Having endured Etherion's baptism, Ankh finally achieved the realm of life and death he sought, successfully mastering his Life God Power.
Ankh raised his hand, white light swirling upward like airflow around his palm, obediently morphing into any form he desired.
Compared to the Death God Power and magic Seram had transmitted, the Life God Power felt more intimately familiar, as if it was inherently his.
Moreover, unlike the destructive death energy, life energy was gentler and more compliant.
Having just awakened it, Ankh's proficiency already matched his mastery over his death power.
'Destruction and creation...'
'So the two powers of the Life and Death God were interconnected and complementary...'
Hearing Ankh's words, Jellal felt as if he had been doused with cold water as uncontrollable fear rising within him.
Witnessing someone annihilated by Etherion only to resurrect before his eyes was utterly chilling to anyone who witness it.
[Life God Power awakened. The first step toward godhood is complete.]
Seram's voice sounded weary.
During the resistance against Etherion, more than just Ankh's magic power and body had been exhausted—his soul power was expended, too.
Clearly, Seram had contributed significantly to help Ankh overcome this trial.
Feeling the surging vitality within, Ankh asked happily, "I feel like my magic power is greater and stronger now!"
[Though Life God Power and Death God Power are potent, they still exist in the form of Magic Power. By awakening the Life God Power, you've essentially unlocked another Magic Source, naturally increasing your Magic Power reserves.]
As a divided deity, Ankh had possessed an innate advantage in Magic Sources since his birth into this world.
Including the newly unlocked one, Ankh now possessed a total of three Magic Sources.
However, Ankh's Magic Sources differed significantly from those of ordinary Mages—their quantity meant little.
Ankh's first Magic Source stored Magic Power representing the Death God, while the newly born Magic Source contained Magic Power embodying the Life God.
These two Magic Sources could only be used separately to activate god-exclusive Magic, such as Death God Slayer Magic and the resurrection ability Ankh had just used.
The final Magic Source was dedicated to powering non-deity Magic, such as Titan Gravity and various other miscellaneous spells.
This explained why Ankh's Magic Power seemed inexhaustible to outsiders—the Magic Power in his three Magic Sources operated independently, each responsible for its respective type of Magic.
Other Mages were different: the number of their Magic Sources directly affected the quality and quantity of their Magic Power.
Moreover, since they practiced this world's common Magic, the type of Magic Power they cultivated was singular.
No matter how many Magic Sources they unlocked, they could only activate them individually during combat to enhance their overall strength.
Ankh was different.
Within the same combat duration, he could achieve triple-core operation, making him far more versatile and formidable than others.
However, Ankh had just experienced "death" and was in a slightly worse condition than before.
To release his Magic Power earlier, he had directly endured Etherion with zero Magic Power reserves, nearly depleting the Magic Power in his Death and ordinary Magic Sources.
Now, only the newly born Life Magic Source still had circulating Magic Power within Ankh's body.
Life power continuously repaired and replenished Ankh's injuries and Magic Power.
During this period, Ankh could only stare blankly at Jellal.
Ankh refrained from attacking because he didn't know what offensive capabilities Life Magic Power possessed, and he was unwilling to risk initiating combat.
Jellal dared not act because he was completely stunned by Ankh's earlier death and resurrection.
But Jellal had seen his share of wonders.
After the horrifying scene replayed in his mind a few times, he quickly regained composure.
Even if Ankh could resurrect, it must be a forbidden-type Magic that absolutely couldn't be used repeatedly.
In other words, the newly revived Ankh must be at his weakest moment!
A ruthless glint flashed in Jellal's eyes as the starlight in his hand's magic circle brightened again.
Without further hesitation, he seized the opportunity and charged toward Ankh!
Ankh raised an eyebrow—'This guy reacted quite fast... Also, haven't Erza and the others arrived yet?'
Seeing Jellal closing in, Ankh had no choice but to activate his new ability.
White light gathered around Ankh's hand as a silvery magic circle rose like a full moon.
A refreshing current seemed to surge within him, bringing a cooling sensation. Amid this pleasant feeling, Ankh instantly understood the wondrous applications of this Magic.
Ankh watched calmly as Jellal unleashed a beam of starlight.
A silver magic circle spun into existence in Ankh's palm, which he then slammed forward with force.
The starlight of Heavenly Body Magic struck Ankh's body, while his magic circle pressed firmly against Jellal's face.
A series of intense explosions erupted.
After being hit by the magical attack, wounds once again surfaced on Ankh's body.
But soon, these injuries were enveloped by a gentle silver glow, healing at an unbelievable speed.
On the other hand, a brilliant silver-white power erupted from the center of the magic circle, wrapping around Jellal's head like a giant hand.
"Argh—!"
Jellal, now under the influence of Ankh's Life God Power, trembled uncontrollably, white smoke rising from his body as if something were scorching him.
The scene resembled a vampire exposed to sunlight, sizzling and smoking all over...
In Jellal's right eye, a strange purple rune emerged within his pupil, seemingly pushed to the brink by Ankh.
This was the lingering soul of the dead hidden within Jellal's body, the very cause of his corruption.
Life God Power represented all that was sacred and pure in the world.
Purifying such a parasitic evil was no difficult task for it. Sure enough, before long, the purple rune in Jellal's eye transformed into a miasma, crawling out of his eye socket like a demon—a truly startling sight.
Confronted by the light of life emitted by Ankh, the purple miasma was quickly and completely eradicated.
After dispelling the entity, Jellal stopped screaming, clutching his head in agony.
His eyes squeezed tightly shut, and finally, his body could no longer bear the strain, collapsing to the ground.
Seeing this, Ankh wearily sat down as well.
Shaking the unconscious Jellal on the ground, he breathed a sigh of relief and murmured.
"Life God Power doesn't seem to have much direct offensive capability. I'll need to develop it further..."
[Life God Power is an ability inherent to your constitution. I can't help you with that.]
Ankh nodded, then held his forehead, unable to suppress a drowsy yawn.
He murmured softly, "This feeling... it's so exhausting... Even though I'm barely injured now..."
[After resurrection, your Magic Power decreases significantly, and your stamina is nearly depleted. Although Life God Power can restore these, it still takes a long time to recover fully. Get some sleep. I'd like to rest too...]
Ankh sensed the clamor of approaching footsteps from afar and knew the others had finally arrived.
Relieved, he lay down on the ground and teased Seram with a smile.
"What, do gods need rest too?"
Seram, somewhat flustered and annoyed, retorted.
[Stop talking nonsense... we're not a god yet...]
How rare for Seram to say something like that...
After bantering lightheartedly with Seram in his mind, Ankh slowly closed his heavy eyelids...
"Brother!"
"Ankh!"
"Ankh-san!"
The calls from Erza, Natsu, and the others were the last sounds Ankh heard before drifting into sleep.
And it was these anxious yet warm voices that accompanied Ankh into a rare, peaceful slumber—the most relaxed he had been in over a decade.
Sometimes, just lazily sleeping like this doesn't seem so bad after all...