Becoming Your God (XVI)
A strong sense of crisis arose in the hearts of the four gods. The War God's aura made their souls tremble, their originally high morale weakening under his display of power.
They thought that a War God in peacetime will inevitably decline in power, but only after facing him did they realize how wrong their preconception was. The War God had the most powerful combat force and the strongest defense in the world. When he went all out, almost no god could escape unscathed.
The four gods of fire, water, earth and dream were trapped in the War God's realm. Their bodies were completely immobile with no chance of escape. They watched the motionless Saya and dared not make a sound.
At that moment, Saya suddenly raised his head, the originally static air flowed rapidly and the four gods were blasted back as if they had been attacked. As they fell backwards a burst of power like an ocean wave sent them all to their respective statues.. To their horror, they discovered they were sealed inside, unable to break free no matter what they did.
They were sealed? That was impossible! The War God cannot seal four ancient gods at the same time!
It's true that Saya can't seal them all at once but he could hold them for a short while and then seal them later one by one.
Saya only wanted to vent his rage at the moment and make all the gods who persecuted Uno pay.
His desire for war rose without pause, affecting all his believers. Their desire to fight grew in their subconsciousness, sowing the seeds of war that might break out in the future.
【Why are you driving me away? 】 Saya remembered the first time he met Uno in Cannes City.
【I am a man defeated by you. I have the courage to come, so why don't you have the courage to let me stay? 】 As a former enemy, Shang Ke had asked him so confidently.
【I spent more than a thousand years alone in a broken temple... At least give me a chance to change.】
He did change but no god was willing to give him a chance.
Saya placed the mask over his forehead, trying to find some sort of comfort to calm his anger.
It took a long while but when he looked up, his eyes were indifferent. He stood up with robes billowing around him and disappeared in place. He appeared again in the Temple of Uno.
Uno was only sealed. With his own strength, he was enough to release him. However, when he looked at Shang Ke's statue, he found that there was no trace of Uno inside.
Where was Uno? Saya moved fast and used his powers to search around for Uno's spirit but there was nothing.
If he was not sealed, then the only possibility was that... the god had fallen...
No!
Saya trembled all over, his eyes darkening as his desire for war surged once more. Thinking that Uno might have completely disappeared from this world, he could no longer control himself. His mighty divine power was like a storm, plundering recklessly in all directions.
The gods who had just recovered from their fright were once again devastated by the War God.
Holy fuck! Which blind bastard was provoking the War God?!
"Uno..." Saya placed a hand over his forehead, his face twisted in pain as if needles were stabbing his mind. Countless confusing images flashed through his mind.
... Little Ze... Flames... Filmore...
Saya felt as if he'd been divided into several people, each one representing a beautiful and painful memory. The memories were vague but the only clear thing was the deep-seated pain in his heart.
When the War God was angry, the gods hid in fear.
"The four gods of fire, water, earth and dreams will never be allowed to set foot on my territory again."
Instead of sealing them, Saya decided to forbid the four gods from existing in his realm. In other words, the believers of the four gods could not be blessed within Saya's territory nor can the four gods gain any strength from their believers, unless both gods and believers left the city or they had enough power to contend with the War God.
As the most powerful country on the mainland, the Imperial Yi Empire, with its faith on the War God, had a vast territory and large population. The believers of the War God were all over the country. Places that did not receive his influence were usually remote and barren areas.
After they were banished by the War God, the four gods were left to suffer miserably. If they had known how much he valued the Evil God, they would not have acted so rashly.
But the four god's troubles were not over as the time to cash in their deal with the Death God arrived. They'd been imprisoned by the War God for ten days and were then expelled from his realm. The sacrifices they promised to the Death God were under the War God's protection. If they didn't want to be chased by the Death God they were going to have to get down and dirty. Unfortunately, neither the Death God nor the War God could be provoked.
This proved what Unos told them before being sealed, "You all will regret this."
How did they forget that besides killing, the Evil God also had another powerful ability— cursing. They just didn't expect the curse to be effective on gods too!
The four gods wanted to calm the anger of the War God by unsealing the Evil God. It was relatively easy to unseal a god by the one who made the seal. However, what terrified them was that they could not find the Evil God's spirit at all. Could it be that he had been entirely extinguished in body and soul?
Impossible! How could a powerful Evil God be done in so easily by them?
In the past, the fall of the Evil God would have made them jump and cheer, but now, it meant that they would never have room to manoeuvre with the War God.
Four gods felt like crying to death, especially when they had to face the smiling Death God who came to collect his debts.
