Chapter 36: Ch 36 : Opposite direction

As the two DemiGods hummed with nascent energy, Sunny focused his will on crafting their talents. He had some brilliant ideas, but he knew that applying them without proper restrictions would make the cost astronomical. He needed their abilities to be powerful yet affordable. For Loki, the demigod of mischief, Sunny meticulously crafted a suite of five talents, each designed for a specific purpose: * Master of Deception: Loki can weave powerful illusions, from simple misdirections to creating entire phantom landscapes. The potency of these illusions is so high that only gods or demigods with exceptional perception can discern what's real. In the Realm of Advancement, where gods can only perceive through the eyes of their mortals, discovering one of Loki's illusions would be nearly impossible. * Discord's Embrace: This talent allows Loki to amplify existing conflicts, turning minor disagreements into full-blown wars. It is the perfect tool for creating chaos and feeding on the resulting turmoil. * Shapeshifter: Loki can shift his form into any inanimate object or living organism he has seen, making him a master of infiltration and disguise. * Magic Affinity: This foundational talent gives Loki a natural proficiency with all forms of magic, allowing him to quickly learn and master new spells. * Master of Stealing: A talent that gives Loki the ability to steal nearly anything—be it skills, talents, or even physical items. The cost of this talent was initially in the billions of faith points, so Sunny added a crucial restriction: any stolen talent or skill would only be temporary. These five talents cost Sunny a total of 10 million faith points. For Shenlong, the demigod of wishes and prayers, Sunny chose to bestow only two talents. This wasn't out of stinginess; these two abilities were so potent that they cost a staggering 20 million faith points. * Hope Collector: Shenlong can absorb the collective hopes and prayers of people, collecting this divine energy within his body. He can also store it in a hidden reservoir on Veridia or even in the private God space. This talent provides a crucial failsafe: should Shenlong be destroyed, he can resurrect using this stored hope reserve. * Miracle Master: This talent allows Shenlong to perform miracles by fulfilling the wishes of his believers, fueled by their hope. He can also draw from his hope reserve to perform larger miracles when necessary. These two talents effectively made Shenlong immortal, as he could never truly die. After spending a combined 30 million faith points on his new demigods, Sunny was left with 35 million faith points. He knew this was only a small fraction of what he would need for his other plans. With a single mental command, both Loki and Shenlong stirred to life, bowing their heads in reverence to their creator. Shenlong floated majestically in the air without wings, a result of Sunny's pure divine intent during creating Shenlong. If Cosmos thinks it can fly it will surely fly. Sunny gave them their first tasks, and they both nodded as if these were the very reasons for their existence. As a demonstration, Loki transformed into a perfect replica of Shenlong, causing the dragon's eyes to widen in surprise. Sunny, however, quickly sent Loki a mental command: "Do not use Shenlong's form for your mischief. It would tarnish his reputation" Loki's mischievous grin remained as he looked at Veridia and found a monster with highest flying speed transformed into that monster and darted toward the portal leading to the Realm of Advancement. His task was simple yet vital: sow discord among the lifeforms of other gods and steal any valuable items he could find. Sunny had already created and filled a reservoir for Shenlong with manifested hope, a reserve that would ensure the demigod's immortality. Shenlong's task was the polar opposite of Loki's: to listen to the problems of other lifeforms and solve them, thereby increasing his own reputation. Sunny made it a point to specifically instruct Shenlong not to use his name, Cosmos. Loki and Shenlong went in opposite directions, one destined to cause chaos and the other to quell it. Sunny wasn't concerned for their safety. Nova had assured him that while there were many demons and treasures in the realm, few threats could pose a real danger to demigods. In fact, Nova had already brought back many treasures, but Sunny instructed him to give them to any worthy lifeforms in Veridia he found. Currently, Nova and Umbra were busy patrolling the space around Veridia, easily handling the small-scale demonic invasions that occurred. The situation in Veridia was also progressing. Humans had collected their supplies and begun their journey toward the central continent, while the elves were still busy filling their mana stone reserves. Sunny, with some free time on his hands, decided to return to his business to fill his faith reserves and use his time effectively. In the Realm of Advancement, the lifeforms of various gods had already begun their struggles against demons and were collecting a wide array of treasures, which significantly increased their strength. Unseen by them, Aeron walked through the realm. Using his surveying skill to scan a million-kilometer radius, he found three camps belonging to the lifeforms of different gods. He ran toward one of them and, without hesitation, killed all the lifeforms, plundering their treasures. His orders from Kairos were clear: plunder and kill all other lifeforms in the realm. Aeron, a demigod who had lived for millions of years, didn't want to die, and he knew that the elf, Rina, who was still following him, would report his defiance to Kairos. He could have easily killed her if not for his master's command to not harm her. He sighed at his fate, hoping to find a way out of his servitude. Aeron made his way to camp after camp, killing all in his path and taking their treasures for Kairos. The other gods who saw their lifeforms being slaughtered were furious, but there was little they could do in this realm. They could send their own demigods to fight, but many didn't have one, and those who did were not yet ready to engage in a full-scale conflict.