Vinei mati dengan cara paling pedih dan menyiksa yang bisa dibayangkan Lex, namun Dewa Kegelapan itu tidak mengeluarkan suara pun. Lex mengagumi ketangguhannya, karena rasa sakit jiwa dan rasa sakit tubuh adalah dua hal yang sama sekali berbeda.
Proses itu perlahan karena selain sebagai Dewa, Vinei sangat kuat, disembah oleh jutaan monster Earth Immortal selama bertahun-tahun dan menciptakan salah satu mitos paling menakutkan yang bisa dijumpai di level ini, tapi juga karena statusnya sebagai makhluk Mitos. Hukum-hukum realm sendiri seolah menghitung keberlangsungan hidupnya, jadi saat mendekati kematian, hukum-hukum realm justru membantunya menolak kematian.
Faktanya, Lex hampir yakin dalam keadaan biasa, mustahil bagi Vinei untuk mati. Tapi dengan adanya inti Defiler, mengkorupsi api Ilahinya serta semua hukum yang menyentuhnya, Vinei pada dasarnya mengambil sesuatu yang berada di ambang mustahil dan mengubahnya menjadi sesuatu yang hanya sangat sulit saja.
Saat Vinei sekarat, darah emas perlahan mengisi vitalitas ke dalam tubuhnya, menghidupkan dan mempersegarkan tubuhnya seperti semula. Lex, utamanya, sangat tertarik pada fenomena ini karena merasa kenangan aneh. Seolah... dia mengamati bagaimana darahnya sendiri menyembuhkan orang lain. Tapi lebih dari itu, cara darah emas mengubah tubuh Dewa itu, memperbaikinya atau mengubahnya, mengingatkannya pada kemampuan unik fisiknya!
Awalnya, tubuhnya bisa menghasilkan energi tertentu yang memperbaiki manusia lain. Setelah pertumbuhan dan beberapa mutasi tak terduga, fisiknya mengizinkannya memperbaiki siapa pun berbentuk humanoid - mungkin karena asal usul yang sama dari ras-ras itu.
Lex hampir tidak pernah pakai kemampuan itu, bahkan pada pekerja, karena tak ingin meninggal jejak. Menurutnya, kemampuan itu terlalu overpowered sehingga dia membayangkan diri jadi tahanan seumur hidup, sekadar memperkuat humanoid lain. Atau lebih parah, dia bisa dibedah dan diteliti agar efek fisiknya bisa direplikasi.
Namun sekarang... saat mengamati darah emas mengubah Vinei, sang pengkhianat yang darahnya asalnya dari sebelum jadi Dewa, Lex melihat visual bahwa keduanya bekerja hampir identik.
Gagasan tak terpercaya muncul. Mungkinkah fungsi fisiknya terinspirasi dari kemampuan Phoenix? Itu juga jelaskan kenapa darahnya punya kemampuan sembuh. Seolah fisik tubuhnya replika jelek phoenix, tapi seiring bertumbuh dan mengalami peningkatan bintang serta fusi dengan harta-harta, kualitasnya naik.
Di depannya, Vinei masih berubah dari dewa jadi binatang biasa, meski langka dan kuat banget, tapi pikiran Lex sudah jauh.
Tiba-tiba dia melihat pola, dan seolah mendapat wawasan tidak hanya soal diri, tapi saudaranya juga.
Belle, kakaknya, punya hati Valkyrie - atau sebagainya. Itu yang dikata Liz. Dibanding fisik unik, cuma satu organ, tapi memberinya akses ke hal yang melampaui kemampuan manusia.
Lex sendiri, punya fisik yang replika jelek kemampuan darah phoenix, meski efeknya jelas diperbaiki. Dibanding Belle, kemampuan Lex jelas satu tingkat lebih tinggi dan halus, dan lagi terinspirasi atau berbasis pada kemampuan non-manusia. Kali ini bukan berbasis ras humanoid, tapi ras Elder yang sangat kuat dan menonjol. Kalau sengaja, Lex tak bisa bayangin bagaimana ibunya belajar, atau dapat material langka seperti darah phoenix.
Seolah progresi alami, kemampuan Liz lebih halus dari Lex. Meski dia tak punya kemampuan bawaan, kemampuannya menyatu sempurna dengan binatang apa pun luar biasa. Bahkan sekarang, dengan semua pengalaman, Lex tak temui ras yang bisa ambil 100% kekuatan dan ciri ras lain saat fusi sementara lewat ikatan saja! Meski tak temui, Lex merasa ini juga mungkin replika, atau replikasi sempurna kemampuan ras sangat kuat - mungkin tersembunyi atau punah. Tanpa pengetahuan cukup, Lex tak bisa tebak akurat.
