"Commence the extraction of divine talent."
The voice echoed like thunder through the void. It was neither male nor female, but vast — as if the universe itself spoke in judgment.
Adrian Cross did not hesitate. He raised his right hand and felt the unseen mechanism of the world stir in answer. A rush of warmth surged from his palm, spiraling upward, coiling through his veins until it reached the crown of his head. Then it burst — light, blinding and pure — and the voice returned.
"Congratulations, Adrian Cross. You have drawn a Master Talent: [Infinite Evolution]."
Adrian froze.
"Master talent…?"
He exhaled sharply, breath catching in awe. He had known the hierarchy well — every initiate did. Talents were ranked by their rarity and strength: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Epic, Legendary, God-tier, and at the peak, the near-mythical Super-God level. But Master…? That was a category beyond even the myths. No one had ever seen one. Few even believed such a thing could exist.
In his previous life, the greatest recorded talent in all the Eternal Ascendancy had been Epic. And Adrian — the old Adrian — had been fortunate enough to draw Gold. That alone had carried him through blood and war, almost to the heights of godhood before betrayal and death had claimed him.
But this…
Could it be the echo of his rebirth? Some cosmic correction?
He didn't care to question it too deeply. His pulse quickened, his divine sense flaring as the description unfolded before him.
> [Infinite Evolution] — You may evolve any creation, creature, or possession within your divine domain. Each use guarantees one ascension in rank, with a 10% chance of a double ascension, and a 1% chance of a triple ascension.
No cooldown.
Limitations: The same target cannot be evolved consecutively in the current stage. Enhanced targets are bound permanently and cannot be traded.
Adrian inhaled sharply, heart hammering.
Then he laughed — a low, incredulous laugh that grew and filled the empty expanse around him.
"Powerful… no — perverse," he whispered. "Utterly perverse."
No cooldown meant no restriction. Every artifact, every believer, every grain of his divine realm could be uplifted. Even the humblest bronze could ascend to gold — or beyond — under his will.
For the first time since his rebirth, he felt the full, crushing weight of possibility.
"There's hope," he murmured. "There's more than hope. With this… the throne of the Main Gods isn't unreachable."
The voice of the system intruded again, cold and precise.
"Talent extraction complete. Commencing transfer to the Endless Divine Realm. Countdown: ten… nine…"
The last digit faded before his form dissolved in radiance.
---
The Endless Divine Realm unfolded before him — a place where eternity wore the skin of infinity. Seas of light drifted like mist. Countless divine domains shimmered across a horizon without end, each a sovereign world belonging to a god. To touch another's realm without invitation was to declare war, and such wars never ended until one divine spark was extinguished.
But Adrian's domain was young, a seed of power taking its first breath. He stood within it, at its silent heart — a sphere of swirling crimson light, its soil still forming, its air thick with latent divinity. Even as a demigod of the first rank, he could feel the pulse of authority tethered to his being.
He summoned his godly interface — not as numbers and menus, but as understanding, an intuitive awareness that bloomed in his mind.
Name: Adrian Cross
Divine Name: Korrhaz, the Bloodfather
Title: God of Gnolls and Slaughter
Pantheon: The Chaos System
Divine Rank: First-Turn Demigod
Dominion: 0.1% Gnoll — 0.001% Slaughter
Talent: Infinite Evolution (Master)
Power of Faith: 0
Divine Power: 0
Believers: None (100 unawakened gnolls awaiting transformation)
So little. Yet it felt like everything.
In the Eternal Ascendancy, ascension was simple in principle — nurture faith, gather belief, and transmute it into divine power. For every million threads of faith, a single drop of godforce was born. To advance even a single divine rank required five such drops. The path was brutal and exacting, and most never took a single step upon it.
Still, Adrian's lips curved faintly. "A first-turn demigod again," he said to the empty air. "But this time, with a Master Talent."
He studied his domains — Gnoll and Slaughter. His affinity lay heavier toward the former; his grip on slaughter was tenuous, scarcely a whisper of its true authority. But that was expected. A true god could not exist without at least one percent control over their divine dominion. Anything less was pretense — a false god in shining armor.
It didn't matter. He knew how this path unfolded. He had walked it once before, blind. Now, he saw every stone in the road.
