The World's most Overpowered Side-Character

"I thought for sure he'd already have shown himself; Lumi pretty much keeps me informed every time something happens that I need to know about, but aside from that, Umbra has kept himself away from the Khalla-Nova Collective, it's frustrating, y'know?" Sol sat in his living area with Talia in his lap and Sara seated next to him.

Opposite of him there was Usami who had been absent in recent times for various reasons including earth-related matters, but she still showed up as usual for a debrief now that he was spending more time in his home.

"It feels weird seeing you without everyone else," Usami bypassed Sol's concerns and made a personal remark instead. "How are you taking the separation?" She asked him with her head slightly tilted and he smiled and shook his head.

"I keep tabs on everything if that's what you mean," Sol answered, clearing his thoat with an awkward smile. "Ikaris and the others take turns coming back every day so it isn't a separation, not entirely; besides," He paused, his expression went serious and his eyes flashed golden several times.

"I know it is a risk but staying away from me might encourage Umbra to make a move against them, unitl I know where he plans to attack I won't be as active as I used to unless my presence is needed."

"Unexpected," Usami commented. "I guess I figured you'd be more careful not to endanger the people you love the most," She hummed.

"It was not my idea," Sol stared at her.

"Ikaris suggested it, I agreed because I know she has the capability to defend herself and everyone else around her long enough for me to make a move; better yet, I would be there instantaneously, if Umbra decided to attack my wife or anyone else with her, he would be falling right into my hands, he knows this, that's why he isn't even inside of Khalla-Nova; wherever he is, he's growing his strength in preparation to face me again." Sol scoffed.

"I don't care what power he comes with, the next time we meet I'm sending him to hell, that I swear," Sol spoke in a chilling tone while he played with his daughter. After what he almost did to Ikaris, and the ally I am now blindingly aware of I will do whatever it takes to erase him from existence."

"You don't seem too concerned at the possibility that he might get stronger than you are overtime," Usami stared at him concerned, taking his declaration and promises as smoothly as her limited imagination of the scale of these new enemies could handle them.

"Are you referring to me being currently inactive while he is out there seeking power?" Sol asked and she nodded, confirming his question with an air of hesitance seeing his expression unchanging. "You don't need to worry about that," He nodded.

"I passively amass power thanks to the ever-growing collevtive inside of me; it fuels me like an endlessly turning machine, but elsewise, I am constantly in a battle-ready state, even now as we speak, I am refining my mana, condensing it and practicing."

"Wait, seriously?" She sat forward surprised at what he was saying since she couldnt sense a shred of mana coming off his being, she could sense Talia's mana and even Sara's next to them, but Sol didn't hava an ounce of mana coming out of his body.

"This isn't some fight that determines whether the gods live or die, it isn't a fight that decides the fate of a single world or even a collective, once we start there's a real possibility that it will never stop, it might drag on for years without a break.

Unlike me who learned to relax, Umbra is my past self, just think of his mindset as that moment on Arkadia when I lost it and went after Sitri with everything I had, He's that version of me cranked up by a thousand, I can't take him lightly, I know what I'm capable of more than anyone else.

"Indeed," Sara spoke up drawing their eyes to herself.

"Master in his right mind was capable of destroying an entire planet full of billions of lifeforms and has gone rampaging across the Collective obliterating dozens of outposts in the past months, I struggle to think what someone with his same resolve would be capable of when their mind and heart are corrupted by absolute evil, the implications alone are inconceivable," She concluded and Sol huffed in agreement.

"A motivated Sol vestic is a terrifying concept." Sara added and Sol next to her went silent as he tried thinking about what the people around him thought of him, he was the strongest, but that also meant he was the most respected and the most feared, his existence was a double-edged sword even to his loved ones.

"The bottomline is; even on the brink of sleep I am ready, once Ikaris is finished with Khalla-Nova we will move on to the next Collective, and then to the next, I know where he goes because his ally is making herself more and more visible to the emissaries of light, daring them to make a move against her, I know that Umbra is with her; it just means that I will keep following their path, it is slow but a hunt is a hunt, just as his hate is unrelenting, so too is my resolve, I will chase him down to the ends of the known Grand and whatever lay beyond those horizons should they be limited."

"Even if he flees outside of the Grand Collective?"

"Especially if he flees the Grand Collective; he threatened my family, he threatened my friends, he's a threat to everything that I have tirelessly worked to keep safe, his life is forefeit, his head is mine to take, that will happen no matter what comes between us. I will kill Umbra even if it is the last thing I do."

"I don't think I have ever seen you this motivated," Usami released a breath to relax her muscles after Sol's declaration left her shuddering a little.

"The situation calls for the most serious approach one can have or think of; do you not agree?" Sara asked and Usami nodded.

"Of course... definitely."

***

"It's been two months since I left the Khalla-Nova Collective, I expected him to at least leave it in pursuit, that's what I would have done but he seems to be in it for the long wait," Umbra was seated in a large destroyed throne room with a man wearing a crown kneeling before him with his arms and forehead pressed against the floor as the room burned from the sides, to his left sat Giza with her legs crossed, drinking from a golden chalace with red gens lining the side and to his right was a woman also on her hands and knees, battered and bleeding from a cut in her side.

"He is waiting for you to make the first move, my Lord," Giza responded to his open statement with a smirk. "The Godslayer may not fear you, but he is more than a little wary; he will not act as rashly as you would, he has others in his presence that require protection, after all."

She took another sip of the crimson liquid in the chalace and stared at the young man who was beneath her feet. "What will you do regarding his patient approach?" She askded and Umbra seemed to give it a moment of thought before he scoffed and looked down at the man before them.

"He can do whatever he wants, with The End at my disposal; I am able to escape him if he shows up anytime before I am ready to act against him, you said that Ikaris and the others aren't near him, that is obvioudly a ploy to lure me into attacking them; I won't fall for it."

"Good, it would be a pity losing you when we have known each other for such a short time, without a catalyst I would sink into the depths again." Giza chuckled and then stood, walking across the young man's corpse and standing before the one who was bowing to Umbra. "Shall we continue my lord?" She asked draining the remainder of her drink on him.

"Go ahead," Umbra smiled, releasing a chuckle of his own, taking the woman next to himself by her hair, raising her to her feet and staring in her grey eyes with a dismissive glance. "How many does this make?" He asked.

"How many queens, or how many kingdoms?" She responded driving her heel in the King's head and crushing his skull.

"How many worlds have we destroyed?" Umbra queried, seeing the Queen before him tear up as she saw in his eyes her ultimate demise. "I stopped counting afted we passed thirty."

"Continuing with this one we will have vanquished a total of a hundred and fifteen," Your power continues to grow my King, you are on the path to being the nexus of power, your absolution is inevitabe." Giza gave him a thoughtful gaze when she saw him release the woman after humming to her calculation.

"Hehehe, at this rate, we will have destroyed the entirety of the Khalla-Boris Collective before he sets foot in here, I might actually be doing him a favour by killing this many, I have also destroyed several outposts along the last three universes we have crossed."

"It is all in the name of power my Lord," Giza stared at the woman dismissively when Umbra stood and walked away from the throne, leaving her breathing heavily on the ground. "This world is now ripe with the seeds of despair, it is time to harvest."

"Then, lets dine."