CHAPTER 100: | ADVENT OF THE STARBORN LEVIATHAN

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  "How come I didn't think of creating circuits like this?"

  Lumicor’s smile widened at the new discoveries he was making every second.

  He was shocked that the mana circuits carved into the sword weren't just one-dimensional.

  All the famous blacksmiths in the world, the well-known mana architects-researchers, even the dragons, who possessed the most advanced civilization, could only engrave two-dimensional mana circuits in a blade.

  What was more ridiculous was him holding a sword with a three-dimensional engraving, no, even three-dimensional wouldn't do justice for his works.

  It far surpassed that, even he needed time to consume these gains.

  He lifted his hand, instinctively creasing his smooth chin as he pondered deeply about how he could deconstruct this complicated mess of a sword without losing even a percent of its structure.

  Lumicor knew that hastily deconstructing the sword with his claw at this moment would just mess it up, since he lacked the techniques or the skills to precisely dissect the blade.

  "This is troubling..."

  Unknowingly, he voiced those words as he contemplated his gains today.

  Even if he couldn't completely dissect the sword right now, the enlightenment he'd gained was enough for him to contemplate for a year.

  'This was enough,' he thought, before he waved his hand.

  The sword deconstructed into digital numbers as he stored it into his inventory.

  He smirked casually, glancing at his form as he saw behind his back that eleven constellations of radiance had already formed from the hours he spent observing the sword with fervor.

  Lumicor nodded his head, now knowing that it was time for his 'advent,' the 'advent of the Starborn Leviathan.'

  It was time to awaken the beast he had created upon much deliberation on the starlight flowing in the night sky.

  'Starlight Armament' was a spell that allowed him to tap into the godlike ability of the God of the Star.

  He knew it wasn't a god but a constellation in the sky, countless and many, but he nonetheless called it 'god.'

  Step!

  Lumicor took one last glance at Alister, paying his respects for allowing him to tap into this forbidden knowledge that only gods could glimpse.

  He was grateful for this encounter but saddened that Alister would perish under his might.

  He closed his eyes shut, feeling the world screaming at him that it was time to unleash the beast he had refused to let go.

  He turned his head, and the eleven constellations floating behind him didn't follow his back this time, they knew it was time to awaken from a deep slumber.

  Lumicor lifted his hand, his palm reaching out for the first constellation.

  His movements were gentle, yet they exuded the arrogance that was ingrained into his bones.

  The constellation hesitated for a moment, unwilling to awaken, but under the pressure Lumicor exuded, it soon gave up.

  As it settled into his palm, Lumicor clenched the constellation with all his strength, and it popped out like a balloon, its essence, similar to starlight, dripping out from his palm.

  The essence of starlight then gently levitated before it could hit the ground, gathering in front of him like the shimmering light in the cosmos, an eternal light that guides the soul.

  He repeated this ten more times as the essence of starlight gathered into the previous pile, now floating gloriously in front of him with incandescent light.

  He was finished with the first step of awakening the beast inside him, and now it was time to commence the second.

  Lumicor began to chant.

  The world seemed to pause as the essence of starlight began to seep into his body like worms writhing inside him, finding their place with every word he spoke.

  "The world was created by the Primordial, then came Chaos, which sought to devour the radiance of the omnipotent one... small embers started flames, then flames created light, as light created starlight..."

  Lumicor paused for a moment, catching his breath before continuing his chant.

  "This is my enlightenment. It is shallow and lacking, but I hope to begin my advent as the Starborn Leviathan at this moment... It may sound ignorant that I, with my meager knowledge, want to start... but it is my will, and none shall defy it."

  As Lumicor’s words settled into the currents, the world seemed to fracture and pause as thousands of imposing presences began to tear apart the enclosure of the dungeon.

  Then, they descended.

  Their astral projections had descended straight to this very world that had yet to access that plane, as they watched the newly awakened starborn.

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  [The 'Starlight' acknowledged your advent, oh great leviathan.]

  [Where radiance lay, darkness hides in the shadow. Oh, newly awakened Starborn Leviathan, show us which path will you pick.]

  [The Gods of Starlight ponder with interest as the Gods of the Ashlight urge you to choose your decision wisely, oh foolish mortal.]

  [You may now choose, oh great leviathan.]

  [Starlight]

  [Ashlight]

  [Advance your spell to become one of the Starlight God? Or fall into the darkness and advance to the path of the Ashlight?]

  [The Gods of Starlight ponder with interest, along with the cruel Gods of Ashlight, of which path will you choose.]

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  He glanced at his form, watching as his legs trembled from the inhumane pressure that these figures from above had exuded.

  Even though he knew that it wasn't their real form, he was still agape at this pressure.

  Some had the distinct aura of the warmth of radiance, of the hope that was given, while some gave the desolation of darkness, of its corruption and the false hope it created.

  The essence of starlight had now completed its blessing.

  The only thing that was waiting for him to complete his awakening was his decision, whether he should be reborn as Starlight or Ashlight.

  Lumicor didn't give a damn which side he would choose, since he now knew that light and darkness were the same, that radiance and corruption fell into the same category, same with starlight and ashlight, the same.

  "I choose none..."

  He muttered coldly.

  The silence that followed was deafening.

  The watchful eyes of both parties, expectant of him, narrowed into slits as a new interface appeared in front of him.

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  [The Starlight Gods along with the Ashlight Gods are deeply dissatisfied at your choice.]

  [Mortal, your greed is beyond its limits. Your arrogance has no heights. We, the Ashlights, reject your advancement.]

  [Your decision to become both of us has gained the ire of us Ashlight.]

  [The Awakening of your Spell Starlight Armament had failed.]