He reached into the core of his realm. There, in the depths of his consciousness, lay the Eternal Continent — the boundless world where every god's believers lived, fought, and perished.
His divine sense descended.
---
A world spread beneath him: rolling green hills, thick forests, and wild rivers coursing through lands unclaimed. In one corner of this vastness, he saw them — a cluster of small, crude nests woven from branches and bones. The air shimmered faintly, waiting.
His first believers.
"Let them be born," he commanded.
Light coalesced. One hundred crystal cocoons drifted into being above the earth, each containing a slumbering creature. The shells cracked with a soft sound like breaking glass, and the first of his gnolls opened its eyes.
They were brutish, dog-headed humanoids — fur streaked with grey and brown, muscles corded beneath their hides. Their eyes were blank at first, until they lifted their heads to the heavens and saw him.
Dark clouds gathered, thick and writhing. Thunder rolled across the newborn land. Then, from the storm, a vast face took form — too immense, too radiant to comprehend. Its gaze fell upon them with a weight that pressed them to the earth.
Adrian's voice was a storm made flesh.
> "I am Korrhaz, Bloodfather — God of the Gnolls and of Slaughter.
Swear your fealty to me, and I shall grant you strength.
Offer your faith, and I shall feed you, shield you, and lead you to glory."
The gnolls trembled. The fear of the divine coursed through them like wildfire. One by one, they sank to their knees, snarling low in reverence.
"The great Bloodfather! The gnolls are yours!" cried one with a voice like gravel. "We give our faith! We give our souls! Guide us, Lord of Slaughter!"
Adrian felt it instantly — a warmth blooming in his chest, faint but pure. Threads of light rose from the kneeling figures, coiling upward, merging into his divine core.
Faith.
The foundation of divinity.
With that single act, his realm stirred. New awareness bloomed — connections forming, names and ranks etching themselves into existence.
He perceived them all as if reading through layers of time:
Deep Believers (2) — the leader and the shaman.
Shallow Believers (98) — the rest of the tribe.
Each possessed strength, will, and potential to grow — his to shape.
He examined the strongest first.
Gedo, the gnoll chieftain:
Bronze rank, broad-shouldered, eyes burning with feral cunning. His muscles rippled with restrained violence; his axe bore the weight of a hundred battles.
Sallen, the shaman:
Bronze rank, lean and scarred, fur streaked white with age. Dark magic coiled at his fingertips — black fire, shadow vision, rites of blood and sacrifice.
And below them, the ninety-eight ordinary gnolls — the foundation. Simple, obedient, but frail, their ranks still cast in the black iron of the lowest order.
Adrian's divine form shimmered above them, light gathering in his eyes.
He spoke softly, yet his words carried through every gnoll's soul.
> "I have felt your faith.
Now feel my power."
He extended his hand.
The air thickened, vibrating with unseen force. Every gnoll shuddered as invisible tendrils of energy lanced into their bodies. Their bones cracked, not with pain but with rebirth. Muscles expanded. Fangs sharpened. The dim glow of their spirits flared bright as stars.
Adrian felt his talent awaken fully for the first time — a symphony of power responding to his will.
> [Infinite Evolution activated.]
Light cascaded through the tribe.
Eighty-eight of the gnolls surged instantly to Bronze rank, howling as strength coursed through them. Eleven more ascended further still, their auras swelling into Silver. And one — just one — erupted with such brilliance that the air itself trembled. His form expanded, fur darkening to a blood-red hue, eyes blazing with primal fury.
A third-rank evolution. A single stroke of impossible fortune.
Adrian smiled — slow, measured, triumphant.
Below him, the tribe roared. Their god had not only been born — he had proven himself. And for the first time in ages, the Eternal Continent felt the birth cry of a power that would not stay small.
He raised his hand, and the gnolls fell silent once more.
"Rise, my children," he said, voice resonant with divine command. "You are no longer beasts. You are my chosen. Through faith, you shall conquer. Through blood, you shall ascend."
The words became law. The domain trembled.
And in the depths of the Endless Realm, where other gods slumbered or schemed, a faint ripple spread — unnoticed by most, but not all.
For the first time since the dawn of his second life, Adrian Cross — Korrhaz the Bloodfather — felt destiny stirring beneath his feet.
He had drawn a Master Talent.
He had birthed a tribe.
And soon, the world would remember the name of the god who evolved without end.