Chapter 252: Ch 252 : The Tree and The Soil

In the grand silence of the Emperor’s throne room, 200 souls stood frozen. The revelation had hit them with the force that they never knew existed.’A God... of six billion Gods?’

The thought reverberated through their minds, a realization that shattered every preconceived notion they had about the universe.

They had been kings, generals, geniuses, and visionaries on Earth, big fish in a small pond. Now, they realized they were mere a speck of dust in an ocean so vast it defied comprehension.

"You will understand in time," Sunny said, his voice a calm anchor in their storm of confusion. "Once you start your new lives, the scale of this reality will become clear. But for now, I offer you a choice."

The ears; or rather, the spiritual perception of every soul perked up. Their minds raced. What could a being of this magnitude possibly want from them?

"I will ask two questions," Sunny announced. "Answer simply by raising your hands."

He leaned forward. "First: how many of you are ready to start a new life? Those who decline will be sent to Heaven, where you will rest in peace until the natural cycle of reincarnation claims you. But be warned: in reincarnation, your memories are wiped clean. You will start as a blank slate."

He let the weight of that sink in.

"However," he continued, a tempting smile playing on his lips, "if you choose to accept my offer, to be reborn on one of my worlds... your old memories will remain intact. Your skills, your knowledge, your very identity will be preserved."

There wasn’t a single second of hesitation. Two hundred spectral hands shot into the air. Generals who had died with regrets, doctors who had run out of time to cure the world, gamers who dreamed of a reality where their skills mattered; all of them yearned for a second chance. A chance to do it right.

"Good. Good," Sunny nodded, satisfied. "Now for the second question. For you, there exists another... unique benefit."

He paused, gauging their reaction. "The benefit of Broadcast."

"Until you ascend to the rank of Demigod or God," Sunny explained, "you can choose to have your life streamed live to the Pantheon. The six billion Gods of this city will watch your progress. They will see your struggles, your triumphs, your growth."

A murmur of unease rippled through the crowd. Becoming Gods? That sounded like a fairytale.

Being watched? Constantly? It sounded like a prison.

"But consider this," Sunny added, his voice smooth. "If you impress them... they are generous. A God watching your journey might gift you a blessing. An artifact you could only dream of. A divine weapon to turn the tide of a battle. You would have the backing of the audience."

He sat back. "The choice is yours. I will not force this. Take your time to decide. When you are ready, simply speak my name, and I will summon you. Any decision you make will be respected."

He knew that forcing them would breed resentment. And one day, when these souls inevitably ascended to become Gods in their own right; gods of war, of healing, of games.

It would be awkward to know their entire embarrassing life had been forced entertainment for their peers.

With a snap of his fingers, the 200 souls vanished, teleported to the luxurious Guest Hall of the palace.

They looked around at the architecture, the floating furniture, the views of the nebula outside, and sighed. They had a decision to make. Fame and power, or privacy and struggle?

Back in the throne room, Sunny was alone. But his work was far from over. His hands shimmered, and two new Divine Embryos materialized, floating above his palms.

"It’s time to solve the fusion problem," Sunny thought, his mind shifting gears from recruitment to engineering. "And the problem of blessing these 200 souls."

The Altar of Synthesis in the Northern District was a gamble. It destroyed talents upon failure.

That was unacceptable for his long-term plans. He needed a failsafe. And he needed a way to distribute blessings across six billion worlds without managing every single transaction.

He began to shape the embryos.

The first twisted and churned, becoming a strange, fluid mixture of rich, brown soil and shimmering, golden water. It was a substance of potential and base matter.

The second embryo stretched and hardened, taking the form of a tree. But this was no ordinary tree. Its trunk was ivory white, its leaves like polished silver mirrors. It radiated a holy aura, a beacon of cosmic order.

"Let’s start with the base for both these DemiGods" Sunny mused, looking at the mud-and-water entity.

He etched the first talent.

[Talent Name: Lowest Being in Hierarchy]

[Grade: SS]

[Description: In the grand cosmic ladder, you are the bottom rung. Your existence is conceptually lower than even an F-Grade mortal slime. You are the foundation upon which all else stands.]

It seemed like a curse, but Sunny knew better. And this was the best.

Then, he turned to the white tree.

[Talent Name: Chosen One of the Cosmos]

[Grade: SS]

[Description: A downgraded reflection of the Emperor’s own nature. You are the pinnacle of the created hierarchy. You stand above all demigods, all mortals, all laws,the Void-Borns, and below the emperor]

One was the mud, the other the sky. Two opposites, destined to complete the system.

Now for the active powers. To the mud-creature, he gave the talent that would become the future pillar of the entire talent mechanism.

[Talent Name: Talent Fusion]

[Grade: SS]

[Description: Allows the user to deconstruct two or more talents, extracting their core concepts, and fusing them into a new, unique ability.

The success rate is dependent on compatibility, but the ’base’ material is never destroyed, only reshaped.]

He imagined the possibilities. Loki’s Stealing combined with Blessing. A thief who could steal a talent and then permanently gift it to another.

A Robin Hood of power. It was a terrifying thought.

To the white tree, he gave the counterpart.

[Talent Name: Talent Upgrader]

[Grade: SS]

[Description: Allows the user to nurture a talent, feeding it cosmic energy or mana to force an evolution. Can elevate any talent up to the SS-Grade.]

"Maybe I am creating something I never could have dreamed of before," Sunny whispered, a thrill of fear mixed with excitement running through him. "This is... kind of scary."

He added the final touches, the talents that would make these demigods omnipresent.

To the mud-creature, he gave [Contamination].

It allowed the entity to mix its essence with the soil and water of any world, spreading its consciousness through the very ground, becoming one with the planet’s crust.

To the white tree, he gave [Seeds of Conquest].

Every seed this tree produced would grow into a sapling that shared its main consciousness.

It would be a hive-mind of holy trees, a network of trees rooted in every major city across six billion worlds.

Sunny stepped back, admiring his work, there were a few main talents to add, which will work as the talents that controlled everything together. Thıs text ıs hosted at NoveI-Fire.ɴet