亚洲综合中美

Shaken, gods stood from being knelt, retainers, on the other hand, were passed out unconscious on the ground. Many were mystified by how powerful the god of death was. A tale only told in legend, first had it been that they experienced what was said. Shuffled out, the place grew devoid of life. Lixbin remained, he watched as Staxius’s aura and body returned to normal. In fear of being viewed as lesser than the god of Death, Zeus began a monologue of blaming the Reaper for slaying a god without care to the surrounding. Most of the words fell on deaf ears for it was too late, the amount of mana sucked out of the atmosphere was considerable. The air felt lighter, the same as being atop a mountain, thin and hard to breathe.

“Off with your destructive nature, Lord Death,” ordered Zeus on which a white light surged to teleport the man away.

‘Never have I seen the Supreme God shudder before. That was Lord Haggard at a rank of Low-tier god containing the powers of one far superior. It might be wise to get in his good graces soon – the politics of the gods is as much a hassle in the divine realm as is in the mortal realm. May luck be upon you, God of Death, you’ve my blessings going forward,’ smiled Lixbin.

*Puke,* inside Creation’s lair, without a moment to stop nor rest, the power grew out of control. Vomiting on the white floor, a mixture of blood and dark aura that had turned physical. Courtney remained close behind for she wasn’t able to follow Staxius. Patting his back, she tried to ease the pain.

‘My head feels like it’s going to explode,’ rolled onto his back, “-the stars sure are clearer here.”

“Each time a gate is opened, you’re dowsed with unimaginable pain. That’s the price you pay for such power – a direct exchange, the more you draw out, the more intense the pain gets,” knelt Creation with his palm on Staxius’s forehead. What said was true for the fist constantly clenched, the heart rate spiked, the head grew heavy.

.....

“No need to be so caring,” he voiced with a smile, “-I’m used to this pain,” a push later, he sat upright with violent coughs. “You’re the cruel one,” wiping his mouth, “-sending me to kill a high-tier goddess knowing full well I’d never reach her level in a thousand years,” mustering what strength was left, *Shackle mine strength: Nevermore – Full Restraint.* A dark shadow stretched outwards of his back to encompass his body.

“I tried to contact Lord Death,” paused, Creation stood, “-he’s unavailable, I know not what he’s up too.” Warmly gazing Staxius, “-there’s no room for complaint. I saw what you did, seizing the opportunity, you’ve acquired the soul of Gophy and fragment of her power. Revived, she may regain her latent powers.”

“Have you known of my plan?” the pain shot back and forth yet he kept strong to converse. Feeble, the agony subsided in little increments.

“Ever since Intherna, I’ve known about the wish to create an immortal army,” he smiled, “-I’ve desired the same for so long. The day of the apocalypse will come soon. Though it eludes me when; I’m sure gathering an army is wise.”

“How about a deal,” coughed again, “-we’re partners right?” stumbled up, a hand was held out, one of friendship.

“We could say so,” Creation accepted the gesture, “-Creator and Destroyer, two sides of the same coin. I’ve doubted thee ever since awakening with the Death Element. Now, it pleases me to say that the man you turned out to be is ideal; not greedy nor obnoxiously humble as fabled heroes. A realist who thinks about probability, various routes, and grasp at all opportunities – a man of unrivaled intelligence. The god of death is indeed powerful,” he smirked, “-power alone can only take you so far. What I’ve seen is that you use wit over thine strength; resorting to whatever is quickest to resolve troublesome fights. Limiting the damage, and taking care of what is important,” from a handshake, he reached for an embrace, “-I’m glad to have you as a friend, Staxius.” Joined, a warmth lit around an amber color. Creation had acknowledged Destruction, and so did Destruction. One of the same, never had it been that the two grew close. Egos and differing ideals always butted heads.

“Elina,” mumbled Creation as the light hovered over and turned into a flower bud.

“Elina?” perplexed, Staxius stared the bud that hovered with majestic colors of differing hues.

“Yes,” voiced Creation, “-the birth of a new angel, a product of us acknowledging one another.” Blossomed, yellow hair ending in white, eyes the color of honey, long eyelashes, petite wings, and the body of a three-year-old. She awoke with laughter.

Held with the love of a mother, Creation’s face changed to one of a caring lady. “You were about to ask something of me,” she voiced.

“Yes,” holding his head, “-I need materials, a substance that is suitable for creating vessels of godly entities, from organs to skin, all must be humans who are my puppets.”

“Is that all?” she asked with a fierce tone, one of which resembled the attitude of a bear protecting her cubs. No response came, only a nod.

“As you wish,” manifested in a green light, an ornamented box locked with a key. “I give you the Box of Alche, a relic I forged many decades ago. It has the power to create unlimited resources for the user provides enough mana. The latter should not be a problem – do with it as you wish, consider it today’s payment. The Arcane Library should have the knowledge of what element to use for an immortal body.”

“Box of Alche, isn’t that a bit too much?”

“Want it or not?” preoccupied with Elina, Creation wanted only to care for her.

“Yes please,” he smiled.

“Then off to Hidros,” turned with the toddler, “-say bye, bye to uncle Staxius,” she waved.

