Chapter 422: Divinization

Then Caelus remembered something.

There was someone he had been waiting to bring back.

His former retainer back in the Abyss. The One and Only, God Knight Prime.

Caelus immediately spent the required Faith Power. He needed 10M in total because 5M was required for Pillar World and another 5M for upkeep.

Ten million vanished in instance, leaving him with roughly forty million.

Golden Divine Radiance erupted throughout the area as a silhouette began forming within the light.

Armor appeared first.

Then came a massive sword.

Finally, a towering Golden Knight completely materialized before them.

The System immediately displayed his information.

[Name: PRIME]

[Race: God Knight]

[Pillar Power: Sentence of an Excalibur]

[Rank: Origin Lord Level 10]

[Sentence of an Excalibur: The God Knight may sentence the surrounding region as his Domain and temporarily rewrite the laws within that territory. The rewriting is absolute and cannot be severed even through Concept Severance. Near the end of the Sentence, the God-Excalibur Surge will be unleashed, dealing 100% damage to enemies while ignoring restrictions and defensive effects.]

Caelus read the description twice.

"Sentence of an Excalibur evolved?"

This was rather different from Prime’s former ability.

Previously, the law-rewriting effect had been considerably weaker and could still be resisted by sufficiently powerful abilities.

Now it specifically stated that the effect could not be severed even through Concept Severance.

Caelus suddenly realized what that meant.

Even he couldn’t simply erase Sentence of an Excalibur once Prime activated it.

For once, he was extremely happy that the person possessing such a ridiculous ability was on his side.

Prime eventually finished examining his surroundings and recognized Caelus.

The Golden Knight immediately knelt.

A familiar mental message entered Caelus’s mind.

"I have returned, Liege."

A genuine smile appeared on Caelus’s face.

"Welcome back, Prime."

Prime had been his first true companion during his time in the Abyss.

Seeing him standing there again after everything that had happened brought back memories Caelus hadn’t thought about in a long time.

He quickly gave Prime a condensed explanation of everything that had happened since their separation. Once Prime understood the situation, Caelus summoned Jibril and had her take him into the Pillar World.

Both Pillars needed to begin growing stronger immediately.

The Pillar progression system had changed after entering the Tier 2 World. Instead of conventional levels, Pillars now progressed through Combat Score.

Their maximum Combat Score would always remain one point below their faction leader.

Since Caelus currently possessed 375 Combat Score, Prime and Jibril could each reach a maximum of 374.

Once Prime left, Caelus turned his attention back toward his remaining Faith Power.

Roughly forty million.

He could gamble with it.

If he got lucky, he might even double the amount.

The temptation lasted for several seconds before Caelus dismissed the idea.

He wanted to experience Divinization first.

"You take twenty million. I’ll take twenty million."

"Okay."

Caelus transferred Sylvia’s share, and the two returned to Genesis Kingdom so they could begin somewhere secure.

Until now, Caelus had mostly understood Faith Power as a resource connected to Pillars, faction authority, and several special systems.

Now he finally understood its true purpose.

Faith Power was one of the foundations of Divinity.

It was the pathway toward transforming a mortal existence into a divine one.

The moment Caelus prepared to absorb it, a notification appeared.

[Divinization Process Available.]

[Select the aspect you wish to Divinize.]

[Body]

[Soul]

[Mana]

Sylvia received the same interface.

After discussing their options, they decided to focus on the Body and Soul first while leaving Mana untouched for the moment. They had a superior energy either way. It didn’t need Divination.

[Body and Soul selected.]

[Beginning Divinization.]

BOOM!

The Faith Power surrounding them erupted.

Golden-white energy flooded into Caelus and Sylvia from every direction as the transformation began at the cellular level.

Caelus felt every cell in his body react simultaneously.

Faith Power seeped through his skin, muscles, bones, organs, blood, nerves, and even the microscopic structures composing his flesh.

His cells were rapidly changing.

Mortal structures were gradually broken down and rebuilt into something denser, more stable, and fundamentally superior. The existing energy throughout his body synchronized with the invading Faith Power, slowly producing an entirely different essence.

Caelus could physically feel his body’s limitations beginning to loosen.

His bones became stronger without becoming physically heavier. His muscles grew vastly more efficient without increasing in size, while his organs required less energy to maintain themselves.

Even his individual cells seemed increasingly capable of surviving conditions that should have destroyed ordinary biological life.

Then the relationship between his body and the surrounding space began changing.

It was subtle at first, but Caelus could feel it.

The universe itself seemed to acknowledge his flesh differently.

Beside him, Sylvia underwent the same transformation.

Her aura gradually became more sacred as faint Divine patterns appeared across her skin before sinking beneath the surface.

Then their Souls began changing.

The sensation was completely different.

Rather than affecting his physical body, the Faith Power seemed to reach somewhere deeper than flesh.

His consciousness expanded.

His sense of self became denser and increasingly permanent.

It felt as though his Soul itself was being reforged into something far more difficult to destroy. If the process continued far enough, destroying his physical body alone would eventually become insufficient to truly kill him.

Faith Power continued pouring inward.

Their mortal essence was gradually being replaced by Divine Essence.

Then the System began displaying their progress.

[Faith Power is transforming your mortal essence into Divine Essence.]

[Body Divinization: 0% → 1%]

Caelus clenched his fist.

The surrounding air exploded from the movement alone.

The transformation continued.

[Body Divinization: 1% → 3%]

[Soul Divinization: 0% → 3%]

His senses sharpened dramatically.

Even the starry sky beyond Genesis Kingdom seemed clearer than before.

More Faith Power entered his body.

[Body Divinization: 3% → 5%]

[Soul Divinization: 3% → 5%]

His physical strength surged again.

This was fundamentally different from receiving more Mana or increasing his attributes.

His flesh itself was becoming stronger.

The power that previously required supernatural reinforcement was slowly becoming an inherent property of his body.

Beside him, Sylvia opened her eyes.

"So this is Divinization..."

Before Caelus could answer, the remaining Faith Power surged into them.

BOOM!

Their Divine Essence rapidly intensified as the final wave transformed another portion of their mortal existence.

[Body Divinization: 5% → 10%]

[Soul Divinization: 5% → 10%]

Then the notification Caelus had been waiting for appeared.

[Combat Score increased.]

[Combat Score: 375 → 1,375.]