Blessing of Death

The nine heavens proclaiming an individual's name was something that would strike terror into the souls of even the bravest man alive. Every single warrior in attendance locked their vision steadfastly to the shining altar of the medjay, eager for what would transpire. However, some sour faces sneered at these proceedings, mumbling insults and jeers.

Lady Isis almost spat in fury upon seeing this; how dare they reject her son? She silently yet menacingly vowed that she would summon a terrible vengeance if a single finger was laid upon his forehead. The slightest provocation would be sufficient enough to induce a sea of blood.

"Josiah," Saint Anubis's voice was low and measured. "Do you know what it means to be my nephew?"

Jody shook his head vigorously, his eyes alight with curiosity. "No, but I wanna learn!"

A small smile tugged at the corners of Saint Anubis's lips. "Very well, child. But first, you must prove yourself worthy of the honor. Do you accept the responsibility that comes with being a Medjay?"

Jody nodded eagerly. "Yes! I'll do whatever it takes!"

"Good." Saint Anubis gestured to the pool of blood at Jody's feet. "Then prove yourself. Today, you become a medjay under my jurisdiction. Henceforth, you will carry with you the blessing of Anubis. Upon death, you will become a sentinel for our lord in heaven, the same as myself. Our destinies are now intertwined."

Saint Anubis rose from his throne with grace, causing everyone else in the hall to rise from their seats in unison. The air crackled with neonic forces as he lifted his staff, summoning forth a majestic True Rukh that shone brighter than any star. Suddenly, a giant demon jackal made entirely of silvery black True Rukh soared into the altar where Jody stood. As Saint Anubis poured his power into the formation, a refined cocoon of True Rukh enveloped Jody.

Jody was once again wrapped up in a cocoon of refined rukh produced by the altar's formation as he heard the anxious shouting of his mother. Unfortunately, he couldn't make out any of the words.

Instead, his mind seemed to be pulling millions of lightyears away instantly.

Despite the cries of his mother echoing through the chamber, Jody found himself transported to a distant realm. His mind was flooded with visions of warriors and heroes, all wielding the same dark energy that now coursed through Jody's own veins. These brave souls fought together, laughed together, and even loved together under skies alight with glowing rukh.

Wars, court, formulation, exploration, he saw all manner of scenes that seem to last for eons. However, Jody felt acutely aware that it had been but an instant.

"Are these figures divine heralds of the underworld ruler Anubis?" Jody asked himself in bewilderment.

He was now surrounded by utter darkness and solitude, but rather than being afraid of his new situation he felt a profound sense of serenity. He stayed still, not making any moves in case that would disrupt his bizarre state. Just then, the demon jackal's howl filled the room and the altar lit up with billowing rukh that illuminated dark silvery smoke that started to create curse marks on the rukh cage that enveloped Jody.

He now floated in a pitch-black space.

There was no light.

There was no sound.

It was utterly empty and still.

Jody felt an intense feeling of serenity from this plane.

Due to this feeling, Jody simply waited patiently. He had no idea what was his current situation, but wouldn't panic be pointless?

While Jody floated calmly in the serene space, a pair of eyes abruptly appeared in the darkness, managing to startle Jody for a moment. Those animalistic eyes gazed emotionlessly at him for a long time before disappearing. At the same time, he heard a gruff and powerful voice shake his soul. This presence was far more intimidating than the T'Zhané.

[What a powerful soul. To think that even here, you haven't reacted to the death domain in the slightest. Who are you, boy? What is your relation to that woman? For what reason should you be destined?] The powerful voice demanded.

Jody felt the sensation of his life being in the hands of someone else.

Hearing 'that woman,' and 'destined' he frowned, but before he could reply, another voice said, [Do not bully him, dad.]

Jody was thunderstruck because he recognized this voice. He had just heard it.

[Who needs to bully this punk? Josiah Goldwolf…no, this should only be your current lifetime. Your soul is transcendent. A heavenly power sleeps within you. Rather than a mere officer, you should be an envoy. Fine. Offer up your faith to me, young Josiah, and I will grant you power beyond your current comprehension.]

Before Jody could respond, he felt an insanely powerful will wrap around his body as what felt like 30,000 tiny needles started drilling into his skin. As torturous as this feeling was, Jody only grimaced a bit. He had experienced horrific torture before, so this didn't shake his calm at all.

Plus, the serenity present in this so-called 'death domain' was rather comfortable to Jody. However, right at this moment, time seemed to halt completely. Even the pain seemed not to exist. In fact, the concept of 'feeling' anything suddenly felt like a luxury. The twilight imp appeared over his shoulder and whispered into his mind again.

