Chapter 185: Ch 185 : A perfect Synergy
The Crucible for the demigods had begun, and the very fabric of the arena that was bigger than the area of million worlds combined, trembled under the weight of their divine power.
One million points of light vanished from the stands and reappeared scattered across the vast, chaotic landscape.
Sunny watched his own stand, a flicker of surprise in his cosmic gaze. Only two of his demigods were missing; or rather, one, as they were two halves of a single, powerful whole.
The Demigods of Life, Uranus and Gaia, had entered the fray.
The live chat, a river of consciousness connecting trillions of souls, immediately buzzed with confusion.
Lifeform1636: "Wait, why are there one million and one screens for this match? Aren't there only one million contestants?"
Lifeform152 : "They are connected. Demigod Gaia and Demigod Uranus are two bodies with a single, shared soul but different consciousness. They are one entity." The explanation came from a lifeform of Veridia, his knowledge gleaned from the sacred pages of 'The Genesis'.
Lifeform26173: "Still, isn't it unfair to have two demigods fighting as one, while all the others are solo?"
Lifeform1636: "Not really. From what I've read, Demigod Gaia abhors fighting. She is a being of pure creation and peace. So, it will be Demigod Uranus doing all the fighting, while also having to protect his other half."
Their speculation was cut short as the divine pair found their first target.
"I do not understand why we must actively seek out other demigods," Gaia's voice was a soft, melodic sigh as she floated gracefully behind Uranus. "Why can we not simply wait for them to come to us? Or better wait for the competition to end."
"And what is the fun in that?" Uranus replied, his eyes, burning with a competitive fire, fixed on a distant, shimmering figure. "We are the creations of the great Emperor Cosmos. It is our sacred duty to display our strength, to show the multiverse the might of his will!"
His target, a magnificent creature shaped like a horse with a single, spiraling horn of pure light on its forehead, sensed their gaze.
It turned, its majestic form radiating a calm, confident power. But Uranus was already moving. He shot forward, a blur of angelic fury, afraid his prey might escape.
The horned demigod, showing no fear, lowered its head, and a brilliant beam of pure, white light shot from its horn, striking Uranus squarely on the forehead.
The impact was immense, a silent explosion of energy. But Uranus didn't even flinch. He continued his charge, a single, devastating punch aimed at the creature's long, elegant neck.
The horse demigod screamed in agony as the blow connected, its body staggering back. But a strange, almost serene, grin was plastered on its face.
Uranus, unnerved by this bizarre reaction, punched again, harder this time. The demigod's body buckled, but the unnerving smile remained, its eyes seeming to mock his efforts.
The live chat exploded with confusion.
Lifeform1662: "What is this? Those punches look powerful enough to shatter a world, but they don't seem to be affecting that demigod at all! Can anyone from that demigod's world explain its ability?"
Lifeform53625: "I can. That is the demigod from our world. His name is Immuno. And his talent is the reason he is undefeated. I have seen him live in action, when he was fighting the demon demigod invading our world."
Lifeform1662: "What talent? Elaborate!"
Lifeform53625: "I do not know its name, but I have seen its effect. Whoever is touched by that beam of light from his horn, their attacks become completely useless against him. It is a perfect, absolute defense."
Lifeform1662: "So he's just an unbeatable punching bag? He doesn't seem to have any fighting skills of his own."
Lifeform53625: "That's where you are wrong. He has another talent. Every attack that lands on him, every point of damage he should have taken, is stored and amplified. The more you hit him, the more powerful his own counter attack will be."
A collective, cosmic gasp went through all the lifeforms watching. The synergy was terrifying, a perfect and seemingly unbeatable combination of absolute defense and infinitely scaling offense.
Sunny, watching from his throne, didn't need the chat's explanation. His God's Eye had already shown him everything. "Alex," he said to the God of Immuno, his voice a low hum of genuine praise, "you have a truly wild imagination to have created such a powerful and unique demigod."
"Thank you, my Emperor," Alex replied, his divine form puffing up with pride.
The other subordinate Gods looked on with a burning envy. To be praised directly by the Emperor was an honor beyond measure, because he can provide them the benefits they needed.
But Sunny's next words turned their envy into a mad frenzy of ambition.
"Good. Very good. I truly like your imagination," Sunny declared, his voice booming across the assembly of Gods. "As a reward for strengthening our empire with such a creative champion, I will gift you ten new worlds. You may choose their specifics yourself."
Creating worlds was a trivial matter for him now, a simple act of manifestation that cost a few thousand faith points.
But to a subordinate God, it was a gift of unimaginable value, a foundation for an entire new empire. The message was clear: impress the Emperor, and the rewards will be boundless.
"You've already won the tournament at this point," Zir said, congratulating Alex. "Those 420 worlds are nothing compared to ten custom-made planets from the Boss."
A wave of congratulations followed, and in that moment, a new, fierce competition was born among the Gods; not just to win the tournament, but to catch the eye of their Emperor through their demigods.
Many Gods even grinned a little fully understanding the extraordinary talent of their demigods.
Sunny just smiled after looking at their competitive spirit and turned his gaze back to the arena. The real test had just begun.
How would his own creation, a being of pure life and combat, handle an opponent who was seemingly unbeatable?
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