Chương 2: Essence
The Grim Reaper didn't think that the human would be so insane as to voluntarily jump into its mouth.
Was he suicidal?
But Atlan had a different thought. After all, this was an opportunity unlike anything he would ever get.
The woman's words echoed back in his mind.
'If you showed your talent, then Gods may personally visit you in the Draft. They will be offering you rewards including a unique Genus to evolve your bloodline.'
He knew that this was his chance to gain powers that he wouldn't have gotten from the Draft. And as for the dangers…Atlan simply took the woman's words to heart.
She said, 'Oh, and don't worry about your injuries. This is just a simulation.'
So, he dived right in without any hesitation. He didn't know why he felt this urge, but it was the first thing on his mind when he saw the worm.
He jumped head-first into the most dangerous place in hell.
As soon as he was inside, he was enveloped by the absence of light. It felt like he entered an abyss.
Atlan felt weightlessness in the darkness. He looked back yet he could not see where he came from. He was at the belly of the beast; there was no going back.
"Insolent human! You know not where you are. Only death and suffering await you inside…"
Yet he kept going.
Atlan floated forward with nothing but confidence in his eyes.
The chasm of darkness would have left most humans disoriented, confused as to which was up or down, seconds from hours, and end from the beginning. It would have made them insane, especially after floating with nothing but the deafening silence of shadows beside him.
But Atlan persisted.
The God of Death couldn't believe it. He thought this human was nothing more than a coward afraid of death. After all, he couldn't even get past the first batch of the Draft. Even the weakest of humans get past the 3rd batch.
He should have been cowering in fear.
Yet he still pushed himself deeper into the chasm.
After an unknown amount of time, Atlan finally saw a red ant floating right in front of him.
It was glowing with a white transcendence.
"You have passed the test," lied the God of Death. "You have saved the ant from me."
The Grim Reaper thought Atlan would finally stop his journey now that the ant was alive again. It must have been the reason why he braved the Grim Reaper's jaws of death.
But he didn't.
Atlan continued forward until he saw a bright white light in the distance.
He moved closer until he was an ever-changing object.
In one instance, it was a cube emitting neon blue lights from its edges. Then it changed into a golden eye. And next, it quickly morphed into a non-geometrical blob of meaty muscle.
It was as if the 3rd dimension couldn't fully manifest the majesty of this object.
Atlan raised his hand, about to touch it when the God of Death roared at him.
"STOP RIGHT THERE. Don't move closer if you don't want the ant to die."
The red ant suddenly materialized beside the ever-changing object. Above it was the rotting hand of a demon, ready to squish it into nothing but smithereens.
"You are a pacifist. Stop now or the ant dies along with you."
For someone who touted himself as a pacifist, Atlan was paradoxically indifferent to the Grim Reaper's threats. It was as if he didn't care about the ant in the first place.
Atlan raised his hand and continued to reach for the mysterious object.
"CURSE YOU! If you touch that, billions would die and suffer!"
But even with the God of Death's guttural roar that shook the very fabric of space, Atlan persisted.
When his hands finally touched the object, it changed into its final shape;
A red apple.
It was only then that the God of Death realized who he was dealing with. Atlan's tranquil yet menacing demeanor in the face of the Almighty Divine God of Death was not something a coward could do.
This human was not a lowly being whose weakness led him to fail the Draft. He was a wolf in sheep's clothing!
He was someone who gave the God of Death a taste of his own medicine, fear.
"THE IMPUDENCE! You have reached far beyond your authority, human!"
Atlan felt the bones in his body shake. But he didn't care.
He opened his mouth and said;
"I don't like to see suffering."
He put the red apple between his teeth and took his first bite.
A spray of misty red blood followed the crunch, enveloping the whole darkness.
It was a bloodbath.
The whiteness of his eyes and his teeth contrasted with the pure red blood dripping out of his face.
Yet even with blood dripping down to his tongue, letting him taste the metallicness of it all, Atlan stayed uncaring.
"I hate blood," he said as he took his second bite.
As his front teeth reached the core of the apple, the whole thing disintegrated into a cloud of grayish-black smoke.
The blackness of everything turned into tendrils that spiraled toward Atlan's skin.
The darkness spread towards his body like roots, reaching far away and digging deep into his flesh.
"What have you done?! This is irreparable!"
Atlan, knowing or not, consumed the God of Death's very essence.
All of His powers, His authority over death passed over to a human—an insignificant little human.
This was an unprecedented tragedy in the history of the universe. The Grim Reaper was helpless to undo this walking disaster.
The black tendrils wrapped around Atlan's body glowed a bright golden aura as it pumped divine magic in Atlan's veins.
The God of Death felt his powers weakening by the second, slowly transferring to the pesky little human.
A God was beginning to perish.
In his very last moments, the God of Death wondered how a human could be so brazen.
Who would be so bold as to consume a God's power?
He wanted to know more about Atlan.
He peeked through Atlan's memories. And what he saw…amused him.
"HAHAHAHAHA
You are no fool after all. That woman told you that the Draft was merely a simulation.
Your injuries–everything would be nothing but a dream in the Remedium.
You used that to your advantage. You braved through hell knowing that you'd survive no matter what.
You saw the opportunity as soon as I materialized my real body in this space.
KUKUKUHAHAHAHAHA!"
The God of Death couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. He underestimated Atlan.
He was going to suffer an ironic fate of death, yet He couldn't help but be charmed.
After all, with His powers transferred over to this human, the world would soon turn upside down.
An apocalypse would doom the world.
When he thought about the implications this had for the other gods, he was filled with satisfaction and euphoria.
"YES! Take my power!
Only a killer masquerading as a pacifist could take those gods off guard."
The God of death laughed once again.
"Succeed where I have failed! Bring death and destruction to those wretched gods!
Bring back the fear of death in their eyes!
Kill them. Kill all the gods!
And show those who have only lived with immortality that they, too, shall not escape from the clutches of death!
Show them who you are.
Who are you, Atlan of the Unclaimed Lands?"
Atlan, with his entire body merging into the darkness, muttered under his breath.
"I'm a pacifist."
[10-star rarity God of Death Genus acquired]
[Your bloodline has evolved to Grim Reaper of Souls]
[Your soul has mutated to accommodate the consumption of souls]
[You can now reap any death]
[You have gained SSS class LifeSkill Death Physique]
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