Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

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"This is wild..."

This is what Erica said as soon as she was done inspecting the changes that had happened to her.

Physically, nothing much has changed except for the additional marks on her palms, which also appeared on her pupils, the sign of a horseshoe, and the cursive lower-case letter 'a'.

Within her body, though, she could feel the vigorous movement of energy. They flowed through her veins unobstructed, and their density practically doubled in a single day. She could now cast energy-draining spells more comfortably because of this, but the major surprise were the marks that appeared on her.

"The Omega Sign effectively doubles the might and duration of any spells I use without any additional energy expenditures, passively. If I actively use its effect, it will allow me to cast five spells at once while simultaneously ensuring that none of those spells will be affected by any kind of obstruction."

"The Alpha Sign passively grants me immunity against curses and hexes; it also transfers its effects to the caster. Its active is a powerful silencing spell that lasts for 5 minutes. The duration mostly depends on how much gap there is between me and my enemies, and I can also use it on multiple people at once."

"This is nuts..."

Erica sighed as she laid on the bed. She didn't think that she'd be this lucky. The Origin Energy Storm practically doubled her strength overnight, which was insane to think about.

And from what she heard, it wasn't just her. The effects of the storm might vary for people, but the general trend is improvement. She knows that she isn't the only fortunate one to undergo such a transformation.

She then sensed the doors opening and saw Chrissy entering her vision. She swiftly sat up on the bed, surprised by what she saw.

"Girl, your hair...what?" Erica uttered in shock.

"I know." Chrissy chuckled as she twirled the ends of her hair.

Previously, Chrissy had long platinum blonde hair. It's one of the features that made her somewhat unique. Now, though, that's no longer the case.

Her hair turned black for the most part, but if one looked closely, they'd see that it actually had a green shade to it; this was more visible with the reflection of light.

"Woke up like this," Chrissy shrugged. "The best part is that every strand of hair I have contains poison. I never thought it was possible, but here we are. Your eyes are weird, by the way."

"Thanks for the compliment, I guess." Erica rolled her eyes.

"Ah, right, you might want to keep your distance for a bit," Chrissy grumbled. "I somehow evolved because of the storm. I now have a unique physique; can you believe that?"

"Ooh, lucky," Erica commented. "What kind of physique is it?"

"It's called the 'Black Rose Calamity Physique'. Basically, all harmful substances I use will now contain the power of hexes and cures. It also increases my affinity and the efficacy of those elements when I use it by 200%. I'm still trying to control it for now and barely making it." Chrissy sounded tired for some reason.

"Oh, well, you don't have to worry about me. The Alpha Sign gives me immunity against hexes and curses passively," Erica replied.

"Thank God for that." Chrissy looked relieved. "Still, I need to reign this first; I don't want to accidentally hurt somebody."

She then looked around and asked, "Cedric hasn't returned yet?"

Erica shook her head before saying, "Must be in seclusion still. I wonder if he had the chance to bathe in the storm."

"He probably did," Chrissy replied as she made herself some coffee. "I mean, the system was pretty adamant about its suggestion. There's no way he could've ignored it."

"Right." Erica nodded. "And knowing him, he's probably experiencing greater changes than most of us."

"Well, you know it's random, right?" Chrissy asked. "I mean, it's understandable if he's lucky as well, but it shouldn't be too surprising if the changes that happened to him aren't as bombastic as what we've experienced."

"Yeah, you're right." Erica sighed. "Well, I guess I'm just really hoping that he benefits from this more than we ever could."

"Girl, he's fine with or without this," Chrissy stated after taking a sip of her coffee. "He hasn't told us anything concrete, but both of us know that he's obscenely strong. The changes that happened to us should barely close the gap between us."

Erica pursed her lips, silently agreeing to what she said.

She knows that Cedric has been keeping many secrets to himself, and that's quite alright with her because, deep down, she knows that he's a good person. She knew that if it were only that easy, then he would've told them already. Since he couldn't, it means that he had his own reasons for that as well.

Obviously, Cedric was strong, and Chrissy was right about what she said just now. That said, was it really bad for her to want her man to be stronger?

"I wonder how long his seclusion will take," Erica muttered to herself.

**

"I see, so that's how it is, hah!" Old Man Jin couldn't help but laugh at the irony of it all. "I spent almost 50 years pursuing this path, arrogantly thinking that I'm right, yet it turns out that I'm wrong! I'm so wrong!"

He just existed in a state of epiphany, one that he experienced thanks to the Origin Energy Storm. It's been too long since the last time he experienced something like this, so when it came, Old Jin didn't hesitate to fully immerse himself in it.

This state lasted for the entire duration of the storm, and he had realized many things about himself during his experience. One of them led to the conclusion of something that he had been chasing for almost 50 years now. But to his sorrow, it turned out to be a dead end.

It felt vexing—realizing that he had wasted so much time walking on the wrong path. Yet it also felt liberating, because along with this realization was a direction to the actual path he should be taking to elevate his sword art even further.

Old Jin couldn't help but shed a few tears. But as much as he wanted to immediately go into seclusion to correct his path, he suppressed his desire and stood up to check on the person who made this possible.

But upon entering the area where the Young Sage was, Old Jin was surprised. He placed a hand on his sword as he warily inspected the scene in front of him.

The Young Sage was there; he seemed to have fallen into a deep slumber. Whether this is due to exhaustion or something else, Old Jin doesn't know. What truly concerns him is that he could feel a presence nearby, and he didn't know if it was friendly or an enemy.

"Don't disturb him."

Old Jin was almost scared out of his wits. He took out his sword and eyed the room sharply.

"Show yourself! What did you do to him!?"

A phantom then manifested near Cedric, causing Old Jin to feel trepidation. However, once he saw the phantom, the old man was shocked once more before getting rid of his animosity.

"Acala," the old man whispered. "I see. Are you watching over him?"

"He refused to bathe in the storm." She gently replied, "He's convinced that he didn't need it. He's just happy to be of assistance. He essentially revived me, yet he feels a bit ashamed to take part in the opportunities that only became possible because he made it happen."

"This child brought me back to life, allowing me to manifest like this again after so many years. Yet all he said is that it's what he should do."

"How infuriatingly selfless!" She huffed as she continued caressing Cedric's face.

Old Jin sighed. Knowing who he's talking to, he knows that she's not lying. His heart hurts for the child. How could he be so blind about his self-worth? Just what did this child have to endure to end up like this?

"How long would he be in slumber?" he asked.

"It depends," Acala replied. "He's on a spiritual journey. Don't worry about him; he's safe here. If you want, you can continue guarding him. Just don't let anybody disturb him."

"I understand. I will continue guarding him then. It's the least I could do for this kind child."

After saying this, Old Jin marched away and, once again, sat down in front of the cave's entrance. He closed his eyes and left a sliver of his attention active while the rest digested his gains.

As for Cedric, he felt as if he were being ferried to somewhere he didn't know. He could only subconsciously follow this feeling, and it felt like it'd been years.

When clarity returned to him, his eyes snapped wide open, and he sat up, only to find himself somewhere completely unfamiliar to him.

"Where...am I?" He voiced out his confusion.

It was then that, all of a sudden, a movement surprised him. His mind blanked out as he found himself staring at an eyeball that's as big as Prime Earth itself, staring back at him.

"Don't be afraid, child."

"Like hell, I wouldn't be! You're a massive eyeball! Who greets people like that!?" Cedric yelped out in fright.