"Wait, you need me to destroy these dungeons and worlds?" Shiro asked with a frown on her face.
"Usually the role of the First Born of Destruction is to cull worlds so that the First Born of Creation doesn't overflow the universe with worlds. But with both roles being absent and a fake proxy being made for creation, the speed of which worlds are being created outweighs the speed of destruction." Juri explained as she snapped her finger.
"What should have happened when you awakened as the First Born was that your aura would naturally cull some of the worlds without you doing anything."
Just as she said this, she showed a holographic video of worlds disintegrating. Next to the video showed Shiro during her awakening.
"Naturally you put a stop to this awakening since you couldn't control it. But in doing so, the destruction of these worlds was also halted leaving them in a state of limbo. With the destruction being placed on a limbo, more and more dungeons were being made along with new worlds. And now it's overflowing. I suppose you can say it's reached full capacity and they're trying to merge with the main world to reduce the space they take." Juri shrugged, showing them a box with tiny orbs representing the worlds.
They were slowly merging with the large orb in the centre while more orbs were being made.
"So I need you to cull these worlds." Juri said coldly.
Furrowing her brows, Shiro was a little conflicted since all of these worlds had their own people, their own culture.
"If you decide to not cull them, the main world will be the one to suffer. So if you decide to not cull them I can stop what I am doing right now and not use my energy."
Taking a deep breath, Shiro closed her eyes. Compared to the safety of her friends and her people in this world, the other dungeons and worlds hold no importance for her.
"I'll do it. I'll destroy the planets. Tell me how many I need to destroy." Shiro asked as her eyes were resolved.
"You'll need to destroy roughly 40% of the worlds out there right now. The dungeons can remain since they don't take that much space. If the system was still functional, the worlds being destroyed should have a small piece of land being turned into a dungeon but I don't know how likely that is anymore."
Hearing this, Shiro nodded her head. Taking a step forward, she channelled her destruction energy. She wasn't going to hesitate. All she could do was apologize for their loss as it was her choice and her choice was to prioritize her friends and family.
A black and red energy surged around her body as both Juri and Nyx quickly took a step back. They could recognise the energy as the most primordial form of Destruction.
"I suppose I'm allowed to use your realm as I see fit to destroy these worlds, yes?" Shiro asked as Juri nodded her head.
Snapping her finger, a myriad of circuits exploded out from her hand and burrowed deep into the ground of the Beyond. Her vision blurred with lines upon lines of code flooding her vision. Each code held information on the paths leading to the different worlds.
'The worlds that are already on the verge of being destroyed from when I awakened should be destroyed fully. The new planets should also be culled.' She thought to herself.
Her goal was to destroy the worlds that are freshly created along with the worlds that are close to destruction, so that she could preserve the worlds in the centre.
'If I was to brute force this, even with my power, it'll be unfeasible. I need a more efficient method of destroying these worlds…' Thinking to herself for a moment, Shiro took a deep breath.
'Error.'
[Yes mother?]
'If I were to delete the origin point of the world, what would happen to the rest?'
She remembered the experiments she had conducted with Error and knew that editing the code would lead to the destabilization of the object in question. But to destabilize a world was very difficult so the most optimal way of doing it would be to target the starting point.
[If you were to erase the starting point, the code will unravel itself and be destroyed from the inside out. In terms of the effect on the plane-]
'You don't need to tell me what the people experience. Just let me know if the world will be erased properly or not.' Shiro sighed.
[Very well. If you target the source, the world will be erased completely with no signs of ever having existed.]
'Alright, help me with setting up a termination program that erases the sources of worlds. I'll have it target the worlds I want to erase.'
[Understood.]
A vast amount of mana exploded forth from Shiro as the entire realm of the Beyond started to twist and morph. Red circuits spread across the azure skies causing Juri to furrow her brows since she could feel her control waning.
It's as though Shiro was fighting her for sovereignty over this realm but knowing how Shiro is, Juri understood that this was just temporary.
Circulating mana through her core, Shiro started to merge Creation, Destruction and Error together. As Creation and Destruction came from Chaos, merging them together should help her approach Chaos' levels of power.
'With Creation and Destruction, I'll be able to thread them together to form the higher form of power. Merging them with Error will allow me to exert this power across all the planets I intend to erase.'
Activating her domain to amplify her power, she reclaimed the form of balance that Aekari had witnessed.
This time however, Shiro dragged the entirety of the Beyond into her domain. She needed full control to send the termination program to all the planets she wished to erase.
Both Nyx and Juri held their breaths as Nyx couldn't believe what she was feeling.
The presence of Chaos. The most primal energy where everything originated from. Perhaps it was possible because Shiro mastered both Destruction and Creation but the sheer thought of Shiro being on the same level as Chaos was beyond anything Nyx thought possible.
It was no exaggeration to say that if Shiro wanted to replace Chaos' role in the universe, it is entirely within the realm of possibility.
With access to the myriad of worlds in this universe, Shiro took a deep breath as chaotic energy flowed through her hands.
'I'm sorry.'
Clenching her hand into a fist, thousands of termination programs were set off as codes started to unravel, erasing the history of these worlds. With Shiro's senses observing all of the worlds, she could see the destruction her actions brought forth.
The wretched expressions of those still living, seeing their bodies being shredded to pieces while the world follows their demise. The horror of a mother seeing her child cry out for help as their body is shredded apart, the screams of the innocent, and the curses of the oracles who foreseen their demise at the hands of the great destroyer asking a single question.
"Why?"
Gritting her teeth, Shiro did not avert her gaze. She could not, should not look away from what she had caused. This was her choice and she had to live with it.
As the final world disappeared without a trace, silence returned to the universe. The holes within the Beyond started to close as the worlds no longer needed to merge with the main world.
Dismissing her domain, Shiro returned the authority back to Juri.
"It is done." Shiro spoke with a heavy heart.
She had wondered what her strength was for after she killed Aekari and what lies beyond finding out the truth and the conflict with the third party. But this had made it clear for her. She wanted this power so that she could be the one to choose.
She needed to be the one to choose the course of destruction so that she could keep her people safe. If she wasn't strong enough, she'll be among the crowd of those who could only watch their world being erased without a chance to protest or fight back.
And thus, she strived to be the strongest.
"I believe I have repaid the favour I owe you." Shiro asked as Juri nodded her head.
"Indeed. We are now even. With that out of the way, I believe you still have use of my realm yes? Nyx didn't bring you here just to help me after all. So how can I help you two?" Juri asked as Nyx took a step forward.
"We're just wondering if it's possible for you to open a path back to the realm of gods while keeping it open for our return. We're looking for a specific person who resides there for answers." Nyx smiled as Juri thought to herself for a moment.
"It's possible. But as you know, the realm of gods will soon be erased as well. I don't doubt your capabilities, but you should make the visit quick. Holding off the erasure of a world to keep a path open is possible until the very last moment, but the realm will continuously shrink during that time. If you were to be caught in the erasure then there's nothing I can do."
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