I Am No God

"You fool, why did you keep enduring the pain when you know it's because of your Origin Seed." Luna reprimanded as she appeared before Damien.

When Damien was still sparring with Lily around ten minutes ago, a torrent of pain emanated from his ethereal core. The pain only kept increasing as time passed.

Damien wanted to end the training there and then itself, but since the session was almost over and did not want to make Lily suspicious, he endured it without showing any signs of pain.

Due to the years of torture he had suffered in his previous life, Damien's pain tolerance was quite high, and he could even control his expressions under immense pain.

Now his Origin Seed was having a reaction! As if it couldn't wait to convey something to Damien.

"I-I have to get back to my room," Damien said, clenching his jaw.

Luna shook her head, "No need. Nobody would come here, and even that girl won't return at least till evening. You have to inspect your Origin Seed right now. It's giving off a reaction for a reason. Maybe something that can help you increase your prowess."

'Something that can help me increase my power?' Damien couldn't help but be excited as he thought about it.

With Luna here, at least he would be warned if someone was coming to the inner courtyard.

He threw away all thoughts of returning to his room and instantly spread his inner senses towards his ethereal core.

Just as he focused on his Origin Seed, a buzzing sound rang in Damien's mind. Then an incredibly ancient and domineering voice that felt like it came from the primordial era sounded.

"At last, it seems like everything wasn't all for naught...You are finally here…my legacy."

'This voice is…' Damien shut his eyes as he tried to concentrate on the voice, "Are you the god who gave me this Origin Seed?"

Damien felt a bit unreal hearing an ancient voice. He had already met Luna, but most of the time, it didn't feel like he was in the presence of an ancient god, probably due to her figure and personality.

If one heard this voice, they would feel fear, respect, and reverence. But Damien felt some kind of inexplicable feelings deep within his heart.

"No, I am no god...I am an entity that even gods dread...but the Origin Seed you are housing is mine. I was waiting for a very long time to have my Origin Seed merge with you. Right now, I am nothing but a mere fragment of my soul which will soon disappear after imparting you my legacy."

"Wait a sec...why and what made you choose me? I was just a crippled mortal. And I thought gods couldn't transfer their Origin Seed to someone else." Damien was puzzled why an exalted existence would choose him to be their successor.

"It is true that gods cannot give away their Origin Seed to someone else. But I chose you because you are the only one who can house my Origin Seed. Because of my carelessness and foolishness, I was reduced to this state...but now you are my only hope. I know you have many questions you want to ask me, like why you were able to house my Origin Seed...but when the time is right, you will find the answers yourself, including the god who manipulated you."

Damien was stunned for a moment, "You know the god who manipulated me? Tell me...who is it?" He didn't seem to even care about how the voice seemed to know about his previous life since he thought that the voice must have scanned his memories.

Damien's voice had become a little shaky, but the ancient voice didn't waver, "I cannot burden you with that knowledge now. It will only distract you from your journey to fulfill your wishes. Also, you are too insignificant right now that you are not worthy of pursuing your revenge. But I can give you the power necessary to carry out your vengeance if your resolve and will are unwavering.

"Although holding my power will only make you more prone to trouble and conflict, it would be the only way for you to realize my true power. You will not be able to advance your power if you lead a peaceful life. But the more powerful you become, the harder and more perilous your trials in your life will be. And one day, if you become powerful enough, you would be faced with the toughest trial of your life, which would involve even the survival of the universe as you know it. So, are you willing to accept my power?"

Damien felt annoyed and frustrated that the voice did not reveal anything about his most hated enemy. But he felt that the voice also had a point since it wouldn't do him any good now if he knew the details. It would only just be a burden to him and mess with his mind.

Damien had no idea what kind of trial the voice was talking about. But all he wanted now was to reunite with Sofie and get his revenge no matter the cost. He never expected to live a peaceful life in the first place. Those days were long gone for him.

"I will accept your power. But what kind of power would I exactly gain?"

The voice answered, "You won't gain my true abilities right away. But the more you cultivate yourself to greater heights, the more you can unlock the potential of your abilities. Also, I can guarantee you that no one at your same level would be a match for you...they would be as insignificant as ants before you. Wherever you go, people will tremble and fear you because of your prowess. If one day, you have the capability to truly receive my complete legacy, you would be the sole ruler of chaos, death, and destruction...A true Sovereign of the Universe. But if you don't have the potential, you would at best achieve false divinity."

