At the same time that Osirs was learning about the Martial Spirit Stages, Oberon, in his Godly Domain, became aware of it as well.
The air around him remained still as always, and the domain carried its usual faint warmth. But the knowledge Osirs had just acquired left Oberon dumbfounded, his eyes widened in shock.
Oberon couldn't quite grasp what these Martial Spirit Stages were. From his innate knowledge as a god, there wasn't much mentioned about them.
However, there was something, it was said that mortals could walk the path of a god if they gained enough power to use faith as a source of energy, but very few chose this path.
That was the extent of his divine knowledge regarding mortal power. But Oberon also possessed another kind of knowledge, the knowledge he brought with him from Earth. Cultivation novels.
And somehow… these Martial Spirit Stages seemed eerily familiar.
The Body Stage reminded him of the Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment realms from countless cultivation stories.
Then there was the Mind Stage, which resembled the Golden Core and Nascent Soul realms.
And even the Soul Stage, didn't it align with the Soul Transformation and Ascendant realms?
It couldn't be just a coincidence, could it?
And if that truly wasn't the case, then perhaps the higher realms in this world, the Spiritual Stage and the Sage Stage, might follow the same pattern too.
"This is… scary," Oberon muttered under his breath.
The realization struck him so deeply that a cold shiver ran down his spine, leaving behind an unsettling chill.
He then closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, the shock was already gone. His gaze had become calm.
"If that's truly the case… then maybe I can dual cultivate, right? Maybe I can become some kind of cultivator too," Oberon's eyes began to shine with expectation and hope.
The dream of walking freely through any world, unbound by heaven or earth, this was a dream every human who had read cultivation novels had once wished for.
And now, maybe he could actually achieve it. After all, he was already a god. So maybe… becoming a cultivator was possible too.
A flicker of desire slowly bloomed in Oberon's heart, like a flower rising, waiting to be watered, ready to blossom and reveal its beauty to the world.
"What was it that was always written in those novels? 'The path of cultivation is a path of defiance, where one rebels against the fate given by the heavens.'"
As he said the words aloud, for the first time, Oberon truly understood what they meant and the meaning behind them shocked him.
"To defy the heavens… it's not something an ordinary being could even dream of. But I… I'm a god, aren't I?" His cross-shaped eyes gleamed as he gave a bitter smile.
"If I defy the heavens… then what does that make me? A fallen god? Like a fallen angel corrupted by sin… or in my case, corrupted by the will for freedom?"
He looked up at the bright white star glowing in the night sky. Reaching out, he lifted his hand, trying to grasp it, but failed.
"Spiritual qi, spiritual energy… or whatever it's called, it must exist, right?" With that thought lingering in his mind, Oberon reached out again, trying to grasp the still air around him, hoping to feel something.
But there was nothing.
Only air.
Oberon's eyes slowly filled with disappointment and sadness, but his will refused to admit defeat.
He gritted his teeth, looked down at the green grass field, and touched the grass for the first time since arriving in his godly domain.
The sensation of his hand brushing through the blades of grass was something he had never truly noticed before. Curious, he plucked a single blade.
Holding that grass blade brought him a fleeting moment of calm. He stared at it, as if it were a piece of art—simple, yet strangely captivating. Then, a thought came to his mind: the sharp edge of a sword.
And as that thought formed, the blade of grass began to change.
Oberon's eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't move. He simply watched as the grass slowly transformed into a small, delicate blade of a sword, the very same one he had imagined.
"Wow…" Oberon whispered, fascinated. Though it wasn't quite as long as he had envisioned, its shape and form were nearly identical.
"Is this… one of the abilities of being a god? Turning a blade of grass into something I imagined?"
But as he said this, another thought struck him.
He quickly opened his status window.
No changes. Nothing was different.
So… how had he turned a simple grass blade into a small sword?
Oberon began to ponder the mystery, until a thought crossed his mind, one so absurd, it made him chuckle.
A soft, amused laugh escaped him. The kind of laugh that comes when an idea is so ridiculous, you almost want to believe it anyway.
"If that really is the case… then maybe I truly can become a cultivator."
His heart steadied, his resolve hardened.
With newfound determination, he reached toward the air once more.
But this time, he closed his eyes and began to imagine the spiritual energy he had read about in countless novels.
Spiritual energy should be the essence of all things. It was something difficult to describe with words, thoughts, or even images. But Oberon had once read that spiritual energy possessed all the colors of existence, ever shifting and constantly changing.
