The Transcendent Godslayer

"I don't have the patience for your mind games. If you let me live out of pity, then you better kill me now, or you'll regret it," Democles replied, his tone final.

His real voice now seemed to shine through.

There wasn't much of a change to it, except that it sounded deeper and much more firm, taking on a natural lower octave compared to before.

Kallen had always found his previous raspy, slightly higher tone unnatural. The others might not have noticed, since they had gotten used to it, and even Kallen had... though the feeling had always lingered at the back of his mind.

"Well, I do pity you, but that's not my reason for letting you live," he replied.

"What do you mean?" Democles asked grimly.

"I don't know your background or anything, but I do know you have a goal outside this underground. You wouldn't have wanted to kill Menelaus if that weren't the case," Kallen said.

Democles' expression darkened even further.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Nothing much," Kallen said, rummaging through a corpse lying next to him.

Democles said nothing in response, his expression unchanging as he watched Kallen work.

Kallen pulled a ring from Aeneas' finger and, with a forced descent of his Will, shattered the protective seal on it.

His mind was transported to a gray 5x5 cubic space, littered with pill bottles, formulas, and elixirs.

As though completely familiar with it, he found what he was looking for, and a pill bottle appeared in his hand.

Pulling his mind out of the storage space in the ring, he tossed the bottle toward Democles without warning.

Democles caught the bottle and, after looking at it for a second, opened it and popped a pill into his mouth. Instantly, he felt the breath of life return to his lungs, along with an agonizing itch, as the snapping sounds of bones rearranging themselves resounded in the forge.

He coughed up blood again, though his eyes held the same indifference.

"You're not afraid I poisoned you?" Kallen asked. Although inwardly, he already knew the answer.

Democles coughed up another mouthful of bad blood and answered.

"If you wanted to kill me, you had all the chances to do so. You'd have done it long ago."

"This might be something different though, maybe something that'll poison your Will and let me influence your mind," Kallen said.

"The fact that you say so means it isn't. Besides, Aeneas can't afford such a thing," Democles replied, his eyes flickering toward the corpse Kallen had just rummaged through.

Kallen smiled but said nothing.

"I'm fine now..." Democles finally said, his tone carrying a fearless beat. "What do you want?"

Kallen remained silent for a few seconds.

"I want you to owe me your life," he said bluntly.

---

Kallen lay in silence, his eyes on the ceiling and his breathing calm.

He waited for a few seconds as the last part of his knee, grotesquely came back together in real time.

As for Democles, he was already gone—the details of their discussion known only to them, a plan for the later years which would shake the foundations of Ares, hatching between two people who would definitely take Ares by storm.

Kallen stood up calmly, flexing his limbs until he felt comfortable. This regeneration trait was really god sent, it was like he had never been injured. Although, the insane amount of energy it consumed was a huge drawback.

He took a good look at the Thieving Blades, the first piece of CURSE he had on him, which was also the foundation for many things he had now.

Slowly it dissolved into a stream of white and black lights, summoned back to his Soul.

He felt incredibly hungry now, and even the overflow of energy he had felt coursing through him after Menelaus performed the ritual, was completely gone.

He walked up to Yula's corpse and placed his hand on her.

He stared at the corpse for a few seconds.

[Essence Plunder (CURS-ED): Walk your path. Slight the Path of Ascension]

[Plunder the Essence of the dead to grow stronger]

He took a deep breath, feeling the map of the runes drawn on him, and then the suction that came with it.

[You're treading upon TABOO]

He ignored the notification completely, focusing on the runic markings on his body, and the feeling using this trait came with.

He felt an annoying kind of pain, like tiny ants climbing his body, as a stream of unseen energy crawled into him.

He felt an explosion erupt within him, and his body seized up.

Instantly, his physical attributes shot into the hundred marks, soaring past it until even the weakest was above two hundred.

[CONGRATULATIONS]

[Hundred stat limits exceeded]

[You have forcefully broken your body limitations without the nourishment of dynamis]

[Remarkable]

[Your Foundation is being reaffirmed]

A feeling of intense pain wracked Kallen as his body... in fact, his entire being, was torn down and rebuilt, again and again.

His body temperature alternated between extreme heat and extreme cold, throwing his entire bodily operations and functions into disarray.

Black pus oozed from his pores and orifices, mixing with sweat and dropping like tar onto the already grimy floor.

His body convulsed for a long while before soothing warmth exploded from within, massaging his entire being, and making him feel like a child in the womb.

[{Pathfinder???}]

[You have opened a path long lost to the history of the universe… or one that has never existed.]

[You have shattered the natural stat limits of your own body, breaking past the 100-point threshold without the aid of dynamis. Through sheer will and adaptation, you have forged a path where none should exist. Forge the body, forge a path.]

[Your Foundation is being reaffirmed]

[Limits Broken (2/3)]

[+100% to all current stats.]

[Next limit: 600]

A light of satisfaction flashed in Kallen's eyes, and he would have even grinned in pride and triumph if he were that kind of person.

After so long.

His body was now brimming with so much power, he felt he wouldn't have to scheme and scheme to beat Yula and Menelaus anymore.