There was no other way. They could only use the believers of minor gods as replacement. The original believers of the Evil God had reached more than 3,000 people, and so they had to offer more than 3,000 lives to the Death God.
The gods couldn't directly take the lives of mortals so they could only take advantage of their own believers. Shortly after, sacrificial activities of the four gods began to take place outside of the territory of the War God. The bewitched mortals began to capture other believers for no reason, preparing to hold a collective sacrificial ceremony at an appointed time.
Many relatives and friends were captured by them and the people prayed to their gods for help. However, these minor gods did not dare offend the four gods of fire, water, earth and dreams. They also dared not ask help from the angry War God so they could only remain silent in the end.
Their believers sought help from believers of other gods but were refused without a word. Now even their own god had disappeared quietly. In the end, the ones that were willing to help them were actually the followers of the Evil God who had once been scorned by everyone.
When Yitamo decided to send them troops, his parents strongly opposed it and refused to give him a single soldier. These outsiders were neither people of the Imperial Yi Empire nor their allies. There was no reason for the Imperial Yi Empire to intervene in other's affairs and expend their own troops for them.
But Yitamo was determined to help because the group of troublemakers were all believers of the four gods. He did not only want to save people, but also avenge Uno. The rest of the world didn't know that Uno had been sealed by the four gods but the Love God Neil who was his friend, told him the truth.
In the end, Yitamo took only a few hundred soldiers to a remote foreign land. As soon as he left the gate, he saw the Shu Clan waiting for him outside. With Tima as their leader, nearly a hundred of the Shu Clan's strongest members decided to join together with Yitamo.
The Shu Clan had finally strengthened their faith, but the four gods suddenly took away the god they were willing to devote their lives to. They hated the four gods so much that only blood could calm their anger.
Hundreds of people rushed day and night to reach the site of the ritual. They arrived just in time for the sacrificial ceremony.
In a clearing by the river, thousands of people were tied to wooden stakes, all of them scrawny and rugged. The scene was particularly bleak filled with shrieks and cries.
Around them stood a group of ferocious men. Some were holding torches and long whips while others carried axes and knives, totalling of at least four thousand people.
Yitamo and the others hid in the bushes. When they saw the scene in front of them, they all did a double take and chills went down their backs. Just the hundreds of them alone couldn't compete with that group. The information they received was that a few hundred people had imprisoned dozens of civilians but now it appeared to be a joint operation of several groups.
Yitamo gritted his teeth, intending to give up their previous strategy of straightforwardly attacking and decided to wait for another opportunity to ambush. But when the men started lighting stacks of firewood for the first sacrifice, some people couldn't hold back and rushed out of the bushes.
Their loved ones were being used as sacrifices and persecuted. Even though they knew they couldn't be impulsive, how many people could remain calm seeing their miserable condition right in front of them?
When Yitamo saw the situation was getting out of control, he grabbed his weapons and rushed out with determination, leading his troops and the Shu Clan to fight.
When the enemy saw hundreds of people popping out of the woods, they were stunned at first, then they gathered their fellowmen to meet them ferociously. They were all strong and powerful men and it's obvious at first glance that they were not going to be easy to deal with.
But on Yitamo's side, except for hundreds of his troops who have some fighting capacity, the rest were basically sending themselves to their deaths.
The wicked men were full of excitement like a pack of hungry wolves whose eyes were lit with a green glow. It was as if they could already see the scenes of bloodshed that was about to happen. However, they did not notice the flash of red light on their opponents bodies.
When the two sides exchanged arms, the wicked men were caught by surprise when the slaughtering they expected didn't happen. Hundreds of people came at them like a sharp knife, plunging into the thousands of the four god's believers. Like people entering unknown territory, they randomly slashed around as everything fell into disorder.
Yitamo and the others fought as if they were possessed by a god, heroic and invincible. Even a few thin teenagers showed incredible fighting power beyond normal means. Among them, the most incredible were the members of the Shu clan who wielded their weapons expertly, killing several enemies stronger than them with elegant and ferocious moves. Wherever they went, blood bloomed and pain-filled howls rose.
Then came the bizarre scene of a thousand big men running away from the hundreds of soldiers and peasants who were chasing them around the mountain.
The way of slaughter of the Evil God was invincible.
The believers of the Evil God led by Yitamo all felt the Evil God's power. Even the dozens of non-believers experienced the pleasure of killing.
Their god had not disappeared. He was still protecting them!