Sometimes it appeared red, and in the next moment, it turned green. Oberon didn't know why or how, but he began to imagine those changes, forming them in his mind as flowing lines that weaved throughout the world, connecting everything.
And then… he felt something.
Oberon opened his eyes and what he saw took his breath away.
The air around him was visible, glowing with a myriad of shifting colors. They flowed and danced, changing every instant. Red, blue, gold, green, colors beyond description.
For a moment, it was beautiful. Otherworldly.
And then… it shattered.
Like glass breaking, the vision vanished, and the air returned to its normal, colorless state.
His heart pounded. His eyes ached as though needles were poking into them. His breath had caught in his chest during the vision, and now he gasped for air, taking several deep breaths.
He closed his eyes and let out a soft chuckle.
"So… something like spiritual energy really does exist, huh?"
A smile tugged at his lips, despite the pain in his eyes. It hurt badly, but he could endure it.
As the pain gradually faded, Oberon once again stretched out his hand toward the air.
But unlike before, he didn't imagine all the colors.
No.
This time, he focused on only one, one single color.
He formed it in his mind, shaped it as he had done earlier.
Slowly, faint blue lines began to take form in the air.
They shimmered, soft and fluid, like threads of energy.
Mana.
At least, Oberon hoped that's what it was.
Mana was blue, or at least, that's what a few of the novels he'd read had claimed. So maybe the other colors were something else entirely, but blue… blue should be mana.
"Osirs had something like 'Mana Detection' too, though it was sealed," Oberon muttered, the smile on his face growing wider and wider, until it couldn't stretch any further.
"At least mana exists. And it seems like I can use it at will," he said, waving his hand through the air.
As he moved, he imagined the blue mana following the motion of his hand and to his amazement, it did.
But then, a notification window from the system suddenly appeared before him.
[Congratulations! Newborn God Oberon has become the first god in Insania to discover the existence of mana!]
"That's surprising," Oberon said aloud, blinking at the glowing screen. But before he could react further, another notification followed:
[You have been granted a title by the system. Please check your updated status.]
With a curious glint in his eyes, Oberon opened his status window and prepared to see what new title had been bestowed upon him.
[God System
Godly Name: Oberon
God Titles: The Hope of All Beings, The End of All Beings, Pioneer of Civilization(NEW)
Divinity Stage: Newborn God
Soul: 320
Spirit: 320
Body: 400
Vitality: 1000
Believers: 0
Faith Points: 40
Godly Authorities: Absolute Darkness, Absolute Light
Skills:
-Blessing of Absolute Darkness:
Allows the god to bless believers with Darkness using Faith Points. The more Faith Points spent, the greater the blessing.
-Blessing of Absolute Light:
Allows the god to bless believers with Light using Faith Points. The more Faith Points spent, the greater the blessing.]
"Pioneer of Civilization?" Oberon asked aloud in confusion, his brows furrowing slightly.
The system answered him promptly.
[Pioneer of Civilization:
A Pioneer of Civilization is someone who creates something revolutionary, something no one ever imagined before. This title is a testament to those who can think beyond the given information and give birth to ideas that can change the world.]
"Change the world…?" Oberon repeated the last words slowly, surprise flashing in his eyes. Then, after a brief pause, he nodded.
"Indeed… changing the world is truly possible."
But then his expression turned bitter, a faint, melancholic smile tugging at his lips.
"But is changing the world… is really a good thing?"
He looked down, his fingers curling slightly.
"Mana… it can reshape the way all living beings interact with the world. It could completely change the power structure of this World."
Oberon closed his eyes and let out a quiet sigh.
"But I am not the ruler of this world. I'm merely a guide. My duty is to lead the world toward greatness."
"And if mana is the key to helping them achieve that greatness…" His eyes opened slowly, gaze distant, "then I must guide the world through that change, whether it leads to good or bad. I must use all of my strength and wisdom to steer it right. If I fail..."
He trailed off, then took another deep breath.
"If I fail… then I will have failed not just as a god, but as a guide and maybe even die."
He looked up at the vast, empty night sky endless, dark, and silent, where a single white star still shone high above him.
A sad smile tugged at his lips as he whispered.
"Can you endure this change, Osirs? Can you rise above all others in a world that I will change?"
The godly domain grew still, heavy with silence.
And then, a faint, sorrowful chuckle escaped Oberon's lips, soft and hollow.
It faded just as quickly as it came.
Finally, he let out a sigh and smiled bitterly.
"Only time will tell..."