Global Gods : Skill-Resonance Awakened

Chapter 316: Ch 316 : Going Back In Past

Tower of Eternity, Floor 94: The Void of Silent Screams.

"That... was tough."

The voice was rough, like two mountains grinding together. Thalorax, the Dragonborn king and the current apex predator of the Tower, leaned heavily against a floating slab of obsidian.

He inhaled deeply, but the air here was thin and tasted of rusted metal.

Thalorax was a being of immense power. His physique was the pinnacle of the Dragonborn race, scales harder than diamond, muscles coiled like steel cables, and a mana core that roared like a nuclear reactor. He was the Champion of the Tournament. He was a Demigod.

But right now? He looked like he had been chewed up and spit out by a blackhole.

His golden armor, forged by the finest smiths of Veridia, was tattered. Deep, gouging claw marks scored his chest, leaking his dragonborn blood that hissed as it touched the floor.

But the most terrifying injury was his face.

Thalorax raised a trembling hand to his left eye. Or rather, where his left eye used to be.

The socket was empty. Bleeding profusely as Thalorax tried to stop it.

"I need to return," Thalorax wheezed, his remaining eye scanning the endless dark. "I need to heal. My regeneration can handle flesh, but this... regeneration of the eye needs divine medicine and time."

He looked toward the swirling portal that led to Floor 95. It glowed with the promise of greater power, of edging closer to the God Maker Realm.

"Not today," he decided. "I don’t think anyone else is reaching Floor 95 anytime soon. I have a lead. I can afford to rest."

With a grunt of effort, he raised his hand and pressed the Exit Tower icon on his system interface.

Space twisted around him, and the darkness of the 94th floor dissolved into light.

The Central Continent of Veridia: The Gateway of The Tower.

It was midday on Veridia, and the massive plaza surrounding the Tower Gate was bustling with activity. It had become the center of civilization, a place where merchants sold potions, guilds recruited members, and spectators gathered to watch the "Light Show."

The Gate was a massive archway. Whenever a climber exited the Tower, the gate would shimmer.

Usually, it was a soft, white glow, signifying a climber returning from the lower floors (1-40).

Sometimes, it was a bright blue pulse, signifying a climber returning from the middle floors (41-60).

Rarely, it was a violet flash, signifying a Demigod returning from the upper floors (61-70).

The crowd was still buzzing about the video of Lux, who had exited a few days ago in the world of God Asura, with a brilliant violet flare from Floor 70.

"Do you think anyone will beat Demigod Lux’s record this week?" a young Elf asked his friend, sipping a mana-shake.

"Doubt it," the friend replied. "The difficulty spike after Floor 70 is insane. Even the Demigods are stalled."

HUMMMMMM.

Suddenly, the air in the plaza grew heavy. The static electricity raised the hair on everyone’s arms.

The Gate ignited.

A pillar of blinding, golden radiance erupted from the archway. It was so intense that it turned the midday sun into a dim bulb by comparison.

The light wasn’t just visual; it carried a pressure that forced the weaker spectators to their knees.

"My eyes!" someone screamed, shielding their face.

"What is that?! Did the sun crash?!"

For a full minute, the plaza was bathed in this divine luminescence. It was mind-numbing. It was majestic. It was the aura of a being who had touched the ceiling of the world.

As the light slowly faded, revealing the silhouette of a massive warrior, the crowd held its breath.

But by the time their vision cleared, the platform was empty.

Thalorax had already Stepped away, vanishing before the paparazzi could swarm him.

However, in the age of the System, nothing remained hidden for long.

Within seconds, videos of the "Golden Exit" were trending on the Global Network. Analysts, Mages, and Tower Specialists poured over the footage, comparing the lumen intensity to previous exits.

[Global News Alert]

[Topic: The Golden Flash.]

[Analysis: Based on the density of the mana residue, the Climber exited from a floor exceeding the 90th Level.]

[Conclusion: King Thalorax has breached the unimaginable.]

The world gasped. While mortals struggled with Floor 40 goblins, he was knocking on the door of the 100th floor.

The Royal Villa, western continent.

Far away from the noise of the plaza, in a quiet garden overlooking a mountain range, the protagonist of the news sat on a stone bench.

Thalorax groaned as he applied a healing salve to his chest. The hole in his eye socket has been healing with a high-grade healing medicine.

BZZT.

His interface chimed.

[Incoming Video Call: Volthrax.]

Thalorax smiled, his weary face softening. He accepted the call.

A holographic projection of a younger, fiercer Dragonborn(transformed) appeared.

Volthrax, his son, was covered in green slime and blood, holding a massive greatsword. He was clearly in a Safe Zone inside the Tower.

"Father!" Volthrax shouted, his eyes wide. "I saw the notifications! The forums are exploding! Which floor are you on?"

Thalorax chuckled, the sound rumbling in his chest. "Straight to business, as always. I barely cleared the 94th floor, son."

"Ninety-four..." Volthrax breathed, awe and frustration warring on his face. "I thought... I thought I was closing the gap."

