BECOMING DIVINE
"No, I will not choose again", I replied to the voice.
After a while, the same question was put to me again.
And I replied with the same words, "I will not have my loved ones die for me."
For forty times the same question was put to me, and I answered with the same answer.
Finally, a last question was put to me, "Will you accept the fate of the Revelations if it is the only way to save your loved ones? Will you become the Dark Angel of Revelations?"
"I would accept it if it came to that", I replied.
Then the questions stopped and the last of my flashbacks were gone.
-----
[Before the Test of Forty Days]
"Will he accept his fate, Asmodeus? He is a rare independent type", the Mother of Serpents asked the other.
"Of all my incarnations, including the one who betrayed me, there was none who cherished freedom and independence more than him. Despite the temptation of possessing all my godly powers, he still plots to thwart them", Asmodeus replied to the mother.
"There must be something that he cherishes more than his freedom and independence. We can tempt him with his most cherished", the Mother of Temptation told Asmodeus.
"There are many things he cherishes in life besides his freedom and independence. His friends and loved ones are the most important to him", Asmodeus said.
"We can use this weakness of his to our advantage. He must accept us before his final resurrection", the Mother of Temptation said.
"The time will come soon. I have recovered much of my lost powers and soon my incarnate will not be able to restrain me in his soul realm. He must acknowledge my right over his soul before he could resist me", Asmodeus said.
"You must act quickly, he is plotting something behind us with the dragons", the Mother of Serpent told him.
"The dragons? That bitch is still foiling my plans after all these years", Asmodeus complained and lamented.
"Yes, we need the Flame of the Dragon from her so our souls will merge with the new Trinity. Otherwise, our role in this new Revelation shall come to pass", Asmodeus replied to her.
"So, be it my love. We shall reunite again once these two souls connect again", Asmodeus told the mother before the connection of their minds was gone.
------
I was no longer within Rinna's soul realm.
My body hadn't disintegrated this time, unlike what I had experienced there. It must have been a dream—or a nightmare. I was still alive, and not only that, but my magic had also increased significantly.
While I was gone, my body had fully merged with the Dark Angel's Black Heart.
I could feel its power coursing through me, spreading magic to every fiber of my being, making me stronger than even the mightiest templar could imagine.
Yet, all my previous magic was gone.
The Black Heart granted me divine power, but it came at a terrible cost. The magic of the templar within me was completely annihilated, leaving my templar skies in absolute chaos.
Even my bone realm had disintegrated, along with the bone magic that once amplified my abilities.
All the artifacts and enhancements Hanuman, the Ayen god, had bestowed upon me to augment my power and skills were lost as well. Though the artifacts had been returned to me, most were shattered in the process of my transformation.
These were the sacrifices I had to make in order to accept the Dark Angel's magic.
-----
"Are you alright?" Cassandra asked me when I opened my eyes.
"I am alive although I seem to have lost all my magic", I complained and lamented.
"You are lucky to be still alive", Melroy told me.
"There is no need for other magic if you have the magic of the Dark Angel. You have the magic of gods now, why do you cherish the magic of mortals, master?", Meera asked me.
I tried to feel the magic in my body and true to Meera's words, my body was enormously enhanced even without my templar and bone magic.
My skin was practically indestructible now once it was reinforced with the magic of the Dark Angel. My strength and speed were also probably godly too.
"Perhaps the Dark Angel was jealous about your other magic and would destroy them so you will become obedient to him", Sara told me about her take on my loss of magic.
"I've always tried to strengthen my magic so that one day I could be independent of the Dark Angel and kick him out of my soul. He probably already knew that thought of mine, so he destroyed all my other magic, so I would be subservient to his magic and become dependent on him", I replied to them.
"You should be thankful to be still alive", Ratatouille said to me.
"Where is Rinna? How is she?" I asked them.
"She's stable now but still unconscious", Cassandra replied to me.
"How long was I gone?" I asked them.
"Forty days and forty nights", Melroy replied to me.
"What? I was out for forty days", I asked him again to which he nodded seriously.
"What is your templar magic now?" Melroy asked me.
I tried to count the stars in my templar skies but the universe of my templar sky was no longer the same. Planets broke apart and became flying comets while stars separated or even fused.
"It's impossible to count my templar stars now. My templar sky is no longer a templar constellation", I told him.
"You shouldn't be counting your stars anymore. Your templar magic is gone", Delirium the striped cat suddenly appeared to tell me.
"Please save Rinna", I pleaded with Delirium.
"The Serpent is safe although she might not wake up for some time. She is advancing and evolving as we speak", Delirium told me.
"What is she becoming?" I asked Delirium.
"Oh, what she is meant to become. This is her trial, and you cannot help her with it. You on the other hand passed your trials of temptation and received the Black Heart", Delirium said to me.
"Trials of Temptation? What is it?" I asked Delirium.
"Completing the trial will entitle you to your Black Heart fully. It is the greatest magic in the Ten-kingdoms which is equivalent to the magic of the Angels or gods. You are nearer to your task of becoming semi-divine", Delirium explained to me.