Global Gods : Skill-Resonance Awakened

Chapter 319: Ch 319 : Path of Salvation

The Throne Room, City of Gods.

The atmosphere in the Hall was heavy, pressed down by the weight of impending destiny.

Standing before the throne were three figures who had once stood at the apex of their respective multiverses.

Cai Zhen, the God of Cultivation; Thera, the Goddess of Annihilation; and Beru, the God of Evolution.

They stood shoulder to shoulder, their postures stiff, their eyes betraying a mixture of confusion and concealed terror.

They knew the rumors. They knew demons were coming.

When the Emperor’s summons had appeared before their eyes, their hearts had sunk.

In their minds, this was a war notice. The Emperor was calling them to the front lines. He was going to ask them to be the vanguard, to throw their bodies against the tide of 2,000 Demon Gods to buy time for the rest of the city.

It was a grim fate, but one they had silently accepted. They were refugees; and he was the one who helped them. But the most important thing was that Sunny was stronger than them.

Sunny sat on his throne, his chin resting on his gloved hand. He watched them, his eyes piercing through their anxiety.

"Don’t worry about the war," Sunny said. His voice was calm, cutting through the tension like a hot knife through butter.

The three Gods blinked.

"We are not going out for a desperate last stand," Sunny continued, leaning back. "I am not sending you to your deaths. In fact... I have a plan that makes dying quite difficult."

The three companions looked at each other. The resolve they had built up, the willingness to sacrifice themselves for the glory of their civilizations suddenly felt misplaced.

If not for war, why were they here? Why the urgency?

"I summoned you here today," Sunny announced, standing up slowly, "because I have found a way to bridge the gap. A way to increase your power not by a fraction, but by a grand margin."

He walked down the steps of the dais, his robe flowing behind him like liquid starlight.

"I am offering you the power to contend with the Demon Lords on equal footing."

The phrase "Contend with Demon Lords" hung in the air.

For Cai Zhen, who had nearly died because of them, whose parents and the entire sect was killed by them; for Beru, who had watched his father and brother die at their hands; for Thera, who had lost everything... these words were intoxicating. But they were also terrifying.

"And before you ask about the price," Sunny added, anticipating their fear, "it’s free of cost, and there is no backlash. There is no cursed contract. You don’t have to sell your souls."

He gestured to the shadows on the right side of the hall.

"You don’t have to take my word for it. Ask him. I have already given him that power."

From the shadows, a figure stepped forward. He wore a simple robe, but the pressure radiating from him was anything but simple.

It was Merlin, the God of Cards.

Merlin looked different than the last time the public had seen him. His aura was sharper, denser. He held a deck of cards in his hands, shuffling them with a fluidity that mesmerized the eye.

"Greetings," Merlin said, his voice smooth and confident. "I assume you are wondering if this is a trick. I wondered the same thing."

Merlin began to speak, weaving a tale that captivated the three newcomers.

He told them of his past life, not as a God, but as a demigod Card Master who was betrayed by the woman he loved.

He spoke of his desperate escape using an SSS-Grade Teleportation Card, landing in this multiverse broken and alone.

"I was limited," Merlin admitted, spreading his cards in a fan. "I was a Water Elementalist. I thought that was my peak. But the Emperor... he saw what I truly was."

"He didn’t just teach me; he rewrote me."

Merlin flicked his wrist.

Snap.

Eighteen cards appeared in the air around him. They didn’t just float; they hummed with power.

"A normal Card Master can control nine cards at maximum capacity," Merlin explained. "I control eighteen. And not just Water."

The cards flipped.

Nine of them erupted in Blue Flames.

The other nine froze into Black Ice.

"I can change my cards in a microsecond," Merlin said, his eyes glowing. "One second, I am the God of Fire. The next, the God of Ice. Then, the God of Gravity. My versatility is absolute. My talents were raised to SSS-Grade directly by his hand."

The display was impossible. It broke the fundamental laws of magic they understood.

To have any number of opposing elements at SSS-Grade mastery simultaneously?

It felt like a lie. But their Divine Sense told them it was the truth. The sixth sense of gods never lies.

Cai Zhen stepped forward, his breath hitching. "So... you are saying you can elevate the Grade of our talents? Just like that?"