Tapi lebih dari siapa pun, Moon yang naikkan progresi ke level berikutnya, jauh melebihi saudara-saudaranya. Kemampuannya memperbaiki apa pun pakai kekuatan jiwa... overpowered banget sehingga lewat mengembangkan planet yang dia ikat, dia diletakkan di jalur jadi Dao Lord. Kalau kemampuannya juga terinspirasi ras lain, ras itu minimal ras Sage.
Lex mengerutkan bibir, bertanya-tanya lagi bagaimana ibunya capai hal seperti itu. Liz bilang ibunya jenius. Sesaat Lex mikir dia mungkin punya sistem - penjelasan lain. Tapi sistem apa yang lahirkan anak-anak overpowered begitu tanpa umpan balik ke host atau sistem? Lagipula, kalau ada sistem, dia tak seharusnya begitu tak berdaya מול Damien.
Tapi kalau bukan itu, apa? Seolah meski belajar banyak, dia tak lebih dekat ke rahasia keluarga yang sebenarnya. Tapi... dia udah gak peduli. Rahasia apapun mereka, gimana bandingin sama Midnight Inn?
Dan ini pasti bukan nge-set flag, karena Lex gak percaya hal kayak gitu.
Membuang pikiran itu, Lex fokus ke Vinei lagi. Sebelumnya, dia fusi dengan darah naga dan Dragon's Might karena tersedia dan peluang luar biasa. Sekarang, dia mulai pertimbangkan fusi dengan darah phoenix dan bulunya.
Teknik kultivasinya pastiin tak ada benturan kekuatan berlawanan, dan kekuatan fisiknya mungkin naik lagi. Kalau dia bisa bangkitkan kemampuan legendaris Rebirth by Immolation milik Phoenix, yang izinin reborn meski jiwa hancur, ketahanan Lex akan meloncat ke chart luar biasa!
Senyum hangat muncul di wajah Lex sambil liat Vinei seperti... seperti teman dekat, dan sama sekali bukan seperti ember ayam goreng!
Vinei, yang diam dan berani menahan pedih api Ilahi yang perlahan dikikis, tiba-tiba menggigil, seolah mendeteksi ancaman asli, nyata, ke keberadaannya, jauh lebih besar dari kondisi near death yang dia carikan sendiri.
Vinei tiba-tiba buka mata dan lihat ke Lex.
"Mari mulai," katanya, suara tak beremosi, sebelum menyerahkan tubuhnya sepenuhnya ke darah.
Lex mengangguk dan maju, pertama keluarkan inti Defiler dari dada Vinei, lalu taruh topeng Tyrant dan Butter Knife ke sisa api Ilahi, menyerap sisanya.
Realm berguncang, kegelapan meraung, fondasi realm seolah mau patah. Seolah kebenaran fundamental dinegasikan, merusak dasar keberadaan realm.
Di saat itu, di seluruh realm, bulu Phoenix hitam tersembunyi di formasi yang ditempatin Lex, mulai terbakar dengan api hitam, melepaskan energi menenangkan dan menyembuhkan.
Yang disembuhkan bukan daging atau darah, tapi retakan hukum realm, memperkuat koneksi Vinei ke realm, agak menggantikan burung Ilahi lain! Realm, bukankah menderita lebih parah karena kematian Vinei yang mendekat, justru memperkuat diri. Itu karena koneksi tak lagi lewat api Ilahi burung, tapi lewat bulu Phoenix, dan lewat tubuhnya yang biasa, non-Ilahi!
Jadi, saat keilahan Vinei melemah, baik korup atau diserap alat Lex, tubuhnya malah mulai memperkuat diri.
Lex, sebaliknya, mengaktifkan mata kirinya maksimal, memperhatikan kondisi Vinei. Saat titik terakhir kehidupan tersisa, triliunan detik dari dipadamkan oleh kekuatan yang memakannya, Lex bertindak.
Dengan demostrasi otoritas yang luar biasa, Lex pakai Domination selamatkan titik kehidupan itu dari energi Profane, dan simpan cukup lama buat darah emas mulai berefek.
