Under the combined might of divine speech, Sunshine, and the Chaos Magic-enhanced shield, the black energy on the Old God's tentacles began to rapidly dissipate.
Yet, the tentacles continued closing in.
In the deathly vision, Syd saw himself attempting to evade the attacks using illusions or spatial movement, but the black tentacles seemed to have locked onto his exact location.
No matter how he dodged, they relentlessly found him.
A binding force weighed on him, slowing his flight and spatial transitions.
The scene felt eerily familiar, reminiscent of the techniques used by the Celestial Judge, Arishem.
Ultimately, despite his efforts and the combined use of divine speech, Sunlit Radiance, Chaos Magic, and reflective shields, Syd could only diminish about 45% of the black energy on the tentacles.
The tentacles finally reached him, wrapping around his form and pulling him into their grasp, turning him into a puppet of the Old God.
Frowning deeply, Syd reflected on the difference in power.
"Even with five Level 5 abilities—divine speech, divine body, flight, divinity, and divine light—I could only remove 45% of the energy. The gap is still so vast?"
He mused briefly. "Maybe if Sunshine reaches Level 5, things will change?"
After all, divinity and divine light were primarily supportive abilities with limited offensive potential.
As if to mock him, the Old God's voice echoed from the vision.
"I told you, resistance is futile. You will become my puppet… Your struggle is meaningless!"
Syd's frown deepened.
Before the Old God could finish, the scene shifted, pulling him out of the deathly vision and back into reality.
With a sigh, Syd stowed the Power Stone and the black stone, turning his focus to Sunshine.
However, knowing that its upgrade progression was slower compared to his other abilities, he decided to first examine his overall unlock progress.
It had reached nearly 80%.
The last time it had reached 75%, no new abilities had awakened. But now, at 80%, there was a high likelihood of unlocking something new.
Stopping everything else, Syd began absorbing sunlight.
The timing was perfect; the morning sun shone brightly, and soon, the notifications began.
[Light Energy +1]
[Light Energy +1]
The sun rose high in the sky, gradually making its descent. By sunset, Syd's energy points had reached an impressive total.
[Energy Points: 11,019]
In the next moment, he poured all those points into the unlock progression.
The progress bar blurred briefly before changing.
[Unlock Progress: 80%]
As the notification appeared, anticipation filled Syd's gaze.
[Skill Unlocked: Divine Core (Activated)]
[Skill: Divine Core (0/100) Level 1]
"Divine Core?"
The words left him momentarily stunned.
Before he could process, a mysterious, warm energy coursed through his body.
He felt an interaction between his divinity and light energy as they began merging with the mysterious force.
In an instant, Syd sensed a brilliant light forming within him. A dazzling, twelve-sided crystalline structure appeared in his body, radiating with immense power.
"This… is the Divine Core?"
Confusion flickered in Syd's eyes.
He could feel that all his light energy, along with a significant portion of his divinity, had converged into this radiant core.
Yet, aside from its presence, there didn't seem to be any other immediate changes.
Curious, Syd began experimenting.
Moments later, he attempted to absorb faith energy into the Divine Core.
To his surprise, the negative elements of the faith energy disappeared entirely, leaving only pure divine light or light energy in its place.
"What?"
His astonishment was palpable.
Faith energy could now directly transform into light energy?
This meant that, apart from sunlight, he now had another energy source.
More importantly, this transformation would significantly speed up the unlocking of new abilities and the enhancement of existing ones.
"Unbelievable…"
This new ability felt like an unexpected windfall, on par with Sunshine or Chaos Magic.
Syd quickly recognized the Divine Core as an auxiliary and growth-focused power. Yet, something about it felt incomplete.
While it matched the traits of an Omega-level mutant ability, his intuition told him it wasn't his core Omega ability.
"Baldr's true Omega power must still be ahead," he thought.
At 80% unlock progress, only 20% remained. When he reached 100%, all would be revealed.
Shifting his focus back to the Divine Core, Syd began testing its capabilities.
To his surprise, the red energy of Chaos Magic appeared to have increased by 10-20%.
"Is it my imagination?"
Strengthening Chaos Magic by such a margin was no small feat. A mere Level 1 Divine Core seemed capable of amplifying its effects.
Testing further, he found that all his abilities—Sunlit Radiance, divine speech, flight, and more—received a similar boost.
Even Sunshine showed nearly 20% more power.
"This core is like a power amplifier," Syd thought, marveling at its effects.
The range of his divine speech extended from 80 kilometers to over 90 kilometers.
His flight speed surpassed Mach 20, breaking a new threshold.
"If this is what Level 1 can do, what happens at Level 5?"
The potential left Syd eager to upgrade the Divine Core further.
For now, even Sunshine's improvement took a backseat to this newfound power.
Determined, Syd sought the method to level up the Divine Core.