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  Lumicor glanced at the interface, his expression cold, as he couldn't be more dissatisfied by these so-called gods who were more foolish and ignorant than a flock of headless chickens.

  He was dissatisfied at how foolish these so-called gods were, asking him to choose the path that they had trod was nothing but an insult to him.

  He was Lumicor, a genius who would pioneer the path of duality.

  He was destined for something greater than Starlight or Ashlight, so how could he waver here?

  He snorted at their presence dissolving, feeling the folds of reality returning back to normal.

  Now, with his awakening incomplete, Lumicor wasn't discouraged in the slightest by this predicament.

  His goal in undergoing this awakening was nothing but a ruse to observe those so-called gods and to receive the blessing of starlight, since soon, in the near future, he would receive the blessing of ashlight.

  "How foolish... thinking that their imposing presence would make me yield. Fools! Me, Lumicor, yielding to a single path is neight impossible. So be dissatisfied at my decisions."

  Ashin Sae Acoustine, being the first to notice the time-freezing of time, quickly got up from her seat then shouted with rage.

  "How dare you mongrels intrude in my sacred lands!"

  Thousands of Atlantic Seals that weighed a million tons, or one Zen that was equivalent to a million tons, blanketed the sky in shadows as the fading presence of the remaining gods that lingered for far too long flinched at the apocalyptic sight in front of them.

  Ashin Sae Acoustine wasn't just angered by the mere fact of the intrusion of the gods, but at them just being gods, since she loathed them greatly after Skaira had done her wrong in the past.

  With a wave from her hands, all of the Atlantic Seals that hovered motionlessly in the currents vanished, then reappeared a meter away at the figures.

  But one of the gods, dissatisfied from her challenging their authority, flicked it's finger as the currents vibrated from the intense power of their gesture.

  It rippled violently, instantly dissolving all of the Atlantic Seals in the sky into dust as they left.

  "Damnit! How dare those godless, motherless fuckers come in this place?! Who dares! Who dares to let them in!"

  Ashin Sae Acoustine stomped her foot on the ground as the entire floating island groaned from the force of her strike, with the chains that stationed them to the seven pillars down below clamoring from the strain of the impact.

  Her outburst alone sent the floating island tilting to one side dangerously as cracks could be seen forming from its grounds.

  Then it returned to position in the next second as huge chunks of the floating island began to fall to the ground.

  Solia watched the ground beneath her feet with keen interest as she tightened her grip onto Ishtar, who was sleeping but now wide awake.

  "Mmm... s-sister?"

  Ishtar, still sleepy, rubbed her beady eyes cutely as she yawned before opening them to gaze at her big sister Solia.

  But Solia just smiled back at her, then patted her head gently before rubbing.

  "Nothing is happening, Ishtar, so go ahead and sleep lots so that you can grow big like this big sister of yours!"

  Ishtar burrowed her head on Solia’s neck with excitement that she would grow bigger if she slept lots and lots every day, so she closed her eyes, hoping that after this sleep, she would meet the handsome mister again.

  Solia smiled at how obedient Ishtar was as she grabbed Samantha’s waist hurriedly, then infused her soles with mana as it crackled with lightning, then hopped into safety.

  "Your master... is she usually like this?"

  She asked Samantha, and Samantha shook her head, since she knew of her master's calm and composed nature under the guise of a mischievous lady.

  "No... I haven't seen Master like this."

  Her answer was short, so as not to give any more than the answer needed to the servant of Alister, since she now knew of how loyal Solia was to Alister and she needed to be cautious as to not reveal her master's weakness or whereabouts, since she knew how dangerous it could be.

  Solia, noticing Samantha's hidden intentions, as she peered to her true intents that were as calm as the ocean but hiding something deeper in its depth, peered no more.

  "I see."

  Her words were cut short as she was intrigued about whether this woman named Amara could survive a fall from such a height with boulders that weighed thousands of tons, with just her bare body.

  "How intriguing. I wonder if her companion would save her from that predicament?"

  She watched, breath trapped, as Amara plummeted.

  The speed was a sickening blur, a velocity so extreme it rendered her figure almost invisible to the naked eye.

  Amara was not free-falling, she was violently constrained, chained to the solid ground by the crushing frozen glacier that Ashin Sae Acoustine had wrought moments before.

  The connection was a brutal anchor, turning her descent into a taut, lethal arc.

  "Hmm?"

  Samantha smiled at Amara's predicament as she observed Lumicor’s brows twitching from the sight of his companion plummeting to the ground.

  At first, he was disinterested, but in the next second, he vanished like a blur before appearing right next to Amara.

  "Master! That man summoned those gods!"

  She shouted with interest, wondering what trajectory this information would give to this situation.

  Her eyes, unmoving and unflinching, watched her master wave her finger at Lumicor as thousands of her signature move, 'Atlantic Seal,' that weighed over one Zen, materialized for a moment then vanished as it reappeared in front of Lumicor in the next.

  'Would this help him?'

  She pondered if her weakening Lumicor, by using her master, blinded by rage, would aid her beloved in their battle... or perhaps not.

  Boom!

  An incandescent light exploded in the horizon as starlight met glacier, creating an explosion that swept across the currents.

  Lumicor shifted his head then gazed at her with displeasure, and Samantha knew that she had miscalculated the situation.

  Thinking that her master's current prowess could suppress this arrogant man, she hadn't accounted for the fact that he was now far stronger than ever, and she didn't know why or how he had become so strong all of a sudden.

  Samantha smiled as a sword made of starlight cut through the currents and pushed through toward her, but she wasn't scared by the threat in front of her since she trusted that man would save her.

  "Alister, save me..."