Vitalitas melimpah melonjak ke tubuh Vinei seperti tsunami, menghantam titik api Ilahi terakhir. Tapi bukankah mengisi api Ilahi itu, darah emas phoenix mengubahnya jadi titik jiwa, sebelum perlahan mulai menumbuhkannya kembali.
Api hitam meletus di kolam darah emas, dan dari abu sisa energi Ilahi Vinei, Phoenix baru lahir - lebih kuat dari sebelumnya.
Hukum seluruh realm seolah resonansi dengan kelahiran kembali itu, dan mata Lex berbinar. Sekarang, sampai Vinei reborn total, ini waktunya bertindak.
Pelan, santai, dia masukin tangan ke api hitam dan tarik keluar topeng dan pisau, tak tergores api membara. Alat itu diperkuat, dan meski belum jadi senjata Ilahi, tak mengubah fakta mereka udah serap api Ilahi. Lebih cepat atau lambat, mereka akan transenden bentuk existing. Untuk sekarang, mereka cuma butuh kerja normal.
Vinei was dying in the most painful and agonizing way Lex could imagine, yet the Dark Deity did not utter a single sound. Lex admired his tenacity, for the pain of the soul and the pain of the body were two entirely different things.
The process was further slowed down not just because as a Deity Vinei was extremely powerful, having been worshipped by millions of Earth Immortal monsters over countless years and thus creating one of the most terrifyingly powerful mythos one can encounter at this level, but also because of his status as a Mythical being. The very laws of the realm seemed to have accounted for his continued existence, so as he approached death, the laws of the realm themselves helped him resist death.
In fact, Lex was almost certain that under ordinary circumstances, it would have been impossible for Vinei to die. But with the Defiler core present, corrupting his Divine fire as well as all the laws touching him, Vinei essentially made something that sat at the precipice of being impossible and turned it into something that was merely very difficult.
As Vinei was dying, the golden blood slowly infused vitality into him, reviving and reinvigorating his body as it originally was. Lex, in particular, was very interested in this phenomenon because he felt an odd familiarity from it. It was almost as if... he was observing how his own blood healed others. But more than that, the way that the golden blood was changing the Deities body, improving it or changing it, kind of reminded him of his physique’s unique ability!
Originally, his body could produce a certain energy that improved other humans. After some growth and a few unexpected mutations, his physique allowed him to improve anyone who was humanoid - probably owing to the same origins of all those races.
Lex barely ever used that ability, even on his workers, because he did not want to leave behind any traces of it. In his mind, the ability was so ridiculously overpowered that he imagined himself becoming a prisoner for life, simply enhancing other humanoid beings. Or worse, he might be dissected and studied so the effects of his physique could be replicated.
Yet now... as he observed how the golden blood altered Vinei, the very being the blood originally came from before his Deification, he could visually see that they both worked in an almost identical way.
An almost unbelievable idea struck Lex. Could the function of his physique be inspired by the ability of Phoenixes? That would also explain why his blood developed the ability to heal. It was almost as if his body physique was a poor replica of a phoenix, but as he grew and experienced various star rating increases and fusion with various treasures, the quality grew.
In front of him, Vinei was still undergoing the change from a deity into a normal, albeit rare and powerful as hell beast, yet Lex’s mind was elsewhere entirely.
He suddenly saw a pattern, and seemed to have gained some kind of insight not only in himself, but his siblings as well.
Belle, his older sister, had a Valkyrie’s heart - or something along those lines. That’s what Liz had told him. Compared to having a unique physique, it was merely a single organ, and it allowed her access to something that otherwise transcended human ability.
Lex, himself, had a physique that acted as a poor replica of the ability of phoenix blood, although the effects of his physique were clearly improved. Compared to Belle, though, Lex’s ability was clearly one step higher and more refined, and once again inspired or based on a non-human ability. Except, this time, instead of being based on a humanoid race, it was instead inspired by a very powerful and prominent Elder race. If such a thing were on purpose, Lex could not even imagine how his mother might have studied, or perhaps gotten her hands on such rare materials such as phoenix blood.
As if in a natural progression, Liz’s ability was even more refined than Lex’s. Although she herself seemed to have no innate ability, her ability to fuse perfectly with any beast was beyond incredible. Even now, with all his exposure, Lex had not encountered any race which could take upon 100% of the power and traits of another race during a temporary fusion through merely a bond linking them! Despite not encountering someone like that, Lex had a feeling that this, too, might be a copy, or perhaps a perfect replication of an ability of a very powerful race - perhaps one that was hidden or maybe extinct. Without sufficient knowledge, Lex could not accurately guess.