This motivated Yitamo and the others, boosting their morale. On the other hand, the fighting power of the wicked men grew weaker and weaker to the point that they could hardly lift their weapons.
They finally grew scared and panicked, fleeing in all directions while shouting, "Demons! Demons!"
While Yitamo and the rest cheered in victory, there was also a confrontation happening between Shang Ke and the four gods. His appearance gave them quite a fright.
The Evil God had not disappeared after all, nor was he sealed. He was just hiding in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to retaliate against them.
"Unos, you bastard that only knows how to hide, come out!" The Fire God was furious.
"I've always been here." A faint voice came from the center of the altar. A blurred figure appeared on the wooden stake, with one knee crossed and the other bent. He had one hand on his knee while the other held a stone hammer.
"You... You're Unos?" The Fire God looked uncertainly at Shang Ke. With his dark hair drifting gently in the wind, the face that had been hidden under a mask revealed a very beautiful appearance. His pair of deep, dark eyes were like a ray of sunshine. It was like being in nature, where people couldn't help but relax and indulge in the warmth.
After seeing him, the Fire God felt like he understood what it means to be a "God"— beautiful, noble and powerful. No wonder the War God was obsessed with him. Who would have thought the dark Evil God in the legends actually possessed a bright temperament?
Damn it, if only he had shown his face earlier. He might have not fought him if he did and things wouldn't be like this where they were trapped in a corner with no hope of reprieve. But since Unos was fine, there may still be hope to ease their relationship with the War God.
Thinking of this, the Fire God forced a smile, "Unos, we only wanted to seal you for a few decades, but we failed in the end. In this case, how about canceling all our previous grudges?"
"I have no objections." Shang Ke smiled faintly.
The Fire God didn't expect him to be so easy to talk with. He was about to make a few polite remarks, but Shang Ke added, "However, it seems that your deal with the Death God cannot be fulfilled."
The four gods' faces changed instantly and they realized that their sacrificial ceremony had been destroyed. The time limit agreed upon with the Death God was coming. What awaited them would be a terrible disaster.
"I told you," Shang Ke said, "you all will regret it."
Breaking their deal with the Death God was Shang Ke's plan. He would not only rescue those mortals they wanted to sacrifice but also teach them a lesson by the hand of the Death God. Then he could raise their hatred of him and eventually fulfill his heroic death.
Sure enough, once he was done speaking, the four gods looked angrily at him, their powers violently surging and flooding towards him.
Shang Ke had just given his divine powers to Yitamo and the Shu Clan. He was at his weakest point when all the four gods attacked him, he floated around like a boat sailing in a raging storm.
As soon as Yitamo and the rest finished their battle with great fanfare, they raised their heads and saw Shang Ke. They could not help but shout out their cheers, "Victory to Uno!"
"Victory to Uno!"
Not only the believers of the Evil God, but the rest of the mortals there shouted in unison too. No matter how terrible the Evil God was, they knew that when all the other gods had given up on them, only this god was willing to help and lead them to victory. He saved their lives.
The sounds of cheering was like a tsunami, full of joy and respect for the God Uno.
Suddenly, Yitamo was keenly aware that Shang Ke's body was gradually turning transparent as if he would disappear at any moment. The others realized this as well and slowly, their cheers diminished until they all fell silent.
All of them stared at Shang Ke on the altar, their faces showing signs of anxiety.
While the people were at a loss, four vague figures appeared in the air and surrounded him, clearly hostile against Shang Ke.
Although they couldn't be seen well, Yitamo, the members of the Shu clan and the others quickly recognized their identities. They were the four gods of fire, water, earth and dreams. They wanted to hurt their god? And it was against four to one!
Angered, the people grabbed their weapons and threw them at the four gods. After throwing weapons, they threw stones, after those were thrown they threw lumps of dirt. Despite it all being useless, they still did it.
They didn't notice that the enemies, who had just been beaten away by them, saw that the four gods had shown up and sneaked back, intending to ambush them.
When Shang Ke saw this, a dark light flashed across his eyes and that turned into a ball of black air, rushing silently towards the wicked men.
At the same time, his body became more transparent.
A sudden cry of anguish shocked the angry crowd. They turned around and found that their enemies had come back, seemingly ready to attack them again. But for some reason, some of them had fallen unconscious while others were killing each other.
"It's... a curse. " Yitamo muttered to himself, eyes bright.
The power of a curse was sly and formless.
The slaughter and curses of the Evil God did not represent destruction and disaster entirely. The key lies in whether the god who used it had a heart of light or not.
