Birth of the Prodigy

Silence descended atop the palace of the Spirit Queen, which was said to be lively at all times.

Akash's eyes threatened to bulge out at any second as the Spirit Queen sat atop her throne with a rather leisurely smile.

Both of them ignored the mighty Celestial sprawled on the floor beside them.

Akash and Delilah had locked eyes.

The former was trying to discern whether the latter was serious, while the latter was revealing her true thoughts without any restriction.

"A–Are you serious?"

Not being able to endure the silence, which he took as an indirect 'yes', he voiced out the question that decided his fate.

"Of course, Akash. Has there ever been a time where I had joked around in my time of reign?"

"Had?"

"Well, of course! If I receive divinity and become a 'mixed-blood', as you call it, I wouldn't be able to rule over the spirits, would I?"

"That's true. However, would you really like to receive the divinity of the Fragment of a Primordial, a Celestial, and a Deity? Moreover, you have spirit blood running through your veins as well. If you become a mixed-blood, you would have enough power to match a…"

"An Outer God, yes."

"So you really are revealing yourself to the entire Cosmos, aren't you?"

"I can't hold it in anymore, Akash. It's been 18 Trillion years since I became the Ruler of Spirits, and I admit, it has been a great time. However, I have greater ambitions too!"

"I understand, but…"

"Moreover, Larry, you, or I cannot defeat the Deity of Destruction. He is backed by 'you know who', so I take it that you desperately need my help."

"B–Bu–"

"How about this? Larry, you, and I form a team."

"A team?"

"A nebula."

Akash's eyes widened as he staggered, struggling to maintain his balance using his legs which were as thin as pencils.

His eyes were bloodshot and his eyebrows were scrunched, seemingly demanding an explanation from the Ruler of Spirits.

"A nebula!? You know those can only be created by–"

"Outer Gods, yes. However, if Larry and I obtain the strength to match an Outer God each, can't we form a nebula? You can be our technician."

"I refuse. For now, let's proceed with our deal. I agree to lend Larry and I's divinity, if you promise to hand over Ace's soul."

Sighing in disappointment, Delilah levitated, approaching Akash with worry-filled eyes.

"I hope you live well, then. You had been my uncle-figure before the Era of Spirits, and like a brother during the era, which is right now. I hope you live your life well in the inner-segment of the Cosmos."

Deflecting her palm that approached his face, Akash tried to turn back to Larry.

However, he was held tight by Delilah.

Bringing his face closer to hers, she hugged the boy with dirty-blonde hair before kissing him on the cheek.

"This might be the last we meet, Akash."

Akash suppressed his tears while turning away from his sister-figure.

Akash had never felt the urge to reveal his tears before.

Having been through thick and thin all his life due to loneliness, he was always in a sour mood or plain sad.

However, this was the first time he had to suppress tears, because they never emerged before today.

Extending his arm, he urged for Delilah to grab it.

Smiling faintly, she grabbed Akash's pale hand.

Then a bizarre phenomenon occurred.

*

*

*

Larry's eyelashes quivered as his body spasmed.

His body, which was covered in his own flesh, bones, and blood, was now perfectly fine.

Perplexed, he stood up and felt every part of his body.

However, he found nothing of notice as every part of his body felt the same as before he came to the palace.

Then, he finally noticed his surroundings.

"An Infirmary."

He now understood what had happened.

However, he couldn't help but notice that his divinity had weakened.

His presence felt less majestic, and his pressure was weaker than before.

"Ah, you're awake."

A voice entered his ears as he looked at the little boy with dirty-blonde hair sitting on a pure-white chair beside his bed.

There were dark-circles under his eyes, indicating that he hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep last night.

However, this was not the case.

It was because he had lost 0.5% of his divinity, and so had Larry.

Since the Spirit Queen wanted to reveal her strength to others, it meant she would have a lot of competitors yearning for her strength and/or popularity.

However, what they didn't know was that Delilah wanted exactly that.

She wanted others to approach her in search of strength and reputation, but instead, she would destroy them.

In turn, she would receive 0.5% of their divinity, whether it is from a Deity, a Celestial, or a Fragment of a Primordial.

That was her ultimate plan.

By becoming the second mixed-blood ever, she could dominate the Cosmos using her newfound strength and bloodline, which included the Deity heritage, Celestial heritage, Fragment of a Primordial heritage, and the Spirit heritage.

And, Akash was more than willing to help her.

However, he decided he would help indirectly, instead of assisting her on her journey.

For now, they needed Ace's soul.

*

*

*

On a dark night with no moon, winds blew at extreme speeds as they knocked down trees.

On Earth, a tiny planet allied with the Akashic Records, a star brighter than anything they had seen before appeared, illuminating the planet for the Cosmos to see.

Having been hiding in the shadows, the Earth was finally revealed to those who yearned for power.

A star, next to countless dimmer stars, shone brighter than some deities themselves.

On a planet named 'Klipton', some organisms chatted about the recent events in the discovery of Earth due to its star awakening.

"I heard a planet named Earth awakened a star brighter than deities."

"Really? I wonder if it's the birth of a deity."

"No, what if it's a mortal ascender?"

"That's not possible, Jin."

Some planets prepared to initiate trade-relationships with Earth, as it may help them become closer to the planet.

The star.

It was a prodigy that would shake the masses.

*

*

*

"Wait, you sacrificed my divinity?"

Larry screamed, throwing a fit.

He did not like the idea of sacrificing divinity for the revival of Ace, but he couldn't question it since it had already been done.

And, he had no plans of engaging in battle with the Spirit Queen ever again.

"Shut up, Larry."

"Wh–"

"Look!"

Akash pointed to Ace's body, which was spasming uncontrollably.

"He's the new star that recently emerged on Earth."

"Wait, him? I thought it was some snobby prodigy from a clan that takes steroids, but is it actually him?"

"Yeah. It's him."

"Oooh, the Cosmos is about to become lively again if he's the new star."

"I wonder if he can actually defeat the Deity of Destruction, which Delilah, you, and I couldn't defeat."

"Well, he's the only option."

"True."

"Anyway, I hope he does well with my legacy."

"He's the only option."

Larry chuckled at Akash's response, which was the same as what he gave him.

"Well, it seems I wasn't wrong in my judgment."

"Still, do you really think he can become an ascender?"

"I have no idea, but if he can't, no one can."

"Agreed."

"It's truly the Birth of the Prodigy."