Rising god
Chapter 46: Whose weapon?

Chapter 46: Whose weapon?

The lich had once been a relentless force, its regeneration seemingly endless as long as it remained within the boundaries of the ancient temple that housed it. The sacred energy of that place had acted as its lifeblood, enabling the skeletal creature to recover from wounds that kept destroying its skeleton.

But now it was far from the temple’s hallowed ground, and the reservoir from its core had dried up.

Baines now stood calmly before it, one hand buried deep in the lich’s cracked skull. His expression was unreadable, but his silence spoke volumes. He could feel the last of the creature’s life essence ebbing away. A simple twist, a bit of pressure, and he could have ended it all.

But he didn’t.

Instead of ripping the corrupted eye from its socket, he chose something else entirely.

Shaaaaaa...

Like a waterfall flowing in reverse, his heart core split opened.

A dense, pulsing force surged outward. The energy gushed from him with feral intensity, forcing back the deathly fog that clung to the air and adding its color to it.

This was no ordinary power, it carried a deep, raw dominance that repelled even the ambient forces of the battlefield. The very air shuddered beneath its emergence, now tinged in a deep, sinister violet.

It felt like the energy was screaming of not using it in a long time and decided to punish the air around it.

Baines momentarily basked in the feeling. He knew it without any word; if he had used this energy, he would’ve killed the lich twice as easily.

’It’s nice to know I have this as well.’ And without further hesitation, he channeled the entirety of that energy into the lich’s cracked right eye.

Before this moment, had he encountered the lich without the influence of the treasure staff’s knowledge, he would have crushed it instantly. But things had changed. The staff had revealed so much about energy, loyalty, and potential.

And that inspired a new idea.

Why not make the lich his?

The thought, though spontaneous, was not without logic.

Thinking about it, he had a lot to do and would have a lot more to do in the future.

He would need an extra and extremely loyal hand to assist him. He could hand over the creation of the pills to it as he focused on other things. Or he could send the lich on errands, and he could command it to do things without any question asked.

The lich became a lich due to divine power in the first place, and he had something better than divine power.

Ashenfall.

Wiiiiiiiii...

The infusion began. The raw Ashenfall poured into the lich’s form, seeping into its decayed marrow, repairing the crack around it, mending the broken bones, reforging the lich’s core, and wrapping the skeletal frame in a violet veil.

The creature’s previous dark aura was consumed and replaced, now it pulsed with vibrant, overwhelming energy.

The flow continued, saturating the lich’s essence until it stabilized at the Peak of the 6th Star.

Baines exhaled slowly, retracting his hand and sealing his core again. The ground had quieted, but the air remained taut with pressure.

The lich’s eyes opened.

Now no longer dim and deathly, they burned with rich violet flame, eyes that looked less like the void and more like sentient portals of death. It radiated with an aura of menace and finality. The very sight of it would have made a lesser man weep or flee.

’Eye, what’s wrong?’ Baines asked mentally. Though it was complete, the lich was unresponsive.

[THE LICH NEEDS A SENSE OF IDENTITY.]

’A name, huh?’

Baines thought silently before deciding.

-Wick. Yes, your name is Wick.

Even though Eye had healed his throat, speaking was still difficult, so he chose to project the words through mental messaging.

The response was immediate.

KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEE!!!

The lich let out a high-pitched shriek, not of pain, but transformation.

Its entire body convulsed, and the Ashenfall surged around it once more, erupting like a geyser of purple fire. The surrounding landscape warped under the pressure.

CRACK!

Like the shatter of divine crystal, a sound echoed across the skies.

Boom.

A new wave of energy burst forth from Wick.

Magus Sovereign in mana ranking, and a Grand Magus in magic ranking.

Also known as a 7th Star.

Baines stared, slack-jawed for a moment. That kind of ascension should have required months, even years of cultivation. But Wick had leapt forward like a dying star reignited.

The Ashenfall truly was a power that broke boundaries.

The lich’s aura became impossibly dense.

The violet hue of its eyes grew darker, deeper, reflecting not just intelligence, but obedience.

Baines smiled a rare smile.

This was what he was talking about.

To him, maybe this was the greatest thing he had done since he left the dominion of Ashenfall.

He gestured for Wick to approach, and the lich obeyed without hesitation, retracting its terrifying aura and standing calmly before its master. Its posture and stillness conveyed one thing: it had no resistance.

It felt as if, if Baines wanted to kill it, it wouldn’t disapprove. But why would he do something like that?

Of course, Baines had other plans.

He reached out and placed his palm against Wick’s skull.

’Eye, transfer all knowledge we have. Include everything from the treasure staff.’

[TRANSFERRING HISTORY...]

[TRANSFERRING DATA...]

The process began.

For ten long minutes, invisible currents of knowledge streamed into Wick’s mind. It would have killed a lesser being instantly.

But Wick was reborn of Ashenfall was strong, malleable, and perfect.

When the transfer ended, its eyes shimmered with comprehension.

"Master," it said, kneeling in perfect reverence.

Before Baines could reply, a new voice cut across the field.

-You... what are you?

He turned. Smalltooth, the wary dragoness, stood ten meters away, her pupils dilated, her body trembling. She had watched everything, and now, the fear she had long denied surfaced.

-What exactly are you feeling now?

Baines asked, curious.

Smalltooth’s voice cracked. T

-That thing shouldn’t exist!"

She was terrified.

And that told Baines everything he needed to know.

’Then... good.’ He nodded.

The world still saw him as a savior, for now. But that image would soon crack.

When his vengeance began, the world would come to know pain and fear. Just like Smalltooth now did.

He turned his attention back to Wick. Something caught his eye.

A strange object was chained to Wick’s arm. Oddly ornate, yet subtle. He hadn’t seen it used in battle, but it was what signaled its arrival.

-What is that?

Wick detached it wordlessly and handed it over.

The moment Baines touched it, he was pulled in.

Immediately, his hand felt it, he knew the answer.

He suddenly appeared in a dark space. He had been here before, not here particularly, but somewhere similar.

Chains of various sizes and lengths were around, connecting from the sky, the ground, floating, and ethereal. All forms of chains, even those he hadn’t thought of, were here, however,

They weren’t tied to anything. The space was devoid of people.

He calmly looked around until he found the source of all those chains lying on the ground, which looked exactly like what was on Wick’s arm.

He recognized it instantly.

The weapon of a forgotten god. The Slave god, to be more specific.

The moment he saw the source, he returned to himself.

-So, this is...

"Yes, master. It is the weapon of a forgotten god. However, it is devoid of anything now; however, if you insert Ashenfall into it." Wick advised.

Baines’ eyes widened.

Didn’t this mean he had taken a god’s weapon?