Before long, he received his answer.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!! For Only $5!!][www.p@treon.com/zaelum]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]
Syd noticed that while most of the faith energy absorbed by his Divine Core was converted into light energy, a small portion seemed to be absorbed directly into the core itself.
Curious, he stopped the core from converting faith energy into light energy and allowed it to absorb faith energy entirely.
Immediately, strands of faith energy gathered and flowed into the core.
Syd felt a subtle shift in the Divine Core, and then a notification sounded:
[Divine Core Experience +1]
However, the change was minimal due to the limited faith energy available. It became clear that upgrading the Divine Core would require a significant amount of faith energy.
This realization led Syd to frown.
It all came down to faith energy. Previously, he had regarded faith energy as optional, but now…
Faith energy could upgrade the Divine Core, serve as a backup source for light energy, and accelerate the unlocking of abilities and progress.
Even if he exhausted his light energy while using Sunshine, faith energy could be converted into light energy to replenish his reserves.
Faith energy had become his bottleneck.
To acquire more, Syd turned his attention to the faint, interconnected lines of faith that stretched around him.
Unblocking the prayers he had previously muted, he was instantly met with fervent invocations:
"Lord Baldr, God of Light, grant me power, wealth, and strength…"
"God, hear my plea…"
These prayers were the result of his identity as the God of Light becoming known. Despite his ambiguous stance, there would always be those willing to believe in him, hoping to gain something in return.
After all, a living god had appeared before them, repeatedly demonstrating miracles and power.
Most people prayed for wealth, strength, beauty, longevity, or health.
Syd couldn't help but grimace.
"I'm just a fragmented God of Light, not some wish-granting omnipotent deity," he thought. "If I could do all that, I'd already be invincible."
He wasn't capable of fulfilling such grandiose requests—at least, not yet.
Still, he reconsidered his stance on these prayers.
His attention shifted to one of the most devout believers, someone he had encountered before.
Following the thread of faith, Syd focused on a neat room.
Inside knelt a middle-aged woman with blonde hair and dressed in white. She appeared to be in her forties, her hands clasped in prayer.
It was Audrey, the woman who had lost her sight after being attacked for being a mutant. Syd had restored her vision out of curiosity when she fervently prayed to him.
To his surprise, Audrey's faith had not only endured but deepened over time.
The thread of faith connecting her to him was remarkably strong and clear—a sign of unwavering devotion.
If most people were casual believers, Audrey could be described as a fanatic. Even in the face of life-threatening danger, she would likely never abandon her faith.
What surprised Syd further was that Audrey had remained unharmed after her interrogation by S.H.I.E.L.D.
Syd examined her surroundings and found no signs of surveillance or danger.
Just then, four people approached her home.
A bearded man led the way, followed by three young adults—two men and one woman.
The trio cautiously followed the man to Audrey's door.
Knock, knock…
"Come in," Audrey's voice called from inside.
The group entered, and Audrey stood to greet them, her gaze curious as she looked at the three newcomers.
"Are they here to join us?" she asked.
The youngest of the trio, Martin, excitedly replied, "Yes, we want to join!"
The other two, Mauro and Sarah, nodded eagerly.
Hearing this, Audrey's face lit up with joy.
"Three more faithful to honor Lord Baldr!" she exclaimed with genuine happiness.
Audrey had formed a small group devoted to the God of Light, Baldr, after her blessing and recovery.
Though the group's size had initially been modest, Audrey had been persistent in recruiting members, often stopping strangers on the street to ask if they were interested in worshiping the great God of Light.
Recently, thanks to Baldr's public displays of divine power, membership had begun to grow.
Observing the scene, Syd was taken aback.
"In such a short time, she's managed to form a group like this?"
One of the newcomers, Mauro, a pale young man with freckles, nervously asked, "If we follow Lord Baldr, will he bless us too?"
Audrey paused before frowning slightly.
"Faith in a god requires a pure heart," she explained. "We shouldn't worship with selfish motives. Gods are not obligated—"
Noticing the disappointment on their faces, Audrey hesitated before adding, "But I can tell you that Lord Baldr has blessed me before."
She pointed to her eyes.
"I was once blind, and it was through Lord Baldr's blessing that I regained my sight."
Hearing her testimony, the young trio became visibly anxious.
"Is it true?" Martin asked hesitantly. "Can you prove it?"
Mauro and Sarah looked on expectantly.
Audrey froze for a moment, unsure how to respond.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!! For Only $5!!][www.p@treon.com/zaelum]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]
También te puede interesar
Comentario de párrafo
¡La función de comentarios de párrafo ya está en la Web! Mueva el mouse sobre cualquier párrafo y haga clic en el icono para agregar su comentario.
Además, siempre puedes desactivarlo en Ajustes.
ENTIENDO