"Yes," Sunny nodded, stepping into the center of the room. "But for you three... it goes deeper than just an upgrade. It is a restoration."

Sunny looked at Beru.

"Beru. You are the God of Evolution. You eat, you adapt. But currently? It’s a game of chance. You might eat a Demon God and gain nothing but a full stomach."

Beru’s mandibles twitched. It was his greatest frustration.

"I can change that," Sunny promised. "I can ensure a 100% evolution Rate. If you consume a being, you will gain their strongest suite. You will become the apex predator you were meant to be."

Beru’s eyes widened, a low growl of desire vibrating in his chest.

Sunny turned to Thera.

"Thera. Goddess of Divine Annihilation. Your swords are powerful, but they are.... heavy. You suffer from cooldowns. You suffer from mana exhaustion."

Thera nodded slowly. Her ultimate attacks left her vulnerable for seconds, a fatal flaw against a Demon God.

"I can erase the cooldowns," Sunny stated. "I can link your soul directly to the ambient mana of the universe. You will become a machine gun of destruction. Constant, unending bombardment."

Thera clutched her chest, her heart pounding.

"And you, Cai Zhen," Sunny finished, looking at the old cultivator.

"The Law of Qi is demanding. You spend years accumulating energy just to spend it in a single battle. You are a battery that drains too fast."

"I will turn you into a Reactor. Your reserves will become functionally infinite. Your body will generate Qi faster than you can expel it. You could fly across the multiverse for a thousand years and never run dry."

Silence descended on the room.

The promises were staggering.

Infinite Evolution.

Zero Cooldowns.

Infinite Energy.

It was the dream of every warrior. It was the power to shape reality. The fear in their eyes evaporated, replaced by a burning, fanatical hope. They looked at Sunny not just as an Emperor, but as a path to salvation.

"Why?" Thera whispered, her voice trembling. "Why give us this? We are refugees. We have given you nothing."

Sunny smiled, a genuine, soft expression behind the mask.

"Someone else will explain the ’Why’ to you in a few hours," Sunny said, alluding to Adam. "But for me? The reason is simple. I want strong subordinates. If I have the hammer to forge you into masterpieces, why would I leave you as scrap metal?"

He raised his hand.

HUMMM.

Space distorted in the center of the room. An invisible, spherical barrier manifested, a Isolation Field designed to contain the energies from their upgrade, and at the same time a bubble which Sunny can accelerate to save the time.

"So," Sunny asked, looking at the three stunned Gods. "Who would like to go first?"

"I will go first," Cai Zhen stepped forward immediately. He clasped his hands and bowed. "My life was already saved by you, Emperor. If this kills me, it is merely karma balancing the scales. I trust you."

"No, Cai!" Thera grabbed his arm, pulling him back. Her eyes were fierce. "Let me do it first."

She was suspicious, not of Sunny’s intent, but of the danger. She loved Cai Zhen too much to let him be the test subject. "If it is safe, you go next. If it is dangerous... let it be me."

"You two are too slow," a rough, clicking voice interrupted them.

Beru pushed past the couple. The massive insectoid towered over them, his scales scraping against the floor.

"Stand aside," Beru growled, his aura flaring with battle lust. "I will go first."

He didn’t care about safety. He cared about power. He was itching for the upgrade. He wanted to eat the world, and Sunny had just offered him a fork.

"Good," Sunny nodded approvingly. "Fearlessness is a virtue."

Beru walked into the spherical chamber. He stood tall, waiting for his evolution.

Sunny walked up to him. Even sitting, Beru would be tall, but standing, he was a giant. Yet, as Sunny approached, his presence seemed to dwarf the insectoid.

"Bow down," Sunny commanded softly.

Beru dropped to one knee unknowingly, lowering his jagged head.

Sunny reached out. He simply placed his gloved hand on Beru’s forehead.

"Relax your soul, Beru," Sunny whispered. "This might tickle."

Sunny’s consciousness detached from reality. He dove into the abyss of Beru’s mind, swimming through the chaotic currents of the insect’s soul, hunting for the dormant spark that the Void Mother had planted billions of years ago.

He found it. A tiny, red ember buried under layers of trauma and reincarnation.

"Found you," Sunny thought.

He channeled his faith into the ember.

"Awaken."