My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

There was a long silence from Damon because for all intents and purposes this was absolutely not part of the plan.

He had expected many things.

Great suspicion.

Interrogation.

Perhaps hostility.

But this was certainly not one of them.

So naturally Damon had a very reflective reaction.

”I’m not your brother.” He pushed Aetherus’ hand away. ”I’m Luna’s brother, get your own.”

The reaction was so sudden that no one expected it.

This was the God of their world for crying out loud.

The least he could do was show some form of reverence.

Sadly this was Damon Grey.

Aetherus however did not seem offended.

If anything he looked slightly stunned.

Slowly he lowered his head.

”I... understand.” His voice remained steady and ancient carrying with it a strange sorrow. ”It has been many years since we had our falling out. Not a single moment has passed where I did not think back to your final words.”

Damon had absolutely no idea what he was talking about but whatever it was clearly this had something to do with Lazarak.

Which only made Damon more confused.

After all Aetherus was the one who imprisoned Lazarak inside the World Dungeon, deeper still within the lowest levels of Eidolon, the Imaginary Prison.

Lazarak had escaped eventually.

Then dealt with the lesser gods by sealing them away.

But he died in the process.

While they had been enemies for most of history, Lazarak had loved his brother very much.

That was one fact Damon knew for certain.

”I still have no idea what you’re talking about,” he muttered quietly, unsure exactly how he should approach this situation. Everything had happened far too suddenly.

Or perhaps this was simply a trick.

Aetherus was a God of War after all.

He was clever to a sinister degree.

Though then again...

So had Lazarak been.

Aetherus remained silent for a moment before lowering his head further.

”You truly do not remember, brother.”

Damon took a deep breath.

”I’m not your brother and who exactly are you anyway?”

”You... you dare... how dare you...”

The High Templar suddenly stood up.

He could no longer watch this blasphemy unfold.

”You dare speak so profanely before one of divine stature. You stand before the great God Aetherus.”

Damon glanced toward him with complete indifference.

”You’re named after the world... isn’t that a bit pretentious?”

The High Templar nearly lost his mind.

”Seize him. This blasphemy shall not go unpunished.”

Damon was not particularly worried.

Let them seize him.

He could still talk his way out of this.

Worst case scenario he would be imprisoned for a few days.

No one would dare do more than that.

Not without risking political consequences.

After all they had no serious crime to pin on him.

A group of Templar Knights rushed toward Damon.

But before they could even reach him something changed.

Damon suddenly felt time slow.

The entire world seemed to become enveloped in a faint golden haze.

He felt the subtle spread of divine energy move through the air itself.

Then when he looked forward all he saw were the corpses of the Templar Knights collapsing to the ground.

Blood sprayed violently upward staining the ceiling above.

What was truly insane was the fact Damon himself was already at the Sixth Class Advancement and even then he had barely seen what had happened.

Only one thing was certain.

The world itself had somehow been influenced.

The wind around them had been weaponized and used to slice the knights apart instantly.

Damon suddenly understood the sheer extent of danger he was currently facing.

Yet his expression remained calm.

If anything his thoughts had moved elsewhere entirely.

Toward power.

Divine energy.

He still did not understand how it truly functioned.

Every time he used it he was almost always placing himself at risk.

Yet seeing this level of mastery...

This was something entirely different.

He knew only a few beings capable of wielding divine energy.

One was himself due to possessing Lazarak’s Divine Spark.

The other was Lilith Astranova.

And she possessed far more divine energy than Damon himself could ever hope to imagine.

Her back carried the stigmata of the Unknown God and within her rested a seemingly bottomless reservoir of divine energy.

Yet she could not channel it properly on her own.

And for whatever reason...

She hated the very thought of using it.

Her reasons were naturally valid.

The Unknown God was a dangerous existence whose plans stretched deeper than anyone could comprehend.

That stigmata might simply be one more piece of some horrifying design.

Aetherus slowly turned his gaze toward the corpses littering the floor.

”My brother is not someone anyone may touch nor is he someone mortals may disrespect.”

Then he vanished.

No.

Not vanished.

He moved so quickly Damon could not perceive it.

The next moment Aetherus stood directly beside the High Templar.

One hand wrapped around the old man’s throat lifting him effortlessly into the air.

The High Templar had once been the highest authority within the Temple.

He commanded wind and rain.

He ruled with absolute authority as the Hand of God.

Now God himself stood here.

And cared very little for what the High Templar desired.

”My brother is in a fragile state and yet you dared attack him...” Aetherus’ voice became colder. ”Know your place.”

The High Templar flailed helplessly.

His face rapidly turning red.

Everyone in the chamber stood frozen.

No one dared intervene.

No one touched the High Templar.

No one.

His position was equal only to membership within the Holy Council itself.

He was effectively the Holy Emperor in all but title.

Yet before an actual God...

A king was nothing.

And somehow the God they had worshipped for generations cared less for them than he did for an unbeliever like Damon.

Damon however was more uneasy than ever.

Even after witnessing all this his eyes narrowed slightly.

He had to leave.

Immediately.

This situation was spiraling beyond his control.

Aetherus was just beginning to turn back toward him.

And at that exact moment Damon issued a silent mental command.

A massive explosion suddenly shook the entire Holy City.

The earth trembled violently.

Ancient bells began ringing wildly throughout the sacred grounds.

And for the first time since Ashcroft, the Demon Lord of Domination, had once laid siege to these walls...

Someone had dared attack the Holy City.