**Chapter 13: I Am Heaven**
**[Congratulations, Host: Mission Completed.]**
Krishna watched, his eyes still wide with adrenaline, as the System tallied his rewards in the quiet darkness of the alley.
**[Reward:]**
1. **+4,500 Karma Points**
2. **Divine Skill: I Am Heaven**
The number was staggering, but it was the second line that stole the air from his lungs.
**[Divine Skill Unlocked: I Am Heaven]**
* **Introduction:** You are not merely connected to the natural world—you *are* the natural world. Your emotions command the fundamental forces of creation and destruction.
* **Joy/Peace:** Your happiness can cause instantaneous blooming across entire city blocks. Golden sunlight will break through clouds, birds will flock to sing, and the very air will become warm and healing.
* **Anger/Rage:** Your wrath is the wrath of heaven itself. Lightning will split the sky with divine fury, thunderclaps will shake buildings to their foundations, hurricane-force winds will tear through the streets, and tremors will ripple through the earth. Distant oceans will rise in towering waves, responding to your rage from hundreds of miles away.
* **Sorrow:** Your grief can summon torrential rains that flood entire districts, or a gentle weeping from the sky that can last for days.
* **Note:** This is a permanent, passive skill. Uncontrolled emotional outbursts can lead to unintended and potentially catastrophic natural phenomena. Use wisely, Host.
As the System's words burned themselves into his mind, the full weight of what he had become crashed down on him. The fear of being discovered, the awe of his own power, the overwhelming, terrifying realization that he was no longer human—it all surged through him at once in a chaotic, emotional tidal wave.
And the world screamed in response.
The ground beneath the entire city block shuddered. It was not a gentle tremor, but a violent, rolling earthquake that sent car alarms shrieking and windows rattling in their frames. The shockwave rippled outward, a stone thrown into the pond of reality, felt as far as the outskirts of the city.
Above him, the clear night sky exploded into chaos. Massive thunderclouds materialized out of nothing, swirling with an unnatural, furious speed. Lightning—not the thin, flickering bolts of a mortal storm, but thick, blazing pillars of white-hot energy—split the heavens again and again. Each thunderclap was a sonic boom that shook the very foundations of the buildings around him.
The wind rose to a deafening howl, a hurricane born in a matter of seconds, tearing through the narrow alley with such force that trash cans were hurled against walls like toys and the windows of nearby apartments exploded inward.
But it didn't stop there. Miles away, the ocean, which had been calm and peaceful, suddenly reared up. Towering, violent waves, born of his inner turmoil, crashed against the distant shores with a fury that would be felt for days. Ships in the harbor were tossed about as if they were made of paper.
And then, cutting through the maelstrom of his fear, another emotion pushed its way to the surface—a deep, overwhelming gratitude. He had saved them. He had faced the fire and won. For a fleeting moment, pure, unadulterated joy flooded his heart.
The change was instantaneous.
The violent winds gentled to a warm, spring breeze that carried the impossible scent of jasmine and cherry blossoms. The chaotic lightning softened into a gentle, golden glow that bathed the entire district in a warm, healing light. And on every tree, on every balcony, in every crack in the pavement, flowers of every imaginable color burst into bloom, carpeting the soot-covered streets in a vibrant blanket of petals. People emerged from their homes, staring in stunned, silent wonder at the impossible garden their city had become.
Krishna pressed his back against the wall, his eyes wide with a terror that was colder and deeper than any fire. This wasn't a skill. This was the raw power of creation and destruction itself, flowing through him like a river of liquid starlight. He could feel it—the ocean responding to his rage, the earth trembling with his fear, the sky brightening with his joy.
He scrambled backward, trying to get away from himself, from the impossible, world-breaking power that was radiating from his very soul. He looked at his hands, no longer seeing the hands of a high school student, but the triggers for a hurricane, the epicenter of an earthquake.
He had wanted to be a ghost, to be invisible. But the System had just made him the most dangerous person on the planet. He was a natural disaster waiting to happen.
"System," he whispered, his voice hoarse and desperate. "System, are you there?"
The calm blue light of the interface bloomed before his eyes.
"System, this skill is too powerful. I don't want this," Krishna said, his voice trembling with a mixture of fear and rage. "You've made me the most dangerous person on Earth."
