Just as the staff was about to leave her hand, Thea realized that she had to sever all ties with it completely. From this moment on, the staff would be the staff, and she would be herself. It was best if the two never had anything to do with each other again.
"I am Asclepius, the God of Medicine.
There is light within you that you yourself have yet to realize.
You are worthy of redemption.
I give this staff to you—save yourself, and I hope you will also save this world."
She did not leave her own name, nor did she mention Diana, the Moon Goddess, or anyone connected to her. Instead, she borrowed the title of the healing god from Greek mythology.
In Thea's impression, this son of Apollo, the god of light, had never truly appeared in the world. A snake-entwined staff used to heal the living was precisely His iconic image. She was impersonating His name, but this was for a good cause—surely He wouldn't mind.
On the other side, the snake-haired monster trembled as it stared at the staff lying before it. Its three heads searched in every direction, yet found nothing unusual. Finally, gathering its courage, it reached out and grasped the staff.
"Heal this world—and heal yourself.
Awaken from the abyssal nightmare.
From today onward, your name is Nightmare Nurse."
Influenced by the residual magic lingering within the staff, the creature's illusory body began to contract. A hazy female silhouette slowly took shape.
Leaving behind only that baffling declaration, Thea unilaterally severed the connection. Just like the Hawk and Dove brothers, this being was not her subordinate. Whether she lived or died in the future had nothing to do with Thea; how far she would go depended entirely on herself.
Although her magic reserves had suffered significant losses, her mental power had instead grown substantially. Thea bared her teeth slightly—she was no longer the naïve novice of the past. Such growth could only mean that her post-fusion physical body had improved dramatically, feeding power back into her spiritual self.
There was no need to continue training mental power. Her primary goal had already been achieved. It was time to return to the material world and adapt to her new body.
"I apologize for the disturbance. I will take my leave now."
The blue-skinned elder who had guided Deadman had been observing from afar. Only when Thea finally stopped stirring things up did the old man stroll over at an unhurried pace.
She thanked him politely.
The old man smiled kindly.
"You are welcome here as well. From now on, this place is also your home."
Even Thea, shameless as she often was, felt genuinely embarrassed. She had absorbed at least one-tenth of this world's remaining mental power. And yet they harbored no resentment—on the contrary, they even welcomed her return. It left her feeling genuinely ashamed.
Wanting to give something back, she hesitated. Money was useless here; they were all spiritual entities. Gems couldn't be brought in either.
As she pondered, her gaze fell upon their lifeless city. An idea struck her—she would give them something to pass the time.
Modern entertainment was meaningless to them. Instead, Thea shaped living forms directly from mental power, using the holy sword to grant vitality. She created a large number of small animals.
What made her pause was that the very first creature she unconsciously formed was a unicorn. A wave of melancholy rose in her chest. She quickly steadied herself and went on to create pandas, raccoons, huskies—small animals that looked endearingly foolish.
"I hope these creatures can bring you joy."
Before leaving, she saw several residents timidly staring at the animals, soon followed by bursts of astonished exclamations. She did not linger. Following the elder's guidance, she exited the world from one side.
This time, there was no acrobatic flight from a two-headed dragon. Almost the instant she stepped forward, her body reappeared outside.
"North side of Nanda Parbat, I think."
She was thoroughly familiar with the mountain. A glance at her surroundings was enough to confirm her location.
Dispelling her Heroic Spirit state and returning to a physical body would certainly trigger anomalies. Thea quickly left the area and entered a nearby cave.
"Come."
Gripping the holy sword, she twisted her wrist. Seven-colored radiance flooded the cave as her body—composed purely of mental power—rapidly disintegrated. More than half of that power began transforming into a different form of existence.
"Ugh—!"
The transformation had only reached its midpoint when she felt an explosive surge of strength, surpassing her previous peak. As her body continued to solidify, that power kept rising.
Only a short time passed outside, but within the radiance Thea felt as though an entire day had gone by. Panting, she stood and tested her movements. A casual punch blasted a hole into the cave wall. A slightly heavy step left a deep crater beneath her foot.
The benefits of immense mental power soon followed. Her control over her body was nothing short of perfect. Starting from basic punches and kicks, she familiarized herself rapidly—within five minutes, she had fully adapted.
The loss of magic power was greater than expected. That single cut had removed nearly thirty percent of her reserves. In exchange, her physical attributes had doubled.
This world lacked a clear power-ranking system, but using her own understanding, Thea divided it roughly into tiers.
Diana served as a benchmark—her strength clearly lay at the level of a high-tier demigod.
Before merging with her clones, Thea had only just entered the demigod realm. Now, even ignoring magic and judging purely by physical strength, she qualified as a mid-tier demigod.
If she factored in equipment and spells, the gap between her and Diana had become extremely small.
For a long time, she hadn't understood why. She had absorbed fragments of divine power from Horus, Isis, Ares, and Artemis. By all logic, she should have been terrifyingly strong. Yet in direct combat without magic, she was consistently suppressed by Diana.
Only now did she understand. Her power had always been fragmented. The current her—whole and unified—was her true strength. This was the level she should have possessed all along.
During Heroic Spirit transformation, she could still wear her spatial ring, though she couldn't retrieve items from it. Her clothes, however, had turned to ash. Now restored to a physical body, she was naturally unclothed.
A glance downward confirmed she had grown another centimeter taller. Effects like "cleansing the marrow" were absent—after all, her prior physical foundation had already far surpassed that of ordinary humans.
Just as she was about to conclude there were no other changes, her gaze fixed on her shoulder. Her brown-black hair was noticeably shorter—and now a brilliant gold. Taking out a small mirror, she found her light green eyes had deepened to a rich emerald.
She touched the top of her head and sighed in relief. Her hair remained smooth—no bizarre "chosen one" crown or strange mutation. She was still herself.
"Eh?!"
Before the thought could fade, a surge from her bloodline made her stiffen in surprise.
With the disappearance of the unicorn tattoo, the true talent that had long been suppressed within her…
had finally awakened.