In A Fantasy World I Can Absorbs Abilities

For countless years, Alfred fought silently.

After sealing Arabella and the two children within ice crystals, his life became a relentless cycle of hardship and endurance.

To prevent Radiance's soul from returning to reclaim a physical form and descending onto the continent, to keep the world from being swayed by Radiance's will, Alfred existed for tens of thousands of years as a shadow hidden within darkness.

Always lingering in the background, he lived as an observer known only to a select few, never leaving a mark on history.

The stronger people's faith and belief became, the more they prayed, the greater Radiance's power grew.

Thus, Alfred turned Arabella into a deity of death and vengeance.

But this alone wasn't enough.

Alfred became an executioner himself.

He wandered the continent, punishing the guilty and performing miracles. He became a priest, a historian, and a scribe, erasing traces of Radiance and misguiding his followers.

Yet, despite his efforts, it proved impossible to stop Radiance, who had already established himself as virtually a singular deity.

Therefore, Alfred devised a lengthy, meticulous plan.

Radiance required certain conditions to revive fully—most crucially, a vessel to contain his soul.

Radiance needed a physical body.

Accepting a god's soul wasn't a simple matter. Such a soul contained energies beyond human comprehension, energies capable of breaking the world's very laws.

Radiance was even more special. He wasn't just a god; he embodied the very concepts of 'Order' and 'Light,' his will spreading across time and space.

Yet, no matter how powerful, without a physical body, even he couldn't exist in this world.

The world's resistance wouldn't allow an intangible state to settle permanently.

A god's soul, radiating infinite energy, would disrupt natural laws around it, eventually causing collapse.

Thus, gods required vessels—not ordinary humans, but beings born with a special lineage and destiny capable of withstanding a deity's soul.

Radiance intended to seize such a body to anchor his existence.

But when a god took a human form, the individual's essence would inevitably vanish.

Through extensive research, Alfred discovered bodies capable of containing divine essence, inherited through bloodlines.

These bloodlines possessed innate harmony with divine power, refined to accept a god's soul.

Identifying these lineages proved challenging, but Alfred pursued them patiently, methodically, placing secret spells to render them unusable. He didn't hesitate to end lineages directly when necessary.

Finding Radiance's direct descendants, however, was particularly difficult, as his church desperately concealed their identities.

Fortunately, those who inherited divine blood rarely produced offspring.

When Radiance sensed something amiss, he moved the last remaining vessel, Julius, to an island.

Yet, by coincidence, Julius was captured and confined there.

Alfred realized that his long-awaited moment was finally near—the culmination of tens of thousands of years of waiting.

Michael stepped forward with a smile, a relaxed expression on his face.

Yet his crimson eyes remained cold.

Ahead lay Radiance, who had stolen the body of his grandmother, Arabella.

Once revered across the continent, Radiance now existed ambiguously, scarcely fitting the title of a god.

Having absorbed the power protecting the island and the holy city, Michael significantly weakened Radiance.

Golden divine energy encircled Radiance's body, but its turmoil remained internal—a prison for the trapped deity.

The body Radiance had joyfully chosen became his cage.

The usurper had become prey.

Radiance struggled fiercely against the bonds, but his resistance only deepened the crimson markings etched by Alfred.

These weren't mere symbols—they embodied spells crafted over millennia specifically to imprison a god's soul.

The more Radiance resisted, the deeper the markings became, spreading across the flesh like blood.

Michael watched with amusement and scorn as he approached Radiance, mocking him openly.

"What a sight. Seeing you like this, how could any believer on the continent still respect you?"

Radiance thrashed more violently at Michael's distant voice.

The once-proud god's screams of arrogance echoed through darkness, distorting surrounding space.

Had Radiance successfully claimed the body, divine light would have enveloped the world upon his rebirth, the heavens aflame, the earth trembling in submission.

Reality, however, was far different.

Radiance was utterly powerless.

The bonds weren't merely restraints.

The crimson markings etched onto his flesh were chains, not mere magical circles—carefully designed by Alfred to turn Radiance's power against himself.

Having studied divine essence thoroughly, Alfred devised this binding spell explicitly to prevent Radiance's revival.

"How dare you… How dare you!"

Radiance writhed in fear, desperately plotting to shield himself behind Arabella's body.

His memories surged forth vividly.

Earth.

Oh Gwang-Hwi was an ordinary eighth grader, his life marked by typical teenage concerns.

He worried over exam scores, attended after-school academies, enjoyed games and comics.

Although somewhat gloomy and prone to arrogance, he remained fundamentally ordinary.

Yet, his ordinary life ended abruptly.

A traffic accident.

After a tremendous shock erased his consciousness, when he awoke, he was no longer Oh Gwang-hwi. He had reincarnated as a prince in a fantasy world.

Though far from any claim to the throne, simply being reborn as royalty was enough for him. A glamorous court and endless possibilities stretched out before him. Most importantly, in this new world, he possessed an extraordinary power—a power no record had ever mentioned before.

