Chapter 336: Awakening Of The Avatar
Elder Sterling’s face was pale with urgency as he spoke rapidly.
"Ayame just combusted! A fire has broken out in the infirmary!"
Hearing this, everyone rushed toward the sight immediately.
FWOOOM!
An inexhaustible orange fire spread across the infirmary like a living beast, the flames dancing wildly in every direction.
Ayame lay at the center of it all, her body radiating intense heat as she gasped with shock.
"Is she finally awakening?" Caelus mumbled to himself as he swiftly raised his hand.
[Skill Activated: Origin Sever]
CRACK!
He temporarily severed the concept of Amaterasu’s fire from existence itself.
The flames immediately extinguished, disappearing into wisps of golden smoke.
Freya rushed forward and placed her hands on Ayame’s trembling body.
Axiom Energy flowed from her palms, healing the damage that had accumulated.
Then something incredible happened.
Ayame’s black hair slowly turned pure white, the color spreading from her roots to the tips like snow falling on midnight.
Nine beautiful tails emerged from behind her, each one covered in pristine white fur that seemed to glow faintly.
Her ears shifted and changed, becoming pointed and fox-like at the top of her head.
"Did she just awaken?" Sylvia asked with wide crimson eyes.
"Awakening into what exactly?"
Lunari stared at the transformation with equal shock.
Caelus smiled casually at their reactions.
"You are looking at the avatar of Amaterasu."
"What?!" everyone shouted in unison.
Amaterasu? No one was foreign to that name.
The Shinto sun goddess herself, one of the most powerful deities in Japanese mythology.
Hence, hearing this, everyone was completely and utterly shocked beyond words.
Soon Ayame finished her transformation, and she slowly opened her eyes.
She stared directly at Caelus with a look of distress on her beautiful face.
The nine-tailed fox wore an elegant kimono that had materialized around her during the transformation.
"You were not kidding, Caelus Kross," she spoke softly. "I really am the avatar of Amaterasu."
"Well, do you have her memories?" Caelus asked eagerly while leaning forward.
An avatar was like an incarnation of the real thing, so she was basically a copy.
She should have some tips and tricks to share, right?
But Ayame shook her head with disappointment in her eyes.
"I don’t have any memories at all. I only awakened her skills."
Caelus nodded slowly before his expression turned serious.
"Alright, now you definitely have to join my faction, or else I might have to kill you."
Ayame’s face went pale with worry, her nine tails drooping slightly.
"But won’t I be betraying my faction?"
"Well, even if you do that, what’s the worst that’s going to happen?" Caelus chuckled dismissively.
He was the Ender of Origin after all.
He doubted a god would directly descend into this so-called Tier 1 world just to deal with him.
And if they invoked their authority, he would simply sever that rule.
He could ignore the rules of the Origin Ascension Domain itself, what’s an authority of a god to him?
Ayame considered his words carefully, her tails swaying back and forth with uncertainty.
She had been treated badly in the Shinto Faction for as long as she could remember.
They used her as a tool, ordered her around, and never once showed genuine care.
Finally, she made her decision.
"I will join the faction," she said. "But will you let me indulge in the matters of the Shinto Faction? I want to take control of them."
Caelus grinned at her ambition.
"Sure, go ahead."
[Ding!]
[Ayame has joined the Chaos Faction]
[Faith Power Updating...]
[Faith Power: 15,342,567]
Caelus’ eyes nearly popped out of his skull seeing the numbers.
His Faith Power had nearly tripled from a single person joining!
"Ayame, never leave my faction," Caelus said with deadly seriousness in his voice. "I won’t let you leave."
Ayame’s cheeks flushed pink at his intense words, her fox ears twitching slightly.
"I... I understand."
Sylvia’s eye twitched violently at the sight.
She reached over and pinched Caelus’ arm with all her strength.
"Ouch! Sylvia, what was that for?"
"Nothing," Sylvia replied with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
Internally, she was already planning at least seventeen different ways to push Ayame off a cliff.
Maybe a really tall cliff, one with sharp rocks at the bottom.
Or perhaps she could arrange an accident near a volcano.
Actually, pushing her into the ocean and letting sharks handle it sounded quite appealing too.
Freya noticed the murderous aura radiating from Sylvia and took a careful step backward.
Seraphin Lin stepped forward with an uncertain expression on her face.
"What should I do now, Caelus?"
He turned toward her with a welcoming smile.
"You’re coming with us, obviously."
Seraphin’s face brightened with warmth and gratitude.
"Thank you, Caelus. That means a lot to me."
Sylvia’s eye twitched again, even harder this time.
"B-But we can’t have other women living in our house!"
Freya raised her hand cheerfully like a student in class.
"I can arrange a house for Ayame and Seraphin Lin! I have a penthouse in Long Island City that’s just sitting empty!"
Everyone’s lips twitched at how casually she mentioned owning a penthouse.
Being rich really was different.
Elder Sterling cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.
"The ride back home is here. We should get moving."
Before leaving, Caelus went to visit Lunari and Marcus one last time.
They stood in a room filled with maps and documents about the Biblical Faction’s remaining forces.
"We will deal with the Biblical Faction for now," Marcus said with determination. "The corruption runs deep, but we will root it out."
Caelus nodded at their resolve.
"Alright, I trust you both."
He then remembered something important.
"If you find any remains of the Boundless Light Faction, inform me immediately."
Lunari smiled warmly and waved her hand.
"Bye Caelus! Meet you in the Domain!"
Caelus waved back before turning to leave.
The group boarded the plane back to the United States, the aircraft cutting through clouds as it crossed the Atlantic.
On the way, Caelus pulled up his skills and talent window to check his current arsenal.
[Talents: Endless Extraction (SSS-Rank), Star King (Upper S-Rank), Ascended Body (Lower S-Rank), Template Change (Lower S-Rank), Gacha Wheel (Lower A-Rank), Gravity Domain (Lower B-Rank)]
[Skills: Holy Sword Surge (Legendary, 4-Star), Origin Sever (Secret, 4-Star), Temporal Regression (Secret, 4-Star), Golden Light Palm (Divine, 4-Star), Lightning Vow (Divine, 4-Star), Telepathy (Rare, 4-Star), Star King’s Sword Vault (Transcendent, 4-Star), Chaos Ring (Divine, 4-Star), Singularity Collapse (Divine, 4-Star)]
[Traits: Telekinesis (Legendary, 4-Star), Blood Generation (Legendary, 4-Star), Chaos Flames (Divine, 4-Star), Star King’s Sanctuary (Divine, 4-Star), Dragon Ascent (Secret , 4-Star)]
[Passives: Ender Passives, Intent Sense, Adaptation Wheel, Token Creation, Cellular Adaptation]
He closed the window with a satisfied smile.
He had a good arsenal built up, but he would need even more power down the line soon.
The plane landed smoothly in New York several hours later.
Freya immediately took Ayame and Seraphin Lin toward her penthouse in Long Island City.
Caelus and Sylvia retired to their apartment.
They collapsed onto the couch together, Sylvia immediately cuddling up against him.
"Finally, some peace and quiet," she sighed contentedly.
"Don’t jinx it," Caelus replied with a laugh.
[Ding!]
[The Origin Ascension Domain is now open]
They looked at each other and nodded simultaneously.
Light consumed their vision as they entered the Domain together.
When Caelus opened his eyes, he found himself standing in Genesis Kingdom.
But something was very wrong.