---
"Ughhh, just how many times have I gotten beaten up by monsters!?" groaned Asmodieus, frustration etched on his face as he lay sprawled on the ground. His body ached, his bones felt like glass, and his pride was in shambles.
He spat to the side, tasting blood. With a grunt, he forced himself up, his crimson eyes blazing as he fixed a glare on the mantis still thrashing near the jungle's edge.
"Just wait, you little shit! I'll turn you into bug stew," he snarled, shaking his fist.
To punctuate his disdain, he raised his middle finger high for the Bug Lord to admire.
The mantis, oblivious to human gestures, remained tangled in its bindings, but its furious clicking echoed through the wasteland as it struggled to free itself.
Satisfied, Asmodieus sighed heavily and sat in a lotus position, crossing his legs and resting his palms on his knees. The jungle behind him teemed with danger, the mansion still loomed in the distance, but his immediate task wasn't physical. It was mental survival.
He knew he needed more than brute force to overcome this trial. His talent, while a double-edged sword of unrivaled potential, was a curse in disguise. It drew power only from his body and blood, consuming him like a starving beast. That wasn't sustainable. To survive, he needed to control the system's overwhelming power. Or better yet—find a way to harness external mana and use true spells.
The system provided shortcuts, sure. It let him trigger simple magic commands. But crafting complex spells, like summoning an elemental or weaving the intricate laws of dimensional folding, was beyond its automation. Only he could do that.
"Ah," he muttered, rubbing his temples with a sardonic grin, "time for big brain moves."
He closed his eyes and drew a long breath, preparing to activate his energy reactor. The warmth of mana pooled in his core, bubbling like magma about to erupt.
And then—
Exhaustion hit him like a sledgehammer.
"Might need some rest…" His words slurred, his shoulders slumping.
Instead of pondering mana equations and tearing his body apart with reckless experimentation, his wandering thoughts drifted toward the heavens. Specifically, toward the Mother of the Sky.
---
The Mother of the Sky.
Supreme ruler. The One Above All. To some, she was God, the very embodiment of creation and destruction. To Asmodieus, she was more than a concept or a figurehead of divine omnipotence.
She was a mother figure.
Unlike the God of Heaven's Tower, who played games of divine chess with mortals and monsters, Mother Sky was semi-omnipotent.
She could obliterate creation with a single thought. She could toy with the laws of existence, fracture realities, twist dimensions into oblivion. She could break us all. Torture us all. Rebuild us all.
And yet…
She was kind.
Even Asmodieus, who prided himself on his independence, revered her as a parental figure.
He had only met her twice.
The first was during his evolution into a High Demon. That moment burned into his memory like a brand of celestial fire.
The second was far more destructive. He had scoured 103,710,371 galaxies in a frenzied search for an ancient artifact. Entire systems burned. Stars collapsed. Universes trembled under his relentless pursuit.
All of that…
Before humans were created.
And when humanity finally emerged?
Well, like all mortals, they broke what they touched. Their greed, wars, and tampering locked the pathways between Heaven and Hell. Every being above A-rank was imprisoned.
That was his past. A past where his power had soared to the unimaginable tier of S2.
And yet, despite all his might, he had been soundly defeated by one man.
The boss.
The legend.
Jin.
If Asmodieus was S2, Jin was S5. A towering figure whose very presence warped reality.
Power like that could break worlds.
But even Jin bowed to Mother Sky's laws.
For no one—not demons, not gods, not titans—could ever destroy her realm.
---
Beings of unfathomable power—those who reached the rank of S8—ascended to a higher plane of existence. A place only the Three Sacred Positions ruled:
1. The Ruler of Hell.
2. The God of Gods.
3. The Ruler of Dust.
And who held these titles?
Lucifer.
The ultimate sovereign of Hell. His power? S9.6.
Chaka.
The God of Gods. He reigned at S9.5.
And the Mother of the Sky herself.
Ruler of Dust. The wielder of a power beyond even measurable ranks. Some called her level the Priestess of the Living Corpse. Others whispered of the XXX Rank, a state where life and death dissolved into pure, unfathomable creation.
True Enlightenment. True Godhood. A place where creators were born.
---
A sudden, overwhelming realization washed over Asmodieus, snapping him from his trance.
"I thank you, Mother Sky, for your generosity," he whispered. His voice, usually laced with sarcasm, dripped with humility. There was no one to hear him. No mortal ear could perceive the vast conversation that was about to unfold.
The air shimmered.
And then…
She spoke.
A voice of infinite warmth, like the sky itself had sung into existence.
"No need to thank me, child. I have come to congratulate you on breaking the Seventh Billion Rule."
Her tone danced with joy, motherly pride resonating in every word.
"NO BEINGS WITH LESS THAN 100,000,000 KARMA MAY REINCARNATE WITH THEIR MEMORIES."
A chuckle escaped her lips.
"It truly warms my heart to see one of my children grow stronger."
Asmodieus bowed his head, crimson eyes softened with reverence.
"You flatter me, Mother. What I've done is nothing compared to your grace."
Her laughter rippled through the void like sunlight on water.
"Ara, ara? Flirting with your mother, are you?"
His cheeks burned. He wasn't sure if demons could blush, but if they could, he surely was now.
"Of course, I do not visit my children without reason," she continued, her voice growing more serious. "Your actions warrant a reward. A Heaven-Breaking Tier (S5) gift."
Suddenly, his body ignited with unimaginable change.
---
His core began to melt.
The molten essence of his energy flowed through him, flooding his heart. His mana veins dissolved, fusing into his bloodstream.
Mana became one with his blood. Every pump of his heart sent pure arcane power coursing through his veins.
And then…
The pain came.
"THIS GODDAMN MASOCHISTIC CULTIVATION SYSTEM!" Asmodieus screamed, thrashing as his body morphed.
His flesh tore apart, muscles shredding before knitting themselves together in stronger, denser forms. The skin-veins, once external, were consumed by his body.
Every nerve burned. Every cell shattered and rebuilt itself.
The process was agony. Pure, unfiltered torment.
But it was necessary.
And when the transformation was finally complete, the system's familiar, emotionless voice echoed in his mind.
---
[DING!]
[YOUR TALENT HAS BEEN UPDATED.]
---
Asmodieus lay there, trembling, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"Mother of the Sky… you spoil me."