"Alright" Kallen said. He had decided to take a gamble, but mostly because he was finding it increasingly hard to control himself.
Whatever that was influencing his mind, was now acting without reservations; making controlling himself from showing outright hostility, become increasingly difficult.
He was only moments away from snapping.
Samaelas seized the moment. "Getting the system will give you an edge. The Existential Compendium is unbiased and impartial, but integrating my system with it will tilt the odds in your favor.
"And then there's Infinity's Edge—a weapon of immense power. Though it's far too strong for you now, as you grow more powerful, you'll be able to wield it.
"Or… you can walk away. Maybe, when my remaining divine essence finally fades, I'll enter the reincarnation cycle and be reborn with better odds myself."
Kallen narrowed his eyes. "Giving me such power doesn't come with just the title of priest or some vague promise. I believe there's more to it than that which you are hiding. But... I'll do it."
"Good choice," Pashupati remarked with a smirk. "But you're really too gullible. No wonder you died the way you did, too trusting. Still, in choosing him, you've won my respect."
Kallen though was shaking his head internally, he wasn't swayed by Samaelas' promises at all, and his reason for agreeing to the contract was known just to him.
He was confident that even on his own, he could achieve everything he was supposed to achieve, and make this second life worth living. He needed to get out of here fast, before he did something that will get him killed.
Morphing into an ape, Pashupati patted Samaelas on the shoulder. "I'm happy for you, my friend. What do you say about me giving him a piece of my divinity?"
Samaelas jolted in surprise, his eyes widening. "You want to what?"
"Yes," Pashupati confirmed, his voice steady.
Samaelas stared at Pashupati, still stunned. "Are you serious? Giving him a piece of your divinity is no small thing."
Kallen's frowned in confusion. What were they talking about now? Time was running out. Making him dissatisfied was making things even worse.
Pashupati shrugged, now in his ape form, his eyes gleaming with a mischievous light. "Why not? The boy's got potential, and if he's going to survive what's coming, he'll need all the help he can get."
Kallen picked up on what he said, and became curious.
"What is coming?" He asked.
"Spoken like a true survivor," Pashupati said with a toothy grin. "You don't need to know for now, but you'll be better prepared for it."
Kallen nodded not pressing further.
Samaelas sighed, finally recovering from his shock. "Alright, if that's what you want, Pashupati. But remember, this makes him your responsibility too."
Pashupati nodded, his grin widening. "No worries. I'll make sure he's ready."
Samaelas sighed and turned to Kallen.
"Although you've agreed, I still have to warn you," he intoned, his voice dripping with celestial authority.
"The tides will rise against you, and things may never fall in your favor." He paused, his eyes boring into Kallen's soul.
"Although I'm not obliged to tell you this, I'd say that choosing me was the worst, and also the best decision you could have made.
"I have a lot of enemies, and to be my vassal will be the same as you inheriting my enemies as well. The things at stake here not only endangers you, but also myself.
"Infinity's edge is one of the reasons even some archaic lifeforms haven't chopped off my head. Giving it to you is gambling my life. At this point young man, my life and yours rests in your hands."
Suddenly, the intense atmosphere was shattered.
"Big brother Yaldabaoth," Iao called out, his voice soft and almost delicate, a stark contrast to his bull-headed, muscular physique.
Kallen blinked in surprise. This group seemed intent on throwing him off balance at every turn.
Samaelas's face flushed with anger. _'Seriously, what's with everyone ruining my grandiosity?'_ he fumed internally, gritting his teeth.
Turning back to Iao, Samaelas forced a smile. "Yes?"
"Big brother, can I also give him a piece of my divinity?" Iao asked, completely oblivious. His innocent tone only added to Samaelas's irritation.
Before Samaelas could respond, Sabay jumped in. "Me too," he declared, clearly not wanting to be outdone.
Astaphanos laughed, a sound that was oddly both masculine and feminine, sending a shiver down Kallen's spine.
Without warning, Astaphanos pulled out a figurine from within himself; a twisted sculpture of two snakes with goat heads, entangled in a disturbingly passionate embrace.
The air around them seemed to shift, taking on an almost erotic undertone... or at least that's what Kallen thought.
"I can't miss out on the fun now, can I?" Astaphanos said, his laughter echoing through the space.
The atmosphere again suddenly shifted, taking on a silvery hue as a chilly breeze swept through the air.
