been incredibly naive.

  He and that person were simply not on the same plane of existence!

  The approaching figure gradually resolved into clarity.

  It was Mei.

  "You were too hasty. Had you waited until you took that final conceptual step before challenging me, perhaps I might have taken your efforts slightly more seriously."

  "Haha."

  Weber managed a sneer: "By then, the one challenging you likely wouldn't have been me."

  It seemed he had discovered the truth of his existence as a mere vessel from somewhere. As for the source of that knowledge, it was irrelevant now. He was, after all, a high-order conceptual vessel.

  Intelligent beings were never scarce.

  Weber clearly understood his impending doom, but before succumbing to death, he was determined to challenge Mei, even knowing that drawing Mei into this global conflict would inevitably trigger the full awakening of the concept of War.

  The result was his current pathetic state.

  Finally,

  Weber, unable to bear the strain, pitched backward onto the ground, his consciousness slowly fading into silence. A trace of divinity subtly manifested, and the concept of War rapidly solidified in the atmosphere.

  Before completely losing her self-awareness,

  A figure came into view.

  "Auntie?"

  Valerie stood amidst the ruins, her face frozen in shock as she looked at Mei. At this moment, all truths surged like a tide; she faced the ultimate reality of this world.

  She faced the origin of everything in this realm.

  "Impossible…"

  Valerie couldn't accept this reality. She involuntarily took two steps back. The aunt who had been her companion since childhood was someone she considered her closest kin.

  Now, reality informed her that her aunt was the mastermind behind everything. How was Valerie supposed to absorb such a cruel revelation?

  "Hahahaha!"

  Weber, revived by a surge of terrifying lucidity, laughed heartily: "Councillor Valerie, how does despair taste? This is the very truth you were searching for!"

  More cruelly, Valerie also learned from the unfolding truth the fact of her own existence as a mere vessel. In that instant, facing the ultimate reality,

  The very concept of Truth was beginning to recover.

  She finally understood that she had made a profoundly foolish and incorrect decision. Stubbornly pursuing absolute truth had become a form of blindness; knowing when to yield was ultimately the wiser choice.

  Father's approach was the correct one.

  Valerie did not wish to perish. She still had countless things she wanted to accomplish, but now that matters had reached this point, everything was irrevocably too late.

  Mei observed all of this unfolding.

  This was Valerie's own choice. She chose incorrectly; this was the inevitable consequence.

  Because of this mistake,

  In her despair, Valerie found a tiny glimmer of something to celebrate: if she hadn't chosen wrongly, if she had instead followed her father's path.

  Then Auntie would never have become her adversary.

  No.

  Auntie was never her enemy. Her deep friendship with her father and their genuine family affection had never been illusory. Her true adversary had always been the conceptual deities. Realizing this, Valerie, with a sudden, joyful smile, plunged her hand through her own chest.

  This was the last action she could take.

  "Auntie, farewell."

  Then her consciousness completely fell silent.

  The recovered conceptual deity of Truth stared in astonishment at its hand piercing its own core. It looked up, meeting an extremely cold gaze.

  Then,

  War, perished.

  Truth, perished.

  【Ability Acquired: Concept · War】

  【Level: LV1】

  【Description: A high-order concept that governs combat and conflict. The larger the scale of war, the higher its intensity, and the stronger the power it bestows.】

  ——

  【Ability: Concept · Truth】

  【Level: LV1】

  【Description: A high-order concept that controls reality's fundamental nature. As long as a belief is held as true, it can be materialized, possessing powerful abilities to twist and influence reality.】

  ——

  With the concept of War in hand, this conflict should now reach its conclusion. Under the intertwining causality, the current war completely subsided, almost unnoticed.

  This war had been humanity's largest and most devastating conflict to date, rendering countless people homeless and shattering countless nations.

  However,

  Time possesses the capacity to heal all wounds.

  An ancient aura enveloped the world; the cosmic heavens trembled. A supreme throne transcended the river of time from a long-dead epoch. The world itself bowed to the dominion of the primordial king.

  A trace of supreme, disdainful afterglow fell.

  And it shook the entire cosmos.

  "!!!"

  In the deep darkness of the night,

  Samuel suddenly awoke with a start.

  His head was drenched in sweat, his entire body soaked in cold perspiration. The look of sheer terror on his face remained, unsettled. He felt a lingering dread that would not dissipate for a long time.

  "Trouble!"

  Since beginning his rigorous ascetic training, Samuel had rarely experienced vivid dreams. Dreams could distract the ascetic's focus and erode their willpower.

  He was not an ordinary person. He would never dream without cause. If he did dream, it most likely signified a premonition.

  Before the return of the Burlington Firenze Empire, he had a premonitory dream. The subsequent events unfolded almost identically to that vision.

  This time,

  He dreamt of the descent of the Primordial King!

  According to the Lucerne Text, the Primordial King was the supreme ruler of the ancient nation of Firenze three thousand years ago—the first monarch in human civilization.

  She was also the monarch associated with the most intense mythical coloring. In the Lucerne Text, she was even referenced as the supreme deity. This position was truly unparalleled.

  The Church's myths were fabricated nonsense.

  However,

  The ancient nation of Firenze was a verifiable historical entity. The Lucerne Text remained stored within the Hermitage Society; to this day, it was considered the most perilous holy relic.

  "Samuel, what is wrong?"

  The other ascetics were startled awake. They exchanged uneasy glances. Unless something was critically amiss, Samuel rarely woke up in such distress.

  Indeed.

  Samuel’s expression was grave.

  "I dreamt of the Primordial King."

