David stopped breathing.
He watched Leo's fist as the light around it bent strangely and the air itself rippled with layer upon layer of folds.
It wasn't a shock wave caused by energy, or a distortion caused by heat.
Space itself was screaming.
This was no longer mere strength.
This was Divine Authority.
The power of a god to alter reality!
Leo slowly unclenched his fist.
The warped space around him instantly smoothed out.
"I can 'see' it."
Leo's voice was still steady, but it carried a strange quality now, as though it resonated with some underlying rule.
"See what?" Season Star asked with interest.
"The 'logic' of space," Leo replied. "I can find the nodes in Spatial Logic. With a slight adjustment to their parameters, I can create Space Distortion."
David's scalp prickled.
That was possible?!
He had always thought Mechanical Ascension meant continually strengthening the body, adding firepower, and becoming a more powerful war machine.
But what Leo had just shown him shattered that belief.
The end of this path wasn't becoming a machine. It was becoming a divine machine.
"You pass."
Season Star clapped lazily, breaking the silence in the control room.
She walked up to Leo and looked her new creation up and down, satisfaction shining in her eyes.
"Nice new look. As of today, your designation is Apostle 001."
"Apostle?" Leo's electronic eyes flickered.
"That's right. My Apostle," Season Star declared as if it were obvious. "You're one of my Divinity Kin now. Don't embarrass me when you go out to fight."
As soon as she finished speaking, streams of data visible only to Season Star appeared across her vision.
``` [Subordinate unit "Leo" has successfully advanced to "Divinity Kin." The Pantheon structure of your "Logic Heaven" has been completed.]
[You have successfully created your