The Lone SF Transmigrator in the Otherworld Forum
Chapter 181: Setting the Tone

Though Karlstein had struck first without warning, it was not without calculation.

The future I want?

He could simply agree to the deal and his desired future would unfold? Laughable. How could something that easy possibly exist?

Such nonsense typically comes from con artists or cultists. Moreover, what was there to trust about this being? Especially after seeing the behavior of the self-proclaimed divine race she led, it was even harder to believe.

True, it might not be the case. Though he was absolutely certain it would not happen, perhaps Sephiroth had genuinely offered a deal with such a future as the price.

But her attitude in proposing the deal was flawed from the start.

Karlstein’s memory lapse caused him to forget her initial offer. Now that his memory had returned, the truth was clear.

She implied that his sister’s future depended on his cooperation.

He had nearly lost his head when she mentioned his sister at the time, but in retrospect, her tone was quite clear, as if holding his sister hostage. It was basically a threat, implying dire consequences if he refused her offer.

But that aside…

“I’ll create the future I want myself.”

Karlstein did not believe that only self-made futures held meaning, nor did he fear unintended consequences that might twist his desires into misfortune.

If Sephiroth was absolutely necessary on the path to creating his desired future? Then he would create a situation where she had no choice but to comply.

That was his intention. Karlstein was determined to make it happen by any means necessary, through violence, threats, or anything else.

That was why…

“Let’s have a proper fight.”

“This conversation is going nowhere.”

And even if negotiations with her proved necessary, would not an extra bargaining chip improve his position?

Strength is a universally powerful negotiating tool. And which enemy proves to be the most challenging? An unpredictable one.

Karlstein had to show he was not one to be trifled with, someone impervious to manipulative schemes and clever calculations. In short, he had to shake things up to establish the bare minimum conditions.

When faced with a powerful enemy who is also unpredictable, the only options are to evade or to concede.

So…

“Haa…How foolish.”

Despite Sephiroth’s flat tone, her voice somehow felt scolding.

“You may have reached the point where you can threaten me, but did you really think I came unprepared?”

Though Karlstein’s golden spear had pierced through her, she remained calm and composed.

Sss-

Her wound was restored to its original state in the blink of an eye. Despite Karlstein’s considerable effort, there was no damage at all.

“To begin with, this world is a combined product of my mind and flesh.”

With a light flick of her finger, the space-like background vanished, replaced by vibrant, lush vegetation.

“It is also one of my bodies.”

What appeared next were towering bipedal trees larger than giants, plants glowing with fluorescent rainbow hues, and twisted trees more grotesque than most monsters.

Beneath the plants, a river of starlight flowed like the Milky Way, blending ground and sky into a surreal, boundless expanse.

With a slight gesture from her, the forest menacingly threatened Karlstein with teeth, thorns, and venom. The world itself felt hostile, creating immense pressure.

Reminds me of the battle with Kameira.

Not a trace of tension was visible on Sephiroth’s face. She twitchd her finger to pull back the plants, but the pressure remained.

The ruler of a dimensional cluster truly could not be taken lightly.

Her aura began to intensify.

“Though they may look simple, these children are imbued with ideology. Even you cannot face them unharmed.”

“Ideology…”

Though Karlstein had never heard of such a concept, he could intuitively understand what she meant.

Transcendent power. Like the power of Single Numbers, it was a force that could twist concepts and handle abstract powers like laws.

“Well well.”

“…”

She exhaled starlight breath, which lingered on her finger. A greenish starlight, like a mirage, burned at her fingertip.

“Haa. There’s no need for us to waste our strength by brandishing weapons at each other.”

As she pointed at him with her index finger, Karlstein felt even greater pressure than before. But she extinguished the starlight and simply raised her other arm, waving it lightly.

“This realm cannot even exist without my permission. Goodbye. I shan’t see you off.”

Thud-

Karlstein was struck by a force that felt like it would crush his body, shoving the surrounding scenery away as if commanding him to leave this world. And he was not just physially affected—his mind and soul felt like they were being forcibly expelled, leaving his head reeling with the bizarre sensation.

“!”

Sephiroth truly was not bluffing about being prepared. This explained his prior memory loss and expulsion from this world.

