Chapter 22: Power Coming Easy
After his words, Akasha flew upward in a smooth motion, plucking three of the glowing white apples.
Dropping back down, he handed one each to Yume and Luna.
Yume glanced down at the apple cradled in her palms, then looked back at him with a curious tilt of her head.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" she asked softly.
To her, the Golden Apple Tree in general was a complete mystery—everything around her just seemed so beautiful and unfamiliar.
Catching the subtle change in Yume’s expression, Luna suddenly broke into bright, melodic laughter, her own apple resting lightly in her hand.
"Fufufu~ Yume," she said between chuckles, "this apple holds power. And while I can’t say for sure... it just might raise your rank as well."
Yume paused, thinking for a moment as she glanced between the apple and Akasha.
Then, as all three shared a quick, excited glance, they wasted no time.
They bit down simultaneously.
HUMMMMMM!!!
The moment each of them ate the white apples with the intentions of increasing their rank, a surge of divinity erupted from them like no other.
The air around the Golden Apple Tree ignited with raw, golden divinity.
Akasha and Luna found themselves suddenly encased in separate glowing cocoons of swirling divinity, as they were being reshaped them from the inside out.
Yume was pulled back into the Dream Land in the same instant, her form vanishing only to reappear within her own shimmering cocoon floating in the misty realm.
High above the peak, the two cocoons hovered just beneath the massive branches of the tree, divinity surging wildly around them in visible waves of purple and pink light.
The mountain wind howled louder, as if reacting to the overwhelming power being unleashed.
HUMMMMMM!!!!!!
CRRRRAAAACKKK!!!
The cocoons holding Akasha and Luna eventually cracked open with a resonant crack.
[You have ranked up]
[True God Tier 10, +2,000 DP]
Akasha emerged first, now a True God at Tier 10.
His presence felt heavier, more commanding, the air around him subtly warping with latent power.
Luna followed, descending as a Tier 24 Unbound Goddess.
Both of them looked more ethereal and divine — their skin glowing with a faint inner radiance, their movements carrying an effortless grace that made the world seem to bend slightly in reverence.
Yet outwardly, little had changed; Akasha’s crimson and white hair still framed his face, his eyes were blood pools, while Luna’s pink and purple hair flowed just as wildly as before.
He arched a brow, staring at the screen for a moment before speaking.
"I guess Yume is truly different... I didn’t even get the option to choose a Decree," he said, half-amused.
He knew that once one stepped into the True God rank, it marked where all beings would begin receiving personal laws from their stars.
However, in Pantheons laws were termed Decrees and they were not exactly something that could be learned externally.
Though it was something odd, he was not worried in the slightest.
With everything that Yume had shown him so far... and the fact that she was ranking up... Which was something he didn’t even know if it should be possible.
’There’s no way that shit can be possible... especially if stars are not even supposed to be physical.’ He thought to himself briefly already excited to see what would come from her transformation.
He then turned to Luna, who was looking at him with a heated, almost predatory expression.
For the first time in countless eras, she had truly ranked up, and the rush of power mixed with her nature as the Spirit of Lust had ignited something fierce in her eyes.
Akasha tilted his head, confused by the intensity in her gaze.
"Luna...?"
Thud!
Luna walked closer, her movements sensual and deliberate, hips swaying with each step as she gently pushed him backward toward the thick trunk of the Golden Apple Tree.
His back pressed against the smooth, warm bark as she leaned in, her body flush against his. She licked slowly up the side of his neck, her breath hot against his skin.
"I should show you some appreciation..." she whispered huskily. "After all, you did help me rank up officially."
After shedding her purity, one could say controlling her primal urges had become even harder... and ranking up would only continue to make such a thing difficult until she got it under control.
Akasha’s Vampire and Dragon traits flared instantly—obsidian scales rippling across his forearms, his ever-shifting eyes glowing brighter, and his elegant horns catching the light.
However, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing himself to regain control.
Pah!
He gave her ass a firm, playful slap.
"Control yourself horny woman... We have business to take care of.... Though we can have fun later."
"Ah~"
The slap drew a soft, needy moan from Luna.
She giggled, biting her lip as she stepped back with a mischievous smile.
"As you say then, love~"
After that, Akasha smiled faintly and pulled out the Primordial Origin Heart — a conceptual heart of pure essence, its surface a pristine white and glowing faintly with an otherworldly radiance in his palm.
As he gazed at it, he remembered the description that spoke of this heart containing a faint wisp of something known as Origin’s Essence.
"Uhhh... have you ever heard of Origin’s Essence?" he asked. Luna shook her head; her eyes fixed on the heart with equal intrigue.
"Never... but for it to permanently increase your Battle Power, it must be something special."
He nodded, as usual deciding there was no point in worrying about what he couldn’t yet understand.
Without further hesitation, he absorbed the heart.
HUMMMMM!!!!!
In that moment, another short surge of power erupted from him.
A brief flash of pure white light exploded outward, so intense it made the air around them shimmer and distort like heated glass.
The energy flooded through his veins like liquid power, it was cool at first, then burning hotter as it fused with his very being.
His muscles tensed, his breath caught, and for a split second the entire peak seemed to hold its breath with him.
He smiled as the new power settled, the sensation leaving a lingering warmth deep in his chest as he nodded with a satisfied smile.
"That makes my total Battle output even beyond the Universal Peak at this point."
At this point, with his rank at the True God, Tier 10 stage, the boost from his new battle power, combined with his previous +9, brought his total output to an impressive Tier 29.
[A/N: If things ever get too confusing, just drop a comment and I’ll explain—or message in the Discord.] ;)
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