Gwang-hwi reveled in the ecstasy of directly absorbing magical energy from mana stones.

"I am special."

Unlike his ordinary life on Earth, here he was no longer a mundane boy. Gifted talent, extraordinary abilities, and royal status fed his blossoming ambitions.

From a young age, Gwang-hwi summoned masters from every field, requesting their teachings—not out of respect, but solely to surpass them and showcase his superior talent.

However, amidst his arrogance, one day Gwang-hwi encountered Alfred.

Alfred, a mysterious figure with an extraordinary presence, excelled not just in swordsmanship and magic but also in strategy and tactics. No matter how Gwang-hwi tried, he couldn't surpass Alfred. The same was true for Arabella, who shadowed Alfred wherever he went.

Gwang-hwi felt an intense admiration toward Alfred.

"Please become my mentor! I wish to share everything with you!"

But Alfred firmly refused.

"Our paths are different."

Anger surged within Gwang-hwi. As Alfred walked away after refusing him, he caught sight of Arabella behind Alfred, mockingly gesturing at him.

'Am I... inferior to that woman? Why is she accepted, and I'm not?'

The humiliation of rejection ignited his inferiority complex into a burning resentment.

From that moment onward, admiration transformed into hatred.

Time passed.

While Gwang-hwi was obsessed with absorbing magical power, Alfred and Arabella ascended to divinity. Gwang-hwi couldn't tolerate this. The man who had once scorned him became a god, and the woman who had mocked him became a goddess. It utterly trampled his pride.

He believed he must reach the same position. No, he had to surpass them.

From then on, Gwang-hwi became even more obsessed with gaining power. Initially, he chose the proper path—studying magic, exploring ancient texts, and facing various trials to grow stronger. But that path was unbearably slow. Achieving divinity through traditional methods was too arduous and took too long.

He couldn't wait.

'I must surpass him quickly and mock him in return.'

His first rejection after reincarnation became an obsession. Eventually, he crossed a forbidden line.

He betrayed the heroes gathered to resolve a continental crisis and stole the divine power of ancient gods. Accusing countless magicians and knights of heresy, he robbed them of their mana, crossing taboos to attain godhood.

"To become a god, I must abandon my humanity. Alfred, I'll follow a different path than yours."

And so, he embraced the desires rising within him.

Many years passed before Gwang-hwi finally reached the divine realm. But by then, Alfred had already abandoned his godhood.

Infuriatingly, Alfred still did not acknowledge him.

"You're not ready. Look at yourself. Do you truly think you're a god?"

Gwang-hwi became even more enraged. He couldn't understand Alfred's words—or rather, he refused to.

Thus, he decided to destroy the ones Alfred cherished most—Arabella and her two children. Weakened after giving birth to her second child, Arabella succumbed to Gwang-hwi's ambush. He absorbed her divinity with immense satisfaction.

Finally, Alfred turned to face him.

After fighting relentlessly for three days and nights, Gwang-hwi fled, losing his physical form and reduced to a mere spiritual remnant. Barely able to deliver an oracle, he retreated into seclusion.

Fortunately, his followers served their roles well. Power slowly returned, and soon he would reclaim his godhood—or so he believed.

And now, at this moment, his past sins had finally caught up to him.

Michael stared at Gwang-hwi's pale, terrified face. The face Gwang-hwi stole was painfully familiar—one he'd often seen reflected in the mirror.

'Mother must have looked like grandmother.'

Yet, the brightly shining crimson eyes were nowhere to be seen. Instead, Gwang-hwi's eyes resembled a frozen, black abyss.

Michael met those eyes directly. Inside them, no ideals or nobility remained. Only hatred, obsession, and twisted self-love churned chaotically.

Though Gwang-hwi wore Arabella's body, the grotesque soul beneath was clearly visible to Michael. His spirit was no longer whole; it was fractured, twisted, and distorted, like a shattered mirror, broken into countless fragments incapable of sustaining a coherent form. The screams and blood of countless lives stained his very soul.

'He's completely broken.'

Gwang-hwi was no longer a god. He was merely the wreckage of someone consumed by their desires.

Gwang-hwi stared in horror as Michael approached him. The face was strikingly similar to Arabella's. Yet, that wasn't why he was stunned. Gwang-hwi's pupils contracted sharply.

As soon as Michael's presence registered, alarm bells rang within him—not just unease, but the absolute terror one felt when confronting someone wielding the exact same power.

The energy emanating from Michael was terribly familiar. The force Michael controlled, its flow, its texture—everything matched perfectly.

His heart pounded frantically.

"…This can't be."

The ability to absorb power belonged solely to him. It was a power no one else could possess or imitate. It made him unique.

But now...

Gwang-hwi's voice trembled as he spoke:

"How… How do you possess the same power as mine?"