  "What?!!"

  Hearing this,

  The ascetics were instantly terrified.

  Samuel had never personally seen the Primordial King, but based on the descriptions and records within the Lucerne Text, he was certain she was the supreme sovereign of the ancient nation of Firenze.

  That initial, most ancient sovereign.

  The ascetics immediately became extremely uneasy. If they could still risk their lives gambling against the Firenze Empire, against the Primordial King, they would likely find themselves utterly helpless.

  The Firenze Empire still belonged to the realm of legend.

  What about the ancient nation of Firenze?

  That was pure mythology!

  No one doubted Samuel's vision. They eagerly pressed him for more details. No matter the cost, they had to exert their utmost effort.

  "Can the timing of the descent be confirmed?"

  "That cannot be confirmed."

  "What about the location?"

  "Still unknown."

  "What is the method of descent? Could someone be casting the Incantation of Lore upon the Lucerne Text? If so, then all original copies must be destroyed immediately!"

  "I agree!"

  "We cannot destroy the Lucerne Text."

  Samuel, however, held a dissenting opinion: "Without knowing the motive for the Primordial King's descent, moving to destroy the Lucerne Text based solely on my premonitory dream would be far too reckless."

  Conversely,

  He considered an alternative possibility.

  "Perhaps… we ourselves are the ones calling for the Primordial King's arrival? Aside from the Lucerne Text, that sacred artifact, I don't believe anyone else possesses the means to summon the Primordial King."

  "..."

  The ascetics were instantly struck silent.

  Unless they had genuinely lost their minds, or reached some utterly desperate precipice, they would never, under any circumstances, summon the Primordial King.

  They simply could not fathom it.

  What catastrophic scenario could possibly drive them to such extreme recklessness?

  Ultimately,

  Based on this lingering suspicion, the Lucerne Text was not destroyed by the Hermitage Society. Instead, it was subjected to multiple layers of intricate barriers and seals, then stored in an even deeper, more clandestine vault.

  ...

  1940.

  Forty years had elapsed since the conclusion of the First World War. The agony inflicted by that conflict had gradually begun to fade. After four decades, the world had managed to rebuild itself upon the ruins.

  Perhaps the underlying pain never entirely vanished.

  However,

  For the current generation, the Great War was merely historical accounts in textbooks. People’s collective memory of that era had become distant and abstract.

  The rapid advancement in architectural technology had completely transformed major cities into towering steel jungles. Structures resembling hundred-meter-tall skyscrapers abruptly erupted, one after another.

  A young girl stood beside the bustling roadside, gazing upward at the clear sky, as if she could perceive something far beyond that blue expanse.

  "Here."

  The girl whispered softly.

  Suddenly,

  Boom!

  The sun became intensely dazzling. A scorching pillar of light descended directly from the heavens, instantly shattering a skyscraper and plunging like a burning spear into the earth.

  It seemed aimed at piercing straight through the planet's core.

  "What?!"

  "What is happening?!!"

  People screamed in alarm, their vision overwhelmed by the blinding light. As the shockwave spread, the ground violently trembled, fissures radiating everywhere.

  The extreme heat warped the air, engulfing the roadside and instantly reducing all vegetation and people into ash. In a single moment, the entire metropolis transformed into a dead zone.

  Buildings liquefied, losing their structural integrity, collapsing sequentially.

  Boom!

  Hum—

  Then,

  Energy fluctuations washed over the area. One after another, distinct figures emerged from the pillar of light: golden-haired, possessing flawless beauty, with luminous circles emanating from their backs.

  Each of these beings carried an aura no weaker than Tier 3. The leader's aura was even more potent; his name was Jixie, a recognized Tier 4 powerhouse.

  Clearly,

  They hailed from the same civilization as the Church Father God. They identified themselves as the Divine Sovereign Civilization, individuals who gained and amplified their power through the unwavering faith of mortals.

  Jixie's icy gaze swept across the city, now transformed into an active inferno.

  His majestic voice resonated throughout Apokolips.

  "You insects, your transgressions are unforgivable!"

  A thousand miles away,

  The Hermitage Society almost instantaneously grasped the Divine Sovereign Civilization's objective. Samuel's face grew grim: "They must have arrived to avenge their kin."

  "Most likely."

  A thousand years prior,

  The Church Father God had been impaled by a spear atop the church's dome. Now, the Father God's relatives had descended. They could conceive no alternative explanation other than retribution.

  Someone urgently asked Samuel,

  "How shall we respond?"

  A Tier 4 entity.

  In addition to that, there were over a dozen Tier 3 individuals. Frankly, this force possessed sufficient capability not only to pacify Apokolips but could potentially obliterate the entire planet without significant effort.

  If the Hermitage Society acted rashly, it would only result in immediate annihilation.

  The situation had reached this critical juncture.

  They could only place their hope in those difficult figures lurking in the shadows to intervene. Samuel had clashed with Patrick and the others previously and was acutely aware of their formidable power.

  If these individuals were willing to act, the crisis might yet be averted from reaching its absolute worst outcome. However, Samuel could not place all his faith in them alone.

  He finally understood the profound reason behind his dream of the Primordial King.

  Samuel gritted his teeth.

  After a long, agonizing hesitation, he closed his eyes and gave the order: "Unseal the Lucerne Text. Be prepared for the worst scenario at any moment!"

  No matter what, the Primordial King was the established sovereign of this land. She likely wouldn't easily destroy Apokolips. An external, invading civilization, however, represented an entirely different threat.

  At the necessary juncture, they would have no choice but to take the gamble.