"I bless you, may light always be with you..."
Watching as the sunlight actively gathered around Venom, Syd was both astonished and intrigued.
Just by saying a single phrase, such a dramatic effect had been created? Furthermore, this phenomenon occurred without any direct control from him—the sunlight and photons seemed to automatically converge around Venom, creating an almost supernatural occurrence.
It was as if Venom could naturally attract sunlight, which seemed quite absurd!
"I wonder how long this will last..."
Syd thought that the Level 3 Divine Word might not be perfect yet. Although he noticed the sunlight was gathering, it didn't reach the ideal intensity, and the duration was uncertain...
As Syd pondered these thoughts, the sunlight around Venom began to slowly diminish. After a short while, the phenomenon faded entirely.
Seeing this, Venom looked confused and asked, "Syd, what did you do to me? Were you controlling the sunlight just now?"
Venom knew Syd had the power to control sunlight, so the recent events seemed similar. However, he felt something was different, especially with the gradual decrease in sunlight.
Venom recalled Syd's blessing and began to realize what had happened. His eyes widened in surprise.
At that moment, Syd wasn't focused on Venom's reaction but was instead deep in thought.
Clearly, if the Divine Word continued to upgrade, the effect Syd observed might extend its duration. He speculated that at Level 5, it could become a permanent blessing or curse...
Thinking about curses, Syd glanced at Venom but decided not to experiment further. Although he didn't test it, he had a good sense of the effect.
"I wonder what happens with bestowing powers..." Syd mused, recalling characters like Shazam from DC comics.
Shazam had six divine powers: Solomon's wisdom, Hercules' strength, Atlas' endurance, Zeus' control over lightning, Achilles' courage, and Hermes' speed. These were blessings from Greek gods, effectively making him a sort of 'knockoff Superman.'
Similarly, his rival Black Adam had powers bestowed by Egyptian gods, making him another version of Superman.
"If I were to bestow powers, it might be something similar," Syd thought. The idea intrigued him—whether it would be related to light control, endurance, speed, or a combination of his own abilities.
Since there were no immediate test subjects, this remained a mystery for now. Syd guessed that bestowing power wasn't trivial and might involve some form of cost or connection to the recipient. It was likely that using bestowed powers might deplete his own strength...
After examining the Divine Word, Syd shifted his focus to the remaining 17,000 energy points and the new ability's progress.
(Unlock Progress: 60%)
Glancing at the unlock progress, Syd wondered, "Should I aim for 65% or 70% to unlock the new ability? And what happens at 100%?"
Curious, he began investing his energy points into the divine ability's unlock progress.
62%...
65%...
68%...
70%...
As the energy points dwindled to just over 3,000, the unlock progress reached 70%.
A prompt immediately followed.
[Ability: Divinity (Unlocked)]
[Ability: Divinity (0/100) Level 1]
"Divinity?" Syd was surprised and puzzled.
He knew a little about divinity, but its specific effects were unclear. He only knew it was something of significant importance to deities, akin to divine authority.
As he contemplated this, Syd immediately felt a change. A mysterious energy began to flow within him, affecting his physical body, blood, light energy, and mind.
He noticed his strength seemed to increase slightly.
"This feeling is somewhat reminiscent of light-based powers..."
"Another enhancement ability?" Syd's eyes widened with surprise, and he was pleased.
Such a comprehensive enhancement ability was one of his favorites—it seemed like a solid gain.
While contemplating this, he suddenly sensed a unique energy surrounding him, like a flock of birds returning to their nest.
Before he could fully understand it, he began to hear whispered prayers as if people were offering devout and respectful supplications.
"O gods, please grant me your blessings..."
"Lord Bader, grant me the light to see again..."
Listening to these whispers, Syd was taken aback.
He recognized this sensation—it was similar to what he felt when contacting Kaecilius, but with subtle differences.
He quickly deduced that these whispers were likely the prayers of believers, and the unique energy was probably faith power.
"Even in modern times, there are still followers of Norse gods?" Syd was surprised.
He had thought Norse worship had mostly disappeared, replaced by major religions like Christianity. Apparently, some faith still existed among the vast population, creating what he now felt as faith power.
With this realization, Syd understood the divine aspect was more than just a personal power boost—it involved interaction with faith and belief.
(End of Chapter)