Chapter 104: Chapter 102: The Envoys and the Ultimatum
Deep within the secluded sub-level of the obsidian shop, Elias sat motionless, a statue of focused will. His consciousness was a boundless sea, navigating the intricate, sub-atomic pathways of his quantum neurons. He was in the middle of a delicate and painstaking procedure, carefully condensing a million qubits into a single, perfectly stable node of his brain. The process was a silent, internal symphony of cosmic power, a symphony that suddenly and violently broke into a jarring cacophony.
A foreign presence, massive in its scope and utterly malicious in its intent, had just forcefully entered his domain. It wasn’t a physical intrusion; it was an invisible, spiritual one. It was a conscious, overwhelming aura, so powerful that it was meant to crush the will of any who stood against it. The maliciousness wasn’t directed at him, but at his operation, at Kaelen.
A cold, unfamiliar rage, as precise and unyielding as his logic, bloomed in Elias’s core. He instantly exited his meditative state, the vast cosmos of his mind collapsing back into his skull with a silent snap. He rose from his cultivation mat, his eyes now open and burning with an icy fury. The silence of his chamber was replaced by the muffled sounds of distress from above.
He emerged from the back room and into the main storefront. The sight that greeted him sent a wave of pure, unfiltered fury through his being.
Five beings of immense power stood in the middle of his shop. The air was thick with their auras, a suffocating, crushing pressure that was meant to force any cultivator below them to their knees. A crowd of customers and his newly hired employees were backed up against the walls, their faces pale with a mix of blood, terror and awe. The most powerful among them, the Universe Realm bodyguards Kaelen had hired, had their hands on their weapons, but their faces were grim, their expressions resigned. The envoys’ power was a fundamental force that seemed impossible to fight.
"They’re from Zorak’s court!" a customer whispered, his voice trembling. "They are The Five Vanguards! Each a universe-level expert!"
"Look at our boss," another customer muttered, pointing with a shaking hand. "She’s not even budging."
Kaelen stood behind the counter, her expression as serene as ever, but her hands were subtly glowing with a faint, spatial light. The envoys’ auras were pressing down on her with the weight of a dying star, but she was pushing back with her own cultivated intent, a blend of spatial laws and her own unique cultivation. She was a bulwark of quiet defiance, but Elias could see the strain in her shoulders, the subtle tremble in her stance.
"We are here on behalf of the great Multiversal Expert, Zorak," Gorian announced, his voice a low, commanding rumble that seemed to shake the very dust from the shelves. "The master of this universe’s pill markets, its resources, and its fundamental laws. We have come to deliver his generous offer."
"Do not play ignorant," a second envoy, a sleek, reptilian woman with a cruel smile, stated, her eyes narrowed at Kaelen. "You have disrupted our Master’s business. You will hand over your pill-making process, your technology, and the secret of your pills. In return, you will be granted a subordinate position in his great pill empire."
Gorian crossed his massive arms, his aura pressing down on Kaelen, his voice now a low, chilling threat. "Do not mistake our Master’s generosity for weakness. Refusal will be... unwise. You will submit to him, or he will unmake your existence, your little company, and your lives."
Kaelen’s smile remained serene. "My apologies, gentlemen, but we don’t believe in monopolies. Competition, as my husband says, is a catalyst for innovation."
Elias’s fury was no longer cold and calculated. It was hot, a burning supernova of pure, protective rage. These pathetic, arrogant creatures were daring to use their assumed power to threaten his partner, his closest friend. They had no idea who they were dealing with. He didn’t just step forward; he became a fundamental force in the room. His presence, once passive and unassuming, suddenly became a crushing, irresistible gravity. The envoys’ crushing aura, a force that had once held the onlookers in terrified awe, now seemed like a harmless puff of smoke.
"Get on your knees, you scum!"
Elias, his face a mask of furious calm, raised a hand. He didn’t move. He simply focused his will, his entire aura now a blend of his scientific understanding and his martial embodiment. It was the crushing force of a black hole, the unyielding truth of a universal constant, and the protective fury of a being with an army of thousands of perfected fighting avatars in his mind.
"I will not tolerate threats," Elias stated, his voice calm, precise, and now laced with an undeniable, terrifying power that shook the very foundations of the shop. "You will retract your demands. And you will get on your knees."
The envoys, shocked by the sudden, overwhelming pressure, scoffed. "Do you think a mere Universe God can...?" Gorian began, his voice a stutter.
He never finished the sentence. Elias’s will descended upon them with the force of a falling star. The five envoys, all powerful Universe Realm cultivators, were suddenly and violently forced to their knees. The sound of cracking crystalline scales and popping joints filled the air as their bodies, unable to resist the absolute power of Elias’s intent, buckled and slammed against the floor. They were not kneeling out of respect; they were kneeling because the very laws of reality in that room had been rewritten to force them to.
Their arrogance was shattered, replaced by utter shock. But then, as they struggled to rise, their eyes flared with a desperate, wounded pride.
"You... you dare!" Gorian spat, his voice a low growl of pure humiliation as he fought against the impossible weight pressing down on his back. "You dare disrespect a representative of the great Zorak? He will hear of this! You have made an enemy of a Multiversal Expert!"
Elias simply stared down at him, his rage having cooled to a chilling, absolute certainty. He had just shown them a fraction of his power, a mere glimpse of his martial might. It was enough. The message was clear. They had threatened his partner, and he had made them pay. The envoys’ humiliation was now a cosmic message, a challenge that could not be taken back. And they, in their arrogance, had sealed their own fate.