“Bai, bai,” she mumbled in an angelic voice.

“Uncle Staxius,” laughed Courtney. “Boss, Boss,” raged down the plane, Staxius awoke to Cake shaking him furiously.

“What is it?” he asked with the mind still dazed. Timed passed had been around four minutes. The sun outside rose for it was dawn, GateSix were already on their way to the apartment.

“You passed out,” she said with a serious tone.

“I’m alright now,” a lie to which he stood and walked nonchalantly, “-should we have an inventory on what was purchased?” A unanimous yes from Yves and Courtney echoed, Adete slept atop his head once more.

Warm air oozed off the radiator, hot cup of coffees laid on the table with steams gently raising. Yves and Cake sat opposed Staxius. Courtney had returned to Pandora a few hours prior.

“We purchased two heavily armed and armored tanks named TSR-4 at 55,000 Gold each. They far outclass any other tanks in respect of long range-battles. The range is close to three kilometers. Next, the addition of three fighter-planes named Delta-F at 120,000 Gold each. Faster and more agile than any other on the market, this model was built for Dragoon only. A test-project for a newly formed group of researchers, most were reluctant to buy due to their new reputation. I took a gamble and decided to invest, thus we’ve the only three in the world. It came with a contract that states any future weapons or vehicles they develop will be shown to us first. From there on, there’s the possibility of gaining the rights for said weapons. As for the last 30,000 Gold, we used it to stock up on arms and bullets. An overhaul of our communication system, tis now encrypted. Pair that with the addition of the XR-T0 at the price of 250,000 gold and the ownership of GateSix for 600,000 Gold, the total is around: 1.1 million spent in one day.”

“I’ve heard of a lesser kingdom being worth less than we’ve spent today,” grinned Staxius.

“Yeah, the fact remains that we don’t respect money in the least,” laughed Yves, Cake joined in.

“As long as it makes us stronger, I care not how much it costs. When will the weapons be delivered?”

“For the tanks, in a month or so. As for the planes, later this week with the arms coming as soon as tomorrow.”

“Excellent,” stood Staxius, “-have our men be equipped. I’ve business to attend to at Arda, Courtney should be able to take over the production of God’s ale and Angel’s dust. These past few days have been fun,” giving a handshake, “-do send Elliot on missions, Cake. Take care of that boy, look for some pilots for the new planes. Before I leave, could you call a meeting with the Alchemist Sect and GateSix?”

“Where is it do you wish the meeting to be held?”

“My mansion, in the noble district. Tell them to make it before 14:00. Use the helicopters if its required, I want them to be there on time, only the representative: Clarise, the Master Alchemist, and Rhee.”

“As you wish,” said Cake as he left the room.

‘The box of Alche,’ thought whilst driving, the scenery moved faster than normal. ‘A box that has the ability to give the user whatever he wishes for given that equal mana is exchanged. Isn’t it basically having the same power as Creation himself? If what he says is true about the box; I might have found the ultimate item. Making anything I wish, there’s more to it I hope, else if it falls into someone else’s hand, it could bring havoc.’

A flick of a switch later, the gate of the mansion opened. Well-maintained grass and trees for a gardener was employed. Parked, he got off and took a deep breath. A year had passed ever since Lizzie’s death; time went by so quickly it frightened him. “What is done, is done,” turned, he walked to the library on the first floor. Surrounded by bookshelves with a roundtable in the middle, heavily adorned with ornaments laid the box of Alche.

‘How does it work,’ time was 11:00. ‘Opening the lid doesn’t do anything, ancient writings, a few diagrams of spells are inlaid inside. Maybe,’ eyes shut; the box closed – a touch of mana was induced. Immediately, the box reacted by repulsing his hand with a jolt. ‘What if I think about something,’ what came to mind was gold. Inducing mana again did naught. ‘Frustrating,’ he thought and leaned back. The time was noon.

[Divinity: Second Boon – Arcane Library] Dropped into an endless body of water, consciousness dove. ‘What truly makes something gold, what is it’s composition,’ questions asked, what he sought was its structure. Pure and untouched, the search began. Blue ribbons, yellow ribbons, all swam as if fishes; not far off – a red ribbon. ‘Got you,’ he woke with heavy breaths, ‘-I know the answer.’ Induced yet again, the mind sharply and clearly visualized what he wanted – once firm, the Box glowed. Glued, the latter forcefully sucked out his mana; not much to cause any difference, it clicked.

Opened by itself, gold ingots spewed as if it had a bad stomach. From shining, it turned dim as the ingots produced were 10 in total. ‘I guess it’s not going to work, a cooldown period.’ [Skill: Appraisal] index on the ingot, [Quality: Legendary]

“It’s not overpowered,” he breathed a sigh, “-there’s a limit to what the box can make. The more mana given the better the quality, it doesn’t have to do with quantity. It should suffice to serve my purpose in making immortal puppets for the souls to rest.’ Fatigued, he stood and stared at the clock, ‘-13:50. They should be here soon,’ sprawled out the room, he dashed onto the balcony. Erratic, the body wanted to move sharply and jump, a repercussion for the body thought a fight was about to take place. Gazing upon the lovely green yard, a helicopter was seen over the horizon.