"Heaven has no clear concept of time. I only know a long, long time passed. Long enough that even the divine me felt bored and chose to fall into a slumber, until... I heard your call. I was awakened from the dream by a powerful force. Only then did I realize that my mission was to descend to the lower world to find you."
Aiden listened quietly, understanding dawning in his heart.
So that was it. The System had summoned her to the past, where she became a god in Heaven, and only today did it wake her from her slumber and send her back to his side.
All the waiting found its answer in this moment.
"Let's go. I'll take you home."
Aiden stood up and reached out his hand to her.
"Home?"
Furina paused for a moment, then those beautiful heterochromatic eyes lit up, and she happily took his hand.
When Aiden brought Furina back to the village, it inevitably caused a small commotion.
The villagers stopped their work, looking curiously at this beautiful girl who had suddenly appeared.
But there was only curiosity in their gaze, no excessive questioning.
Because they could tell at a glance that this girl wasn't a mortal.
That aura of holiness, seemingly innate and indescribable, and that perfect face that didn't look real—everything proclaimed her identity as a "God."
For this small village, which adventurers and god Familias often passed through on their way to explore the Dragon Valley, the appearance of a god was rare but not unacceptable.
Aiden led Furina through the village and back to the wooden house.
"This is it."
He pushed the door open.
Furina looked curiously at the furnishings inside. Although simple, it was swept spotless, revealing a lonely yet resilient aura of life.
Aiden didn't exchange pleasantries. He turned around, his azure eyes looking straight at Furina, his gaze burning and firm.
"Furina, grant me 'Falna'."
He had waited for this day for too long.
If not for that damn System restriction, he might have joined any random Familia long ago, just to qualify for the starting line.
Furina read the urgency and desire in his eyes.
She nodded vigorously, her face also written with excitement:
"Of course! I've wanted to establish our own Familia quickly for a long time. Hehe, let those guys in Heaven see that I, Furina, am not some shut-in god who only knows how to sleep!"
In this world, establishing a Familia and witnessing the growth of the Familia's children was almost the greatest joy for every god who descended.
As the human side of Focalors, she was equally full of yearning for this.
Aiden didn't hesitate at all; he took off his shirt cleanly.
The boy's lean and well-proportioned upper body was exposed to the air.
Years of disciplined ascetic practice left his body with no excess fat; the smooth muscle lines contained amazing explosive power.
Furina's cheeks flushed red with a poof.
In Heaven, she was famously a shut-in god. Leaving aside males, even the gods she knew added up to fewer than double digits.
Seeing a male body so close was a first for her.
She shifted her gaze in panic, her heartbeat speeding up involuntarily.
"Cough, y-you lie on the bed."
She commanded, feigning calm.
Aiden did as told.
Furina took a deep breath. From the tools a god carried, she found a silver needle thinner than a sewing needle.
She looked at her white, tender finger, hesitated for a long time, then closed her eyes, hardened her heart, and pricked it gently.
"Hss..."
A tiny stinging pain came, immediately making the Hydro Archon scowl.
Thinking that she would have to go through this "blood-letting ritual" every time she updated the status for Familia members or when a newcomer joined, she felt a bit like crying.
A drop of blood flashing with pale blue brilliance seeped from her fingertip, emitting a holy and pure aura.
Furina didn't dare delay. She dabbed this drop of divine blood onto Aiden's broad back, then extended her finger to write the contract leading to the extraordinary in divine script.
Knowledge about "Falna" was an instinct that almost all gods automatically mastered after descending to the lower world.
A miraculous thing happened.
In the past, no matter which god's ichor touched Aiden's skin, it would be repelled by an invisible force, like oil and water.
But this time, Furina's divine blood was like a wanderer returning home—it integrated into his body gently and without obstruction.
As Furina's fingertip glided elegantly across Aiden's back, complex and ancient divine characters lit up one by one. Finally, they converged into a beautiful pattern—a balance scale symbolizing "Justice" interwoven with a teardrop representing "Water," emitting a soft blue halo.
It worked!
[Falna] Inscription Successful.
Immediately after, more sacred text emerged beneath the pattern, detailing everything about Aiden at this moment.
"Whoa!"
Looking at the text, Furina couldn't help letting out a surprised exclamation.
She leaned closer, her beautiful heterochromatic eyes wide with astonishment.
"So amazing... Aiden, you're so amazing!"
She shouted excitedly.
"Although I don't really understand the specific meaning of these values, look! You're born with a Development Ability, three Skills, one Magic, and... and two blank Magic slots! I heard this is a very, very rare talent!"
She danced with joy, as if she were the one who had obtained this talent.
Then, remembering the business at hand, she hurriedly took out a blank sheet of parchment. She transcribed the sacred text on Aiden's back, translating it into the common language of the lower world, and handed it to him.
After doing all this, she tapped Aiden's back lightly and whispered something.
The shining Falna pattern slowly faded and disappeared.
This was the god's protection for the Familia member, named "Lock." Unless expensive "Unlock Medicine" was used, only Furina herself could reveal and update his status again.
Aiden took the parchment, which still held lingering warmth, took a deep breath, and cast his gaze upon it.
Fourteen years of waiting, six years of bitter cultivation—all answers would be revealed in this moment.
Name: Aiden
Race: Human
Level: Lv.1
Strength: I-0 Endurance: I-0 Dexterity: I-0 Agility: I-0 Magic: I-0
Development Abilities:
Abnormal Resistance: S (Affected by skill [Descender], inherently possesses the highest rank resistance)
Magic:
"Ripple of the Past"
• Memory Magic. Short chant.
• Effect: Deeply reads one's own memories to reproduce the magic used by "the person one cannot forget the most."
• Chant: "In the depths of my heart's lake, ripples of the past arise."
Currently reproducible magic:
• Satanas Verion: Super short chant. Sound Magic.
• Chant: "Gospel"
• Silentium Eden: Super short chant. Enchantment Magic.
• Chant: "Ataraxia"
• Genos Angelus: Super long chant. Wide-Area Annihilation Magic.
• Chant: "O root of the curse, O hatred born, devour my half as my original sin. Unable to cleanse, unable to purify, unable to save, the sound ringing through the sky is my sin. The trumpet of the gods, the harp of the spirits, the melody of light—it is the brand of sin. O fate of mine, loved by the artificial world—shatter into ash. I hate thee so. The price is here; hold the proof of sin and destroy all things. Weep, Holy Bell Tower."
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Skills:
[Descender]
• As a soul from outside the world, its essence of existence is unbound by the common logic of this world.
• Effect: Possesses absolute resistance to mental interference effects (including but not limited to charm, curse, fear, confusion, brainwashing, etc.) and immunity to all forms of mental pollution.
• Side Effect: Inherently possesses the highest rank (S) [Abnormal Resistance] Development Ability.
[Trailblazer]
• As a seeker of the unknown, one gains growth speed surpassing common logic when setting foot in brand new domains.
• Effect: When entering a new Dungeon floor, an unexplored secret realm, or facing a monster species never encountered before for the first time, experience points gained are significantly increased. The effect diminishes as familiarity increases.
[The Abyss Gazes Back]
• The fluctuation of an otherworldly soul acts like a lighthouse in the dark, continuously attracting the "malice" and "curiosity" of the Dungeon.
• Effect:
• Targeted Spawning: Within the Dungeon, there is a probability of inducing the Dungeon to absorb his memory information and generate special monsters that do not exist in the current world's genealogy. When such monsters are killed, they provide extremely high amounts of experience points and rare materials.