The moment I released the technique—
I knew.
I had gone too far.
Pain.
Not normal pain.
Not something the body was meant to feel.
It tore through me like molten fire, ripping across my chakra network, burning every pathway, every cell, every fragment of my existence.
It felt like being struck by lightning from the heavens—
Over.
And over.
And over again.
My legs gave out instantly.
I hit the cold stone floor of the cave hard.
"Ah… dammit…"
The words barely escaped my mouth, forced through clenched teeth.
"Guess… Creation of All Things… isn't a free trick…"
My vision blurred.
Darkness crept in from the edges.
The cave twisted, shadows stretching unnaturally.
And for a brief moment—
I saw it.
A small, black figure.
Standing silently at the edge of the cave.
Watching me.
Black Zetsu.
It didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Just observed.
Like a reflection of what I had just done.
Of what I had just become.
Then—
Even that faded.
Swallowed whole.
My heartbeat slowed.
Too slow.
Each breath grew shallower than the last.
My chakra—
Unstable.
Flickering.
Like a dying flame struggling against the wind.
"…Tch…"
I tried to move.
Failed.
My body refused.
Every muscle screamed.
Every nerve burned.
If I let go—
I would die.
And then—
Warmth.
It came suddenly.
Violently.
Like a tidal wave of fire crashing into me.
Kurama.
His chakra flooded my system.
Raw.
Burning.
Alive.
It tore through the damage, forcing my body to hold together, stitching torn pathways, stabilizing what should have already collapsed.
"You idiot."
His voice echoed in my mind, deep and furious.
But beneath it—
Something else.
Concern.
"You really thought you could use a god-level technique without killing yourself?"
"…Worth… the risk…"
The words came out weak.
Broken.
Barely there.
"Tch."
I could almost feel him scowl.
"You're lucky I'm sealed inside you."
A pause.
"Otherwise you'd already be a corpse."
I wanted to respond.
To argue.
To justify it.
But I couldn't.
Darkness took me.
Not all at once.
Slowly.
Dragging me under.
And then—
Nothing.
Time lost meaning.
Two days.
That's how long my body lay there.
Broken.
Unmoving.
Barely alive.
I couldn't move.
Couldn't speak.
Couldn't even open my eyes for more than a second at a time.
But inside—
Something worked tirelessly.
Kurama.
His chakra never stopped.
Flowing.
Repairing.
Rebuilding.
Forcing my body to recover faster than it had any right to.
Even then—
It wasn't easy.
It felt like dying.
Over.
And over.
And over again.
Each time my body tried to stabilize—
Pain followed.
Each time I regained even a fragment of awareness—
It slipped away again.
A cycle.
Relentless.
Unforgiving.
Until—
Finally—
It stopped.
My eyes opened.
Slowly.
Heavily.
The cave came back into view.
Unchanged.
Silent.
"…Hah…"
A weak breath escaped me.
But it felt—
Different.
Alive.
I pushed myself up.
Slow.
Unsteady.
Every movement sent faint tremors through my body.
But compared to before—
This was nothing.
"…I'm still alive."
That alone was a victory.
I leaned back against the cave wall, exhaling slowly.
My entire body trembled with exhaustion.
But it held.
Barely.
"Note to self…"
My voice was hoarse.
Dry.
"Don't… ever… do that again."
Kurama snorted in the back of my mind.
Hmph.
Silence followed.
Comfortable.
Heavy.
My gaze shifted toward the corner of the cave.
The place where it had stood.
Empty.
"…Already gone."
Of course it was.
Black Zetsu wasn't something that would just sit still.
It had purpose.
My purpose.
"Good."
A faint smile tugged at my lips.
"At least it wasn't for nothing…"
I tilted my head back, staring up at the faint light filtering in from above.
For a moment—
I just breathed.
Then—
"…Kurama."
A low rumble answered me.
What?
"…Next time I try something like that…"
I paused.
"…remind me not to overestimate myself."
Silence.
Then—
A snort.
You'll forget in a week.
Another pause.
You humans always do.
A weak laugh escaped me.
Even that hurt.
"…Yeah."
He wasn't wrong.
But even so—
Even after all that pain—
All that risk—
All that damage—
There was something else inside me.
A spark.
Small.
Stubborn.
Unyielding.
Satisfaction.
"I did it…"
The words were quiet.
Almost disbelieving.
I had created life.
From nothing.
With my own power.
That wasn't something most beings could even comprehend.
And that meant—
"If I can do it once…"
My eyes narrowed slightly.
"…I can do it again."
Kurama didn't respond this time.
But I could feel it.
He was watching.
Waiting.
Because he understood.
This wasn't the end.
Not even close.
I closed my eyes briefly.
Letting my body rest.
Recover.
For now—
I was weak.
Limited.
Still far from my peak.
But that didn't matter.
Because I had already taken a step into the realm of gods.
And once you step into that world—
There's no going back.