"I don’t think I can clear the 95th yet," Thalorax admitted candidly. "The boss in the 94th floor... it was a nightmare. So, I came back as i know 95th floor is going to be even greater nightmare. I need to spend some time with your mother, heal my wounds, and strengthen myself."

"I am currently on the 89th floor, Father," Volthrax said, a smirk returning to his face. "Only five floors behind. Don’t get too comfortable in your retirement home. I might catch up to you by next week."

Since his defeat in the Tournament of Gods, Volthrax had been possessed by a singular drive: to surpass the mountain that was his father.

But Thalorax’s Sovereign Domain talent was a wall that seemed to grow higher every time Volthrax approached it.

"Sure, brat," Thalorax laughed. "Just be careful. Floor 90... it challenges every senses in and out of your body. I won’t spoil the fun by telling you the horrors that await. You’ll have to bleed for that knowledge yourself."

"I wouldn’t have it anyways," Volthrax grinned. "Give Mother my love."

The call ended.

Thalorax sighed, leaning back. The silence of the garden was a balm to his soul after the screaming void of the tower.

"Volthrax is climbing fast," a soft voice came from beside him.

Thalorax turned. Sitting there, pouring tea with elegant grace, was his wife, Zephyra.

She was a Dragonborn of rare beauty, her scales shimmering with an iridescent sheen. But beneath the elegance lay a dormant power. She was the wife of the King, and a warrior in her own right.

"He is," Thalorax agreed, accepting the tea. "He has your stubbornness."

Zephyra looked at him, her eyes lingering on his injured yet healing eye. She didn’t flinch, but her grip on the teapot tightened slightly.

"Thalorax," she said quietly. "Why don’t I climb the Tower?"

Thalorax nearly choked on his tea.

"You?"

"Yes, me," Zephyra said, her eyes flashing. "My Dragon Form is purer than most. I could easily become the first ’Mortal’ to pass Floor 50."

Thalorax set the cup down. He looked at her, really looked at her. He saw the fire there. The frustration of being left behind while her husband and son gained glory and scars.

"You should have taken me with you," she accused, though her voice wavered. "Why go alone? Trying to show off your powers? Playing the lone hero?"

"It is dangerous in the upper floor, my dear," Thalorax said softly.

His expression shifted. The stoic King melted away, replaced by a husband who was terrified. Not of monsters, but of losing her. It was a look of pure love mixed with a mild, comical panic.

"Hmph," Zephyra crossed her arms, turning her head away. "The Champion of the Tournament... the Slayer of demon demigods... can’t protect his own wife in a tower? Do you think I am a fool?"

She paused, then muttered, "That ungrateful brat Volthrax is the same. Leaving me here alone."

Thalorax watched her. He saw the twitch of her lips. He saw the lack of true anger in her eyes.

She was joking, venting her worry through bravado.

He laughed internally. She was playing a game, and he knew better than to ruin it by calling her bluff.

"I am sorry, my dear," Thalorax said with practiced humility, bowing his head slightly. "I thought... I thought the Emperor would be happier if you climbed the Tower by yourself, in your own time. To forge your own legend, separate from mine."

It was a flimsy excuse, invoking the Emperor, but it was the perfect "Get Out of Jail Free" card.

Zephyra looked at him, fighting back a smile. She lost.

"I know," she sighed, leaning her head on his uninjured shoulder. "Otherwise, I would have climbed on your back and forced you to carry me to the top of the Tower like a backpack."

Thalorax chuckled, wrapping his arm around her. "And I would have carried you, Zephyra. All the way to the stars."

He closed his eye, letting the peace of Veridia wash over him. He would tell her stories of the void, of the monsters, and of the wonders he had seen. For now, the battle could wait.

While the mortals and Demigods found solace in love and ambition, the God of this multiverse had no such luxury.

Sunny stood in the Throne Room, but his mind was already detaching from reality.

He needed knowledge. He needed the wisdom of the royal void beasts. Specifically, he needed to understand the...

"Time to visit the past."

He closed his eyes and focused on his Time Affinity, as he poured his Mana into the concept of time.

WHOOSH.

With a gentle mental push, his consciousness popped out of his physical body.

He was now a being of pure thought, floating in a dimension of swirling colors and fractured images.

The River of Time.

It was beautiful and terrifying. To his left, the future branched out in infinite, hazy possibilities, something that he wasn’t able to see with his current powers.

Sunny activated God’s Eye.

ZING.

The chaotic swirl of images began to form a pattern.

He saw Thalorax sitting in the garden with Zephyra just moments ago.

He saw Lux fighting the Wooden Heart days ago.

He saw himself arriving in this place centuries ago (planetary time).

"Focus," Sunny commanded himself. "Go back. Further."

He began to fly upstream.

The images blurred. Centuries flashed by in seconds.

He saw the rise of Veridia.

He saw the Tournament of Gods.

He saw the Great War of Gods and Demons.

He flew past it all, aiming for a time before the war. A time before the fall. A time when the bubble was young and the Void Mother, Sansa, was creating a God of Cultivation, who would go down by the name Cai Zhen.

"I am coming for the secrets... Mother," Sunny thought, his will piercing the eons. "And I won’t return until I know how to use my powers."