Chapter 137: Ch 137 : second thoughts
In a forgotten, mist-shrouded corner of the Realm of Advancement, a single, luminous pearl rested upon a pedestal of black, unearthly stone. It was the True Beauty Pill, an SSS-Grade treasure that pulsed with a soft, irresistible light, promising absolute perfection to whoever consumed it.
"Master, my sights are on the pill. It appears completely unguarded," a handsome and charming voice whispered through a divine connection. It belonged to ’Sparrow’, the demigod of Kitsune. He stood cloaked in shadows a distance away, his form a statue of chiseled perfection, his upper body bare to show the canvas of his well-defined muscles. His heart hammered with a greedy rhythm. The prize was right there for the taking.
"Just observe for now," Kitsune’s voice replied in his mind, a command laced with caution. In her own God space, her nine fluffy tails twitched with anticipation. Luck had favored her; two of the treasures had appeared near her portal. But she was no fool. A prize this great, left so openly, smelled of a trap.
She was not the only one watching. Some distance away, a shimmer in the air, a distortion that looked like heat haze, was all that marked the presence of another demigod. It was a creature of pure air, a silent observer sent by a God named Snatcher, another ambitious soul who had refused to bend the knee to Cosmos.
Meanwhile, in a different patch of shadows near a different treasure, two of Reflection’s demigods kept a patient vigil. Their eyes were fixed on the Pill of Life, an artifact that shimmered with a gentle, life-giving aura of gold and green.
"Master, my senses detect nothing amiss. Should we not take it?" one of them asked, his belief in his own perception unwavering.
"We wait," Reflection’s voice commanded. "We are talking about demons. Their greatest weapon is our own impatience." The two demigods nodded in unison, their discipline absolute as they continued their watch. The treasures remained untouched, hidden from the world by a divine glamour that only those with prior knowledge, or those who stumbled upon them by sheer, impossible luck, could perceive.
Sunny observed this silent, three-way standoff from the comfort of his throne, Thea’s network feeding him a perfect, real-time view. He saw the greed, the ambition, and the caution, all swirling around the demons’ perfectly laid bait. The God Chat, once a chaotic river of messages, had grown quiet since the great partition between those in his Pantheon and those who remained outside. It was time to stir the waters.
Cosmos: "Hello, Gods. A word of advice for those of you hunting for treasure: do not take them until you are absolutely certain of your strength. These artifacts are protected by a restriction that prevents any demon from touching them. Only our lifeforms and demigods can claim them. Taking the treasure is not the difficult part."
He paused, letting his words sink in across billions of God spaces.
Cosmos: "The difficult part is surviving what comes next. The moment you touch that treasure, and the restriction is lifted, you will be ambushed. There could be fifty demon demigods waiting. There could be a hundred. There could be a thousand. Take care of your demigods. For most of you, once they are gone, you will not get another."
Zir, ever the loyal and enthusiastic subordinate, immediately jumped in to support his boss.
Zir: "The Boss is right. You guys can’t get any more demigods after your first one is gone. You’ll have to wait for a hero to be born, and who knows how long that will take."
Zir’s message was meant to be helpful, but one of the independent Gods, a powerful S-Grade talent holder named Halios, caught the nuance in his phrasing.
Halios: "What do you mean by ’you guys’? Are you implying that you can have multiple demigods?"
Zir’s avatar in the chat seemed to puff out its chest. He replied with a sentence that dripped with smug satisfaction.
Zir: "My elders taught me that actions speak louder than words."
Five images, posted by Zir, suddenly appeared in the God Chat, and a collective, cosmic gasp was heard across the multiverse.
The first image depicted a World Tree so colossal its roots seemed to encompass an entire planet, crushing S-Grade demons beneath them as if they were mere insects.
The second image showed a majestic, serpentine water dragon, its blue scales shimmering as it commanded the oceans of an entire world.
The third and fourth images showed an elegant elf demigod and a beautiful mermaid demigod, both radiating immense power.
The Gods outside the Pantheon stared in confusion. Four demigods? How was that possible? They assumed the images were from different worlds, a clever trick.
Then came the fifth image. The one that shattered their reality.
It showed five pulsating, unused Divine Embryos, lined up in a row like priceless jewels in a king’s vault.
The God Chat fell into a stunned, absolute silence. The previous images could be faked, they could be from different allied Gods. But five Divine Embryos, the single most coveted and rarest item in existence, lined up for a photo? That was a statement of wealth and power so absolute it defied comprehension.
Halios: "-_-... Please tell me this is an AI-generated image." He typed, his hands trembling. He, an S-Grade talent holder, one of the elite, who still only had one DemiGod. And here was Zir, a God he had never even considered a rival, casually displaying four demigods and five more in reserve. The universe, as he knew it, felt like a cruel joke.
God 1: "+1"
God 2: "+2"
God 3: "+451234"
The upvotes flooded in, a tidal wave of shattered pride and dawning horror.
Zir: "I feel sad to tell you all, but this is the truth. These images are all real. And this... this is only one of the benefits of joining the Pantheon."
In that moment, the focus of every independent God snapped to the name of the one being who could make this possible. God of Manifestation.
The title, which they had once thought impressive, now felt like a cosmic understatement. It wasn’t just a talent; it was a key, a key that had unlocked a vault of infinite power.
Halios: "Boss Cosmos... is it too late to join the Pantheon?" He asked, his voice in the chat stripped of all its previous pride, replaced by the desperate, pleading tone of a man who had just realized he had made the biggest mistake of his life.