Every time his Godhead advanced before, the transformation of his divine power had also caused Baiyu's Soul Protection to transform, greatly increasing its defensive power until it became invincible against souls of the same rank. But Foresight and Strong Luck had never changed.
This time, however, thanks to the Overgod's aura, Foresight's abilities had actually expanded. First, using Foresight would no longer interfere with Soul Protection. Second, Foresight was no longer passive and could be activated at will, but there was no longer any guarantee of what he would see. Finally, Foresight had once only been able to pull Desterie's consciousness into the Strange Torrent, but now it could pull other people's consciousnesses into it as well.
It was worth mentioning that Desterie had been able to remain unharmed in the Strange Torrent only because Baiyu's Brilliant Starlight had protected him. He had also relied on the chains formed from that starlight to pull him back into his body.
Without the starlight protecting him, any of the many times he had used Foresight before would have scattered his consciousness in the Strange Torrent. The dissipation of his consciousness was no mere loss of a single Divine Clone. It meant the destruction of a living being in a spiritual sense, leaving it in a state that was both alive and dead.
Although Baiyu had grown stronger, its abilities still seemed to have some limitations. He would have to figure them out little by little in the future.
As it continued to shine, the Black Token rose higher and higher. Before Desterie knew it, it was in the hand of a desolate figure clad in battered black armor, who had appeared from nowhere. The figure radiated such terrifying power that even the Spatial Turbulence collapsed around him, as if he had strode step by step out of endless slaughter, against the light.
His features were impossible to make out, but merely meeting his gaze left one feeling as though one's mind and soul had been torn apart and one's insides burned to ashes.
The Supreme God of Destruction had appeared!
His gaze fell on Desterie, and he spoke slowly, bringing with it an aura of decay that seemed to encompass all things.
"Since the birth of the world, this is the fifth Supreme God Mission, and the second one I have issued. Desterie, congratulations on completing it." The Supreme God of Destruction's voice was grim, each word seeming to annihilate matter and destroy souls. "As stipulated by the mission, you may now make one request of me. Anything I can do, I will do for you."
As his voice echoed, Desterie was left trembling in spirit, unable to react.
"What is your request?" the Supreme God of Destruction continued.
"A request?" Only after the Supreme God of Destruction had finished speaking did Desterie manage to recover.
But once he had, his first thought wasn't to make a wish. Under the Supreme God of Destruction's influence, the soul of his Fate Sovereign Clone had gained a new insight into the Fate Rule. The Four Rules and Seven Laws shared certain principles, but the Laws of the World prevented them from merging. Only a Soul Mutator could accomplish that.
Like a miracle, the Supreme God of Destruction's appearance had given Desterie an opportunity to make a breakthrough in the Fate Rule. After all, summoning an Overgod was itself a major turning point in fate.
Desterie didn't answer at once. He knew the Overgod was only a machine and wouldn't become impatient or angry. As he had expected, the Supreme God of Destruction waited quietly, without haste.
After quite some time, Desterie felt the stirring within him gradually fade. He couldn't help sighing in disappointment. I still couldn't push through the bottleneck in one go.
Putting aside his regret, Desterie looked up at the Supreme God of Destruction in the distance and voiced the wish he had been mulling over. "Overgod, I wish to obtain a Destruction High Sovereign Spark!"
To Desterie, his talent in the Destruction Rule surpassed his talent in the Fate Rule. Refining a Destruction High Sovereign Spark would make him nearly a thousand times stronger than he was now. It might even help him reach Destruction Grand Perfection. If he truly reached Paragon, he would be nearly a hundred thousand times stronger than he was now. At present, this was far more worthwhile than any Supreme Artifact.
Unfortunately, the Supreme God of Destruction shook his head indifferently. "As Overgods, we do not kill any living being without cause, including a Destruction Highgod Sovereign, unless he has violated the rules. I cannot grant this request. Please choose another wish."
The answer wasn't unexpected, but the Overgod's response meant there was no point in wishing for another Sovereign Spark. All the positions of the Four Rules Sovereigns were already filled.
Desterie was about to make his next wish when inspiration struck and he changed his mind. "Overgod, I wish for all my Divine Clones to receive a hundred portions of Willpower!"
He hadn't said "as many as possible" because he feared the Overgod might interpret that phrase as a specific, very small number—one portion, for example—and then consider the request fulfilled.
And even ten portions of Willpower, let alone a hundred, would be enough to let Desterie wreak havoc.
Desterie was asking for the sky, hoping the Overgod would bargain him down and reveal the limits of what he could grant.
The Overgod shook his head again. "I can only grant Willpower to one of your clones, and only one portion."
Desterie pursed his lips. Hongmeng was a little stingy. At this rate, refining a Sovereign Spark would be more worthwhile.
So Desterie tried again. "Overgod, since you can't grant my first two wishes, I hope to receive a set of three Supreme Artifacts: an Offensive Supreme Artifact, a Material Defense Supreme Artifact, and a Soul Defense Supreme Artifact."
The Supreme God of Destruction shook his head once more. "I can give you at most one Supreme Artifact."
Desterie shook his head helplessly again and asked, "I wish to successfully undergo Soul Mutation."
This time, the Supreme God of Destruction didn't bargain. He answered directly, "I cannot do that. My existence ensures that countless planes operate within the constraints of the rules. A Divine Clone can only cultivate its own elemental law or rule and use its corresponding divine power. That is a rule, while Soul Mutation breaks that rule. It is related to fate's..."
"Related to what about fate?" Desterie pressed. The Supreme God of Destruction had reached that point when some kind of "interference" suddenly made his words impossible to hear.
"Fate's..." the Supreme God of Destruction answered again, but Desterie still couldn't make it out.
Hongmeng was interfering. What the Supreme God of Destruction was about to say wasn't something a being from a Subordinate Universe was allowed to hear! Desterie naturally arrived at this conclusion, but what was it? The less he could hear, the more curious he became.
But this clearly wasn't something he could resolve by asking again, so Desterie didn't plan to waste time on it.
Of the wishes he had considered earlier, one remained: reaching Paragon in the Fate Rule. But after giving it some thought, Desterie decided not to make that request.
Thanks to the generous reader Card Kamen Rider for the tip!
And thanks to all the readers for your votes, recommendations, and follows!
And thanks to everyone who has helped with proofreading, prose, and worldbuilding all this time!
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