'Ruler of chaos and....am I dreaming or something? Would I really be able to become something like that? Someone, who even gods fear?' Damien couldn't help but feel inconceivable about the whole thing about being the Sovereign of the Universe.

He didn't care about all that stuff, but if that's what it takes to reunite with the people he loves and make sure no one can ever hurt his loved ones...Then there was nothing stopping him from achieving it.

But he wondered how such a powerful entity was forced to such a state. He remembered the voice telling him it was due to his foolishness and carelessness. Damien couldn't help but feel the same thing when he remembered how he lost everything due to how foolish and careless he was in his previous life.

Damien then suddenly thought of something, "Before I ask you something, can Luna hear us?"

The voice replied, "No. Even if she has her soul linked with yours, she can't read your thoughts unless she forcibly intrudes into your soul plane and kills you. But it would still cause a backlash if you resist as her soul plane is injured. Her soul link to your soul plane is like a double-edged sword. So you need not worry about that."

Damien was silent for a moment before asking plainly, "Can I trust her?"

Even though he didn't feel anything suspicious about Luna so far and instead enjoyed her company to a certain extent, he didn't fully trust her yet, even though he appreciated the help she gave him so far.

Since they were in a symbiotic relationship, he was apprehensive about what would happen once she recovers her true powers. Even if she told him that an Origin Seed was potentially useless to another god...he had no way to verify her words. 

What if she wanted to do something with his Origin Seed? What if she was fattening him up for some dubious scheme?

Since Damien had never interacted with gods, he couldn't exactly predict what was going through Luna's mind.

Damien had gone through enough betrayals in his life that he never would easily trust another person, especially when they are linked to his soul plane.

Luna was currently using Damien's soul plane as an anchor to recover her soul. But he knew the voice wouldn't lie to him since it had basically given away the source of its life, its legacy to Damien.

"If there is one thing I can tell you is that I am completely sure she only has your well being in interest, even if it's for herself. Tell me, if it weren't for her would you be even talking to me now? If she wanted to, she could even absorb your soul essence to strengthen herself a bit no matter how inconsequential it would be for her soul as a whole. But she is currently dependent on you. She would only be putting her life in danger if she did something detrimental to you. Even she must have realized by now that she won't find a soul like yours which can host her soul plane in this mortal plane."

Damien knew that he was vulnerable all this time. But he had no choice but to take a leap of faith and trust Luna with his life before he let her modify his ethereal core points. 

Seeing how she claimed to be the strongest god, surely she would have extraordinary tricks up her sleeve.

Even with her fragmented soul, she would be able to absorb his soul essence after suffering some backlash due to the soul link. 

But if Damien resisted her attempt to read his memories or thoughts, she would not be able to intrude into Damien's soul plane without suffering some kind of backlash.

But if her soul wasn't linked with Damien's, she would only need a mere thought to go through Damien's memories or read his thoughts.

Damien hated this feeling of being vulnerable. It was the last thing he wanted to feel. To always look back behind his shoulders and being continuously wary of the person closest to him.

"Even if she doesn't want to do anything to me now, how can you guarantee she won't have any ill intentions towards me in the future?" 

Damien knew that if Luna wanted him to raise his cultivation fast, she would surely guide him in the best way possible. But he couldn't help but feel apprehensive of what comes after.'

The voice answered, "I can guarantee because she can gain nothing from you. Why do you think she mentioned those conditions to you? Those three conditions are enough for her to recover her powers on her own, no matter how long it takes. Even if she absorbs your soul essence, it wouldn't be much of a help to her unless your soul is at least as powerful as hers. If you truly want to feel completely safe, then at least become as strong as her."

Damien inwardly rolled his eyes, hearing its answer. If it was so easy to become a god, then he wouldn't be in this state.

But in his heart, he decided to see for himself if he could trust Luna since the voice wouldn't say anything that could put its successor in danger. 

Thinking that Luna basically had nothing to gain from him and remembering those three conditions she demanded, he felt that what the voice said makes sense.

"I don't have much time left. I have given you the answers you needed. Now, accept my 'Nethereal Arts'!"