Horaios conjured a figurine of his own; a sculpture of a moon shining down on an odd creature that looked like a sloth, yet bristled with long, spiky quills reminiscent of a porcupine. The air grew colder, as his divinity materialized.
Before Kallen could even process that, another figurine appeared, this one making his nonexistent stomach growl despite his incorporeal form.
Ailoein had manifested a structure that looked like a small snake with a fox head, coiled around and about to devour a behemoth several times its size.
It was a sight that should have been impossible, yet it existed, pulsating with a malicious energy that made Kallen's soul quiver.
Not to be left out, Iao and Sabay quickly followed suit, each producing their own pieces of divinity. Iao's took the form of a lion with a raging bull's head, wings sprouting from its muscular back.
Sabay's was a coiled, malicious-looking dragon with envious eyes that seemed to peer straight into Kallen's very essence.
Pashupati, smiling confidently, manifested his own piece—a massive bipedal goat with monkey-like hands, holding a snake that had wrapped its tail around its neck.
This creature was surrounded by various animals, all standing on a lush grassland. Unlike the others, whose divinity was the size of a small toy or at most a fist, Pashupati's was as large as a soccer ball, radiating an overwhelming presence.
Suddenly, a thought struck Pashupati. In all their excitement and theatrics, they had forgotten that Kallen was just a mortal soul, an unawakened one at that.
Exposure to so many powerful divinities could easily snuff out his existence. Panic flickered in Pashupati's eyes as he turned to Kallen, expecting to see him on the verge of disintegration.
But what he saw left him speechless.
Kallen's once sky-blue soul was now a swirling, chaotic blend of colors, as if it were absorbing the very essence of the divinities around him.
His expression was a bizarre mix of pleasure and pain, but what truly stunned Pashupati were Kallen's eyes.
They were cold, calm, and serene, yet behind that placid exterior lay a shocking madness and disdain, a voracious hunger to devour, conquer, and dominate.
Even more terrifying was the fact that Kallen's soul seemed to be drawing light from the figurines, the very essence of these apex lifeforms, toward itself.
It was as if Kallen, this mere mortal soul, was consuming their divinities, turning their sacred gifts into fuel for his own nourishment.
'How's this possible?' Pashupati thought, shocked. 'What kind of being is this? An anomaly?'
Kallen, oblivious to the turmoil in Pashupati's mind, was overwhelmed by an insatiable hunger the moment the divinities manifested.
Something primal had stirred within him, something that craved the divine energy being offered. As the lights from the figurines were absorbed into his soul, an inexplicable pleasure surged through him, growing more intense with every passing second.
'More!!!!' his mind roared.
Suddenly, a wave of orgasmic pleasure hit him, blanking out his mind as his soul seized up, every part of him tingling with satisfaction.
When the sensation subsided, he opened his eyes to see the apex beings staring at him as though he were some kind of monster. Their figurines were gone, their divine essences completely absorbed by him.
Kallen blinked, realizing with shock that the hunger had only subsided momentarily. It was as if he had just tasted something far too delicious, and couldn't get enough of it, he wanted more.
The silence in the room was deafening as the apex lifeforms exchanged glances, clearly unsettled.
A mortal was not supposed to contain this much amount of apex divinity. The plan was that he would choose whose he would receive.
"You're truly an extraordinary person, Kallen," Samaelas added, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
At that moment, Adonois, who had been silent up until now, stepped forward. A wide grin spread across his face, but there was a glint of something more in his eyes, greed, the same insatiable want he had seen mirrored in Kallen.
He didn't seem to have the same concerns as them, thinking of something completely different.
"Giving you my divinity won't be half bad," he said, a note of admiration in his voice. "I like how greedy you are. We make a good pair."
Despite his words, Adonois hesitated as he reached into himself to pull out a piece of his divinity. His face twisted in exaggerated pain, and his eyes filled with comically watery longing.
The golden feathers on his body shivered with excitement, but it was clear enough, that he was reluctant to part with even a fragment of his power.
Finally, with great reluctance, Adonois produced a piece of his divinity: a golden roc with feet studded in precious gems, standing upon the sun with its majestic wings spread wide.
He gazed at it longingly, as if saying a tearful goodbye, but he barely had time to finish his sentimental farewell. The figurine, slipped from Adonois's grasp and shot toward Kallen, disappearing into his figure.
Kallen felt another bout of pleasure, before his appearance, which had momentarily been a chaotic mix of colors, returned to its previous sky-blue hue.