After Almond killed everyone and absorbed them, he didn’t stop.
His eyes glowered and bled as he roared, seeing through the fundamental structure of everything around him to take back the souls of those who died.
‘Natalia, Elder Silvester! You can’t die!’
‘None of you can die!’
Almond had already scanned them, so he could make a ‘copy’ but that wouldn’t be them. He wanted the real them!
*Crack!*
His overwhelming pressing will and power of his Riftveil Grimblade literally started breaking the fabric of Labyrinth he trailed behind the passing souls.
They were going towards a dark light that looked like a tree with a mouth, but there was also something struck with the tree around it, all blurry.
But the dark light was coming out of the tree’s mouth, that was about to devour the souls.
‘GET BACK TO ME!’
Suddenly, a golden stream arrived, ethereal and vehement. It yanked the souls before they could be devoured.
Almond bleeding and blindingly bright eyes subsided as he absorbed those souls and relief coursed through him.
“W-What did you just do?”
Big D and Madam Ruby had just arrived here as a cat and a bird closed in towards Almond, their eyes whirling with shock.
Madam Ruby looked at the cracked phenomenon that soon disappeared, dumbfounded.
“He already used his status of Overrider unknowingly, overriding one of the foundational processes and saving those souls” Big D muttered.
Almond turned to them as he recovered his eyes. “I don’t know what you are talking about, but-“
Suddenly, an overwhelming presence descended, pausing everything, including Almond and even Big D.
‘Shit,’ Big D internally cursed and sweated. ‘But he is an overrider now, so this must be him getting greeted by Grimworld, even though Almond went and greeted it first forcefully.’
Almond felt suffocation as the silhouette of a tree appeared in front of him, real yet dreamy and fleeting. Near yet far away as if unreal.
However, something invoked in him as the appearance of that Omega gate flashed in his mind.
But it only flashed briefly, like an instant, before Almond saw the tree again.
“It’s the first time someone took the food out of my mouth. But you got qualification and power to do it, so be it.”
“Overrider, I shall wait for your endeavors to bear fruits or eat you should you fail. All the best.”
As Almond heard those words, the phenomenon vanished.
The damage in the Sanctuary was also fixed.
Almond breathed out as the suffocation vanished, but he knew that he just encountered something crazy.
“It looks like there won’t be any time-limit penalty anymore or any sort of penalty,” Big D said as the cat curiously blinked at Almond. “Are you feeling any pressure or heard any voice?”
Almond was silent for two seconds as he calmed down before replying, “Nothing about the penalty, but I heard a voice. It was probably the Grimworld Tree.”
Then he looked into what he did. ‘Lily…and everyone, I’ll get you all back.’
“Yeah. You gained the status of Overrider, so Grimworld Tree greeted you. Anyway, it’s unfortunate that Earth lost, but now no one will stop from you clearing the Grimworld Tutorial and making this planet ascend to the second layer.”
Almond was looking at the absorbed metaphysical data of everyone and felt shaken.
“I have to go to the second layer with them right now. I don’t want to use the Spirit Lord formula with them. I have to think of something else.”
“Earth will be fine now and there’s still many adventurers,” Almond turned to Big D, his eyes showing desperation. “I am returning. I am going to store everything in my sea of consciousness and return.”
Almond wanted to revive Lily, Admiral Rudra, and others as soon as possible.
And he didn’t delay at all as his body fell like a lifeless husk.
“Will he succeed, Master?”
“I mean, he should,” Big D said, looking thoughtful. “Spirit Animation can do that, but I don’t know what he is thinking. I thought he wanted to revive them as spirits, but it looks like he is not satisfied with that.”
“I see…well, he has left, so I am leaving too.”
“That cursed dragon must be lost right now. I’ll go and guide him a bit,” Big D grinned. “He can be a good asset to Almond, so I should try to get him to ascend as soon as possible now that his single desire is almost achieved.”
…
Almond’s real body opened his eyes and he immediately checked the metaphysical data in his sea of consciousness.
‘Phew, everyone’s there.’
But suddenly, Almond began to feel weird.
His heart began beating unnatural and it started to produce excess blood.
His body turned red, and his aura grew.
His pores released blood threads as they began to wrap around him.
His power sources activated automatically and his consciousness began to turn hazy.