But more than anyone else, it was Moon who seemed to take that progression to the next level, far beyond any of her previous siblings. Her ability to improve anything using her soul power was... it was so overpowered that through merely evolving a planet she was bonded with, she had been put on the path to become a Dao Lord. If her ability, too, was inspired by some other race, then that race had to be a Sage race, at the very least.
Lex pursed his lips as he wondered, once again, how his mother had achieved something like this. Liz told him that his mother was some kind of genius. For a moment, Lex considered she might have some kind of system - that would be the only explanation. But what kind of system allowed for the birth of such overpowered children without giving any feedback to the host or system itself? Besides, if there was a system, she should not have been so helpless against Damien.
But if not that, then what? It seemed that despite learning so much, he was no closer to learning the true secrets of his family. But... he didn’t care anymore. Whatever secrets they had, how could they compare to Midnight Inn?
And this was definitely not setting up a flag, because Lex didn’t believe in such things.
Putting those thoughts out of his mind, Lex focused on Vinei once more. Previously, he had fused with dragon blood and Dragon’s might because it was available to him, and because they offered incredible opportunities. Now, though, he began considering fusing with Phoenix blood and feathers as well.
His cultivation technique would ensure that there would be no clash between opposing powers, and the strength of his physique might increase even further. If he could awaken the legendary Rebirth by Immolation ability of Phoenixes, which allowed them to be reborn even if their soul was destroyed, then Lex’s survivability would go off the charts!
A warm smile appeared on Lex’s face as he looked at Vinei like... like a dear friend, and not at all like a bucket of fried chicken!
Vinei, who was silently and bravely bearing the pain of having his Divine fire slowly eroded, suddenly shivered, as if he detected a true, genuine threat to his existence, far greater than the near death state in which he was purposefully putting himself.
Vinei suddenly opened his eyes and looked towards Lex.
"Let’s begin," he said, his voice devoid of all emotion, before allowing his body to slip into the blood entirely.
Lex nodded and walked forward, first removing the Defiler’s core from within Vinei’s chest, and then placing both the Tyrants mask and the Butter Knife within the remnants of the Divine fire, absorbing what was left of it.
The realm quaked, the darkness roared, the very foundations of the realm seemed on the verge of snapping. It was as if a very fundamental truth had been negated, compromising the basis of the realms existence.
At that point, across the entire realm, various black Phoenix feathers which were hidden inside formations Lex had placed, started to burn with black flames, releasing a soothing, healing energy.
What they healed was not flesh or blood, but the cracks in the laws of the realm, strengthening Vinei’s connection to the realm, somewhat superseding the other Divine birds! The realm, instead of suffering more due to Vinei’s impending death, seemed to strengthen itself. That was because the connection was no longer through the bird’s Divine fire, but through the Phoenix feathers, and this his regular, non-divine body!
Thus, while Vine’s divinity weakened, either corrupted or absorbed by Lex’s tools, his body started to strengthen itself.
Lex, on the other hand, activated his left eye to the utmost, paying close attention as he observed Vinei’s condition. Just as the last speck of his life was left, a trillionth of a second away from being extinguished by the many forces eating at him, Lex acted.
With an overwhelming display of authority, Lex used Domination to save that last speck of life from Profane energy, and preserved it just long enough for the golden blood to start taking effect.
Rich, abundant vitality rushed into Vinei’s body like a tsunami, crashing into that last speck of divine fire. But instead of replenishing that divine fire, the golden blood of the phoenix altered it, turning it into a speck of soul, before gradually beginning to regrow it.
A black fire erupted over the pool of gold blood, and from the ashes of Vinei’s remnant divine energy, a new Phoenix was being born - stronger now than it had ever been before.
The laws of the whole realm seemed to resonate with that rebirth, and Lex’s eyes gleamed. Now, up until Vinei was completely reborn, was his time to act.
Slowly, lazily, he reached into the black flames and pulled out his mask and knife, completely unmarred by the scorching fires. The tools had been strengthened, and though they were not yet Divine weapons, it didn’t change the fact that they had absorbed Divine fire. Sooner or later, they would transcend their existing form. For now, they just needed to work normally.
Komentar Chapter (0)
Login buat ikut berkomentar.
Belum ada komentar di chapter ini. Jadi yang pertama!