Awakening of the Mind Sovereign
Chapter 58: The Sovereign’s Paradox - 7

Chapter 58: The Sovereign’s Paradox - 7

Power, fame, victory all irrelevant.

Because he had only one goal.

The Fifth World

A realm spoken of in myths.

A concept dismissed as fantasy.

But Echo knew the truth.

It was real.

And now standing amidst the corpses of those who had tried to stop him—

He could feel it.

His body trembled.

Not from fear.

Not from exhaustion.

But from something else.

Something entirely new.

It wasn’t the Border Energy that separated the strong from the weak.

It wasn’t the Principle Energy that ruled over matter and space.

It wasn’t the Unified Energy that connected all existence.

And it wasn’t the Celestial Energy that turned warriors into gods.

This was different.

This was beyond.

Echo clenched his fists.

His veins burned.

His skin cracked

Yet, he felt alive.

More alive than ever before.

"Is this the Fifth World?" he whispered.

And the moment those words left his lips

The world reacted.

The sky darkened.

The earth split apart.

The palace that once stood as the seat of power crumbled into dust.

The laws of the universe

The very rules that held reality together

began to break.

And in the center of it all stood Echo.

The rulers who still clung to life screamed in horror.

They had tried to suppress the truth.

They had killed anyone who sought it.

But now

The truth had come to them.

And it was unstoppable.

Echo took a deep breath.

His mind expanded.

His thoughts stretched beyond time.

And suddenly, he understood.

Why no one had ever reached the Fifth World.

Why even the strongest warriors had failed.

Why the rulers had kept it hidden.

Because it wasn’t a place.

It wasn’t some distant realm to be conquered.

It wasn’t a technique to be mastered.

The Fifth World... was a state of being.

A level of existence beyond humanity.

Beyond gods.

Beyond even the concept of strength itself.

It was the final evolution.

The ultimate truth.

And it had chosen him.

Echo felt his body shifting.

His muscles no longer ached.

His wounds **if they even existed anymore **were meaningless.

His form wasn’t just healing

It was rewriting itself.

He no longer needed energy.

He no longer needed techniques.

He had become the very thing warriors had sought for centuries.

He had become the Fifth World.

And in that moment, Echo realized something chilling.

There was no one left.

No enemies strong enough to challenge him.

No warriors left to stand in his way.

No limits to surpass.

He had reached the peak.

And now, there was nothing beyond it.

The battlefield was silent.

The once-great rulers lay lifeless.

The strongest warriors had been erased.

The world filled with competition and struggle

Was now empty.

Echo looked at his hands.

He had what every warrior dreamed of.

Absolute power.

And yet...

It felt hollow.

He had spent his life searching for answers.

And now that he had them

There was no one left to share them with.

No one left to challenge him.

No one left at all.

Was this victory?

Was this what he had fought for?

Echo closed his eyes.

The energy of the Fifth World coursed through him.

He could reshape reality itself if he wanted to.

He could rebuild the world in his own image.

He could erase the past and create a new future.

But for what purpose?

For who?

For the first time in his life, Echo had everything.

And yet, for the first time in his life

He felt truly alone.

The Fifth World was his.

He had ascended beyond the mortal struggle.

But now, he had to decide.

Would he continue to exist as a god among insects?

Or would he use his newfound power to do something else?

Something unthinkable.

Something no warrior in history had ever done.

Start over.

Erase himself.

Erase everything.

And begin again as nothing.

Would he dare to make that choice?

Would he dare to throw away the ultimate power?

Would he dare to return... to being human?

---

---

Echo stood at the center of a world that was breaking apart.

Not from destruction

But from his very existence.

His transformation into the Fifth World had altered reality itself.

His body was no longer bound by flesh and bone.

His presence distorted space.

His mere breath sent ripples through the laws of existence.

Everyone who witnessed this moment felt the same thing

Awe.

Terror.

Hopelessness.

This was no longer a battle between warriors.

This was something else entirely.

The remaining rulers men who had lived for centuries stood frozen.

They had spent lifetimes chasing strength.

They had climbed higher than any human before them.

They had once believed themselves invincible.

But now standing before Echo

They felt like insects.

"This... This isn’t just an evolution..." one of them muttered, his voice trembling.

Echo didn’t respond.

He simply looked down at his hands—hands that no longer felt mortal.

A slow, cold smile spread across his face.

"So... this is what it feels like," he murmured.

"To become a true Power Ruler."

His voice echoed across the ruins of the battlefield.

No one spoke.

No one moved.

Because what could they say?

What could they do against something like this?

The title "Power Ruler" had always been symbolic.

It referred to those who stood at the peak of strength.

Those who dictated the fate of nations.

But now

For the first time in history

Someone had truly become a Power Ruler.

---

Echo took a step forward

And the ground beneath him collapsed.

Not from force.

Not from intention.

The rulers instinctively stepped back.

Fear burned in their eyes.

They had survived countless wars.

Fought against the greatest champions in history.

But now, they knew.

No battle, no experience, no technique could prepare them for this.

Still one man among them clenched his fists.

An ancient warrior.

The last of the Celestial Kings.

And despite the overwhelming dread in his heart, he did not back down.

"... If you are truly the Power Ruler," he said, forcing his voice to remain steady, "then prove it."

Echo’s gaze shifted to him.

A flicker of curiosity crossed his face.

Even now, when the fight was over

Even when the outcome was inevitable

This man still had the courage to challenge him.

Foolish.

But also...

Amusing.

"Very well," Echo said, raising a single hand.

A simple gesture.

Effortless.

Yet

At that moment, the sky shattered.

A soundless explosion ripped through the battlefield.

No light.

No fire.

No energy.

Just pure force.

The Celestial King’s body never moved.

There was no time to react.

No time to fight back.

One second, he was there.

The next

Not destroyed.

Not even reduced to ashes.

Just... erased.

As if he had never existed at all.

The remaining rulers fell to their knees.

The weight of reality crashed down on them.

There was no more resistance.

No more struggle.

Just acceptance.