‘Almond! You are undergoing Bloodline Awakening! Listen, your bloodline can be elevated by you, by your powers! Control your instincts! Reshape them! Become your own!’
Almond heard Big D’s voice in his head before everything shut down.
“Finally, he is awakening his bloodline.”
The cat appeared in front of the mirror, looking at Almond who had turned into a giant cocoon.
“Overrider, his increase of Conceptual Powers, and some things that elude even me. With all these ongoing, his bloodline can be shaped with powerful potential,” Big D muttered, his eyes shining. “Come on, Almond. You have to bloom powerfully now.”
Meanwhile, Big D’s other clone on the first layer was in Empyradrake Planet.
Kexell had turned and was destroying all the structures and places belonging to the Dragon Emperor and Dragon Kings.
There was no one more powerful than him.
The other dragons feared him and ran away as Kexell rained destruction.
Floating atop the Dragon Emperor’s Palace that was burning in cursed black flames, Kexell suddenly felt empty.
No one that had harmed him and his parents were alive. All of them were dead, and everything they built was also destroyed.
Kexell thought he could destroy everything, but when he saw small dragon kids running in fear, he was reminded of his own past and couldn’t kill everyone arbitrarily.
“Yo, what’s up?”
Kexell’s big eyes turned along with his head towards his left and saw a cat floating nearby.
“Who are you?”
“I am Big D. Anyway, you can become a ruler of this planet once you clear the 10th floor of the tower, and can ascend to the second layer.”
“Almond said something like that. I know.”
“But it seems like you don’t want to rule this planet.”
“Yeah,” Kexell nodded as he looked at the familiar horizon, a place that filled his heart with hate. “Fuck this world. I don’t want to rule it. I don’t know what to do.”
“How about you stay with Almond and adventure with him?”
“But Earth lost…how will I ever meet him?”
“Well, you can just clear the 10th Floor, and reject the rulership to ascend in the second layer alone. The others from your world will be able to get rulership and ascend if they clear the 10th Floor.”
“Once you arrive on the second layer, I’ll be able to find you.”
“For real?”
“Seriously serious. You are still Mortal. The path of power just began for you. There’s so much more, you know?”
“Sounds exciting….which is the exact thing I need, I think. Alright, let’s fucking go. I am going to the Tower once it opens and train, and clear the 10th floor!”
“Your conceptual power has weakened since it was birthed because of your revenge, so I’ll guide you a bit and make sure you can evolve. Kexell, you are free now. You are free to fly and live a life for the sake of living instead of just revenge.”
“I am free…” Kexell mumbled and roared. “Hell yeah, I am free! I’ve always been free, the fuck you are talking about?”
“You are free from emotional burdens, you idiot!”
“Oh…yeah, I know. You don’t need to tell me that. Anyway, I am going to sleep now. It’s been a while. I’ll get strong once the tower opens up.”
…
Meanwhile, five days passed by while Almond remained in his cocoon.
Big D’s clone was there all the while, just observing the naturally forming new patterns on the cocoon every now and then as the Bloodline was manifesting in Almond.
‘His current ardent desire, wish, and quest is about reviving his people. I hope he overrode the original process and made his will and consciousness activate. Only with that can he come up with something crazy. If Spirit Animation resonates more, and his bloodline manifestation reacts appropriately, it could become something cool.’
Big D was eager because he sensed that potential in Almond, and Almond also became Overrider, someone who could override existing commands of Grimworld, thereby becoming worthy of vying for one of the seven Thrones.
*Crack…*
The cocoon dimmed and cracked, indicating the end of the process.
Big D looked eagerly as a hand broke out first before the other hand right beside it before they spread and broke the cocoon, revealing silky shining black hair first.
Almond straightened up as his eyes radiant dark gold eyes glimmered as a black shirt and trousers made from Prana covered his sleek and lean muscled body as if someone sculpted it perfectly.
Almond appeared almost ethereal as if he would vanish, but solidified shortly.
There wasn’t much different to him than his previous appearance except that he strangely looked more noble and defiant just from the vibe that oozed out from him.
“You…” Big D blinked. ‘What the fuck? His bodily structure and all fundamentals are changed…don’t tell me…’
Almond faintly smiled. “I had a lot of time to think and do things.”
“So I am going to create a new race with me as the originator. A metaphysical race like me, with my progenitor bloodline. I will revive Lily and others as…Regalons.”