And yet, despite Rael’s obvious threat, the man remained in place, not saying a word nor reacting in the slightest. For a moment, Rael thought this guy had a seizure or some shit and died.

However, that wasn’t the case at all. In fact, the man was currently scanning Rael and trying to find out a little more about him. As it so happened, the man had observed Rael since the beginning, since he had seen enough of the future to know what would happen.

Perhaps he was the only being in the universe who knew how it would proceed. After all, Rael’s fate was so all over the place that most people would just see him dying to some random monster. Moreover, he was just not inherently special.

Using a form of energy to gain power? That wasn’t uncommon. He was just slightly above average on the universal scale, and when there were trillions of such people in each universe, it became a little ridiculous to keep their attention on him in particular.

But the man was different. From the very start, he felt something off about Rael. So he did some digging and found out that despite what fate had in store for him, he was never actually meant for small things.

He was meant for greatness, practically destined for it. And so, the man kept track of him, making sure that his environment was suitable for growth. Though, one day, Rael vanished. The man’s memory of Rael was erased too.

By the time his memory had returned, Rael was already extremely powerful. Not on his level, of course, but enough to rival many of the people in the universe. Alas, a lot of time had passed since then, and now, the man kind of wished he had paid much more attention to Rael.

But who would’ve expected that some guinea pig would go so far above and beyond, reaching heights like this that allowed him to split several thousand realities with a single thought? Even now, as the man admired the space that showed all possibilities frozen in time, as well as tens of other realities interconnected with one another, he could only sigh in exhaustion.

"It seems like I’ve underestimated you far more than I care to give myself credit for," the man said matter-of-factly.

Rael shrugged. "Doesn’t matter to me. Just tell me what’s up with you and I’ll go back home after giving you a swift death."

Obviously, Rael could end this hassle by just killing him and absorbing his memories, but where’s the fun in that? He had already wasted this much time, so he might as well hear him out.

"Hmm... I guess it was just curiosity? Is it wrong to be curious?" the man replied.

"You can be curious and not a stalker," Rael said. "On that note, what was the intent behind all these attacks? Did you think I wouldn’t notice them?"

The man chuckled. "I was sure you would notice. But I suppose I just wanted to give you a few gifts before my death. My name is Durian, by the way."

"As in the fruit?" Rael paused. "Durian, had I missed my wife’s birth because of you, I would’ve put you in a constant death and torture loop, by the way."

A faint smile appeared on Durian’s face. "I would’ve done the same in your shoes, Rael. Still, I’m glad you got to where you are. I was sure that I had a bit more time. Perhaps I could play around a little more, even kill someone you care about. But alas, all good things must come to an end eventually."

"Mm... That they do. Goodbye, Durian," Rael said, and without wasting any more time, he decided to cut this man’s life short. He was a strange being, having watched over Rael for so long. But hey, he hadn’t acted on it even once during all this time, except for when Rael was at his strongest, so at the very least, Rael could give him credit for that.

Still, as Durian’s body and soul were split in front of him, Rael didn’t feel the same satisfaction he was expecting. But oh well, this kind of stuff was beyond him by now. For there to be beings that could bypass his perception like this, it appeared that he needed to put a tighter leash on some things.

For one, if just about anyone could create dimensions and hide in them, then they could attack Rael and his family whenever they pleased. Finding them just like he found this dimension would be incredibly difficult, since although he didn’t want to admit it, Rael was lucky.

If these guys didn’t get overconfident, he would’ve missed them. Speaking of the other guys, Rael glanced at Durian’s crew and, without hesitation, snapped all of their necks, then eradicated their bodies.

Their souls weren’t spared either. Rael finally felt a little free again, and just in case, he went ahead and absorbed the memories of all those he had killed just now, including Durian. From the looks of things, Durian really was the person responsible for all this stalking.

Except, why did he take so long to appear? He could’ve become an ally initially, and then whatever later? Rael couldn’t understand it. He really couldn’t. Though, he did see the locations of several other bases, much like this one.

In the end, Rael spent the next couple of weeks dealing with the thousands of bases that existed, destroying all the laptops as well as all the beings that could harm him. And once he was finally done, Rael teleported back into his mansion and exhaled an annoyed breath.

Zafira wasn’t here, Lilith was slacking in the garden, Nyx was sleeping as always, and Gaia... Where even was she? Rael glanced around, looking for her to the best of his ability, and surprisingly found her in the streets of Celestara, handing out some veggies to children and even running her own stall with the help of Evelyn.

Did she get bored of her ice cream business?

Heh.

I should have a look.