Chapter 114: Ch 114 : The poison of Greed
"Apart from all those things, we have the blessing of growth," Zir said, his smile turning mysterious as he leaned back in his chair, savoring the moment.
"Blessing of growth?" Asura questioned, his mind already struggling to process the sheer scale of benefits he had just learned about. "What’s that?"
Zir’s eyes twinkled. "It means any of your lifeforms, or even you yourself, can learn any talent you put your heart and hard work into. And with continuous practice, you can increase the grade of that talent all the way to SS-Grade." Even now, after witnessing it for himself, the concept still filled Zir with a profound sense of awe.
"What?" The single word escaped Asura’s lips, but his mouth remained open, his mind completely short-circuiting. Even if a fly entered his mouth, he wouldn’t have noticed it, thankfully there were none in the God Chat.
The universe, as he understood it, had just shattered. For a God whose entire existence had been defined by the cruel, unchangeable nature of his talent, the idea that limits could be broken was aprofound revelation .
Could I... learn a different talent? he thought, his heart pounding.
Seeing Asura’s stuck state, Zir couldn’t help but joke. "You don’t understand? Let’s say you love archery, but you have no talent for it. In any other world, you could practice for a million years and only become skilled. Here, if you truly master it, a talent for archery will bloom within your very soul."
"I know of it... it is similar to the talent of the old God, Adam," Asura managed to say, his voice a hoarse whisper. He had heard Adam describe it during those final hours, but he had never dreamed he would have something so out of reach in his hand now.
"Good then," Zir said, holding back a laugh. He stood up from his chair. "I think you understand how things work here. I should get going. My elves will probably cook all the mermaids if I don’t check on them." He winked, then vanished in a flicker of light as quickly as he had come.
Left alone in his new God space, Asura gazed at the pulsating divine embryo that still hovered before him. A week ago, this would have been an impossible dream. Now, it was not just a dream; it was th seed of a future he never thought he could have, a symbol of boundless, unimaginable hope.
He was not able to buy the divine embryo from the system shop because of low faith points, but now the same Divine embryo was floating in front of him, this feeling was magical for him.
"Thea, I am getting a bad feeling," Sunny’s voice was a low hum in the vastness of his God space. "Let’s teleport all the Gods who are ready to become my subordinate. Now."
His intuition was screaming, of the incoming danger, His faith reserves were overflowing; with billions of Gods now using the Cosmic Shop, his earnings had skyrocketed to over three hundred billion. He could afford to be decisive.
[Initiating contact, Master,] Thea’s voice replied, her efficiency absolute. [Permission is required for planetary and divine body translocation.]
Thea began her work, sending out the formal invitations and preparing the immense portals. But within minutes, an anomaly was detected. A cascade of refusals began to flood the network.
[Master, many of the Gods who were willing to join are now stepping back. They are canceling their requests,] Thea reported, a hint of digital confusion in her tone.
"What? How can that be?" Sunny demanded. He knew Thea’s network was secure; any attempt to spread lies or dissent would be instantly fact-checked and neutralized. Something else was at play.
[Master, I seem to have lost connection with some of my particles,] Thea’s voice became grave. [I can feel their existence, but I can no longer control them. They are... acting on their own.]
"Hijacked," Sunny breathed, the word like ice in his consciousness.
[Just a few minutes ago, an anonymous post began circulating in the God Chat,] Thea continued, a new panel materializing before Sunny. [It contains the precise locations of numerous SSS-Grade treasures within the Realm of Advancement.]
Sunny scanned the list, the names themselves a were call of an ultimate power: The Spear of Titans. The Pill of Life. The God Maker Fruit. It was a map to godhood itself, and it had been broadcast to every corner of the multiverse.
"Can you self-destruct those rogue particles?" Sunny asked, his voice cold and hard.
[Yes, Master. I am on it.]
Across the multiverse, a silent, cosmic tremor was felt as a third of Thea’s network a trillion faith points worth of energy particles simply ceased to exist. It was a massive, self-inflicted wound, a necessary amputation to stop the spread of a deadly infection.
"A huge loss," Sunny said, his jaw tight. "Thea, from now on, if you detect any particle has been disconnected from your control, destroy it instantly." He knew who was behind this. "The demons."
But this was not a time for despair. A God does not lose hope. "Accept any God who is still willing to join," he commanded. "And notify all the others. The offer to join the Cosmic Empire is a one-time opportunity. Those who do not accept it now will not be given a second chance."
He needed loyalty, not just numbers. In a few thousands years, Veridia would birth its own new Gods. He did not need allies who would abandon a fortress for some treasures.
[Master, you are right,] Thea affirmed. [In the face of greed, they have forgotten your grace.]
Sunny nodded, then called a meeting. In a vast, virtual hall, the projections of over a billion subordinate Gods appeared, their faces a mixture of confusion, loyalty, and curiosity. Sunny materialized before them, his masked visage and cosmic robe radiating an aura of absolute authority.
"Greetings God Cosmos" immediately the voice of over billion God shook the small universe that Sunny created.
"Greetings," his voice echoed, silencing the hall instantly. "As you have no doubt seen in the God Chat, the topic of today’s meeting is the treasures of the Realm of Advancement."