Chapter 45: The Birth of Transcended Will
Putting away the diary, the silence of the empty penthouse was deafening.
Standing by the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, Ethan looked out over the sprawling, neon-lit skyline of New Geneva. Below him, the city was slowly recovering from the chaotic Aberrant invasion.
The sirens of emergency vehicles echoed faintly in the distance, a stark reminder of how close this metropolis had come to absolute ruin.
In the reflection of the glass, Ethan stared at his own face. The hollow, deathly look was gone.
His skin was smooth and pristine, his physique broad and imposing beneath his clothes.
Physically, his Imperial Body had done its job flawlessly, knitting his cells back together and replenishing his burnt vitality.
But mentally, a war was still raging inside his head.
"Give it back... my power... my life..."
"Why did you steal it? You monster!"
"Kill them... kill them all! Burn everything!"
A chaotic, discordant chorus of voices clawed at the edges of his consciousness. It was the mental backlash of the S-Rank ability, Overdrive.
When he had first upgraded his S-Class Unlimited Plunder, the mysterious diary had warned him of a severe limitation: plundering abilities meant absorbing the residual emotions, resentment, and lunatic obsessions of the victims.
The previous user of Overdrive had been a madman who burned his own life force for power, and now, those maddened, screaming echoes were trying to tear Ethan’s sanity apart.
Ethan winced, pressing a hand to his temple. A thin line of cold sweat rolled down his neck.
Originally, his plan had been to hunt down a rare, mind-calming ability to act as an anchor.
He had hoped to find a psychic or spiritual superhuman to plunder, shielding his mind from the maddened wails of his victims.
Fortunately with the fusion upgrade to 10% it seemed he didn’t need to.
"Let’s see what you’ve got for me," Ethan murmured to the empty room.
With a silent thought, he activated his S-Class Datafication ability.
The familiar, glowing translucent blue panel materialized in the air before him, hovering silently against the backdrop of the night sky.
He bypassed his overall stats, his eyes locking onto the newly unlocked entry at the very bottom.
[Innate Trait: Transcended Will]
[Description: A supreme spiritual authority born from the host’s absolute defiance against fate. Having died helplessly as an exploited "pushover" in a past life, the host’s soul has forged an unyielding, unbreakable core that refuses to ever bow, submit, or be controlled by any external force, system, or entity]
[Active Effect (Absolute Domination): The host can project their condensed willpower outward as a tangible, crushing spiritual pressure.
Weaker minds and entities will be instantly incapacitated, and their god particle output will be heavily suppressed.]
[Passive Effect (Sovereign Mind): The host’s mind becomes an absolute sanctuary. All form of mental intrusion, psychic attacks, illusionary manipulation, and residual emotional backlash from plundered abilities are forcefully crushed and erased by the host’s dominant willpower]
Ethan stared at the floating blue text, a breath of cold air escaping his lips.
"Sovereign Mind... Absolute Domination..."
A wild, exhilarated grin spread across his face.
Will, this was something every level 5 ability user in this world had, previously he had thought he didn’t unlock it because it was an ability tied to the soul and he wasn’t the original Imperion
However, it seemed that wasn’t the case.
In this world, most superhumans grew stronger by simply accumulating God Particles, treating their bodies like physical containers.
But a true Level 5 powerhouse had to take a qualitative leap.
They had to condense their core obsession, their deepest trauma, or their absolute dream into a physical, reality-altering force.
Sentinel had touched it with his "Will of Protection."
Arthur, the protagonist, possessed the "Will of Justice."
And now, Ethan had unlocked his own.
Born from his absolute trauma of being a helpless pawn in his past life, and his burning, desperate desire to never be stepped on again, his will was simple: Absolute Defiance. Absolute Domination.
"If you think you can drive me mad with some pathetic whispers..."
Ethan’s eyes snapped open, his pupils suddenly flashing with a blinding, majestic golden-blue light.
"Then you vastly underestimate how much I hate being controlled."
BOOM!
He unleashed it.
An invisible, colossal shockwave of sheer spiritual pressure erupted from Ethan’s body.
The air inside the thirty-story penthouse instantly became heavy, thick, and suffocating, as if the gravity in the room had suddenly multiplied tenfold.
The heavy glass windows of the penthouse groaned and rattled violently under the pressure.
The dust particles floating in the air froze in place, trapped in the invisible distortion.
Even the lights in the ceiling flickered and dimmed, struggling to maintain their current under the oppressive aura.
But the most dramatic change occurred inside Ethan’s own mind.
The moment his Transcended Will flared to life, it was as if a blazing, golden sun had risen inside his dark, chaotic sea of consciousness.
The screaming phantom voices of Overdrive’s previous owners screamed in genuine terror.
The lingering lunatic obsessions, the agonizing wails, and the chaotic, parasitic thoughts were instantly met with a cold, merciless, and mountain-crushing pressure.
Crush.
With a single, effortless thought, Ethan’s Transcended Will pulverized the mental backlash into absolute nothingness.
The chaotic whispers were shattered, evaporated like mist under a scorching sun, leaving behind only the pure, unadulterated essence of the S-Rank Overdrive ability for Ethan to control perfectly.
The suffocating pressure in the penthouse vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
The glass windows stopped rattling, and the dust particles resumed their lazy drift through the air.
Ethan stood completely still, his chest rising and falling as he breathed in the cool night air.
For the first time since he had plundered Overdrive, his mind was completely, beautifully silent.
There was no buzzing in his ears. There was no phantom anger clawing at his chest. His consciousness was as clear and calm as a mirror-like lake.
He didn’t need a mind-calming ability anymore.
"Unbelievable..." Ethan whispered, looking down at his hands. He clutched them into tight fists, feeling the immense physical power of his Imperial Body humming in perfect harmony with his newly purified Overdrive ability.
"With this, my own willpower is enough to dominate any stolen power."
This was the true power of hitting the 10% fusion threshold.
By aligning his mindset with the original Imperion’s cold, unyielding resolve to defy fate, his Datafication ability had recognized his growth, bridging the gap between his soul and this godly body.
He was no longer just a terrified transmigrator trying to survive a script; he was actively becoming the "Only Man in the Sky."
Walking over to the open balcony, he leaned his hands against the cold metal railing.
With a sigh he looked up at the stars, his mind drifting back to the terrifying prophecy he had just read on the second page of the diary.
The United Human Federation was actively conducting greedy God Particle experiments, sending out cosmic beacons that were drawing the world-devouring Cosmic Horrors closer to Earth.
If he did nothing, humanity was doomed. If he tried to be a traditional hero, he would be bound by the Federation’s laws, and the planet would eventually be wiped out.
To save this world, he had to destroy the Federation. He had to conquer humanity.
"The era of being a passive observer is over," Ethan said, his voice carrying a cold, heavy weight that seemed to freeze the very wind around him.
"The Federation wants to bind the S-Class heroes with their Superhero Act. They probably even want to set a trap for me."
He smiled darkly, his eyes reflecting the cold starlight.
"Let them try. I will use their own stage to show them what happens when they try to put a leash on a God."
Facing in the widow, he seemed to see the former Imperion smiling back at him