Even though he was in danger, he was willing to waste his energy on mortals. Yitamo had never seen a god like him before. The legendary Evil God was actually such a kind god. It was the world that had misunderstood him for thousands of years only because he was an Evil God.
Yitamo looked up at the nearly transparent Shang Ke, his eyes shining: Uno, for the rest of my life, I will honor your name, eulogize your virtue, and preach your ways!
Shang Ke's powers were almost exhausted, he was on the verge of dissipation. Death was right around the corner but he did not fear it.
Because he's here.
A familiar spirit wrapped around him tightly, holding the last of his soul.
Shang Ke's consciousness was dim, and he could vaguely see the four gods suddenly vanish before his eyes, and then he descended into darkness...
【Completed the main task — Obtain the acknowledgement of the War God Saya. 】
Shang Ke was in a loop of a semi-conscious state. Every time he woke up, he found himself lying bare against Saya's naked body. Their posture seemed to have stayed the same since the beginning, with only a change of environment, change of season, and occasionally a change of position...
He had no spare energy to think about anything else because each time he woke up, he could only spend three or five minutes awake with Saya who basically took advantage of him every time without delay.
He thought, maybe it was a good to live like this forever. No mission, no death, no separation. As long as Saya didn't mind that he slept too much, he was willing to spend his entire life with him.
But Shang Ke knew that to achieve that goal, he had to complete three tasks. But what was strange this time was that after the completion of the main mission, there were no additional missions released.
Just when he thought the situation would last forever, he never opened his eyes in the world again after his ninety-ninth waking.
The mask of the Evil God crushed into powder before Saya's eyes. The statues of the War God and the Evil God began to crack instantly. Then two gods, while embracing, fell together...
In the System Space.
"What is going on?" Shang Ke called the System into question. Why weren't there any additional missions after he had completed the main mission? Why did Saya die with him?
After an eerie period of silence, the System finally replied, 【Congratulations to Host for completing the Main Mission—Obtain Saya's approval. The Cursed Halo will disappear and each stat will gain an additional ten points. 】
"...and?"
The System continued, 【Host's Constitution, Memory, Spiritual Power, and Beauty has reached max value, unlocking trips of happiness. Obtained Return Cards +2. 】
Shang Ke: "Return cards? What's that?"
【Two Return Cards, which allows Host to return to two worlds you have been in before.】
Shang Ke's face was full of surprise, "Didn't I have to complete all missions to go back?"
【Completing all missions and reaching a total of 50% or higher perfect passes unlocks the way to return to the real world. Host can only return to two worlds you have been to at present time, you cannot return to the real world.】
The surprise came too quickly that Shang Ke didn't know how to react.
【Host can also give up on the return cards.】 The System considerately gave him another option seeing him so silent.
"No, I want to go back!" How could Shang Ke give up such a chance?
【Then, has Host prepared yourself to return?】
"Hold it." Shang Ke urgently asked, "I already died in those worlds, will my return be another identity, or do I need to die again?"
【The return card is the key to a trip of happiness. Host will obtain the continuation of your life, the death you've went through will no longer repeat.】
In other words, he can happily live a full life with his man? Happy surprise shone on Shang Ke's face.
The System added, 【Of course, if Host courts death, then even the System cannot save you.】
Shang Ke: What the fuck, you're speaking as if you saved me before or something!
【Does Host have any other questions?】 Shang Ke shook his head and floating cards immediately appeared in front of him. 【Please select two world cards, Host.】
Shang Ke withdrew two cards. Words immediately appeared on the originally blank cards immediately after he picked them.
One had: Jian Chenfeng.
The other had: Tylor.
Jian Chenfeng was the man Shang Ke met in his second world. In order to complete his mission, he had used his identity as Jiang Yumo and pursued his sister, then donated his heart to her. In this world, his feelings for Jian Chenfeng was still unclear and oblivious, he did not feel especially sad after his death. But Jian Chenfeng had poured his feelings out for him. How was he feeling after he left?
He had met Tylor in his third world. He was the Prince of the Holy Empire of Turan while he was once one of the twin stars of their school, the fallen devil apostle, Osari. To complete his mission, he had participated in their operation to seal the Devil's Tree, but had been stabbed to death by a traitor who had been infected by devil qi right when they had finally sealed the tree.
Aside from Tylor, there was one more person he couldn't let go in that world, it was the cute Pupu. He believed in Tylor, that he would take care of Pupu. She was probably sad for a long time over his death.
With his heart filled with expectations, Shang Ke used the first return card, to start his trip of happiness...