Karlstein fought to stay conscious as he slipped in and out of awareness. He had been driven out defenselessly before, not knowing what was happening, but this time was different.

He employed a mystic technique to amplify his mental power, drawing on Longquan’s memories.

Amplifying mental power that was already close to infinite?

“Urgh.”

“Hnn? How are you enduring this? This doesn’t make sense…”

In reality, enduring in someone else’s mental world was an impossible feat, but his absurd mental barrier made the impossible possible.

But even so, her mental power was also in the transcendent category. She was essentially the foundation of a dimensional cluster that had existed through countless ages.

“Don’t force yourself to endure. You will only hurt yourself more.”

Her voice fluctuated, growing distant and then drawing near, while the surrounding scenery seemed to be sucked away and pulled back again.

The entire world flickered and twisted in chaotic disarray, but Karlstein managed to endure it all.

“How strange.”

“I’ll be disappointed… If this surprises you.”

Karlstein smiled, putting on a show of bravado.

If I get caught like this twice, I’m done for.

For a moment, cold sweat trickled down his back. The force trying to expel him from this world was that intense. Just as humans can’t halt or interfere with the flow of time, he was being naturally excluded from this realm.

A wild resistance surged through him as his soul was shaken to its core. If this expulsion continued, how many times could he endure it? He was not optimistic.

There was no choice. He would have to play his trump card. He had hoped to save this ability for the very end—his most powerful transcendent power: the reversal of causality.

It was a technique drawn from Longquan’s knowledge of secret arts, stemming from the power of No.6 Delroa.

I’ll finish her with a single move.

Karlstein’s gaze deepened with concentration.

***

Delroa’s power was one of the highest-tier abilities among all of Longquan’s memories. The power he referred to as transcendent power was recognized as a law in the Xianxia world of 《Three Thousand》 and as ideology in 《Sephiroth》.

Of course, there would be differences between each world, but a characteristic was that they could be mixed and used appropriately.

Among these, the powers Karlstein possessed were causality and recovery.

Both powers could be considered terrifying attributes, but causality was especially unique. The method Karlstein had been using so far involved forcefully injecting it with Ether, applying the power in a crude and direct manner.

Used this way, even if he threw a spear on a trajectory that should have missed entirely, causality would twist reality to ensure perfect accuracy.

The reverse was true as well—his opponent’s attacks would suddenly veer off course, and when Karlstein moved at full speed using this ability, his movements would become unpredictable, like frames skipping in a video, leaving his opponent unable to track him, no matter how sharp their vision.

Even with such a crude application, it was an extraordinary power with few equals.

But upon looking through Longquan s memories, Karlstein found that the other laws of Three Thousand were equally formidable. Fantastic laws like regeneration, absorption, speed, gravity, anti-elasticity, and more.

Yet, among the many laws of the Xianxia world, causality was recognized as a top-tier law, on par with those of time and space, because…

“Because it applies to the world, not just to oneself.”

Karlstein’s Ether, infused with this power, moved in a precise pattern. After executing a complex operation in an instant, it formalized into a single technique.

“You seem to think lightly of the situation because you’re just using a clone…”

In their brief clash earlier, Sephiroth had effortlessly shrugged off any damage. Despite the countless attacks following that single spear thrust, it had felt as hollow as striking a wooden block.

“…”

She looked at him emotionlessly, neither affirming nor denying.

In response, Karlstein created a new golden spear larger than anything before, but her face still showed no sign of tension. He wanted to break that iron wall of an expression.

No doubt some could relate to the playful impulse of disrupting someone’s composure.

Karlstein grinned.

“I know because I’ve done it too. An Avatar is ultimately connected to the main body somehow.”

And the fact that there was even a slight connection meant…

“It can be reversed.”

The moment the spear pierced the center of her abdomen, her expression began to crack.

Her reversing the existence of the main body and the Avatar.

Pzzt- BOOOM-!

Karlstein threw a question as she went rigid from the attack.

“How about now? Still overflowing with composure?”

“!!”

A cold, ferocious smile flashed across Karlstein’s face.

His idea of a conversational atmosphere, bordering on malice, was beginning to take shape.

***

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