Mystery Paradise: Wishing Power Demon

Chaoyang, half-believing and half-doubting, focused his attention within himself.

As if in response to his summoning, a green polyhedral cone emerged in the pitch-black field of vision.

All he needed to do next was to recognize it as his Divine Fire.

But this process has neither options nor buttons, relying entirely on imagination—it was quite metaphysical to him. Yet, having come this far, there was no turning back. He rallied the wish power within his body, treating the authority of the Unfathomed as a vessel and poured everything into it.

All surrounding noise disappeared.

He seemed to fall into a boundless silence.

However, in Ailuodi’s eyes, it was not so. She saw countless seabirds screech and take flight, fleeing towards the ocean against the rosy light; the waves pushing towards the shore actually reversed direction; purple lightning appeared in the sky, darting through the dull yellow clouds.

If a Demon becomes a deity, can he still be considered a Demon?

Ailuodi clenched her chest.

On the other side, the Mist God also felt the anomaly coming from the northeast of the City of Defense.

"A new divinity is about to be born," she said, setting down the Flying Chess in her hands and murmuring softly.

"Who?" Kokomoqi, who was rolling the dice, asked in surprise, "Here?"

"I feel it too," Engfelt nodded, "and the pull of the wishing power is quite strong, like the eye of a storm at sea."

"It’s the one you’re familiar with," said Shadow.

"The Paradise Master? Chaoyang?" The Magic Goddess was stunned, "Hasn’t he been a deity for awhile now? He even has a large group of followers."

It indeed was incredible—he possessed The Divine Country, could wield wish power, and could even share strength with other divinities... Therefore, when Chaoyang claimed to be a New Divine, Shadow never doubted him. But the current fluctuation of wishing power was indeed unique to divinities, and she, throughout her long life, had witnessed the first cries of newborn divinities several times.

But old rules are always meant to be broken.

If the Paradise Master was so powerful before becoming a deity, what would he become after ascension? Or, as Kokomoqi said, did he contain too many mysteries to possibly ascend multiple times?

No matter what, this kind of transformation was certainly something to look forward to.

A senior once told her that divinities were helpers conjured by the human imagination, their only hope against the incursion of Evil Gods. Yet, history kept repeating its tragedies, due mainly to the chasm between the Latter Divine and the Primordial Gods. One day, humanity would perish in this universe, just like countless other life forms.

To see divinities also changing was undoubtedly a good thing.

The Mist God picked up the dice and cast them toward the board—

"Where will you lead your followers? I will look forward to it."

The storm finally coalesced completely.

A gust of wind burst forth from Chaoyang, sweeping through the surroundings, snapping tree branches with a crackle and uprooting flowers and grass. Yet Ailuodi, who was at the heart of it all, did not feel the slightest jolt; the powerfully fierce wind brushed her cheeks like feathers and spread outwards, gradually weakening as it reached the city’s edge, amounting to no more than a sea breeze coming from the east as it entered the streets.

The Angel noted that all the abnormal phenomena had vanished; the waves began to wash the beach again, and the clouds were left with only the last ring of crimson-gold afterglow.

Meanwhile, Chaoyang also slowly opened his eyes.

Has there been any change in him?

It seemed that there was... and yet there wasn’t. Ailuodi observed him closely. The contract was still in place, and the brilliance of his life force had indeed become much brighter but was still within an understandable range.

"Done?"

"Mmhm," Chaoyang nodded, aware that the process had gone very smoothly, so much so that even Shi Yin couldn’t pick anything apart. And only he himself knew that the greatest change lay within his essence and avatar—before, he could only control one body at a time while all other avatars and his main body would fall into slumber. However, things were different now; divinities resembled more an entity of energy, able to maintain consciousness without a body, rendering the notion of the main body and avatars meaningless. He could keep all his bodies awake or let them all sleep eternally. Even without a physical form, he could sustain his self and float like a ghost above the last body he had used.

This aggregation of a ghost was probably the gathering of wishing power.

No wonder the people of the Winter Country sought to seize the Hunting Divine Heart; without the guidance of the heart, even if they defeated the God of All Machines, it would likely be difficult to precisely lock onto its "soul" and obliterate it completely.

Now, Chaoyang also had this layer of protection.

As Shi Yin had said, once one ascended to divinity, one could only die as the divinities do.

"You feel... there isn’t much change, huh..." Ailuodi circled around Chaoyang, saying, "I thought you might become even bigger and stronger..."

"What are you thinking, I’m not a statue from Greek mythology."

"Then... do you still count as a demon?"

"Probably not."

"Eh!?" Ailuodi exclaimed, surprised.

"Now I count as a demon god," said Chaoyang, teasing her. "Oh right... this is for you." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

He clasped his hands together then spread them apart, revealing a necklace in his palm.

"Did you just make this? It has quite the taste," the Angel said, lifting the necklace with surprise in her voice. The necklace didn’t have a chain in the traditional sense. Several transparent blue crystals were linked end to end, but at the gaps in between, there were no strings or threads—it was as if they were connected by some mysterious force. The main body of the necklace was made of a smooth white jade, about the size of a fingernail, with a faint silhouette of two unfurled feathers seen within. "It’s nice-looking, but it’s a pity it’ll be gone after a while."

"No... it will always exist."

"What? Doesn’t that mean it’ll constantly deplete wishing power?"

"Not anymore, because it’s the first perpetual item I’ve created," Chaoyang explained. "Aside from the initial wishing power expended in its creation, it won’t need any further expenditure. It’s no different from real objects, it will age over time, and it will be naturally erased. So I call it a perpetual item, not an eternal one. Because even after its dissolution, it will simply continue to exist as fundamental particles."

’Choosing to turn illusions into realities?’ Shi Yin popped his head out and said, ’This upgrade path is indeed very attractive, especially with that vast array of replicable wonders. If used well, it could greatly enhance your capabilities. But... what’s the point of making a necklace? It’s just for show. You might as well have given her an Ouroboros Cross, which could increase her combat power exponentially...’

’You shut up,’ Chaoyang interrupted in his mind.

"The reason it doesn’t need a thread is because there is an invisible line of wishing power running through these Moonstones. As for the white jade at the end of the necklace, I chose the same material as the Follower’s Mark. That way, even if our contract ends, you can still send me messages through this necklace."

"..." Ailuodi realized that he had prepared this item especially for her and it didn’t seem like it was a last-minute thought, "Why are you giving me this?"

"When there’s a contract, I trust you the most, that’s true... but I hope that even without a contract one day, we can continue to interact just like now," Chaoyang coughed twice, "I’ll always trust you. Will you?"

Ailuodi pursed her lips for a long time, then finally couldn’t help but perk up, "Why are you being so serious! I thought you were going to renege on the contract!"

After she said this, she happily wore the necklace around her neck, conveying her answer through the piece of white jade.

’If there were no contract between us, then I’d have to keep an even closer watch on you.’