บท 13: Chapter 12: Illusory Power.
"Sit down," Lysara'elmaris pointed at the rock next to her. The rock was big enough to sit on, and the truth was the rock was nothing but tiny debris that fell from the ceiling.
Rigel didn't say a word and listened to her by sitting on the rock she was pointed at.
"Can I ask you a question first?" Rigel raised his hand to show respect even though he wasn't sure that gesture would be counted as respectful in the presence of a Goddess in front of him. "Our encounter is still far in the future. Five years from now to be exact, but how exactly do you know me since you shouldn't know about me in this timeline?" He asked respectfully.
"The concept of time and space doesn't apply to my existence," Lysara'elmaris answered simply as she looked at the distance. "Is there something else you want to ask?" She glanced at Rigel with her pupilless bright blue eyes.
Rigel shook his head and behaved like a good student in front of a killer teacher.
"Your journey starts from here, and as I have promised, you will get a small portion of my power," Lysara'elmaris walked toward Rigel. "Close your eyes," she stood in front of him.
Rigel closed his eyes, and he felt a sharp object piercing into his chest like a needle. He felt a sting, but it was bearable. He felt that the needle-like object was moving inside his body and ran through all the veins inside him.
"Your life has been completely abandoned by them. Thanks to your insult to those Gods," Lysara'elmaris said. "I enjoyed that moment. It was quite entertaining," she added. Even though she said it was a good and fun thing, her voice was as flat as ever. "You can open your eyes now."
Rigel opened his eyes and he didn't feel any changes inside his body or any significant changes in his body.
"Back then in the trial. When I held the sword and the bow, I felt like I knew how to hold them properly. Was it because of you?" Rigel looked up at Lysara'elmaris.
"Yes. After all, I climbed to that position beyond the other Gods. Every object that I hold, I can use and master it," Lysara'elmaris nodded her head as she walked away and looked at the cracks in the walls. "Your soul is connected with mine, and that's why you have that trait," she pointed out.
Rigel looked at his palms and knew even with that trait alone, he could become strong.
"Now that you managed your status as Player gets revoked, do you know what I want you to do next?" Lysara'elmaris turned around to look at Rigel.
"3 months from now, there will be another invasion," Rigel paused to think if what he was saying was truly what Lysara'elmaris' wanted. "Humans will be given another opportunity for those that don't get chosen as Players. An Adapter trait for those who overcome hardship and risked their lives," he continued and looked at Lysara'elmaris.
"The final invasion that almost made humanity extinct in the future, right?" Lysara'elmaris raised her eyebrows a bit and blankly stared at the state of the cathedral. "Adapters are allowed to enter the Tower of Players without having to undergo a trial. Their growth is nothing like Players because the system doesn't assist them, but their growth is way higher than any mortals," she added.
Rigel knew that, but in his past life, he didn't participate in the invasion to kill those monstrosities. He had been betrayed countless times and he was tired and sick of the world for treating him badly. He knew back then if he had to participate, he would be betrayed again, so he didn't bother to join the devastating war.
"I know that I have to become an Adapter so I can enter the tower. But, would it be alright? What if those Gods noticed my existence again and noticed the power that ran through my body? Wouldn't that make both of us in trouble?" Rigel asked and realized the problem in the plan.
"That's precisely what I want," Lysara'elmaris answered with an unnerving and mischievous smile. "I want them to acknowledge your existence, making you the center of their attention. The more you make a scene, the more they will try to stop you, and that will help me grow my power back," she explained and stared Rigel in the eyes.
"What about your power that runs in my body? Wouldn't they notice it immediately?" Rigel furrowed.
"When the light is blinding, I swallow the light with darkness to balance it out. When the darkness swallows the light, I shine the brightest to send the darkness away," Lysara'elmaris gently touched the chain on her chest. "My power is scentless, formless, and weightless. Why do you think they imprisoned me here? They're unable to seal all my power because they know nothing about it," she explained.
Rigel looked at his palms and wondered if the reason he didn't feel any changes in his body was because of it. He realized how powerful Lysara'elmaris was, and why he shouldn't trust her completely. Her cunning and enigmatic existence gave him everlasting anxiety.
"How do you gain your power back?" Rigel asked as he clenched his fists.
"There are three ways," Lysara'elmaris lifted three fingers. "Kill those monsters as much as you can to fill my power, but it would take billions of them to fill a bit of my power. Kill the Players as their existence has been blessed by the Gods through the system, and killing millions of them would fill my power significantly. Lastly, kill the Gods," she pointed out.
"The more you kill them, the stronger you become. You have died once, and I have given you a very tiny bit of my power. The more you die, the stronger you become but remember I'll take your whole body and make it mine if you die too many times," Lysara'elmaris warned. "But, if you manage to satisfy my needs, I won't be taking your body because I can leave this place with my own power," she assured.
Rigel thought about it and didn't want to believe he was in a win-win situation the moment he sold his soul to Lysara'elmaris. He remembered what she said that in the end, he would lose everything and he knew if he was in her shoes, he wouldn't want a mere mortal to possess a majority of her power.
"Even so, without the system assistance, I would still be at a disadvantage compared to Players especially since they have a head start and I heard there are already Players that have reached beyond the 50th floor," Rigel said as he deep in thought about the danger to encounter with Players even if he was strong since a Player was superior to Adapters.
"You should call yourself fortunate," Lysara'elmaris appeared behind Rigel. "Do you believe the system is really what you think?" She whispered into Rigel's left ear.
Rigel immediately jolted from his seat and made some distance away from her. His heart was racing because he was in a mode where he was being wary and anxious about her.
"What do you mean?" Rigel asked as he tried to hide his nervousness.
"Do you think a skinny man who could barely lift any weight suddenly became a player, raising his base status until he can lift a statue with one hand isn't weird?" Lysara'elmaris raised her right eyebrow. "What you just listened to is called an Illusory Power. The moment the Council of Gods decided to get rid of the system from his body, all the status points he had would disappear in an instant, turning his state to before he became a player," she explained.
Players were indeed being spoonfed by a golden spoon where progressing could be a piece of cake. Adapters had to be covered in blood, and sweat and put their lives on the line for an insignificant amount of progress.
Although Players sounded superior, the fact that their progress was nothing but an Illusory Power, everything they had could disappear at any moment. Adapters, on the other hand, didn't have to worry about losing anything they had achieved. But, for Players getting their status revoked would be extremely rare.
Rigel would become an Adapter and he had the speed of progression like Players and could be even faster. There was nothing he should be worried about as long as he kept gaining that power through those 3 methods that Lysara'elmaris explained.
"You promised that you would let me have my revenge first before you do whatever you want to me. Should I be worried that you would sabotage me with the power inside me?" Rigel asked and stared into the bottomless blue eyes of Lysara'elmaris.
"Why would I do that? I need you, and you need me," Lysara'elmaris answered by asking a question back.
Rigel had no choice but to believe her, and after all, she was the one who could help him seek revenge.
"I want to know about the Council of Gods," Rigel remembered that he wanted to ask that question.
"You have been staying here for too long," Lysara'elmaris whipped the chain in her hand and wrapped it around Rigel's neck. "And you're too early to know about them," she stared at Rigel as a portal appeared behind her. "We will meet again soon," she added and then threw Rigel into the portal.
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