"The True Pharaoh of Twilight and the True Pharaoh of Death are watching you! Detected power from the Legion of Pharaoh. God's power worth fifty twilight stars and a secret arcana. Covert blessing of death into twilight blessing and secret labor?" asked the twilight imp. "Hunter host will still receive the blessing of the underworld and become an envoy of death."

"Really?! Fifty twilight stars?" Jody was now torn.

Should he accept the blessing of the medjay?

Or should he convert that blessing into Twilight Stars?

Twilight crystals would be tough to locate at his current level, as they typically existed in the most treacherous of locations. So, this was an opportunity he couldn't afford to lose. It would take three fist-sized twilight crystals to earn thirty twilight stars. He was being offered fifty for doing almost nothing.

On top of that, he would receive a secret labor.

Jody knew from his mother that arcana were spells or curses used by Sages. Similarly, he knew from the memories of T'Zhané that a labor followed this same concept. He didn't completely understand what either meant currently, but he didn't hesitate long before deciding.

'It should be fine as long as I offer my faith to Anubis. Fine, I hereby vow to honor Anubis as lord, the god of death and ruler of the 3,333 hells.'

As the surrounding death energy started to crash into his body, Jody yelled out in his mind using God's Appeal, 'Please convert it!'

Jody immediately prayed from the bottom of his heart, thanking Anubis for the blessing of Death and for providing safe passage of their souls into the underworld. He prayed for this god of death to keep his family safe within the cycle of Samsara. He did all of this while also thanking the True Pharaoh of Twilight for giving him a Twilight proxy and the powers of Twilight.

This satellite had already been indispensable as a partner.

Things of late gave Jody a strange feeling. This little twilight imp wasn't a living, breathing entity at all. It was just like artificial intelligence. If that was the case, did all twilight hunters truly possess a twilight proxy as well? What were its true capabilities?

"Host has completed his first labor! The host is the first hunter on the star to complete a labor! Rewarding ten twilight stars. 140 stars and 290 crystals remaining. The host is the first hunter in the domain to complete a labor! Rewarding twenty-five stars. 165 stars and 290 crystals remaining. The host is the first hunter in the lower realms to complete a labor! Rewarding fifty twilight stars. 190 stars and 290 crystals remaining."

Jody was completely dumbfounded. He wasn't sure when he spent ten crystals, but he didn't have the time to remember.

On Jupiter Titan's home world, he had only started out with fifty twilight stars. By the time he had reached the Puny Man Stage of Immortal Rage, he had only twenty-two twilight stars as he struggled to mine twilight crystals. Jody had assumed accumulating twilight crystals, and stars would be challenging.

So what was this that was happening now? It was nearly raining twilight stars.

"Rewarding secret celestial class labor — Dirge of the Death God."

Information suddenly flooded Jody's mind as hieroglyphs made of pure twilight appeared on the top right corner of his chest, near his shoulder.

There was an image of a tiny demon in a land of fire singing a mournful song. After the glyphs danced for a while, the colors and light faded, and only blue lines remained. It was like a tattoo had suddenly been given to him. Merely it seemed incomplete, taking up only a tiny portion of his right chest.

The rest of the labor had to be comprehended and unlocked.

"So this is a labor?" Jody had memories of the T'Zhané, who possessed a body covered from head to toe in these labors.

Jody was shocked once he understood that the so-called arcana could be evolved into labor. As a labor, invoking the magic would be automatic as long he Jody possessed sufficient energy. There would be no need for him to chant or anything else. For this labor, he could use death energy or twilight to activate it.

"With this labor, as well as my Fists of Rage, I am already strong enough to defeat low-level Sages."

As Jody studied the new information in his head, he felt a vast and frigid energy coursing through his veins. It felt so cold that it had instead become scorching. The boundless aura of this energy merges with Jody's flesh and blood.

[Received 50 death stars. 100 death stars remaining. Convert into twilight?]

[Yes/No?]

'No.'

After thirty minutes passed, the crowd outside the altar had already grown anxious.

Most medjay ceremonies would have long been over, and now should be the time to mingle. However, young Josiah Trillwolf was still bundled up in the golden cocoon on the altar.

"Your majesty, there seems to be an issue…" Isis was currently being restrained on the throne to the left of the pharaoh.

As soon as the altar's formation activated earlier and captured Jody within, Isis flipped out and almost destroyed the altar. Osiris had to detain her personally. Merely, as his son was down there, he could only leave managing this unruly wife to the holy messenger.

"It is fine, little dove. In fact, the longer he remains in this state, the more beneficial it will be for him. He is actually making history right now. I do not dare to reveal the gravity of this situation." Hearing Saint speak like this finally made Isis calm down.

"Finally," at this moment, Osiris noticed the energy fluctuations of the altar's formation.

He could tell that Jody had absorbed the pure underworld death animadestiny of the True Pharaoh Anubis.

"Show me what you've become, son."