Suddenly a giant black hole appeared in the middle of the devils’ formation, consuming countless devils, interstellar vessels, and cruisers. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Its size was far smaller than the merged black hole Aldrian had created before, which once expanded to nearly the size of the Ancient Blue Gate World

However, the moment it appeared, an accretion disk already formed around it. Its suction force was terrifying. Everything nearby was instantly dragged toward it.

There was no escape.

Neither the three gods nor anyone present could have imagined that a black hole would suddenly appear right in front of them. Not even in their wildest imagination.

That’s why no one had time to react.

The moment it appeared, its gravitational pull devoured everything within range, causing the black hole to grow at a frightening speed.

The messenger, the three overlords, and the three gods had already escaped thousands of kilometers away from the black hole using their techniques. They ended up in different locations, while the three gods remained together.

Even so, not everyone escaped unharmed.

The Necromancer King lost his left arm and leg when they were dragged into the black hole.

Black blood dripped from the severed limbs, yet he seemed to forget the pain entirely.

At that moment, the feeling of death brushing past him was far more intense than any physical injury.

His trembling gaze, along with the others, fixed on the black hole.

None of them understood how it could suddenly appear there. Its accretion disk had already reached the Center of Heaven.

However, compared to the giant Center of Heaven, the black hole was insignificant. It looked like nothing more than a speck of dust. The Center of Heaven did not appear affected at all.

The strongest devils present still tried to understand how a black hole could suddenly appear there. It was as if the universe had decided to play a joke on them by popping a black hole right in front of their faces.

They believed this was the doing of that man. Whatever he had done, he had somehow made this black hole appear.

It was because of how strange he was, and how he had spoken and smiled at the last moment before the black hole appeared.

That meant he had planned this all along.

Thanks to the man answering their last question and showing that ominous smile, they had escaped in time. With their sharp senses and instincts, they were instantly alarmed and knew that something was about to happen.

But they never expected that the man could actually make an entire black hole appear!

For the three gods, the shocking part was that someone could do such a thing in the First Heaven.

For them, creating or manipulating black holes was not something special. All of them could easily create black holes, and they could even form hundreds of them at the same time without much difficulty.

Even creating one as large as the Center of Heaven was possible for them. They could move them wherever they wished and do whatever they wanted with the black holes they created.

That was, if their power as gods was not sealed.

Now most of their power and strength were sealed. Here they were only peak pseudo immortal cultivators.

Although they were still special pseudo immortal cultivators with the comprehension and senses of gods, and although they were extremely powerful in this cultivation realm, there was no way they could do what that man had done.

What that mortal did was beyond their understanding.

That was an absolute fact. A mortal body had limits when it came to controlling the power of the universe.

A black hole, one of the universe’s most terrifying forces, should be completely outside a mortal’s domain.

So how?!

"Who is he? How could he do something like that? There is no way an existence like that could go unnoticed in the First Heaven. What he did alone already broke many of our understandings of natural laws," the black-robed man said as he stared at the black hole in the distance.

"That’s him. That must be the variable Lord Tarius talked about," the female god said in a certain tone. Her eyes still trembled as if she had seen something terrifying.

The other two gods looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"That is the dangerous variable Lord Tarius talked about? Are you sure?" the white-robed man asked.

The woman nodded and her expression turned solemn.

At the moment before they escaped, she had seen a short vision.

A brief vision of a terrible fate awaiting them in the First Heaven. She could not see what kind of disaster would befall them, but she saw a deep darkness accompanied by an overwhelming sense of dread. It felt as if she were already dead in that moment.

That was not a good sign for them.

This was the first time she had sensed such a vision in billions of years.

In the distant past, when the war against the forces of this universe was at its peak, visions like this sometimes appeared.

This universe had contained many powerful cultivators who made even their alliance look pathetic when facing them.

Only through the combined effort of countless universes were they able to suppress this universe. The combined strength of countless geniuses allowed their side to win the war against the forces of this universe.

One of them was the diviners like her.

After the forces of this world changed their strategy to guerrilla warfare, she had not seen a vision of bad fate for a very long time. As the resistance continued to dwindle, it was only a matter of time before they could completely conquer this universe.

She had thought she might never sense that kind of fate again.

Yet she had just seen it.

From her experience, whenever she saw such a fate, it was better for them to step back and plan more thoroughly before facing the disaster that awaited them.

However, the problem now was that she did not know what they needed to do to face that bad fate. She only knew that the vision most likely referred to what would happen if they continued confronting that mysterious man.

If they kept forcing the situation, that bad fate would most likely fall upon them.

The woman nodded.

"Yes, I’m quite sure. I just received a vision that a bad fate will befall us if we continue doing what we intend to do. I don’t think such a vision would appear when facing a normal mortal. The only thing that could have triggered it must be the dangerous variable Lord Tarius spoke of."

The two men raised their eyebrows.

It seemed they were quite fortunate. They had only just descended, yet they had already found the dangerous variable they needed to eliminate. They would not need to search the vast space of the First Heaven for it.

But seeing a vision of bad fate the moment they encountered that variable, who was still only a mortal, made them feel strange.

Could she be mistaken about her vision?

How could a bad fate possibly befall them?

That man might have done something beyond their understanding, but in the end he was still a mortal. With three gods present, dealing with him should not be difficult.

That mortal might have some tricks, but he must have limitations that they, as gods, could exploit.

Their gazes turned toward the black hole, which at this moment had already evolved into a quasar. After devouring countless things and being given time to develop, its size had grown many times larger.

The gravity force of the quasar could already be felt from their location. They could feel their bodies growing heavier as an invisible force slowly dragged them toward it.

The nearest world to the quasar, the Arsien Star, had also begun to be affected. Its movement started to slow, and its orbit gradually shifted toward the quasar.

The three gods decided to move farther away. They quickly retreated to a distance of more than two million kilometers, leaving the range of the quasar’s suction force.

"Then what do you suggest we do now?" the black-robed man asked. "Don’t tell me we have to return to the Higher Heaven."

The woman remained silent for a few seconds before nodding.

"That is the safest option. If you do not want that, then I think we should wait until the Northern Emperor and Southern Emperor descend," she said.

The black-robed man frowned.

"If that is the case, then we may have to wait for an unknown amount of time. The problem with God Arvegis is quite severe, and the Northern Emperor and Southern Emperor must remain in the Second Heaven to support our forces."

"But if we go back, how are we supposed to report this to Lord Tarius? Are we just going to return without gaining anything at all? It would be too shameful for us to go back when our target is only a mortal."

"I agree with the Eastern Emperor," the white-robed man said. "Even if you saw a bad fate awaiting us, I do not think we should simply retreat or wait in uncertainty. It would be better if we face this dangerous variable ourselves."

"At the very least, we will learn why he is called the dangerous variable. So it would be better—"

Before he could finish speaking, they suddenly noticed signs of a great battle in the distance.

Sparkling flames, lightning, and many other elements could be seen from millions of kilometers away from their location.

"Let’s go see what is happening," the black-haired man said before his body disappeared.

The white-robed man followed, leaving the woman behind.

The woman still frowned, but after a moment she decided to follow them.