The whispers of the Ancient God echoed around his ears, a grand melody that humanity could neither understand nor resist.
This melody was so chaotic that everything existed within it...
One person saw benevolence where another saw wisdom – everyone could hear the message they desired from the melody, yet it was so complex and profound that it naturally evoked a feeling of rejection.
Incredible, I’m gradually understanding everything!
Wayne heard mockery within the melody. Confronted by the infinite grandeur of the universe, the brief lives of humans felt insignificant and powerless, and he felt a profound sadness for this ineffable fear.
Instinctively merging with The Book of Greed, Wayne’s body transformed into a pale, faceless three-meter-tall creature, its chest tore open to reveal a massive solitary eye gazing beyond the abyss at the Ancient God.
He is different; he is not insignificant!
Beyond the endless starry sky, the bloated and deformed body of the Ancient God slightly paused, slowly tilting forward as if to see more clearly.
Wriggling tentacles climbed until they occupied the entire black sky. Accompanied by an indescribable ancient sound, the body of the Ancient God faded away.
The twisted light converged on the statue of the Sea God. The howling storm gradually quieted, and the turbulent sea returned to calm.
The warm sunshine poured down, everything returned to the state before the storm, as if nothing had ever happened.
The Evil God, still shaken, looked towards the distant sky, touching his wildly beating heart, feeling repulsion from the God-chosen Continent for the first time.
This world is too dangerous; even an untouched belief could invoke an Ancient God. Compared to that, Hell was downright peaceful, merely the daily bloodshed and slaughter.
Having escaped death, he couldn’t help but howl towards the heavens; the ancient book was right – the Ancient Gods truly don’t care, even if their worship was stolen, they remained neither joyful nor sorrowful.
After a brief ecstasy, the Evil God was again troubled. From beginning to end, the Ancient God never looked at him, seeing him as a mortal, an ant, too insignificant to notice.
It can’t be said like that; the Ancient God did treat him a bit differently, sparing the Evil God and not whispering in his ear when treating others with indifference.
You don’t deserve the treat, kid!
The Evil God was both troubled and relieved, his feelings incredibly complex. He wanted the Ancient God to treat him the same, yet feared his body couldn’t withstand it; he wanted the Ancient God to look at him more, yet also feared that having his wish granted might lead to really being seen.
This won’t do, neither will that; to do or not to do both feel unbearably wrong.
The arrival of the Ancient God proved the existence of the Sea God. Perhaps the Ancient God wasn’t the Sea God, nor cared about such worship. It could merely be the islanders’ spontaneous belief unintentionally invoking a summoning ritual. But indeed, the Ancient God had arrived, marking the Sea God’s belief as its own.
This is no place to stay!
The Evil God turned to leave.
The Ancient God nonchalantly reclaimed the worship of the Sea God Society into the statue, the Evil God lost the empowerment of belief, and his strength significantly diminished. He dared not anger the Ancient God a second time and decided to go elsewhere to resume playing God.
Lacking the courage to replace another unclaimed belief, he planned to honestly develop his own following, to be a good deity like those other glorious and righteous gods. Before he had no choice, but this time he intended to be a good god.
The Pale Moon, the Twilight Sun, the Natural Ruler – even these once terrifying epithets could be redeemed, and there was no reason he couldn’t do the same.
Is it that hard to be a good god?
Just as he was thinking, an intense sense of foreboding came from behind.
The Evil God gripped the Crystal Blade and looked. A large eyeball with arms and legs was eyeing him hungrily, about three meters tall, its body pale and wrinkled, inherently sinister.
The Evil God was momentarily taken aback but soon realized the reason. Wayne couldn’t resist the Ancient God’s whispers and mutated into a monster.
"Poor fellow, did you really think you could look directly at an Ancient God? You had it coming," the Evil God rejoiced in another’s misfortune. He wasn’t the most unfortunate one there; Wayne was far worse off.
Pale tentacles swept over, splitting mid-way, enlarging, extending into a twisted net of tentacles.
The Evil God waved the Crystal Blade; flashes of red sword light dazzled the eyes, and the tentacle net fell apart in an instant.
Wayne retracted the broken tentacles, the grayish-white fluid bulged and squirmed, repairing the severed limbs. His arms extended into blades, speeding forward and arriving in front of the Evil God.
At that moment, his mind somewhat unclear, he faced the body of the Ancient God, and while merged with The Book of Greed, a bizarre idea struck him – he was too normal, out of sync with the world. He could be more sinister.
For instance, he didn’t have enough tentacles!
Look at the Ancient God; there’s nothing humanoid about it. That is the ultimate, the form most in accordance with the rules of the universe.
In another world context, this is the Innate Taoist Body, the Undying Golden Body, invincible among peers, a direct path to the great Dao, with a leveling buff included.
There are many ways to describe it, but in summary, humans have limits. To become an eternal and powerful being, one mustn’t remain human.
Wayne, merged with The Book of Greed, began his sinister transformation.
The twin blades crossed downward, a strong wind bearing a powerful concentration of the Wind Element, the force of the slash, and the sharpness of the wind blades forced the Evil God to avoid a direct confrontation, flapping dragon wings and leaping aside.
In mid-air, the Evil God’s body twisted, and he fiercely swung his slender dragon tail, a hook protruding from the end. It tore a huge gash in Wayne’s back with a hiss.
This gash extended from the nape to the lower back, almost cleaving his torso in two. Strangely, not a single drop of blood fell, as four tentacles burst forth, lashing through the air to tightly entangle the Evil God’s limbs.