Before he can, say anything more, he was consumed by darkness.

As he regained consciousness, the dim light of the empty expanse slowly illuminated his surroundings, revealing the figure of a solitary man standing before him. 

No doors, no windows, just an endless expanse of dull gray. Painted in a dull gray, easy to ignore. Before he could panic, he realized he was not in control, the thought came on its own even though he had no time to move. 

'It's like watching a memory, but more immersive,' he thought, his mind racing to make sense of his surroundings. 

'Is this a new trick or some way to control me? Maybe the legendary past memories of a reincarnator. Can't catch a break after waking up.'

He thought, his mind working overtime as he can't do anything else. 'Nothing much to do other than being a passenger' But he was confused as his next action came to his mind and his mind slowed down to a observation state.

His mouth moved on its own, uttering a name he knew all too well. "Asher," he said, calling out the name of the man as he locked eyes with the solitary figure before him.

"Maximus," the man replied, curt and devoid of emotion. His only distinct feature he can concentrate on were the golden eyes that seem to be glowing.

"No other way huh" he muttered, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. 

"No," the man replied in his short way of talking. 

The more he looked at the man in front of him, the more blurred his features became. 

"They control almost all of the universe," he said, as the scene around them changed. 

Thunder raged and wind blew. Boulder as big as trucks were floating past him. There was no land in sight, and he was walking on the air. A chaotic plane of thunderous skies and floating meteors. 

"Yet still can't overcome the Immeasurable Tribulation," the man completed, his voice carrying a weight of resignation as he surveyed the desolation before them.

"How could they?" he scoffed bitterly. "They lost Hope. For all their power, the bastards killed the one that they should have protected, in their scrabble to get more of the universe under their control" he snorted.

The golden-eyed man's gaze turned piercing, as if peering into the depths of eternity as he looked outward. "You know they will find him in the next iteration," he stated matter-of-factly, a hint of something akin to premonition flickering in his golden eyes.

"What? How can you be so sure?" he demanded, astonished that the cycle may end at the next iteration. Countless iterations had come and gone, each one a step closer to the elusive goal of Eternity. Or something like that, he has been able to glimpse in the dying moment of a universe.

The half-step to being eternal. A continuous record, an unending loop of improvement and refinement in pursuit of transcending the Immeasurable Tribulation.

"You will know in the future" the man said, his golden eyes flashing as the Immeasurable Tribulation started.  Lightning crackled across the tumultuous sky, illuminating the chaos with its searing brilliance. 

As the fabric of memory strained to recreate the Tribulation, their surroundings blurred and shifted, returning to the dull expanse. 

Maximus remarked grimly "Then it will be a bloodbath for the poor bastard, more than it already is." A heavy sigh escaped him. "Well, whatever. Not like we're not playing for our own good,"

He continued with another sigh looking at the man "One chance. Only one chance for us," he said, his words ringing out against the backdrop of gray emptiness. "And that's only because the bastards above want me as their chess piece."

"Nothing more to do," the man said "Other than making it count," With each word, he started slowly fracturing like a mirror. It was the beginning of their plan, before his master came to pluck his soul.

Before he could do anything more, a sudden impulse overcame him, his arm moved a little to produce a coin. "Let's have a bet," he said.

"A bet with ourselves?" the man scoffed. "We are merging, you know. You will be me and I will be you."

"Don't be a downer," he retorted, defiance flickering in his eyes. "Don't you have a wish that was only yours alone before we become one and the same?" he said as he tossed the coin, already knowing the answer of his enemy. 

As the golden eyed man concentrated on the coin spinning in the air, Asher sighed a last time before walking toward him, his cracked figure dissolving in the motes of gold and silver which swirled around him, absorbed by his body.

Before the golden eyed man completely dispersed, he heard a single sentence half already coming from himself.

"Kill them all," the voice echoed, overlapping with their tones, in the empty room, barely more than a mere whisper.

A bloodthirsty look gleam crossed his face, 'Of course.' he thought, as felt memories and feelings not his own started assimilating into him. Images of faces, once full of life, flashed before him, their voices echoing in the recesses of his memory.

'I guess the universe will revolve around Hope the next time.' he mused as the final part of the merger completed.

His new name echoed in the now darkening room.

Asher Maximus Silverstar.

As his consciousness began to slip away the name etched in his mind.

Mythrnl

Trivia: Pseudo-Eternal: A Universe in an endless cycle. Repeating to stave off Eternal Death. Examples include: Pangu's creation of Heaven and Earth, The nine worlds under Yggdrasil. Stay tuned to learn more about a Eternal Universe as well as the Common Universe(??? Name undecided).

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Characters in Chapter: Asher Maximus Silverstar