Chapter 163: Ch 163 : The rebirth of the King
"What I mean is, I can’t give it to you," Sunny’s voice was gentle, but his words were a wall of cold, hard reality. "Because the reason you are asking for it is not acceptable."
Adam’s blazing, hopeful soul seemed to flicker. "But... it is my choice, is it not?" he asked, a desperate hope still clinging to his voice.
"No," Sunny replied, his gaze unwavering. "First, the pill is mine to give. Second, and far more importantly, look at yourself, Adam."
He gestured to Adam’s translucent form, which was already dimming from its momentary, brilliant flare. "The curse is devouring you from the inside out. You need this pill for yourself. In comparison, she... she is safe. She is sleeping."
He pointed to the green token that Adam clutched in his ethereal hand. Inside, the tiny ember of Freya’s soul rested in a peaceful slumber, preserved and protected.
"Even if you save her," Sunny pressed, his logic a gentle but firm hand on Adam’s shoulder, "what happens after you are gone? After the curse finally consumes you? Do you think she would choose to live on in a world without you? Adam, she waited a million years for you to live. She is sleeping. She can wait a little longer. But you... you are fading. Your chance is now. Don’t let her final sacrifice, her final impossible hope, be for nothing."
Adam looked down at the token, at the faint, sleeping light within. He saw the truth in Sunny’s words, a truth his own grief-stricken, self-sacrificial love had refused to see. He finally nodded, a single, heavy gesture of acceptance.
[Master, Nova and the others have returned with the Pill of Life.]
Thea’s voice was a triumphant chime in Sunny’s mind. A slow, satisfied smile spread across his face.
"Well, will you look at that," he murmured. He turned back to the now-resolute soul of Adam.
"Come Adam. It is time for you to return. It is time to show the demons who Adam, the God of Growth, truly is."
With a gentle touch of his will, he lifted Adam’s soul and guided him back through the portal into his God space.
The instant Adam’s soul left the sanctuary of Heaven, the curse Maledictus had placed upon him a million years ago roared back to life.
Black, corrosive tendrils erupted from his ethereal form, wrapping around him like starving snakes, his divine light dimming with every passing moment. He let out a silent, psychic scream of pure agony.
Just then, a portal tore open in the God space. Nova emerged, not in her humanoid form, but as a colossal, magnificent black dragon.
In her gently closed claws, she held a single, shimmering pill. It pulsed with a light so pure, so vibrant, that its very aura pushed back against the encroaching darkness of the curse, causing the black tendrils to hiss and recoil.
Nova landed softly, handed the pill to Sunny, and then flew away, giving the two Gods their space.
"Take it," Sunny said, holding out the miniature sun of pure life. "But don’t do anything foolish. I am watching."
Adam didn’t need the warning. His resolve was firm. With a single, decisive motion, he gulped the pill down.
A sun ignited within his soul.
A wave of pure life energy exploded from him, burning away the black tendrils of the curse with a holy, cleansing fire. The curse didn’t just fade; it screamed as it was utterly annihilated, erased from existence.
Adam’s tattered, translucent soul was instantly re-woven, its faded threads of light becoming brilliant, whole, and stronger than ever before.
But that was not all. Threads of golden light began to weave themselves around his newly restored soul, forming bones of starlight, muscles of condensed nebula, and skin of pure, celestial dawn.
In a matter of minutes, a new, perfect divine body was built from the ground up, the soul and form once again united. His healed talent orbs pulsed with a renewed, immense power.
Sunny watched the entire process in awe. "No God will truly have to die," he whispered, "only, if I can upgrade my Manifestation affinity to SSS-Grade."
The new body of Adam, a being of immense power and ancient majesty, opened its eyes. He felt the sensation of a heartbeat, the feeling of air in lungs he hadn’t possessed for a million years, the sheer, overwhelming reality of being again.
"Welcome back, God of Growth," Sunny said with a genuine smile. "How does it feel?"
Adam looked at his own hands, then at Sunny, a dawning wonder in his eyes. "It feels... like I have returned to the past. Like I have finally woken up from a million-year-long nightmare." He bowed his head deeply. "Thank you, God Cosmos. I will never forget this kindness."
"It is my pleasure," Sunny replied. "If it weren’t for you, there would be no God Cosmos. I would still be a common human on a forgotten world."
"I may have brought you here," Adam said, a wise smile on his face, "but you, a Void-born God, are a gemstone. No matter how deep you are buried, a gem will always shine once it is unearthed."
"Still, you helped the gemstone return to its luster," Sunny countered, not willing to let Adam shoulder a debt. "And now, I will defeat those demons and fulfill your revenge." He paused. "So, what will you do now?"
Adam looked past Sunny, his gaze falling upon the new, small universe he had created for his subordinates. A peaceful smile found its way to his face.
"If you can, bring my old world here, and let me live in this new universe of yours."
Sunny chuckled. Adam, a being now strong enough to challenge him head-on, was choosing to be his subordinate.
It was a testament to his character, a desire to repay a debt of karma.
This life was a gift from Sunny, and Adam intended to repay that gift with everything he had left to offer.