750 billion was the absolute limit of Kayden’s reach. At this moment, he could not extend it by even a single meter beyond that. He could spend billions of years trying, and it would not change—this was the limit that the universe itself had placed upon him. It was strange because Kayden felt trapped. Adding up his conversions, he had reached an insane level of power that few in the universe could even dream of achieving.
The most unbelievable part was that he was still only in the Eighth Realm. Kayden still had the Ninth Realm, and possibly the Tenth Realm, ahead of him. His strength would likely reach the same level as a newly ascended god. That would be utterly insane—but he was still far from being capable of something like that.
"There’s going to be a tournament of the gods," Hypnos said, lying on top of Kayden’s head while explaining a bit about ancient souls. "You are not required to participate, but I recommend you go so you can understand how much your pursuit of perfection is delaying your progress. Dozens of other mages have already surpassed you in strength."
The cat’s words were harsh, but Kayden did not even flinch.
It had been a total of two billion years since the gods appeared in the universe. The average power level had increased at an unprecedented rate, but the most insane part was the strength of the elites. They had grown ridiculously. Destroying galaxies had become nothing more than child’s play for those at the top.
During this time, Kayden had practically been forgotten. No matter how much they searched for him, he was never found—not even within the timelines or through ancient techniques. Many assumed he had been killed, but that was only a thought held by those who did not personally know his legend. Those who truly understood the magnitude of his power never believed such a thing for even a second.
"And what about my safety?" Kayden wasn’t worried about being attacked while inside his spell, as his soul practically made him invisible in the timelines. The only way to find him was if a high-level mage happened to enter his territory by accident.
"It will take place in a Hall of the Gods. Your lives will be protected by the heavens—there will be no deaths, and no one will be tracked afterward," Hypnos explained.
Kayden nodded. "The reward is that the god can use a little more of their power and select two main fighters. All of the top ten will receive this reward."
"Why are you giving me the chance to participate instead of forcing me?" Kayden couldn’t quite understand Hypnos’ actions. And with the next sentence, he realized he had been thinking of the cat as a normal god.
"The final reward isn’t even worth my time, Kayden. I’m just trying to have a little fun," Hypnos said lazily.
What the other gods treated as a serious challenge was nothing more than a child’s game to Hypnos.
"When is this tournament?" Kayden wanted to know if he had time to prepare a little more, but...
"Now," Hypnos said, his voice still drowsy.
"Let’s go," Kayden responded without much thought. He had nothing to lose in this confrontation.
Kayden didn’t even feel the space around him shift before he suddenly appeared inside a colossal coliseum, spanning tens of trillions of kilometers.
The coliseum where Kayden arrived was a construction that defied the very logic of space. Its walls stretched for trillions of kilometers, shaped by an impossible architecture—columns floated in the void, and grandstands folded over themselves, accommodating spectators who did not exist at a single point in time. The ground was made of an unknown material that reflected the cosmos like an infinite mirror, and every step echoed like a contained thunderclap.
At the center, an unimaginably vast arena extended—so immense that entire battles could unfold without one competitor even seeing the other. Above, distorted skies spun slowly, filled with constellations that did not belong to any known universe. The very air vibrated with divine energy as if space itself was paying attention to what was about to happen.
There were thousands of gods, each with anywhere from a single representative to tens of thousands of them. The grandstands were both completely full and completely empty at the same time. The space in this place was so tangled that Kayden’s mortal mind could not even begin to comprehend it. The laws of space were being used in such a way that the coliseum itself had become law—it was simply unimaginable.
"You are a representative of a greater god. You do not need to go through the initial fights," Hypnos said.
Kayden and Hypnos only had to wait while the weaker mages fought for glory.
During this time, Kayden saw dozens of familiar faces fighting. One of them was Felix. The cat had become insanely more powerful than before. He was capable of swallowing a good portion of the coliseum and using it as energy for his spatial attacks. But… it wasn’t impressive.
Like so many others, Felix had sacrificed potential for raw power—one of the most foolish mistakes that all mages eventually made in their lives.
One mage that Kayden saw fighting, whom he had not expected, was Achilles. In fact, he barely even remembered that Achilles existed. And…
Kayden couldn’t stop himself from uttering the word when he saw Achilles, a mere Seventh-Realm mage, destroy a Tenth-Realm mage in only two moves. But they weren’t just two moves.
Achilles received a spatial cut aimed directly at his head. He moved only a few centimeters, and at the same time, broke space at a specific point. This movement redirected the attack that was meant to decapitate him back toward the Tenth-Realm mage, without any logical explanation.
Immediately after, Achilles created a rupture in space that triggered a black hole inside the Tenth-Realm mage’s head—erasing every last trace of life from the being.
Kayden could not stop replaying the entire sequence in his mind. These movements… were perfect to a degree that should not have been possible.
Kayden knew that he was not capable of doing that. In fact, he had never seen a single mage capable of performing anything even remotely similar. It was simply rarer than winning the lottery.