"The pain will be immense, but I believe you are ready to endure it," Kayden said to his disciple, while Reyna was preparing. During these months, Kayden had been training Atlas’s mind. He performed countless tests and challenges focused solely on mental strength. Atlas’s physical power did not grow even by a fraction during this time, which deeply unsettled the boy.
"Why are we doing all this?" Atlas asked tens of thousands of times, only to receive the same response every time.
"A strong mage requires a strong mind." This phrase was repeated to Atlas with each question he asked, and unfortunately, it was the only answer he ever received.
"How intense will the pain be?" Atlas was finally about to face something different. Kayden said this would directly increase his strength by a significant percentage.
"The strongest pain of your life." Atlas was doubtful, as his father had taught him and his siblings to fight against pain and endure it, and not just minor levels of it.
"Then let’s go," Atlas said confidently, a decision that would turn out to be the worst he could have made.
In the following minutes, Atlas experienced the greatest pain of his life. He found himself unable to even speak once the procedure was over; his mind was in shambles. Fortunately, he was strong, and Kayden was mending his soul and accelerating the healing process by many times.
What would have been a lifelong trauma barely lasted a few hours under Kayden’s healing. Once Atlas regained consciousness, he measured his strength, shivering at the thought of the recent ordeal.
"What the hell is this?" Atlas had experienced nearly a 10% increase in strength in just a few hours, a leap he couldn’t have achieved even in years of training.
"This is a body purification process. Each session can be done every few years. By the end, you should be able to increase your strength by at least tenfold, and if you’re lucky, you might gain something even more special."
"What would that be?" Atlas took the bait like a child seeing candy.
"Only my disciples are allowed to know," Kayden smiled.
"I accept. The power I’ve gained is far superior to anything my brothers could achieve," Atlas said, staring at his own hands in disbelief.
"Swear to the heavens to serve me as your disciple, but first, ask your father for permission." Kayden reminded him that Atlas was the son of a god, and not just any god.
"Father," Atlas called out, and immediately Yan materialized inside the room.
"It’s your decision alone, son. You’re old enough to make your own choices." Yan said this and disappeared without further words.
Atlas was no longer a child, and Yan knew it. As much as the god wanted to treat him like a defenseless baby, doing so would only hinder his potential. Besides, Kayden and Yan had made a vow to each other—his son wouldn’t be directly threatened.
"What will I have to do as your disciple?" Atlas knew this was a big decision, and Kayden’s next words made him even more reflective.
"Everything. I want you to reach the limit of power in this universe, even if it means killing every being within it." Simple and direct, Kayden didn’t hide his intentions.
Atlas had a strong mentality, something his father had made sure to teach him, but he was not yet the most developed being. He still had some reservations, especially concerning large-scale massacres.
Fortunately for Kayden, Yan had no way of knowing what was being done to his son’s soul, as Kayden was bombarding Atlas with suggestive emotions, stripping away much of his free will.
"I accept," Atlas said, and Kayden smiled at the words of his new disciple.
***************
Ten years later, Kayden had already built a great city on his continent, along with dozens of smaller cities. All of them were fully functioning thanks to the resources Yan had provided.
The main type of resource Kayden requested was qualified people to lead the herds. He hadn’t asked for any expensive resources beyond this. Most of the people were from lower realms and had low talent.
In terms of the world’s average, Kayden likely had the weakest continent ever seen, and by this point, Reyna was entirely captivated by Kayden’s charms.
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It took years of constant bombardment, but now Reyna loved Kayden with all her heart. They were even expecting a child within the next few years.
For false gods, it took about nine decades to generate a child. It was a long time, but necessary for their superior genes not to kill the child at its first breath.
Kayden’s cities were growing freely, merely accumulating people. His current focus was to populate the entire continent before starting his major plans.
During this time, he also gained a few new disciples. They weren’t as talented as Atlas, so Kayden sped up their training to the point of producing ten eight-ray mages in just one decade. Unfortunately, they were all from the second realm, but it was a start.
Kayden had opted for a king-and-queen system in this place. Reyna handled all the administrative affairs of the kingdom, and everyone knew and respected her decisions as absolute law. Meanwhile, Kayden was rarely seen, only showing himself a few times a year.
By now, the continent housed several hundred billion people, and Kayden finally thought it was time to open his organization to the world. To do this, he summoned everyone for a massive event with a final announcement.
"Welcome, everyone," Kayden amplified his voice with mana to carry across hundreds of kilometers. He stood in the capital, which was packed to the brim with its inhabitants. So many people had gathered that many were camping outside the city.
"The kingdom is opening a very special organization that will recruit its mages once a year," at that moment, ten eight-ray mages appeared, floating in random points in the sky.
"These are the ten mages who are part of it," most of the people weren’t impressed—they were just some second-realm mages. "Each one of them used to be a three-ray mage," a slight lie, as they were all five-ray mages, "but with the organization’s resources and their will to start anew, they’ve all reached eight rays," Kayden’s voice silenced the crowd.