I watched silently as the cosmos moved in my hands… it looked beautiful… far too beautiful.
⌈Now, stop gawking at my greatness and let's finish this as soon as possible. Your mortal presence is already irritating me.⌋ Virgil's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
I rolled my eyes and asked as I turned around to look at the place we were in. "I didn't ask earlier, but where exactly is this place? Was I teleported here?"
Virgil gave me an annoyed look before replying. ⌈This is a personal space created by this deity in order to rest his unfathomable, glorious body. Being great is not an easy job. We are very far away from your planet.⌋
I rolled my eyes again. He really likes flaunting himself. I preferred the other him. But damn, we are that far from… whatever my current planet's name is…
He continued. ⌈And I didn't teleport your whole self here, only your soul. When you found my constellation, I noticed someone connecting to it. I automatically pinpointed your location and teleported only your soul. I could have brought your body as well, but I didn't want a measly mortal to stain my sacred place. Hell, you already did with your weakling blood. I was even adamant about not teleporting your soul in the first place.⌋
I frowned at his words. Mortal this, mortal that. Sigh. Gods really are a bunch of bastards.
I ignored his insults and focused on the soul teleportation part. He teleported my soul to gods-know-where this place is. Is this perhaps the same way I was reincarnated here? My body was the one that died, not my soul, so the so-called 'god of reincarnation' most likely pulled my soul from Earth and either reincarnated me properly with a body belonging to me… or just put me inside a baby that was already born.
That thought made my stomach churn. Did I rob the life of an innocent baby?
Am I a fucking parasite?
I hoped for the former.
That was something I had been thinking about ever since I reincarnated here. Most people, when reincarnated, didn't really care about how it happened. Whether they robbed someone else's life, someone who was supposed to be born but never was because someone else took over. I did care. You can blame me or call me soft, but I had my morals. That's what kept me sane. If I knew I had robbed someone else's life, I would rather be dead.
Maybe… maybe that was why they sold me. I wasn't really their child. Still, selling someone to a slave market was beyond reason.
Pushing those thoughts aside, I asked Virgil, "You said you teleported my soul here and not my body, but how do you explain this?" I pointed at the dried blood on my face, ears, and mouth, as well as the blood-stained lily. "How can I bleed if I'm just… err… currently a soul?"
From what I knew, souls couldn't bleed like physical bodies did. They were incorporeal, spiritual things.
⌈You are mistaken. Souls can bleed. Well, to be exact, this is because of one of my lightning abilities. Soul Bleed. I can bleed an opponent's soul if I hit them with my lightning, dealing constant damage until they perish.⌋ Virgil said with a smile. ⌈When you grow stronger and fight many enemies, you will eventually cross paths with beings who can't be killed with physical attacks alone. No matter how many times you destroy their bodies, they will keep coming back until you destroy their soul completely. Heh, they are quite tricky, so I created this ability myself in order to deal with such beings, since I hadn't conquered the cosmos back then.⌋ Blue lightning crackled around his body. ⌈You will soon realize that soul attacks are the most dangerous of them all. That is why only a few possess them.⌋
Talk about being broken.
My eyes glinted with understanding. "I actually know about it."
At first, I had thought that the cosmos affinity outshined the lightning affinity by an infinite margin, but I was wrong. It was just as broken as the cosmos.
Soul attacks remained the most terrifying in every universe. In most fantasy settings, those who ignored the physical body and attacked the soul directly were the most feared. How could you block something that wasn't physical? If it was ranged, someone could kill you from afar without even touching you, and you'd never know what killed you. It reminded me of Bleach characters and Soul Eater meisters who dealt soul damage.
"But wait, you said it was because of your lightning, but I didn't see any lightning being released from your body earlier. Only now."
⌈That is because I don't need to activate my lightning for the ability to work. It triggers automatically the moment someone is exposed to my presence. Moreover, if I wanted to activate it manually, you wouldn't even see it.⌋ Virgil replied calmly.
"Ah… is that so?" I said after understanding his explanation. "I have to admit, it really is a powerful ability."
⌈It's good that you recognize my greatness.⌋ Virgil said in a cheeky tone. I hated to admit it, but he was right.
He was too overpowered for a god. An affinity tied to the universe itself and another that attacked the soul directly.
⌈Enough of that. Let me teach you what I have to, then scram.⌋ Virgil said, and suddenly his wolf body burst like a bubble, spraying a cloud of darkness filled with stars that spread outward.
"What the—" I tried to shield my eyes, expecting the darkness to engulf me.
But it never did.
The darkness retreated inward, gathering above me as something began to take shape. First came legs and feet clad in black pants and black shoes. Then a torso covered by a long black shirt. Then a head with dark navy-blue hair, so long it flowed past his waist, stars shimmering within it.
Virgil slowly descended and landed softly on the ground. A black coat reaching down to his ankles, filled with countless stars, materialized around him. His skin was almost unnaturally pale.
He truly looked like the deity he claimed to be. Majestic, overwhelming, and far too handsome. I didn't even come close.
Virgil opened his cosmic eyes and focused on me. ⌈Now, let me teach you the Cosmic Sword, the most powerful sword to ever exist.⌋
My eyes glinted with anticipation and excitement.
—
⌈This sword art was created solely by me, so pay attention. You are my successor. You can't embarrass me by losing to weaklings.⌋
I nodded.
⌈Since you use a sword, I—⌋
"How do you know I use a sword?" I interrupted. I clearly remembered never mentioning it to Virgil or his avatar.
⌈Because the cosmos has a matter of compatibility. It is only compatible with you because you chose the path of the sword, despite also being a mage. And I wield the sword as well. This is why you can use it. Well… not the only reason, but also because the cosmos accepted you.⌋ Virgil shrugged. ⌈Why do you think I never blessed anyone with the cosmos or had a successor? None of them were worthy. Beings far stronger than you still failed to be accepted. But you…⌋ He began circling me like I was prey. ⌈A weakling. A baby…⌋
"Don't call me a baby," I snapped.
⌈Shut up.⌋ He glared. ⌈As I was saying. A weakling like you was accepted by the cosmos. It is strange… fascinating even. But who am I to doubt the cosmos? Or the universe?⌋
"So it was only about being accepted. I thought it was just passing the trial…" I raised an eyebrow. "So if I hadn't chosen the sword, I would have never received the blessing?"
⌈Yeah, but you would've still gotten the lightning. You were lucky, kid.⌋
Lucky, huh. I guess I was. I started poor, and now I was a prince of an empire. How funny.
⌈Don't ask me questions unless they're related to the Cosmic Sword, or I'll slap you. You talk too much.⌋
⌈The Cosmic Sword Art is an art of destruction and creation. It involves manipulating gravity, space-time, and energy at atomic and subatomic levels. That means every swing, cut, or thrust controls gravity, space, and atomic energy simultaneously. It is extremely dangerous. Tread carefully, or you'll blow yourself up.⌋
I rubbed my chin thoughtfully.
At first, I thought he was called a god of destruction because of lightning, but I forgot the cosmos itself was far more destructive. Supernovas (Explosive death of stars), hypernovas that create black holes, quasars… all of them existed within the cosmos.
I looked at Virgil with a clearer understanding of his power. A god capable of wielding attacks on the level of supernovas, capable of destroying planets. Gods were powerful, sure, but Virgil was a cheater.
⌈You don't need full control over the other affinities. As long as you understand them, learning this art will be easier.⌋ Virgil said, clasping his hands behind his back. ⌈Every time you swing, cut, or thrust your sword, destruction must follow and swallow your enemies.⌋