Eden collected the corpses and few artefacts that had survived, and was about to look at his earnings when the Weave trembled, and a new presence appeared next to Eden.
Turning around, Eden saw a familiar human woman dressed in black and gold robes, her usual confidence mixed with solemnity as she looked at him. This was Mystra, and even now that he looked at her, her status only appeared as a bunch of question marks.
However, Eden could feel that she was still in Tier III, so that was the product of a spell rather than a suppression of attributes.
"You know, the first time we met, I was… apprehensive. I thought you would become someone like Karsus, and create a mess trying to become a god."
Crossing his arms, Eden floated up to her, looking down at her as he asked, "Did I meet your expectations?"
He did not blame her for the Abyss. Not only did she have no obligations or incentives to help him get out of there, trying to do so might have been dangerous as well.
Mystra may be the Goddess of Magic, she did not necessarily grasp spatial magic as well as Eden did. In terms of skill, Eden was on the level of a God of Space, if there was one, or a God of Transformation.
Mystra might have some 7th Circle spells for every main school of magic, but spatial magic did not necessarily only fall into the umbrella of this world's magic system.
Mystra looked around. Although there were no visible traces of what had happened here, those with better sights than others, who could see into the invisible, could see that reality had been scrambled in this region.
Domain clashes fought over not only space, but reality itself, and any such clashes would result in damage. It would quickly heal, but it had been recent enough to be obvious to even someone with average Truesight.
"You held your promise, and some more. The gods are afraid. Well, they already were, but the ripples of what happened today will spread. Curiously, Ao is allowing this to happen, or maybe your identity is protecting you?"
Seeing Eden was not replying, she sighed and looked back at him, looking exasperated, "I do believe we had a contract, for the termination of a few pests. Honestly, I don't know what to give you now. I don't suspect becoming my Chosen would interest you?"
Eden smiled, "How about we study magic together? I have a few spells to bring up to speed, and I could use the insights of a goddess."
Mystra smiled back, but rejected, "I can't just disappear, not after what you did. I suspect there will be a lot of damage control soon."
Eden nodded understandably, though a little disappointed, and took a quick look at his rewards before making his next offer. Surprisingly, his recent kills had only gotten him two Epic Boons, and four Divine Boons, despite having killed far more deities than that.
He appeared to have hit a limit of sorts.
Although disappointing, Eden already knew what he wanted to get, so for his two Epic Boons, he got himself Irresistible Offense and Dimensional Travel, that last one simply because it was the least worse of the ones that remained, and then all their respective Divine versions.
For his Damage Immunity, he could only choose between Acid and Thunder, the two he had chosen for Energy Resistance, and he decided to go with Acid, it being a far more common damage type. Besides, Thunder was sonic damage, and could be completely voided through a vacuum.
Done with his changes, Eden asked Mystra, "Do you have anything like Silver Flame?"
She shook her head, pointing her finger at his chest as she said, "Can't you feel it? You are already filled with far too much power. Your soul might be keeping you together, but your body is reaching its limits. A mortal shouldn't hold so much power. Moreover, I can feel the pull of the Abyss on you. Once you return, you will be going through one more transformation. How about this? I will help you canalize the power of your transformation as a reward, and stop you from exploding from the overload of power."
Eden kept his expression neutral, but inside, he knew she was right. He had felt it all along, how with every new Perk, his body was filling up. With this last wave of Boons, things had gotten so bad that only Eden's transformation kept him together. The moment his Avatar of Wrath state ended, he might very well explode.
Eden's current MP regeneration was enough to permanently sustain his transformation, but that was only slapping a band-aid on.
Nodding to Mystra, Eden said, "Fine, but I need to do one thing first. Wait for me on the 12th Layer of the Abyss."
Perhaps it was because he had slain so many gods already, but his voice had lost any trace of subservience it had once held. He ordered the Goddess of Magic herself, feeling it was natural.
Mystra said nothing, disappearing in a blink, while Eden teleported himself below the city of Baldur's Gate, right over a giant lake of caustic brine. Hidden inside was the Absolute, also known as the Netherbrain.
[Name: Netherbrain]
[Title: The Absolute]
[Talent: ?]
[Perks: Tier II, Aberration Toughness II, Absolute Spirit II, Absolute Will II, Blindsight, Netherese Reinforcement]
[HP: 2400/2400]
[MP: 2160/2160]
[Strength: 39]
[Agility: 18]
[Physique: 60]
[Intelligence: 90]
[Wisdom: 55]
[Resistances: Piercing III, Bludgeoning III, Slashing III, Psychic III]
[Weaknesses: None]
As expected, it was not threatening. In the least.
A mind quake spread from it, over to Eden, but it left Eden unharmed as he descended onto it, smashing into it with his fists. It tried to put up a barrier, the Invulnerability spell, but Eden smashed right through it. It tried to beg, but Eden ignored it.
Any of the Demon Lords under Eden would be able to kill it, so it did not stand a chance from the very beginning. Slamming his fist into it, not only was a large amount of lifeforce eaten away, but a giant cut was Cleaved into the brain.