The System's synthesized voice was, as always, devoid of emotion.
**[Does the Host not recall our first meeting? Did you not ask for 'world-destroying power'?]**
The System's words were a bucket of ice water to the face. He had said that. In his arrogance and ignorance on that first day, he had made a flippant, childish remark, never imagining the true, terrifying weight of those words.
"No," Krishna said, shaking his head frantically. "Not like this. I don't want this. Take it back."
There was a pause, a brief moment of silence that felt longer than usual. When the System spoke again, the tone of its synthesized voice seemed… different. Softer.
**[This skill was granted because the Host's emotions were unstable during the rescue mission. You were becoming a danger to yourself and others. The Host must learn to control his emotions.]**
Another line of text appeared, and this one felt almost like a concession, an admission.
**[However… the System agrees that the manifestation of this skill is a little… strong.]**
Suddenly, a new notification filled his vision, glowing with a gentle, golden light.
**[To assist the Host in achieving emotional stability, a complementary skill is being awarded.]**
**[Divine Skill Awarded: Buddha's Mind]**
* **Note:** This is a passive skill that only works to balance normal emotional fluctuations.
* **Introduction:** Ordinary concerns, anxieties, and emotional fluctuations will no longer affect the Host's mind. Your emotions will be as stable and unmoving as a mountain, granting you the clarity needed to control the 'I Am Heaven' skill.
Krishna stared at the new skill, a flicker of hope mixing with his confusion. But one word stood out to him.
"Buddha?" he asked, a frown creasing his brow. "The term 'Buddha'… isn't that from a specific region, a specific belief system?"
The System's reply was instantaneous, and for the first time, it sounded less like a machine and more like a wise, ancient teacher.
**[The Host is carrying the divine template of the God Krishna, the Supreme Being, the God of Creation. You are the source from which all things flow. How can you, the creator, discriminate between your own creations? For you, there is no 'here' or 'there.' All people, all beliefs, all paths are one and the same.]**
The words hit Krishna with the force of a physical blow. Guilt, sharp and sudden, pierced through his panic. Of course. How could he have been so small-minded? He, who was supposed to be the vessel of a supreme god, was thinking in terms of mortal borders and cultural divisions.
He looked down at his hands, a deep feeling of shame washing over him. "I... I had forgotten," he muttered, his voice barely a whisper.
The System's words settled over him, heavy and profound. The guilt for his foolish question was a sharp sting, but almost immediately, he felt the effects of his new "Buddha's Mind" skill. The roaring emotional storm inside him quieted to a distant, manageable hum.
He pushed himself up from the grimy brick wall, his body aching with a deep, bone-weary exhaustion. The immediate priority was simple: get home without being seen. He stuck to the shadows, moving through the backstreets and forgotten laneways of the city.
Before he could go home, he had to deal with the evidence. He glanced down at his arm. The sleeve of his jacket was seared and torn, and beneath it, a deep, ugly gash ran down his forearm, still sluggishly bleeding. His skin was blistered in several places from the intense heat of the fire. He found a small, forgotten space behind a row of overflowing dumpsters, a pocket of darkness completely shielded from the streetlights.
"System," he said, his voice a low murmur, "heal me."
**[This action will consume 50 Karmic Points. Do you wish to proceed?]**
Krishna didn't hesitate. "Yes."
**[50 Karmic Points have been deducted. Activating Divine Healing.]**
A warm, golden glow bloomed from his right palm. He pressed it against the gash on his other arm. The pain vanished instantly. He watched in silent awe as the torn edges of his skin began to knit themselves back together, the angry red of the burns soothing and fading until his skin was smooth and unblemished. In less than a minute, there was no scar, no trace that the injury had ever existed.
With the evidence of his ordeal gone, he pulled his torn jacket tighter around himself and began the long, slow walk home. The adrenaline was gone, leaving only the deep ache of a battle fought and won.
He finally reached his small apartment building and quietly let himself into his room, the lock clicking softly behind him. He didn't bother turning on the lights. He leaned his back against the door, the silence of the room a stark contrast to the roar of the fire and the screams he had heard.
He was physically whole, but the cost of his actions—the potential loss of his anonymity—weighed heavily on him. He had to be more careful. He had to hide himself, and the System, from the world.
The night was over, but trials are not over.
*To be continued.*