The cut deepened, until Eden finished it, Cleaving the Netherbrain in half, the Crown of Karsus getting Cleaved along with it as it tried to use it as a last measure of protection.
Eden had long-since outgrown this mission world.
[Main Mission (Stop the Absolute) Completed!]
[Mission Content: A mysterious cult has appeared on the Sword Coast, and started causing havoc in the name of their unknown God, the Absolute. Put a stop to the Absolute.]
[Main Reward: 1000000 Points, 2 Recommendations]
[Main Mission finished, Return planned in 2 minutes.]
Sure enough, even the System did not know what to reward him anymore, as giving him anything else would result in his explosion, so it simply threw a shit-ton of Points at him.
The Absolute dead, and his return to Dreamland insured, Eden teleported over to the Abyss, precisely to the 12th Layer.
The 12th Layer of the Abyss was special to demon-kind. It was known as Twelvetrees, and had been a site of an ancient ritual where twelve devas had been sacrificed, empowering the entire Abyss, and working as a form of energy generator for the Abyss since then. It was a place of worship and spiritual retreat for demons, as crazy as the concept sounded, and used that faith to power up the Abyss.
Eden appeared in the middle of the twelve giant pine trees to which the bodies of the devas were still hung. Despite the many years, they had not rotted in the slightest, blood still dripping from their exposed innards.
Eden dropped Natasha next to Mystra, who was waiting.
The moment he appeared, the energy of the Abyss converged towards him, as the last of his challengers had been reduced to cinders in the previous battle. There were no challengers to his claim left.
He felt Mystra trying to stop it, so he screamed, "Don't! I have a way to deal with it! I just need to hold on for two minutes!"
Mystra paused, and opening his eyes, Eden saw doubt in her gaze, but she changed what she was doing nonetheless. Her domain extended out, and the entire Weave moved to press down on him, like a pair of giant hands pressing down on him, forcing the power to stay inside.
Outwardly, as the power of the Abyss filled Eden, his physical appearance started to change. His wings started darkening, his skin reddening, his nails growing. However, he was no longer a human, which was easily changeable. He had become a Solar, through and through, and the Abyss was attempting to turn him into something diametrically opposed.
Hence, most of the changes were resisted. The two aspects clashed against each other, quickly turning into deformities as Eden quickly turned into something neither angelic nor fiendish, or even remotely human.
The changes did not stop at his appearance, but Eden was too busy keeping it all in to look at them.
With no better way to contain his power, Eden focused on his Talent, using it to forcefully contain the powers seeking to change him.
Every second was stretched, either because of the urgency of the situation, or Eden's Talent being at work.
Still, even amidst it all, Eden could not help but sigh inwardly at his experience in this world.
Although he had chosen this mission world primarily for the power it could grant him, he had also sought to enjoy this fantastical world. However, it had been turned into centuries of imprisonment, relentless slaughter, and even when he managed to get out, he had become too powerful.
Seconds passed, and with each one it became harder to contain the power, but Eden's Talent held firm. Mystra's assistance also did not go unnoticed, working alongside his Talent to keep everything in check, and shape as well.
In reality, the growth in height had been more about the surplus of power than the attempted transformation into a demon.
Until, it wasn't.
Eden left his mission world as suddenly as the last two times, and the moment he appeared in his room, the lock on his being disappeared, thus finally giving the power a way out.
What felt like endless energy streamed into his body, this time working alongside what was already present to shape him. Through his Talent, Eden focused on his Source of Mana, the Silver Fire, and directed energy to it, feeding it.
But even as the Silver Fire turned into a Silver Inferno, only a fraction of the energy had been consumed, giving Eden an idea, which quickly translated into a Binding Vow.
[The Perfected One: Sync up all attributes.]
Instantly, the Silver Inferno spread out, and the power inside him, which had been scattered, spread out evenly across his entire being.
Every Perk Eden had accumulated so far, every source of energy, every Resistance and Immunity, every aspect of Eden was thrown together, transformed into pure power. The countless souls were also used as fuel for the transformation. Only a single one was placed aside, safely contained within a designed Demiplane.
His physical body broke down, and Eden was transformed into a pure form of energy, only held together by his powerful soul, before he started reassembling himself.
Perhaps thanks to his promotion, Eden felt himself enter a state of enlightenment. His immense mastery of Transmutation magic was further boosted as he constructed his body from scratch.
The process took several minutes, and by the end of it, Eden had turned into something new. Not human, not solar, not demon. He was the Perfected One.
Appearance wise, he looked similar to what he always had. His once pale skin had gained a rosy light and a tan, and his beauty was halfway between something so sacred it should not be seen, and something so tremendously seductive the mere sight of it would turn people crazy. He somehow possessed both angelic grace and demonic allure.
His pair of wings were still feathery, but were now of a shiny black. His pupils had turned red, while his hair remained the same black, although it did grow out. The most striking change was indubitably his height, as he was over five meters tall now.
The biggest changes were by far internal, however.